Every Tuesday we publish a blog post to lay out in one place what’s going in the life of the church for the upcoming week. See below for a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:
French Park Run Club
6:30am - French Park Grass Area
Women’s Summer Potlucks
6:30pm - Mora Home
Contact us here for location and details
Sunday Gathering at the Ebell Club
10:00am - Meeting Room: Theater
Over the past few Sundays, we’ve welcomed 2 new members into our family!
Church membership is not “membership in a club.” It’s “membership in a body.” As Paul says in Ephesians 4:25, we are one body, yet “members one of another” - vitally connected and working together for the good of the whole. In this way, becoming a church member is an expression of commitment to the people around you. A grace-empowered pledge to fulfill the “one anothers” of Scripture with a specific group. These others are the men and women identified in a particular local church. As members of Cross of Grace Santa Ana, we have the privilege of living out the Christian life with one another. We celebrate and grieve with one another. We build deep relationship with one another. We join arms to advance the joy of Jesus in a particular neighborhood with one another. We help one another pursue holiness. We remind one another of the sweetness of the gospel.
In light of this, we praise God for the new members - Joe Perez & Kim Bello - we’ve had the joy of receiving.
We thank God for adding new laborers to the harvest that’s before us. We’re excited for these new members to join us in spreading the joy of Jesus in Downtown Santa Ana!
On Sunday, we learned that, “everything created by God [nature, animals, sex, food, drink, music, art, culture, friends, pets, coffee, tacos, sports, sunsets, and on and on and on] is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” As Christians, we should be living in the world that’s been made better than anybody else - because we know the God who made it! We know what it’s been made for. We know why it exists. We can receive all these good things, not as idols to be worshiped or ends in themselves, but as vehicles to deeper joy in God.
We were created and redeemed to live fully-orbed lives in the created world as an expression of our worship to the One who created it. Below are a few resources that will help us live joyfully in God’s world and offer a compelling witness to the world.
The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts by Joe Rigney - Quoted during Sunday’s sermon.
Strangely Bright: Can You Love God and Enjoy this World? by Joe Rigney - A condensed version of The Things of Earth.
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis - A book about rightly ordering our natural affections.
Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God by C.J. & Carolyn Mahaney - Contrary to the false teachers in 1 Tim 4:1-3, marital intimacy is a good gift of God that’s worthy to be pursued!
Images and Idols: Creativity for the Christian Life by Ryan Lister & Thomas Terry - Christians should champion creativity.
Art and the Bible by Francis Schaeffer - The human desire to create reflects our being made in the image of the Creator God.
Bread of Life: Savoring the All-Satisfying Goodness of Jesus through the Art of Bread Making by Abigail Dodds - Bread exists to teach us about the goodness of Jesus.
“Anchor yourself in a supreme, full, and expanding love for God and then let your enjoyment of his gifts run wild.”
The church is God's home. The place where he dwells with his people. Those who delight in, declare, and defend the goodness of life with him in a world full of competing claims. In this way, the church serves as a pillar and buttress of the truth. Holding it up for all to see and resisting the external forces that press up against it. But is resisting the pressures of the world the only way the church relates to the world? What about the many pleasures of the world? 1 Timothy 4:1-5 comes to us to say that while our life together is certainly marked by resisting bad beliefs, it's also meant to be about receiving God’s good gifts. Relieving us from the uneccessary tension between loving God and enjoying life. Because, the joy that’s found in Jesus is a joy that includes and is even intensified by glorifying God through enjoying what he’s made.
This week, 4 groups will meet throughout our city to share in the joy of Jesus and apply his gospel to each other’s lives. This week will be the last small group meetings until we break for a July Fallow month. Outside of Sunday mornings, small groups are the most important moments in the life of our church. Make it a priority to attend one this week.
This Saturday, we’ll walk the neighborhood of French Park in order to invite our neighbors to come party with us! We’ll welcome them to attend our celebration next weekend and catch a glimpse of the joy we have in Jesus. We’re praying for 150 in attendance this time around. Come and be God’s instrument to get them there!
Please make it a priority for your Saturday and come expecting that the Lord will use you to bless our neighbors, bring them closer to himself, and make our block party a night to remember! Kids are more than welcome to participate.
In addition to joining us in person, don’t forget to share the digital flyer with your friends and neighbors.
Here’s some more content that we'd typically share during a members' meeting, but we didn’t have a chance to get to this time around. It’s been a full and fruitful year, but we’re not done yet! There are some exciting events on the horizon for you to participate in and pray for. If you would like more information regarding the events listed below, please contact us here.
Fallow Month - July 2025
No small groups or extra events. Men’s & Women’s meetings replaced by a Men’s BBQ (7/10) & Women’s Potluck (7/24).
Run Club continues.
Take advantage of the open Thursdays & Fridays to rest body and soul, and enjoy summer fun and fellowship together.
West Region Youth Camp - July 11-14, 2025. Prescott, Arizona.
This year’s theme is “Christ Over All.” Youth (ages 10-17) from all 9 of our West Region churches will gather for a weekend of enjoying worship, teaching from SGC West pastors, fellowship with other youth in our family of churches, breakout sessions, games, challenges, lip sync battles, and more!
Last year we sent 7, this year 15! We’re sending 10 youth & 5 adult volunteers!
Pray the Lord would meet our youth and raise up the next generation of believers, church members, and church leaders in the West.
West Coast Worship Conference - 10/1-10/4/25. Santa Clarita, CA.
Calling all worship team, A/V crew, and CGSA members who love to sing! Bob Kauflin and the team from Sovereign Grace Music are coming to CA for a time of teaching, fellowship, and of course, LOTS and lots of singing that will follow the same basic format as the WorshipGod Conferences. Attendees will be equipped in the skills of planning, leading, projecting, amplifying, and writing songs for congregational worship.
Want to come? RSVP with Fernando Madrigal & register here.
Pastor’s Conference - 11/18-11/20/25. Orlando, FL.
It’s our annual family reunion of brothers and sisters from all over the globe! A time of worship, encouragement, and fellowship which exists to refresh the pastors and leaders of our churches and send them back home ready and eager for the work of ministry. It’s also a great way to get to know our family of churches if you’re new to Sovereign Grace. It’s a gathering any member would benefit from attending. Reach out to the pastoral team if you’d like to join us this fall.
Please visit this link for conference details: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/2025-pastors-conference
Relay Conference - 1/5-1/7/26 - Glen Mills, PA
The RELAY Conference exists to inspire young adults to live for the glory of Christ. While the conference is aimed at college students and young adults (18-25 years old), as well as their leaders, high school students ages 16-17 and young adults in their late 20s or 30s are welcomed as well. We’re asking the Lord to use this time to inspire this generation to personalize and carry forward our shared doctrine, values, and mission that we cherish as Sovereign Grace churches.
Please visit this link for further details: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/relay-2026
Every Tuesday we publish a blog post to lay out in one place what’s going in the life of the church for the upcoming week. See below for a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:
French Park Run Club
6:30am - French Park Grass Area
Small Groups
7:00pm - Lee & Roenicke Homes
Learn more about Small Groups here
Small Groups
7:00pm - Houlton & Erkelens Homes
Learn more about Small Groups here
French Park Block Party Outreach
Sunday Gathering at the Ebell Club
10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
Youth Ministry
6:30pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA
Find out more about Youth Ministry here
On Sunday we learned that the church is God’s very own household. God’s place where he’s truly present with his people. The people he’s gathered and caught up in his own blessed and eternal life. A life in which we join God in his grand purpose of living for his glory.
According to 1 Tim 3:15, the shape, structure, and significance of our life with God has everything to do with the truth of God. As the church we exist, first, to delight in and then to declare and defend the goodness of life with God and life God’s way. To promote and protect the reality of who God is, what he’s done, and how he’s made the world to be by living out our purpose as “a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). The church doesn’t define, decide, or decree the truth. But we perform the function of upholding the truth that God has revealed in his word. So how does this work?
After speaking of the church as those who live within the household of God, Paul advances his metaphor by speaking of the church in structural terms as the house itself. The gathered people of God are a pillar and buttress. But not all of us are architects. So to get some further insight, we reached out to one. Our resident architect-theologian, Keiren Mora helps us wrap our minds around what this means:
Just as pillars hold up a roof, the church lifts high the truth for all the world to see. Just as buttresses stabilize the walls of a building, the church serves to hold the truth steady in a world full of falsehood, confusion, and opposition to what God has revealed. In our worship, preaching, evangelism, and discipleship we promote the truth of God to one another and a watching world. In our courageous reception of all God has said (even and especially when it’s an unpopular belief in our current moment), our practice of confronting error in love, and our practice of church discipline when God’s ways are being rejected we protect the truth from cracking, eroding, and compromise.
Apart from pillars and buttresses, no structure would stand strong or stand long. Apart from holding fast to God’s truth, our church won’t stand strong (at any given moment in our life and mission) or stand long (as a fixture in our city for generations to come). We must give ourselves to this critical purpose. But, as we do so, the good news is that we’re not the ones ultimately bearing up under all the weight.
Pillars and buttresses are important, but, as Keiren helps us once again, “Pillars and buttresses won’t do much good if they don’t have a solid foundation to take on those forces which press against the structure. They aren’t meant to handle the forces on their own. So we also rely on Christ as our foundation.” Our life in God’s house is built upon him. The Truth of truths is the gospel message of who he is and what he’s done. This is the very heart and essence of the truth we’re called to promote and protect. This gospel is the very reason we’re able to live in God’s presence within the house. This gospel is the very power by which we’re fueled, motivated, and enabled to be the house. This gospel is the foundation we stand upon. The ground we must remain fixed upon, bolted to, and staking the entire weight of our lives upon.
It’s a message Paul refers to as “the mystery of godliness” and summarizes by citing one of the earliest Christian hymns. Listen to the lyrics:
“He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.”
1 Tim 3:16 is the story of the Son of God all the way from his incarnation to his ascension. From glory to humiliation and back up to glory again. From heaven to earth and earth to heaven, from which we await his return again. It’s the story of the Savior whose salvation has been accomplished in his death and resurrection, announced by men and angels, and advancing in the earth to build an ever-expanding house. Because this Savior is the head of our household, we have confidence that he himself will establish us, strengthen us, and sustain us onto glory.
Let’s keep telling his story, singing his song, and inviting our neighbors to sing along.
We come to the beating heart of Paul's letter. A passage which brings us to his primary purpose for writing as well as the main idea he wants Timothy - and us - to lay ahold of. Above all else, 1 Timothy has been written so that we’d know how to act at church. Just why is it so important how we act at church? Because of what the church is! The very household of God, a pillar and buttress of the capital "T" truth. But what makes the church what it is? What is the essence of the truth we're called to promote and protect? What creates the house, gives it life, and brings us home to God? It's the gospel we're founded upon. The "mystery of godliness" and grand story of the Savior's work. Any home is only as good as its foundation is strong. Therefore, to be a church that builds today and lasts long we must be a church that remains firmly fixed on the gospel of Christ.
