It is almost time to fall back! Daylight Savings time 2022 ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 6. Enjoy an extra hour of sleep, and we’ll see you Sunday morning for our weekly celebration of life in Christ.
Outside of Sunday mornings, small groups are the most important moment in the life of our church. They are a context where biblical discipleship happens within the church as we connect the truths of the gospel to every aspect of our lives. Each group meets in a home, splitting their time between singing, praying, and discussion. Some groups include young children in their meetings. All groups welcome guests. Carve this time out in your calendar to be refreshed in the gospel and to serve your friends by pointing their lives to Christ.
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:
7:00 pm - Schlieder, Houlton, or Erkelens Home
10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
12:30 pm - Houlton Home
7:00 pm - Cunningham Home
Every year our family of churches enjoys a family reunion. A time when pastors, wives, and members of Sovereign Grace Churches come together for a week of worship, fellowship, and encouragement in our shared mission. This year there are 700+ registrants from 21 different nations attending our annual gathering in Orlando. It’s sure to be a sweet time away!
As a pastoral team we say thank you for sending us! This conference is one of the highlights of our year. It’s a joy to attend and always makes us eager to come back and serve the church. In addition to sending us, we also ask that you please pray for us while we’re here. Throughout the week, you can pray that:
The Lord would refresh our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Pray that we would be brought so close to the fire of the cross that the sparks would fall on our hearts and set our affections aflame for Christ.
The Lord would use this time to equip us to serve our church well. We’re being sent by the members of our church for the members of our church. Pray that we’d come back better leaders than when we left.
The Lord would build existing and establish new relationships among pastors and members of Sovereign Grace Churches across the globe.
The Lord would give us moments of clarity about our local mission. Pray for the Lord to fill us with His Spirit to give us a greater longing to spread the joy of Jesus to our neighbors.
The Lord would use this time to give Jason clarity regarding His ministry calling. He’s been faithful as our Pastoral Intern, and it’s been a joy to walk alongside him through the journey of discerning his calling. Pray that the Lord would grant us discernment and encouragement as we consider the future this week.
Have you ever thought, "I'd much more easily believe God if He just _________”. If he just spoke to me audibly, gave me a sign, or proved his love for me in some way. But would you? Mark 6:31-56 teaches us that, actually, we don’t need God to prove himself. We need him to change our hearts. Our tendency toward unbelief is not a problem of insufficient evidence, it’s a problem of a hardened heart. If you believe that God is but aren’t sure that God is for you, listen to this Sunday’s sermon to learn more about God’s solution for hard hearts.
This Monday marks the 505th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. On October 31, 1517, a German Monk named Martin Luther nailed a document calling for reform in the Catholic Church to the door of the local church in Wittenburg. What followed was a movement that has changed both the church and the world to this day!
The triumph of the Reformation wasn’t the development of new doctrine that took the world by storm, but the rediscovery of the biblical gospel. It was the recovery of “the church’s true treasure,” as Luther said time and time again.
As a Sovereign Grace Church, we gladly locate ourselves downstream of the heritage and theology that flowed out of the Reformation. “Reformed Theology” is one of the 7 Shared Values that mark our family of churches. The story of the Reformation is important to us because it’s a story that helps us better understand ourselves as it points us to the shoulders of the gospel-centered saints of old that we still stand upon today.
You can find an excellent summary of what the Protestant Reformation was all about and why it remains relevant today in the article Does the Reformation Still Matter? by Stephen Nichols. In addition to this, below you will find a selection of resources that will immerse you in the story of the Reformation as you sing, watch, and listen to the events which have shaped our church and the world around us.
Sing
The Five Solas by Psallos puts the 5 summary slogans of the Reformation (Scripture Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Christ Alone, & God’s Glory Alone) to music and drives the truth of the gospel down into our hearts.
Watch
Luther: The Life and Legacy of the German Reformer - Available to stream for FREE. “Watch this documentary to discover the events God used in Martin Luther’s life that led him to rediscover the gospel of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.“ You can also download Ligonier’s free accompanying study guide.
Listen
Luther: In Real Time - There are 2 seasons to the podcast. It was first released 500 years after the events described, this podcast allows you to walk in Martin Luther’s footsteps from his heresy charges to his famous stand for the authority of God’s Word at the Diet of Worms.
We hope this list makes you grateful to God for his work in the past and also encourages you to keep the spirit of the Reformation alive as we seek to always be reforming our church and our lives according to God’s Word. Semper Reformanda!
Our Women’s Ministry exists to spur women on in their pursuit of Christ through biblical discussion and building friendships. Each month the ladies of CGSA meet together for a time of discussion and prayer in order to grow in Christ and grow as friends. This month, they’ll explore the topic of anxiety. What does the Bible say about anxiety? How does the gospel provide comfort to the anxious soul? They’ll tackle these questions and more this evening.
To guide the discussion they’ll be reading several chapters from J.I. Packer’s book, Concise Theology. If you haven’t had a chance to read, that’s okay! Reading is not required for participation. Just come eager and expectant to dive into the riches of God’s word.
Let’s take the joy of Jesus to neighbors. After service on 10/30, head over to French Park to spend time together in the middle of the neighborhood God has placed us in. Here are the details:
It’s “BYOL” (bring your own lunch). If you forget your lunch or your favorite lunchbox isn’t clean, there are plenty of great restaurants nearby in DTSA.
Bring some folding chairs - unless you like sitting on the grass, bring something to sit on.
Expect the Lord to build existing relationships and create new ones with our neighbors.
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:
7:00 pm - Schlieder Home
10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
12:00 pm - French Park
Jason Roenicke has been serving for the past 11 months as our second intern at Cross of Grace Santa Ana. The role he’s occupied is one which serves the purpose of equipping and of evaluation - it’s a period when the church has the opportunity to watch and experience a person’s gifting in order to determine how God might be calling that individual to serve a particular role in the church. We’ve wondered if God has called Jason to be a pastor of Cross of Grace Santa Ana. He wonders the same thing. And we believe it’s a task given to the local church to assess the calling and gifting of a potential pastor.
So far, we’ve heard nothing but positive feedback. We’re grateful to God for the work that seems to be evidenced in his life. However, we won’t assume we’ve heard everything from you. Before Jason proceeds on to the next stage of being positioned as a leader in our church, we’re giving you a final opportunity to provide your assessment of his leadership, character and influence in the church. Maybe it’s nothing but good and providing evidence of God’s grace. If so, go ahead and tell us. We want to be prudent where we need to be prudent and celebrate where we can celebrate.
