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:
10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
Last week we learned that Christ was born from sinners for sinners. But in what way did Jesus come for sinners? To raise their spirits? To be an example? To inspire them to be better people? Or to rescue them from an otherwise inescapable situation? Matthew 1:18-25 teaches us that Jesus was not born to be an example, inspiration, or sentimental piece of tradition - he was born to be a Savior. To save us from the sins which deserved God’s wrath and separated us from God’s presence. In this way, Christmas is a confrontation before it’s a celebration. An annual reminder that it took the Son of God taking on flesh to save me from my sin. But, once we’ve been confronted, we’re made ready to celebrate the only Savior who, unlike so many “so-called saviors,” doesn’t mock our deepest hopes, but fulfills them.
Benefit from the pastoral wisdom and care of Sinclair Ferguson as he opens up the first two chapters of Matthew's Gospel in these daily devotions for Advent. Each day’s reflection is full of insight and application, and will help you to arrive at Christmas Day awed by God's redeeming grace and refreshed by the hope of God’s promised king.
Howdy partners, it’s time to party! Join us at our annual Christmas potluck for an evening of fellowship, fun, and white elephant gift exchanges as we celebrate the coming of Christ!
Costume Contest - Compete to win the “Costume of Christmas” Award. Bonus points will be assigned if your costume pairs with your potluck item!
White Elephant Gift Exchange - We’ll have 2 gift exchanges, one for the kids and one for adults. Please bring a pre-wrapped & unlabeled gift to enter the exchange. For the kids, just grab something from around the house. For adults, there’s a $5 spending limit, but we encourage you to find something fun around the house if you can.
Potluck - We’re calling on you to help us have plenty of tasty Christmas treats to eat and drink. Please follow the general outline below when bringing a potluck item to share:
If you are a party of 1-2, bring a drink and/or dessert to share
If you are a party of 3, bring a side dish to share
If you are a party of 4 or more, bring a main dish to share
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:
6:30 pm - Madrigal Home
10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
In the world of agriculture, soil must remain “fallow” once every few years to maintain its fertility for years to come. To lie fallow is to lie unplowed and unplanted for a time in order for nutrients to be restored. In the month of December, we are letting our church calendar lie fallow. Why? Not so that you can pull away from the life of the church, but instead to press into natural and more intimate opportunities to relate to your church family and neighbors. The holiday season is notoriously one of the busiest times of the year. We want to help you to take advantage of the few free moments you have to spend unhurried, unscheduled time with one another and with family for the grand purpose of allowing your heart to be re-fertilized by the work of Christ, fellowship with the saints and companionship with unbelieving neighbors.
If you ever have any questions about church events, you can look to our church calendar, which is always updated to reflect changes to meetings or events.
Subscribe to the church calendar here.
As we begin our 2022 Christmas Series on the birth stories of Christ, we begin by taking a look at his family tree. What sort of people did he descend from? What kind of men and women did the Second Person of the Trinity deem fit to relate to as he took on flesh and entered into the world? The answer in Matthew's genealogy should surprise us. It's a family tree of sinners, foreigners, and imperfect people! God chose weak, weary, and unfaithful ones to be the ones through whom his Son would come. They seem like unlikely candidates, but who else could he pick? Who else but a family line of sinners for the Son of God who’d come to save sinners? In the drama of the Christmas story, these are the men and women we relate to. We are the unfaithful ones, born in sin and suffering under the curse, who receive the rescue of God's own Son. Christ was born for them, Christ is born for us.
This Sunday marks the start of the Advent season! A season that celebrates the “advent” or “coming” of Christ into the world. Over the course of the next 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas, we’ll prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas as we sing well-loved songs about the Savior of the world, see the glory of Christ shining through the pages of Scripture, and celebrate the fact that Jesus not only came once but is coming again!
We celebrate that Christ came into the world in fulfillment of God’s promises of old in order to accomplish our salvation. We long for the day he’ll come again to make all things new. During Advent, we look both backward and forward as we worship the One who came from heaven to earth and will one day come again to usher in the new heavens and earth.
As we prepare our hearts to enter into the Christmas season which is so full of so many wonderful things, would we prioritize the most wonderful of them all: Jesus Christ who was born for us. Prioritize the Christ of Christmas this Christmas season and prepare your heart to celebrate his birth by:
Studying the birth of Christ - As an individual or a family. Open up God’s word, study the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth, and walk through Advent devotional as you count down the days to Christmas. Here are a few suggested resources:
Children
Prepare Him Room by Marty Machowski
The Promise of Christmas by The Daily Grace Co.
Adult Devotionals
The Dawn of Redeeming Grace: Daily Devotions for Advent by Sinclair Ferguson
Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent Devotional by Paul David Tripp
Singing the birth of Christ - Not just on Sunday mornings, but throughout the entire season! Fill your mind and heart with songs that celebrate the coming of Christ and sharpen your affections for him. Add the following to your Christmas mix:
Heaven Has Come by Sovereign Grace Music
Prepare Him Room by Sovereign Grace Music
Spending time with brothers and sisters in Christ - This Christmas season, prioritize Christ by prioritizing his people. Take advantage of our December “Fallow Month” by prioritizing fellowship with one another in the church. Use the times during the week we’d normally meet as a church to: go ice skating in the city, have a game night, host another family for dinner, or do whatever you enjoy with other members in the church.
Sharing the good news of the birth of Christ - Make your joy in Christ more full by sharing it with others. Pray for opportunities to share the good news of Christ’s birth with those in your life who have yet to receive him this Christmas season.
Join us for our Christmas Series, “Christ is Born for You,” as we behold the glory of the One who came to save us!
If you haven’t already started, the time is now to break out the Christmas music! The season of Advent is upon us and for the next 5 Sundays, we’ll be singing the songs of our Savior’s birth as we come together as a church. To prepare you to sing loudly and joyfully, we’ve put together a playlist of ALL the songs we’ll be singing through the end of the year.
Add the Cross of Grace Santa Ana Advent 2022 Playlist to your Christmas mix and come ready to celebrate that Christ was born for us!
We are a people who have much to be thankful for!
Thankful that we are loved and cared for by our Heavenly Father.
Thankful that we belong to Christ and have passed from death to life.
Thankful that we have the fellowship of the Spirit who gives us peace, comfort, and joy.
Thankful for all we have received from the gracious hand of God.
Thankful that we get to be the church together here in Downtown Santa Ana.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” - Ps 136:1
