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 am - French Park Grass Area
7:00 pm - Houlton, Schlieder, and Erkelens’ homes
10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
This year marked our 5th annual Festival of Nations celebration. It was a celebration of the beauty of our unity in diversity in and through Christ Jesus. On the same week as our city celebrates Dia De La Independencia, we celebrate our dependence on Christ and what He has created in our small church. See some of the moments we were able to capture on camera. Congratulations to Taylor Schlieder, winner of Best Dessert, Scarlett Madrigal, 2nd time winner of Best Kids Dish and, for the second year in a row, Peter Robles, winner of Best in the World!
Paul says in Ephesians 4:25 that we are one body, yet “members one of another”. So, think of church membership not so much as “membership in a club” and more as an expression of commitment to the people around you. The Bible is full of “one anothers” - commands toward believers to act in godliness toward other people. What Scripture makes clear is that these “others” refer to a specific group of people and not all people generally. 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, Jared & Tracie Oda, we had the joy of introducing this last Sunday. As you celebrate this expression of God’s grace among us, read the encouraging testimony that Jared & Tracie shared this Sunday:
For those who we haven’t met, we are Jared and Tracie Oda. A little background on us, we both grew up going to our previous church since we were babies. Last August, we felt that it was time to leave our old congregation, and we embarked on what turned out to be a 9 month church-hopping journey. Out of 25 different churches, God sovereignly led us here to Cross of Grace Santa Ana.
The amount of love and hospitality you guys show us is unlike anything we have ever experienced at a church. After every interaction with Cross of Grace, we got into our car, sat there a few moments in silent bewilderment, then ask each other, “How is everyone at Cross of Grace so nice?” And it’s a genuine question. Not like an, “Oh wow they are nice,” but an amazement and confusion where we genuinely want to know how a church could be so loving. It has quickly become apparent that your ability to love us is a direct overflow of knowing Jesus and experiencing a radical transformation through His Gospel. Just as God brought you into His family despite being strangers to Him, so too have you extended the same kind of grace to strangers like us. Though we barely knew you, you welcomed us into your homes, shared testaments of God’s grace in your lives, and encouraged us to lay our spiritual baggage at Jesus’s feet. The scripture that comes to mind is John 13:35 which says, “by this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” I hope it serves as an encouragement to you, Cross of Grace, knowing from our perspective, it is so strikingly evident that you are Jesus’s disciples by the way you loved us and love each other.
We are beyond grateful that today we get to officially join Cross of Grace as members with you and pray that God would use all of us to reflect His love to each other and to bring the good news of Christ to our neighbors in Santa Ana.
We look forward to joining our new members in spreading the joy of Jesus in Downtown Santa Ana!
This past Sunday was our final Sunday wrapping up what we've learned in the book of Habakkuk. We turned to the letter of 1 Peter - a textbook on how to suffer well as a Christian. The believers then lived as exiles in a world in which there was no social benefit to being a Christian, they were regularly slandered and insulted by their neighbors, and they faced the same struggle against "the passions of the flesh, which wage war" against our souls as we do today (1 Pet 2:11-12). So how did Peter encourage them? How does he teach them to suffer well? By telling them to suffer like Christ. Why does he do this? Because Jesus Christ himself puts what we learned from Rom 8:31 ("If God is for us, who can be against us?") to the test and proves it's 100% true. We look to him and we learn how to suffer well as we live as exiles on the way to our eternal home.
*Due to some technical difficulties, the opening portion of the sermon audio was not captured. You can read the manuscript here to fill in the gap and listen to the rest of the sermon below.
“Am I a good person?” “Why does God allow suffering?” “Is Jesus really the only way?” We’ll discuss all this and more during the Bridge Course.
What’s Bridge?
The Bridge Course is a 6-week opportunity to explore the Christian faith in a fun and relaxed way. Each week begins with a meal followed by a talk that addresses common questions about life and God. Afterward there is a small-group conversation where you can ask any questions you have or sit back and listen. It’s a safe space to share your perspective - whatever it is. There is no pressure and no one will force you to believe anything.
Who is it for?
Anyone seeking answers
Anyone who isn't sure what they believe
Anyone who is spiritual but not religious
Anyone with doubts about Christianity or wanting to investigate the Christian Faith
New Christians or newcomers to the church
Anyone who wants to “brush up” on the basics
When and where does it take place?
Dates: 2nd & 4th Mondays from September 11, 2023 - November 27, 2023
Time: 7pm-9pm
Location: Hopper & Burr, 202 W 4th St, Santa Ana, CA 92701
This Sunday, we’ll be hosting our annual “Festival of Nations” Celebration. This year we are excited to announce that we are combining this celebration with our anniversary party, so as to free up our fall calendar. The event coincides with Fiestas Patrias and Dia De La Independencia, we’ll celebrate what God has built in our church through the gospel - the gathering of people from all different nationalities and heritages into one new family in Christ.
Bring a dish (entree, dessert or side) representing your national heritage. Bring your best effort. The results will be judged and the “Best In The World” award will be given to the individual whose dish impressed the most. Multiple dishes per family are ok!
This year we’re changing the location to Portola Park in Santa Ana. Join us at 3pm on Sunday, September 10th at Portola Park. Parking is available at the North and South ends of the park.
Come dressed and ready to play a friendly game of kickball
Bring a picnic blanket or chairs for your family
This upcoming Sunday, we have the privilege of welcoming new members into our midst. These are people who have committed to participating in the life of the church and performing the “one anothers” with this local body of Christ. They’re also individuals whom we, as a church, commit to so the same with and for. We praise God for His grace and the evidence of the advancement of His gospel through Santa Ana.
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 am - French Park Grass Area
7:00 pm - Fourth Street Market Patio
10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
3:00 pm - Portola Park Santa Ana
From Sovereign Grace Churches Director of Global Missions, Dave Taylor:
In 1 Peter 3.18a, we read:
‘For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.’
As Peter pens those words we find ourselves on holy ground, as our attention is once again drawn to a Hill called Calvary, and to the wondrous cross upon which the Prince of Glory died. For through the substitutionary death of Jesus, who suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, we have now been brought back to God.
It’s a breathtaking and stunning reality. The penalty of our sin has been paid for, the sacrifice of our substitute was sufficient and through Him, we have now been brought near. And so knowing that and in awe of that, here’s how you can be praying to the One who is near in the month ahead…
Please pray for Jeremy Hetrick and his team as they plant Redeeming Grace Church, Mechanicsburg, PA, asking God to provide for all their needs, and to bless their services as they begin to gather this month.
Please pray for our new 2023-2024 US Pastors College students and their families from 3 different nations who have recently moved to Louisville, with classes having started at the end of August. Please ask God to provide for all their needs and to give them the grace to grow over the next year while at the PC.
Please pray for Pat Tedeschi and Greentree’s Muslim Outreach Team as they head over to London, UK, September 8th-18th. For many years Greentree has been partnering with a church plant to the Muslim community in London, where the majority of the church members are former Muslims. Please pray for this team as they join with the church members in doing evangelism, help to lead the church services, and encourage the new believers in the church.
Please pray for the Philippines Pastor’s Institute that launches this month in Madrid, Mindanao. Please pray for the 20 students, that they may be equipped as future leaders, pastors, and church planters for the Mindanao region.
Please pray for Joselo Mercado as he heads over to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to serve at their annual SGC Bolivia Conference. Please pray that this is a wonderful time for both pastors and members, alike.
Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Pakistan who have been affected by the recent rioting. There were about 20-25 churches that were looted and burned as well as many homes of Christian families. One of those looted and destroyed churches is pastored by a man who is with the group that we have the privilege of partnering with in Pakistan. So please pray, that God would meet them in this time of great affliction and sorrow.
… Once we were far off, but now we have been brought near. What a staggering reality that is.
Usually Men’s Meeting is held on the second Thursday of the month; however, in certain months it falls within the same week as Small Group. This is one of those certain months. For that reason, Men’s Meeting is being pushed up a week to THIS Thursday at 7pm. Men’s Meeting is when the men of our church gather together to sit under God’s word and spur on each other’s walk with Christ. All guys, 15 years and older, are invited to participate in a conversation where "men talk like men" about God. This month they’ll be discussing the question, “How do we know what’s good for us?” and digging into God’s word to find the answer.
