WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN ASKING GOD TO WORK

As a church, we’ve spent the last month learning about & longing for revival. We journeyed through the pages of scripture and chapters of church history to explore what revival is, how it comes, and why we should expect it today.

But the journey isn’t over. Our pursuit doesn't stop now that the sermon series has come to an end! We’ve only just begun asking God to work. To keep the fire burning and fuel your faith for what he’ll do, check out the resources linked below. You’ll find all the sermons from the series, key takeaways and quotes, along with books and articles that’ll enlarge your vision for how revival might come to Santa Ana.

FIND IT ALL HERE

SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 6

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. Below we’ve got a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

• Basketball in the Park

  • 6:30pm - El Camino Park

    • Reach out to Manny for more info

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1 - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4

• Sovereign Grace Music CA Worship Conference

  • Grace Baptist Church - Santa Clarita, CA

    • Learn more about the conference here

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

• Small Groups

  • 7:00pm - Lee & Roenicke Homes

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3

• Small Groups

  • 7:00pm - Houlton & Erkelens Homes

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4

• Prayer Meeting

  • 9am-12pm - Warm residence

    • Learn more here & RSVP with Cordell

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5

• Sunday Gathering at Ebell Club & Houlton Send-off Service

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

• Houlton Send-off Celebration

  • 4pm-7pm- Cabrillo Park in Santa Ana

    • Watch the Newsletter this week for more details

MONDAY, OCTOBER 6

• The Bridge Course

  • 7:00pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA

    • Invite your friends to join us for Bridge!

SOVEREIGN GRACE MUSIC CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE

Sovereign Grace Music is returning to California for the first time in ten years! From Oct 1-4, the Your Gathering and the Gospel conference will be taking place in Santa Clarita, CA. 7 members and 4 youth from CGSA will come together with believers all across our state and all throughout the West in order to be reminded why we do what we do every Sunday morning. And not only this! But to be encouraged in the part they play leading songs, playing music, running AV, and helping the gathered church to engage with God and celebrate his gospel.

Pray for our Cross of Grace team and all as they volunteer, serve, and learn from our friends at Sovereign Grace Music. Pray the Lord would bless all those in attendance, build relationships between churches, and spur on gospel mission in California and beyond!

WE ARE ONE BODY, MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER

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. 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 5 new members - Curtis Dobbins, Brad & Liz Hodgin, Josh Gamez, and Brianna Rivera - we had the joy of introducing this last Sunday. Be encouraged by what Brad had to share with us during his new member testimony:

We moved here in earlier this year in May for Liz’s job at CHOC. We are both from North Carolina which is where we moved from and have no direct ties to California.

We knew even before we moved here we wanted to quickly get connected with a healthy local church as we believe this is a fundamental part of the Christian life. We honestly were looking online for a reformed church and this was the first place we visited the first week we were here.

From the first time we visited Cross of Grace, we felt how genuine and welcoming the members here are. The first week we came so many folks introduced themselves to us and genuinely wanted to get to know us. We were quickly encouraged by the faithful, biblical preaching here as well. As we have spent more time here, we have enjoyed continuing to get to know everyone and see how this church is serving the city of Santa Ana.

We are excited to continue building relationships with you all! To serve the church and this community. And to invite friends and coworkers to join us at church here too.

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!

IF IT HAPPENED THERE, IT CAN HAPPEN HERE

We come to the final sermon in our mini-series. Up until this point, we've learned HOW revival comes - by the Spirit working through the ordinary means of grace. We've learned WHEN revival comes - whenever God wants to bring it. And now, we're left with one final question, "Do you believe it'll get here?" We know revival came in biblical times. We've heard the stories from church history. But do we actually believe revival will come to Santa Ana? Acts 19:8-27 speaks into our doubts and tells the story of the Ephesian Revival of AD 53-56. It paints a picture of the extraordinary fervor for Christ which results when the Spirit is freshly poured out upon the ordinary means. The point is not that everything that happened there will happen here. But instead, that IF it happened there, it can happen here as well. We respond to this story by envisioning, imagining, and asking "What would it look like for Santa Ana to become Ephesus?" 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

ALL LADIES, HIGH-SCHOOL AGED AND OLDER ARE INVITED

Each month, the ladies of CGSA gather for a time of discussion, encouragement, and prayer. All to promote the growth of women in Christ as women in Christ.

Tonight, they’ll dive into their second of three discussions of the book My Dear Hemlock. A modern take on C.S. Lewis’ classic, The Screwtape Letters, which is designed to answer the question, “What if Screwtape tempted a woman?” Whether you’ve read the book or not, come and join in on a conversation that promises to be the best kind of provocative and point you back to Christ. We hope to see you there!

JOIN IN TONIGHT AT 7PM AT THE SCHLIEDER HOME

THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

Starting tomorrow, we're hosting a Journey of Generosity (JOG) retreat. It's a Friday - Saturday retreat led by our own Daniel Lee that's all about the joy that comes through generous living. We'll watch video stories, engage in personal Bible study, have focused solitude time before the Lord, and participate in authentic conversations with our friends. And at the end of it there won't be any financial ask of any kind! 

Here are the details:

• When: Friday, Sept 26 - Saturday, Sept 27.

  • 9/26 - 7pm-9pm with coffee and refreshments.

  • 9/27 - 9am-3pm with coffee, refreshments, and lunch. 

• Where: the Lee home.

• The event is entirely free.

• No childcare will be provided.

Your pastors got to attend one of these retreats earlier this year and we can't overstate the impact it made on us. We're jealous for you to have this experience as well. We believe the ceiling for joy in generosity is much higher than we've come to expect.

If you want to raise that ceiling, become a more grateful person, and believe even harder that “It’s more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), then this journey is for you! Space is limited, RSVP today!

You can learn more about the JOG here.

Reach out to Pastor Jeff to RSVP or ask any questions

CHRIST IS BUILDING HIS CHURCH

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” of Scripture with this local body of Christ. They’re also individuals with whom we commit to do the same. We praise God for sending more laborers into his harvest, adding more members to our family, and advancing his gospel in Santa Ana.

Come ready to celebrate what the Lord is doing among us!

SEPTEMBER 23 - SEPTEMBER 29

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. Below we’ve got a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

• Basketball in the Park

  • 6:30pm - El Camino Park

    • Reach out to Manny for more info

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

• Women’s Meeting

  • 7:00pm - Schlieder Home

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

• Journey of Generosity

  • Lee Home

  • 9/26 - 7pm-9pm

  • 9/27 - 9am-3pm

  • Learn more & sign-up here

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

• Sunday Gathering at Ebell Club & New Member Sunday

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

• The Bridge Course

  • 7:00pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA

    • Invite your friends to join us for Bridge!

WE TOOK OUR JOY IN JESUS ON THE ROAD

This Sunday, we held our first ever service in the park! We worshiped God right in the middle of the neighborhood he’s placed us in and what a wonderful time it was! We gathered in the open, sang loud for all to hear, and offered our French Park neighbors a window into the joy we have in Jesus.

Thank you to all of our volunteers who helped bring everything from tables and chairs to coffee and sweet breads.