KEY SECTIONS FROM OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH

During Sunday's sermon, we encountered "the most comforting doctrine" of God's providence. The truth that God uses everything to bring about his good will.

Check out these excerpts from our Statement of Faith & the Scripture references below to anchor your heart in the reality that God is always working for the good of his people and the glory of his name.

• SoF 3.1 - God's Sovereign Purposes - God Ordains All Things for His Glory

  • From all eternity, God sovereignly ordained all that exists and all that occurs in his creation,[1] in order to display the fullness of his glory.[2] God’s plans are efficacious, always coming to pass,[3] and they are universal, encompassing all the affairs of nature,[4] history,[5] and individual lives.[6] These decrees are an exercise of his free,[7] unchangeable,[8] wise,[9] and holy will.[10] Yet God, in his foreordination, is not the author of sin,[11] nor do his decrees negate the will of his creatures, who act with the power of willing choice in accord with their nature.[12] His ordaining and governing all things is compatible with his creatures’ moral accountability[13] such that God never condemns a person unjustly.[14] Therefore, all persons are responsible for their actions, which have real and eternal consequences.[15]

  • Scripture References: [1] Ps 33:11; Isa 37:26; Eph 1:11.

    [2] Rom 11:36; Exod 14:17-18; Ps 19:1.

    [3] Ps 33:11; Isa 46:9-10; 55:11.

    [4] Job 37:6-13; Col 1:16-17.

    [5] Ps 33:10-11; Prov 21:1.

    [6] Prov 16:9; 20:24; Ps 139:6.

    [7] Rom 9:15.

    [8] Num 23:19; Heb 6:17.

    [9] Rom 11:33.

    [10] Eph 1:11.

    [11] James 1:13; 1 John 1:5.

    [12] Acts 2:23; Rom 9:14-24; Phil 2:12-13.

    [13] Rom 3:19.

    [14] Dan 4:37; Rom 1:20.

    [15] Luke 10:28; John 3:16.

• SoF 4.1 - Creation, Providence, and Man - God Creates and Rules All Things

  • In the beginning, the triune God freely created out of nothing the universe and everything in it by the word of his power, all for his own pleasure and the display of his glory.[1] God declared the entirety of his creation to be very good,[2] and even in its fallen state it tells of his greatness[3] and is to be delighted in[4] and stewarded for his glory.[5] As supreme Creator, God is separate from and transcendent over all he has made.[6] As sovereign Lord, he is present with his creation to sustain all things,[7] govern all creatures, and direct all circumstances in accord with his holy and loving will.[8] In everything God supremely acts for his glory[9] and for the good of his people in Christ,[10] granting us great comfort and unshakable hope in God’s love, wisdom, and faithfulness to us in this life and in eternity.[11]

  • Scripture References: [1] Gen 1; Ps 19:1; 33:6; John 1:3; Col 1:15-17; Heb 11:3; Rev 4:11.

    [2] Gen 1:31.

    [3] Ps 19:1-6; Rom 1:20.

    [4] Ps 111:2; 1 Tim 4:4.

    [5] Gen 1:26, 28; Ps 8.

    [6] 1 Kings 8:27; Isa 6:1; 66:1.

    [7] Ps 145:15; 147:8-9; Luke 12:24; Heb 1:3.

    [8] Eph 1:11; Rom 8:28-29.

    [9] Isa 43:7; Eph 1:6, 12.

    [10] Gen 50:20; Rom 8:28; Eph 1:22.

    [11] Rom 5:3-5; 8:31; Phil 1:6; 1 Pet 4:19; Jude 24.

  “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Rom 11:36)

OCTOBER 21 - OCTOBER 27

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, OCTOBER 21

• Basketball in the Park

  • 6:30pm - El Camino Park

    • Reach out to Manny for more info

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

• Women’s Meeting

  • 7:00pm - Schlieder Home

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26

• Sunday Gathering at Ebell Club

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

MONDAY, OCTOBER 27

• The Bridge Course

  • 7:00pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA

    • We’ve got 3 meetings left!

    • Invite someone to join us for Bridge!

FROM OUR FAMILY OF CHURCHES

From Mark Prater, Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches:

Let’s be honest, Sovereign Grace Churches is inadequate! We are inadequate because God has called us to a gospel mission we can’t accomplish apart from His power, provision, direction, wisdom, and help. John Piper writes, "Prayer has the wonderful capacity to highlight our emptiness and God’s fullness at the same time. It is wonderfully suited to express our inadequacy and God’s all-sufficiency.” 

Below you will find the "Sovereign Grace Churches Fourth Quarter Prayer Requests.” As I read through them, I feel inadequate to accomplish them on my own. I hope reading them has the same effect on you because acknowledging our inadequacy is just what we need to fall on our knees and cry out to our all-sufficient God for His divine help.

It’s good to acknowledge our inadequacy. Now, let’s pray.

Mark

PRAYER REQUESTS HERE

THE STORY OF JOSEPH

Exodus is the story of Israel's release from captivity in Egypt. But how did they get there? Enter Genesis 37-50 and the story of Joseph. This story tells us HOW Israel got to Egypt. But even more than that, it tells us WHAT we should be doing when we're not sure what God is doing - and WHY. Through Joseph's life, we learn how to live faithfully while waiting for God's mighty acts of deliverance. Beyond this, we encounter the great anchor upon which our faith rests: the sovereign and good purposes of God. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

A NEW SERMON SERIES BEGINNING OCTOBER 26TH

This fall, we’re kicking off a new sermon series in Exodus. A book we could rightly call “The Gospel of the Old Testament.” The very center of the life of God’s people before Christ came. The story apart from which we cannot understand or appreciate the work Christ has done to set his people free - now & forever.

PREPARE YOURSELF TO RECEIVE THE WORD

We encourage you to take the steps below to get the most out of God’s word this fall:

1. Pray for the series. Pray for the men who will preach the word. Pray God would use it to build up our church, make us more like the Savior, and remind us not only what we’ve been freed from, but what we’ve been freed for. Pray he’d set free our friends, neighbors, and guests who are still in bondage to sin. Pray that the gospel of the Old Testament would deepen our love for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

2. Read the entire book.

3. Check Out These Articles - Introduction to Exodus & How Exodus Challenges our Preconceived Notions of God

4. Watch these videos - BibleProject Summary pt.1 & BibleProject Summary pt.2

“The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Ex 15:2).

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AT 7PM

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. 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.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SMALL GROUPS, CLICK HERE

1ST & 3RD SUNDAYS AT 6:30PM

After taking a week off for Houlton send-off festivities, Youth Ministry is back! They are ready to jump back into discussions of C.S. Lewis’ classic The Screwtape Letters. Grab a copy of the book, and join in this Sunday.

FIND MORE INFO ON CGSA YOUTH MINISTRY HERE

OCTOBER 14 - OCTOBER 20

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, OCTOBER 14

• Basketball in the Park

  • 6:30pm - El Camino Park

    • Reach out to Manny for more info

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

• Small Groups

  • 7:00pm - Lee & Roenicke Home

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17

• Small Groups

  • 7:00pm - Erkelens & Williams Home

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19

• Sunday Gathering at Ebell Club

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

• Youth Ministry

  • 6:30pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA

    • Learn more about Youth Ministry here

MONDAY, OCTOBER 20

• The Bridge Course

  • 7:00pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA

    • Invite your friends to join us for Bridge!

STARTING POINT- SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND

If you’ve been visiting Cross of Grace for any length of time and would like to learn more about what we believe as a church and how those beliefs take shape in the life of the church, this class is for you. If you’re discerning whether or not this is the church family the Lord is calling you to, this class is for you. If you’re ready to take the next step in pursuing membership at Cross of Grace, Starting Point is your starting point to do so!

Wherever you’re at in the process, we invite you to join us one two hour class. Immediately after church at the Roenicke home in Santa Ana with lunch and childcare provided.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

TAKE CARE HOW YOU BUILD UPON IT

It is a rich privilege to be God’s instruments, but a profound relief to know we’re only instruments. Amazingly, we get to be tools in the hands of the living God. But we are just tools. Any fruit, any progress in our mission and sweetness in our life together comes from God “who gives the growth” (1 Cor 3:7). It’s good news to know that our experience of all this does not ultimately depend on any one of us. That the church is not about any one of us. It’s all about Jesus. He is the foundation of our life. The fuel for our faith. And the rock solid confidence we have as we face the future. Our job is to take up what he’s laid down and then build upon his foundation with godly ambition.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE