HE IS A GOD LIKE NO OTHER

Why does God take our sin so seriously? Because he is uncompromisingly holy. Like no other. Perfect in all of his ways. Never compromising upon what it means for him to be him. But we are filled with compromise and our sin causes us not to belong before him. In Isaiah 6:1-7, we are confronted by the raging fire of his holiness. Which shines forth a light that exposes all that is dark, dirty, and unlike himself within us. And gives off a heat which burns up every impurity that comes into his presence. So how can people like us stand before a God like him? We must be cleansed from sin. Listen to the sermon to learn how we are meant to respond to the holiness of God.

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THE FUTURE HOPE IN OUR PRESENT MOMENT

We all experience the pressure to be on the “right side of history.” Right now, it’s hard to maintain unpopular convictions. Easier to soften the blow of the “bad news” of the gospel, shy away from taking the good news into the world, and take matters into our own hands to find peace as we look toward an uncertain future. But Isaiah comes to us with a message of hope as we look to the days ahead. A Day is coming, and has already dawned, in which God’s peace will cover the earth, his Law will be the law of the land, and his people will be set free from every trace and stain of sinful compromise - forever. He won’t fail to accomplish everything that he’s promised and sustain us until that Great Day. So let’s live now in light of that hope.

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CHAPTERS 1-66

The book of Isaiah is like a mirror. In it, we see Israel’s compromise as well as our own. Through it, we behold God’s unwavering commitment to his weak and wayward people. But it’s also like a maze. It’s difficult to journey through. Filled with ancient hallways, shadowy corridors, and passages that challenge and, if we’re honest, confuse us. But, if we want to be an uncompromising church and take in all we can of God’s uncompromising faithfulness to us, we need to understand how the story of Isaiah works. How it all fits together from chapters 1-66. This sermon is like a roadmap to guide the rest of our time in Isaiah. Make sure to give it listen to be ready to go where the Lord is taking us.

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A STORY OF WAYWARD PEOPLE AND AN UNWAVERINGLY FAITHFUL SAVIOR

In the days of Isaiah, Judah was a nation on the brink of collapse. We might feel the same way about the state of our culture today. In their day, the prophet speaks to them and says, “The reason for the collapse OUT THERE is because of the compromise IN HERE.” Hypocrisy. Decadence. Empty worship. Misplaced trust in things that were not God to help them get through those troubled times. In our day, what God wants us to hear is: “The best way to respond to the collapse out there, is to address compromise wherever it might be found in here.” The book of Isaiah comes to us here and now, in the challenging world in which we live, to grab us by the shoulders and say, “The way to live faithfully in a collapsing culture is to be an uncompromising church.” 

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THAT HE SENT THEM HIS SON - AND US

God has placed us in a neighborhood and called us to be good neighbors. While Jesus commands us to be a neighbor to all, there is a particular way in which the members of Cross of Grace Church, the people of Santa Ana, and especially the neighbors of French Park are THE neighbors we're called to prioritize. If we try to reach all 3.1 million Orange Countians, or even all 350,000 Santa Anans, we might not reach anyone. But, if we aim at the community the Lord has called us to, we can expect to see men and women saved, neighbors being blessed, and our neighborhood being changed as the gospel goes forth from us. 

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AT THE CENTER OF OUR ORDINARY LIVES, IS THE GLORIOUS CHRIST

We are an ordinary church. We do the same things ordinary Christians have done since the very beginning. Yet, at the center of all this stands a glorious Savior. While we might be ordinary, we have extraordinary expectations of what he'll do among us. 

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GOD’S WORD GIVES LIFE AND FREEDOM

This Sunday, we were joined by guest preacher Tim Owens from our sister church, Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena. He reminded us that our hearts within us and the world around us are constantly tempting us to believe that true life and freedom are found apart from God. But this couldn't be further from the truth! God's words come to us with life-giving power. His ways are opened to us that we might enter into unmatched freedom. And all this comes to us through faith in Jesus. The Word who became flesh, walked perfectly in the ways of God, and welcomes us into a life of true living that he won for us upon the cross.

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OUR GOD IS A GENEROUS GOD

The second mark of our culture at Cross of Grace is generosity. God did not spare his only-begotten Son, but graciously gave him to us. When this grips our hearts, we are eager to share whatever we have with each other - our lives, our time, our talents, and especially, our treasure. God has been generous so we should be generous. As we generously give of our finances, we should expect to receive joy and see a return upon our investment: more neighbors added to our family, more needs met within our church, more missionaries sent, more churches planted, and more glory to the God who’s at work among us.

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TRUE JOY IS FOUND WHEN WE SEEK IT IN JESUS

The gospel is the foundation of our life together as the household of God that is Cross of Grace. Our doctrine is like the walls and pillars that protect the purity of our gospel and support the structure in which it is found. Our culture is what it's like to experience life in the house. And when you look in on our life together, the first mark of our culture is joy. We are a joyful people because we’re convinced that there's nothing better than believing in and belonging to Jesus. The Apostle Paul agrees, and his words in Phil 3:7-9, celebrate our conviction that true joy is found when we seek it in Jesus. 

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THE GOOD NEWS OF EASTER

The good news of Easter is the good news of new life. Deep down, we all want this. But if we're being honest, we struggle to believe we can really have it. Into this struggle, the story of Easter speaks with the power to change our personal stories now and forever. What’s the story? That Christ is crucified for you to do away with the old. Christ is risen for you to bring you into something new. Christ is welcoming you - whoever you are, whatever you've done, however you've regarded him before - to receive all this as your own through faith in him. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE