This last Sunday was significant for our small church. We finished our first Old Testament sermon series AND officially switched to morning services. God has been merciful toward us while He's positioned us to be merciful toward our neighbors. He's also called us to spread the message of God's mercy through Christ, which has been the theme of the book of Ruth from start to finish.
This year, we'll be spending the first Friday of every month. Church members who fast for all 12 Fridays (all 11 since we missed January) will be invited to a year-end party to celebrate the answers to our prayers. If fasting is new to you, here are some instructions.
This month, we'll be praying for peace in our city. Look below for a few ideas of topics to pray for along the theme of peace:
We planted a church to spread the joy of Jesus in Downtown Santa Ana. When that happens, people believe in Jesus and, the joy of joys, people get saved. In the New Testament, when people get saved, they get baptized.
Baptism is an outward evidence of an inward work; it's the evidence of the Gospel at work in saving sinners in DTSA. It's also the privilege and joy of both the one being baptized and the church witnessing the baptism. On the 29th, we'll follow the service with baptisms and then a potluck to celebrate.
On Sunday, July 15, we'll begin a new series through the Gospel of John. We're looking forward to it because for the entire time we spend in this book, you'll be encountering the life, ministry and mission of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. It's a big book so packed with goodness that in the last verse, John, the author even says, "there are many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (John 21:25).
Needless to say, it's a book worth studying if you want to grow closer to Jesus! We'd recommend reading through it yourself at least once before July 15th.
We've made a version without chapters, verses or headings for you to read through.
As we neared the end of the book of Ruth, this past Sunday, we learned how to evaluate the opportunities that we have before us in life - and how to determine which opportunities have true value. In God's economy, we learn that the right question isn't "what's in it for me?", but instead "what's in it for them?". Opportunities to invest in mercy toward others are some of the most valuable opportunities we'll ever come across.
If you've never experienced 4th of July in DTSA, you should take the next chance you have. Fortunately, we're planning on spending the holiday together as a church family and any and all of our neighbors are invited.
Head over to the Houlton abode as early as 12:00pm. We'll break bread together. We'll swim, play games, have activities for the kiddos and just generally enjoy one anothers' company. Then, once the sun has dipped below the horizon, we'll all trek up to the top of a parking garage and watch the sky light up with 360 degrees of pyrotechnics. If you'd like to bring a dish or if you need directions or any more information whatsoever, email kyle@sovgraceoc.org.
Don't show up at 5:00pm on Sunday, July 1 at Heninger Elementary. If you do, you won't find Sovereign Grace Church of Santa Ana there.
Our new service time will be 10:30am, every single Sunday. Bring your friends. Tell your neighbors. The joy of Jesus will continue to spread in DTSA as we text this next big step as a neighborhood church.
Whenever we have goals, desires or needs, we strategize. We plan, for better or worse, means by which to achieve them. In chapter 3 of the book of Ruth, all three characters - Naomi, Ruth and Boaz - all develop strategies. They teach us that whatever plans we do make, we should always plan to be surprised by God's mercy.
We began as a small group nearly two years ago. Then, in November, 2017, we launched Sunday evening services at Heninger Elementary. Now, by God's grace, kindness and provision, we're moving to morning services!
Same place, different time. We could hardly be more excited.
We know that evenings have been particularly difficult for some to attend. If you fall in that category or if you know somebody who does, from here on out, we'll be meeting at a more conventional Sunday morning time. Praise God with us for His grace in taking the next step.
This next Sunday is Father's Day. It's a day to honor and thank the fathers in our lives. It's a day to thank God for His wise design of the family and for His gift of godly Fathers. It's a day to celebrate and thank our Heavenly Father Himself.
At the same time, the fathers among us and in our neighborhood need prayer to lead well - to lead their homes as servants of their families and servants of God. For these reasons, at next Sunday's service, we'll worship together like all other Sundays; there will be singing, preaching and fellowship, but we'll spend an extended time of worshipping God through prayer. As always, guests are welcome. Encourage anyone you know - anyone who is a father, who has a father or who has lost a father - to come, pray for and thank God for dads.
