This Sunday (12/9), as soon as church ends, you can head over to the 2nd Street Promenade. We’ll eat lunch together with one another and with our neighbors. Plan to bring your own lunch and maybe even buy lunch for a guest.
Last Sunday, members of Sovereign Grace Santa Ana dropped off their “Be The Miracle” gifts. Olive Crest, a child welfare nonprofit in Santa Ana, asked every child and youth under their care in the foster system what they would like for Christmas and then created a “wish slip” for every wish. Some of the wishes seem strange and might not be what you would ask for for Christmas at that age. Nevertheless, 25 of these youth who have no family at Christmas will open up presents on Christmas morning and discover that someone cared enough about them to get them exactly what they asked for.
If you participated in the Be The Miracle drive this year, thank you. Thank you for demonstrating the generosity and love of the God who gave then gift of His Son even when we didn’t ask for it.
The story of the birth of Christ is one of the most unfathomably awesome stories ever told. What makes it infinitely more incredible is that it’s real. This Christmas, we’re being introduced to four real characters of the real story of Christmas, who in turn introduce us to the story’s central character. Listen to the first message in our series about Zechariah, the man God used to bring the forerunner to the Messiah into the world.
This year, we've spent 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 fasting and praying for broken families in Santa Ana. The Christmas season is one which is often marked by pleasant memories with family. For those with turbulent family situations or without a family, holidays like Christmas can incite more pain than pleasure. Here are some ways you can pray:
Pray for children without families this Christmas; children in the foster system
Pray for families in which domestic violence exists
Pray for children whose parents are divorced
Pray for the marriages that are broken
Pray that God would enable the households in our church to provide a sense of family to our neighbors without family this season
Pray that God would adopt Santa Anans into His eternal family, regardless of their present state of family
All ladies, high-school-aged and older, are invited to join the women’s meeting this week. Whether you just visited Sovereign Grace this week or have been coming for a year, this meeting is a place where women at all stages of life can come and learn how to be women whose lives honor God - women who live in light of the Gospel. For more information, contact Rebecca Erkelens at bequita_17@yahoo.com.
While every day is an opportunity to consider the earth-shattering reality that God took on human flesh and entered into the flow of humanity, Christmas is a unique opportunity to dwell upon the birth of Christ, our Savior. As a church, we want to join you in worshipping God for His precious gift of a Savior. See below for information about a Christmas series, Christmas services, Christmas family devotionals and even a Christmas music playlist.
This December, we’ll spend four Sundays exploring “The Cast of Christmas”. More than characters in a nativity, each “character” in the Christmas story reveals the glory of the incarnation of Christ. This particular Christmas season, we’ll meet Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds. Join us and invite your friends to come and meet the biblical people who in turn introduce us to the baby who was born to save the world.
Sunday, December 23rd @ 10:30am - Christmas Sunday service at Heninger Elementary
Monday, December 24 @ 6:00pm - Christmas Eve Service with Sovereign Grace Church of Orange (121 South Center Street, Orange, CA)
The Dawning of Indestructible Joy by John Piper
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus by Nancy Guthrie
Come Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent Devotional by Paul David Tripp
Sovereign Grace Christmas Playlist on Spotify
The church is like a body with many members (1 Cor. 12:12). Our lives are connected. We need one another. Church membership is our way of ensuring everyone who belongs to our congregation enjoys the benefits and privileges of being Sovereign Grace Church.
We want to make it simple for anyone interested in becoming a member of Sovereign Grace Church to pursue the process. If you’ve been visiting for any length of time, this class is for you. Click the link below and register for the class on the afternoon of Sunday, December 2. Lunch and childcare will be provided.
Jesus did many works while on earth. In this last Sunday’s message out of John 10:22-42, Jesus explains in His own words what the meaning of His works are. More than just a history lesson, though; Jesus is continuing to work today - saving sanctifying, sustaining. His words concerning His works apply just as much today as they did then. Jesus was and continues to be God at work.
James 1:27 identifies components of “true religion”, or, in other words, characteristics of a lifestyle that brings glory to God. The first characteristic that James mentions is “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction”. Our Heavenly Father has sought us out and brought us into His family in Christ. It makes sense, then, why God places a high priority for His Church on those (orphans and widows) who are alone and without family.
This Christmas, Sovereign Grace Santa Ana will be helping to supply a little more joy to children and youth in the Orange County foster system.
Olive Crest, an organization that serves foster children and youth has a Christmas program called “Be The Miracle”. Earlier this year, every foster youth and foster child in Olive Crest, many of whom live in Santa Ana, were asked what they want for Christmas. They were each given a number of $50 and $25 wishes. Those wishes are turned into “wish slips”. Donors from the community, then, in turn, fulfill them.
This year, we’ll be participating. And you can request any number of wish slips. Email kyle@sovgraceoc.org no later than Wednesday, 11/21 to request a specific number of $50 wish slips or $25 wish slips. Wish slips that have been requested will be distributed Sunday, November 25. Gifts will then be due at church by Sunday, December 2.
Is authority good or bad? Should you submit to authority? Do we need leaders in our time? If so, what kind of leader should we follow? In John 10, Jesus addresses these questions and others through the imagery of a Shepherd and sheep. He makes it clear that there are leaders with poor intentions- and they’re everywhere. But there is one leader that everyone should follow. Because He’s good. We know He’s good because He’s willing to go to the greatest lengths possible to care for His sheep.
