Jesus Did Not Come Merely To Be An Example

This past Sunday, Kyle preached from John 13:21-38. In it, we hear Jesus tell Peter that despite his best intentions, he won’t last the night before denying Jesus. This illuminates a significant principle in our followership of Jesus: following Jesus’ example does not equate to being a follower of Jesus. Why? Because there’s nobody who can follow Him on the path to where He’s going without ever falling off the path. Jesus came to be more than an example. Thus, there is something more fundamental to following Him than following His example. Listen to the sermon to find out more.

Listen to the message here

COME TO STARTING POINT SUNDAY, MARCH 17

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.

After The Service At The Houlton Home In Santa Ana

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, March 17. Lunch and childcare will be provided.

REGISTER FOR THE CLASS HERE

A DINNER THAT REPRESENTS THE LIFE WE SHARE

On Sunday, March 10, don’t forget to change your clocks to reflect Daylight Savings Time. Also, don’t forget to change our Sunday service time in your calendar to 5:00pm. We’ll be celebrating our annual communion service. We’ll sing to God’s glory. We’ll fellowship to God’s glory. We’ll also eat to God’s glory.

March 10 @ 5:00pm

Not only will we share in the eating of a meal. We’ll share in the preparation of the meal. This is an event that requires all hands on deck. Whether you’re a single or a family, sign up to bring one of the needed dishes or items on March 10th.

Sign up for a dish/item here

FRIDAY, March 1

This year, we'll be spending the first Friday of every month fasting together and praying for a particular topic. Church members who fast for all 12 Fridays 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’re praying for Heninger Elementary School. Here are a few ideas to guide your prayer:

• Pray for Heninger’s Pincipal, William Skelly, to lead wisely, courageously and compassionately

• Pray for Heninger’s 42 teachers

• Pray for Heninger’s 1,198 students

• Pray for opportunities for our church to serve the school in tangible ways

• Pray for the parents - the primary educators of their children - to give their children a Biblical “lens” through which to understand what they’re learning in school

• Thank God for Heninger Elementary School - Sovereign Grace Santa Ana’s Sunday home for 16 months

Serving Others Is How We Represent Jesus Best

Nobody has a higher position than Jesus. Yet in John 13:1-20, Jesus literally stoops low to wash the feet of His friends. He follows this action with the words “you also ought to wash one another’s feet”. Jesus instructs His followers - His representatives in this world - to go low. Going low to lift others up should characterize the life of the Christian. By God’s grace, going low characterizes Sovereign Grace Church of Santa Ana. Despite this, there’s room for each one of us to learn from Jesus and one another and excel still more.

Listen to last Sunday’s Sermon Here

Same Time, Different Location

If you’re a woman, age 18 or above, consider attending our monthly women’s meeting this Thursday at 7:00pm. This is a ministry that’s entirely inclusive of guests, so if you’re not a member of the church - if you’re not even a Christian - we’d be delighted to host you. You’ll encounter a group of women eager to serve one another and love one another as Christ has loved them. No expectations. No need to bring anything.

Our monthly meetings are usually hosted at the Houlton home, but this month’s will take place at a different location. Please contact bequita_17@yahoo.com for details and location.

A Dinner That Represents The Life We Share

On Sunday, March 10, don’t forget to change your clocks to reflect Daylight Savings Time. Also, don’t forget to change our Sunday service time in your calendar to 5:00pm. We’ll be celebrating our annual communion service. We’ll sing to God’s glory. We’ll fellowship to God’s glory. We’ll also eat to God’s glory.

Not only will we share in the eating of a meal. We’ll share in the preparation of the meal. This is an event that requires all hands on deck. Whether you’re a single or a family, sign up to bring one of the needed dishes or items on March 10th.

Sign up for a dish/item here

A New Nation and Race - Spiritually Defined

From September through December of 2018, 5 men from within Sovereign Grace Church of Santa Ana underwent a 6-session course titled “the preachers club”. Any man who aspired to or even thought about growing in the gift of preaching and teaching was invited. For four months, through discussion, reading and actual sermon preparation, the members of this “club” grew in their understanding of the craft of preaching God’s holy, inerrant Word. Whether or not these men become pastors; whether or not they each preach the sermons they’ve written, God is glorified as members of this local church seek to grow in their gifts for the building up of His church.

This past Sunday, we had the treat of hearing God’s Word preached from one of those men - Mike Alvarez. Listen to his sermon from 1 Peter 2:9-12.

Listen to the sermon here.

A Lot of Great Opportunities Are On The Horizon …

The regular patterns of fellowship with one another in the church through hospitality, small groups, and the building of individual relationships are where the life that God has created in the local church is most visibly seen. However, interspersed within these moments are special occasions - to grow, to learn and to simply have fun as a church. There are a number of these coming up between now and mid-summer, so get your calendars out and get these dates locked in!

Annual Communion Service

• Date: March 10th, 5:00-6:30pm

• Location: Heninger Elementary School

How To Use Your Words To Build Up Your Friends

• Date: March 15th, 7:00-9:00pm

• Location: First United Methodist Church of Orange

• Details: Childcare provided. Register Here.

Women’s Brunch

• Date: March 30, 10:00am-12:00pm

• Location: 1710 Heliotrope Dr.

Loving Your LGBTQ+ Neighbors

• Date: April 26th, 7:00-9:00pm

• Location: Chapel of Orange

• Details: Childcare NOT provided. Register here.

Women’s Retreat

• Date: April 11-13

• Location: Mt. Kare, Wrightwood, California

• Details: Register here.

Refugio Camping Trip

• Date: July 8-15

• Location: Refugio State Beach Group Camping Site

• Details: Register by emailing cardcasa1@gmail.com, indicating 1) # of campers and names 2) # of vehicles. Trailers count as vehicles 3) Which nights you’d like to camp

An even easier way to keep these events and others like them is to subscribe to our church calendar. You can do so here.

Service Time - 5:00pm

The morning service is cancelled.

Come Sunday evening on March 10 for a service that has become a tradition in our sister church in Orange and is becoming a tradition at Sovereign Grace Church of Santa Ana.

Communion represents what binds us together as a local body of Christ. It serves as a stalwart reminder of where our hope lies. During this annual celebration, we devote an entire service to remembering Christ in this way and turn what is usually a small cup and a tiny cracker into an entire meal taken together.

Each family and member will have the responsibility of helping with food, so be on the lookout in the next couple weeks for individual assignments.