Coming in February of 2020

Registration is now open for our every-other-year Men’s Retreat. The three Sovereign Grace churches of California are joining forces for another weekend of teaching, fellowship, food, and competitions. Our last one was fantastic.

THURSDAY 2/6/2020 TO SATURDAY 2/8/2020
IDYLLWILD, CA
$150/person

Ben Kreps, a pastor from our sister church in Harrisburg, PA, is our guest speaker. Our theme is “The Power of God: How the Gospel Conquers Men.” Young men ages 14 and up are welcome to join.

More details are available on the registration page.

Men, make this investment in your own growth and in our partnership. Ladies, make sure your man gets up there.

Scholarships and financial aid are available. Spots are limited, so secure yours ASAP.

I'M READY TO REGISTER.

God Will Not Allow Oppression of the Lowly To Go Unpunished

Continuing on in our sermon series through the Minor Prophet book of Micah, Jeff Schlieder preached the second message in the series from Micah 3:1-12. Through the book of Micah, God wants to elevate your attitude toward the lowly. In this particular passage, He does this by reminding of the judgment that awaits those who prey on the lowly. While this is a sweet comfort to those under the weight of oppression, it’s also a call to repentance to those who knowingly extract and extort from the poor for their own personal gain.

For anyone who falls in the latter category, which, at the end of the day turns out to be all of us, the remedy is to repent of that sin and turn to Christ, who, though He was rich, yet became poor for our sake.

Listen to the message here.

By recommending a new book every month, we’re recommending resources to you that help you to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Pet. 3:18). You do not have to purchase or read these books. They’re mere recommendations to assist you in choosing good books that help you to make the best use of the precious time you have.

September’s book of the month is New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp is a 365 day devotional designed to acquaint you with the mercy of God that’s available to His children every single day through the finished work of Jesus Christ. We need to be reminded of our need for God’s mercy. This devotional does just that.

Pick it up in English here.

Pick it up in Spanish here.

Immediately After The Service At Heninger Elementary

God has promised that through the Church, the Gospel would spread to all nations to the end of the earth. In Santa Ana, the nations are represented in our neighborhood. We want to celebrate how God has brought together people from numerous nations into one church through the power of the Gospel.

Bring A Dish That Reflects Your Ethnic Heritage

This Sunday, bring a main course, a side or a dessert that represents the culture from which you or your ancestors come. No doubt there will be incredible food and we’ll feast together. There will also be a competition component to this as well - we’ll vote on the best among all the dishes and the winner will be crowned “Best in the World”.

Prepare to enjoy this celebration together as a church. Questions can be directed to office @sovgracesantana.org.

All Men, High School Age And Older, Welcome

Thursday, 7:00pm

Front Patio of the 4th Street Market

Our first members meeting was a brief time to celebrate what God has done and look forward with faith toward where God is leading us. He has positioned us well to spread the joy of Jesus in Downtown Santa Ana.

Below are just a few things we discussed:

• Introduction of a whole host of new church policies for the sake of necessary structure and protection of the vulnerable

• Instruction regarding church communication methods. If you haven’t yet subscribed to the newsletter, do so here. It’s how we do announcements. If you’re a member or regular attender, you need to be subscribed to this newsletter.

• Introduction of new procedures for Sunday ministry teams. If you’re a member of one of these teams, make sure you have these documents and have read over them. If you’d like to volunteer for one of these teams, contact office@sovgracesantaana.org.

• Announcement of next steps regarding Spanish ministry.

• Announcement of our plans to partner with Sovereign Grace Church of Orange to plant a new church in the Anaheim Colony area.

Thanks to all who participated. If you have any questions whatsoever regarding the members meeting, please contact office@sovgracesantaana.org.

Our Greatest Need When We Gather Together Is To Have a Genuine Encounter With God

Last Sunday, we had the joy and privilege of hosting Dustin Smetona, pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Orange. He preached a message from Isaiah 6:1-8 reminding us of the importance of our Sunday meetings together. While Sunday morning worship can seem routine and unremarkable on the outside, we need to remember the profound significance of why it is we gather. Dustin explained four needs that we have that God meets for us through our Sunday morning worship. Whether you’ve been attending church for a week or 30 years, listen to this sermon.

Listen to the message here.

FRIDAY, September 6

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, in light of our small group direction for the rest of this fall, we’re praying for the theme of “the nations”. Here are a few ideas to guide your prayer:

• Pray that God would bring unity in our city amongst the diversity of nations represented

• Pray for our “Festival of Nations” celebration on September 15 - that we would be reminded of our calling as a church to our city through it

• Pray for those who are experiencing oppression as a result of their ethnic and/or national heritage

• Pray for those whose access to the Gospel is limited by language - pray that the Holy Spirit would bring the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to them in some way and, if possible, through us

• Pray that Sovereign Grace Church of Santa Ana would be a beacon of hope demonstrating true unity to those sectors of our community experiencing division

IMMEDIATELY AFTER CHURCH

Beginning this Sunday, we’ll begin hosting twice-annual members meetings. These meetings will always fall on a Sunday and will take place immediately after church at our Sunday meeting location. What’s different about these meetings? Church member meetings are moments in the life of the church when we evaluate what the Lord has done in the past 6 months and look forward with faith toward what we believe the Lord will do among us and through us in our neighborhood. We celebrate what He’s doing. We pray for what we hope that He’ll do.

THERE WILL BE LUNCH AVAILABLE FOR ALL FOR A VERY SMALL FEE

We understand that after church, stomachs are grumbling and lunch is the logical next step. A lunch that’s friendly to dietary restrictions will be provided at a small cost. No more than $3 per person. We’ll try to keep the meeting under an hour to respect your time.

A MEETING FOR MEMBERS, BUT GUESTS ARE WELCOME

Finally, all members of the church are expected to attend these meetings. Given the occasional nature of these meetings and the importance of the topics discussed, we appreciate you prioritizing this meeting. All guests and non-members are welcome to attend as well, however, for anyone who’s interested in hearing about how God is working in and through Sovereign Grace Santa Ana.