Last Friday we gathered together to celebrate the season in our favorite way - a festive Christmas party! We had a gift exchange, watched a movie and sampled everyone’s favorite holiday dishes (which included fried rice, spaghetti, mole and tamales). Enjoy these photos marking our annual party! We are already looking forward to next year.
There weren’t necessarily three of them. They probably weren’t kings. They weren’t present at the birth of Jesus. The Magi are some of the most well-known members of the “Cast of Christmas”, but at the same time, their role in the story is shrouded in untruth. Curiously, the Magi were in fact those who spent their lives seeking for truth - in various religions, in natural phenomena and in the stars, yet what they found when the followed one particular star was Truth itself, Jesus Christ. When they found Him, they literally “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy”. Do you long to know truth? Do you long to know the answers to life’s deepest and most troubling questions? Do you long to know that your life has meaning, what true morality is, if there is a God, what He is like, how you should live and what this all means? Your journey for the answers to these questions, like the Magi, will not end until you encounter Jesus.
Listen to this week’s sermon 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.
December’s book of the month is Good News of Great Joy ( Buenas Nuevas De Gran Gozo) by John Piper. This is an advent devotional for you to use with your family that is reminder of the good news of Jesus’s coming to earth. The other good news about this book is that it is available for FREE PDF download in both English & Spanish! Download a copy today and take some time to dig into this advent reading this Christmas season.
Our 2019 Christmas services are coming up and this year, for the first time ever, we will be hosting a Christmas Eve service in Downtown Santa Ana. These services are an opportunity for us to reach out to our friends, family, and neighbors - many of whom may not know the deep and all-satisfying joy of the birth of Christ. Who can you think of who might do well to hear the Gospel proclaimed through the advent of the Savior into the world this Christmas?
If you’ve been with us for any amount of time, you will have discovered that Sovereign Grace Santa Ana loves to throw a party. Instead of small groups this month, we are joining forces for one night for our annual Christmas Party. There will be amazing food, a Christmas movie that you’ve no doubt seen 100 times and this year, we will be hosting a gift exchange (a real one, not a White Elephant).
How You Can Come Prepared:
Bring The Christmas Dish That Best Represents A Traditional Family Christmas For You
Bring a Gift To Be Exchanged - Adults only. $5 maximum purchase price. Gift may be valued at more than $5 (something you already own), but between now and the party, you may not spend more than $5 buying something new. Gift will be randomly exchanged.
Bring yourself decked out in your most festive Christmas attire - this is entirely up for interpretation. We’re hoping to be surprised and delighted :)
Please RSVP here and let us know how many are coming.
In week two of our 2019 Christmas series, the cast member of Christmas was a rather unlikely one - a man whose life and actions in the Christmas narrative defy sentimentality, peace and joy. The Biblical authors include Herod for a reason. He stands as a symbol of the end of an era as a new age dawns upon the earth and in our hearts. What becomes starkly evident, though, as we understand the story of the birth of Christ, is that Herod’s kingdom and Christ’s kingdom cannot coexist. Their respective priorities are diametrically opposed. This leads us to consider whether we’re trying to do what’s actually impossible - trying to live as Christians allowing multiple kingdoms to reign and have influence in our own hearts.
Listen to this week’s sermon here.
Join us today in lifting up our DTSA neighbors without homes or families to spend this Thanksgiving Holiday with. This holiday marks a great opportunity for us to be thankful for all that the Lord has given us. But for some, the things which might characterize most of our list of things to be thankful for are painfully absent from the lists of some. For many, Thanksgiving is a lonely time. For others, the warmth of home is a distant experience. There are those in our community - even perhaps in our church - for whom the Holidays bring to the surface more bad memories than good.
If any of this describes you and we can serve you or pray for you in any way, please email kyle@sovgracesantaana.org.
As a church, we want to lift these neighbors up to the Lord- that He may comfort them & that they may find their hope & thankfulness in Him.
We hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving Holiday with your family. The pastoral team of the church are profoundly thankful for you. Your friendship, your joy, your love and faith are a gift of God to your church, your neighbors and your family. We hope you’re filled with thankfulness today toward the God from whom every good and perfect gift comes (James 1:17).
La Ibi ha producido un álbum corto de Navidad llamado "Celebramos el Gran Regalo" lleno de canciones que cuentan la historia del advenimiento del Salvador y le recuerdan cuán dulce es un mensaje. Escúchalo esta Navidad en Spotify o en Youtube.
Sovereign Grace Music has produced an outstanding Christmas album called “Prepare Him Room” filled with songs that recount the coming of the Savior and warm your soul with the sweetness and wonder of the meaning of His coming. Listen to it on Spotify here. or listen to the Christmas album by La Ibi in Spanish above.
If you’ve been with us for any amount of time, you will have discovered that Sovereign Grace Santa Ana loves to throw a party. Instead of small groups this month, we are joining forces for one night for our annual Christmas Party.
Dress in your most festive attire, bring your favorite Christmas dish, and come ready to enjoy time together. We’ll enjoy watching a Christmas movie that you’ve no doubt seen 100 times and this year, will be hosting a gift exchange (a real one, not a White Elephant).
How You Can Come Prepared:
Bring The Christmas Dish That Best Represents A Traditional Family Christmas For You
Bring a Gift To Be Exchanged - Adults only. $5 maximum purchase price. Gift may be valued at more than $5 (something you already own), but between now and the party, you may not spend more than $5 buying something new. Gift will be randomly exchanged.
Bring yourself decked out in your most festive Christmas attire - this is entirely up for interpretation. We’re hoping to be surprised and delighted :)
Please RSVP here and let us know how many are coming.
