We Hope Your Longings Are Satisfied In Christ

As you celebrate this Christmas holiday, we hope you have the blessing of being surrounded by friends, family and the warmth of holiday tradition and celebration. More than anything, though, we hope you experience the comfort and peace of knowing that Jesus was born to save you from your sins, bring a peace like none other and reconcile you to your Heavenly Father. May your celebration of Christmas be a worshipful celebration of the One whom the Father sent to earth out of love for you.

Pray for Those Who Don’t Know The Joy of Jesus this Season

Join us today in lifting up our DTSA neighbors who do not yet know the saving love of Christ this Christmas season. This week holds such a special joy in the church-celebrating the birth of our Savior and the peace he brings us. But for some, this holiday season is anything but peaceful. Whether this lack of peace is felt in stressful family situations, grief, loneliness or poor health, it makes the holiday seem less than joyful. Take some time this week to pray for those you know and for our neighbors for whom this is a reality.

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 & peace in Him.

Christmas Is The Story of The Prince Who Battled The Dragon To Save His Bride

Of all the symbols of Christmas, you’ve probably never included dragons in your list. Yet, Revelation 12 tells a symbolic story of the birth of Christ through images including a prince, a bride and a dragon. It reminds us that even in His incarnation as a baby, Jesus’ birth was a declaration of war against Satan, sin and death. In our final installment of our 2019 Christmas series, we learn that Jesus satisfies our longing for peace through declaring war on that which destroys peace upon the earth.

Listen to this week’s sermon here.

WHO CAN YOU INVITE TO OUR CHRISTMAS SERVICES?

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?

CHRISTMAS SUNDAY SERVICE - SUNDAY, DECEMBER22, 10:30AM @ HENINGER ELEMENTARY

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 5:30PM @ HENINGER ELEMENTARY

2020 HOSPITALITY CHALLENGE

For the last two years, every first Friday, we’ve encouraged you to join with your church family in a “First Friday Fast”. These were opportunities for us to practice the disciplines of praying and fasting, while bearing the needs and burdens of one another and our neighbors together in a unique way.

As we enter this new year, we have a new Second Friday opportunity for you - and it relates to how you use both your home and your time for the glory of God and the good of our Santa Ana neighbors. The challenge is simple - every first Friday, share a meal with a person or a family outside of our church. This can be in your home, their home or at another location.

EVERY SECOND FRIDAY, SHARE A MEAL WITH A PERSON OR A FAMILY OUTSIDE OF OUR CHURCH

Why hospitality? Because it’s one of the best ways to get to know and love new neighbors. Author Tim Chester says,

“Few acts are more expressive of companionship than the shared meal… . Someone with whom we share food is likely to be our friend, or well on the way to becoming one.”

In this, we’re simply following the model of Jesus, who used food as a means for effective Gospel ministry:

“Jesus spent his time eating and drinking—a lot of his time … His mission strategy was a long meal, stretching into the evening. He did evangelism and discipleship round a table with some grilled fish, a loaf of bread, and a pitcher of wine.”

More details to come. For questions, email office@sovgracesantaana.org.

Last month, we shared some important messages from our denominations annual Pastor’s conference. Now the entire conference is available for you to watch, listen to or read. We encourage you to spend some time on your Christmas break, soaking in the richness from these messages.

Watch, listen or read here.

SMALL GROUPS ARE NOT MEETING THIS WEEK.

A reminder that for the month of December, we are letting the church calendar lie “fallow”. In the world of agriculture, soil must remain “fallow” once every few years to maintain its fertility for years to come. To lie fallow is to lie unplowed and unplanted for a time in order for nutrients to be restored. Why are we doing this? Not so that you can pull away from the life of the church, but instead to press into natural and more intimate opportunities to relate to your church family and neighbors. The holiday season is notoriously one of the busiest times of the year. We want to help you to take advantage of the few free moments you have to spend unhurried, unscheduled time with one another and with family for the grand purpose of allowing your heart to be re-fertilized by the work of Christ, fellowship with the saints and companionship with unbelieving neighbors.

There are no small groups or mens/womens meeting this month.

If you ever have any questions about church events, you can look to our church calendar, which is always updated to reflect changes to meetings or events.

Subscribe to the church calendar here.

STARTING POINT - A TWO-HOUR CLASS DESIGNED TO HELP YOU LEARN ABOUT THE LIFE AND BELIEFS OF THIS CHURCH

REGISTER HERE

If you’ve been visiting Sovereign Grace Church of Santa Ana for any length of time, we’d like to invite you to our upcoming “Starting Point” class. It’s a class that takes place immediately after church on Sunday, January 5th. Lunch will be served. It’s an opportunity to learn about the particular beliefs of our church and what those beliefs look like in practice in the life of our church together and with our community. If you’d like to attend, please register here or at the link above.

IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SERVICE AT THE HOULTON HOUSE

LUNCH PROVIDED

IT’S THE KIDS TURN FOR A CHRISTMAS PARTY

We’re partnering with Sovereign Grace Church of Orange to throw a Christmas party for kids ages 4-11. The Sovereign Grace Youth group (Middle school & High school students from both churches) are hosting an afternoon of fun for the kids.

HERE ARE THE DETAILS:

Date: Monday, December 23rd from 1pm-3pm

Location: Turbedsky home (Address will be provided with RSVP)

Games, Crafts, Snacks and Storytime.

Parents are welcome to drop off or stay to hang out.

Please RSVP to Kirsi Turbedsky (turbo.kirsi@gmail.com) with children's name and ages. You can also get more details on Facebook.

Who Doesn’t Love Tamales?

This Thursday, something very exciting is happening in DTSA - the city’s inaugural Tamale Festival! This is a free event right on 4th street you can go to with friends or family. Local restaurants are preparing their best tamales for you to purchase and enjoy at this event. There is some great entertainment lined up for the night. This event is one you will not want to miss.

We love any opportunity to celebrate our city with our neighbors. This would be a great opportunity to bring family or friends from outside Santa Ana to show them our vibrant city. For more details on the event, visit the event page here.