Every Tuesday we publish a blog post to lay out in one place what’s going in the life of the church for the upcoming week. See below for a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:
7:00 pm - Schlieder Home
10:00 am - Meeting Room: Outdoor Courtyard
Immediately after the service at the Houlton Home
Have you been visiting Cross of Grace for a few weeks or months and now considering becoming more involved in the life of the church? Are you interested in learning more about the beliefs and practices of the church? Are you beginning to wonder about becoming a member of the church? If so, then register for Starting Point - a two-hour class immediately after church. You won’t be roped into anything or made to make any sort of commitment. It’s an open-ended chance to learn and ask questions of our pastors.
Lunch is provided. Register today.
Paul’s third and final missionary journey is one which bears a striking resemblance to Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem in Luke’s Gospel. It’s one that’s characterized overall by self-denial - something that Jesus modeled during His life and ministry and something that He requires of anyone who would follow Him. As Paul follows Jesus in his life, but also this journey, we discover what it looks like to leave ourselves behind and just how much we gain in Christ by losing ourselves.
This Sunday we’ll be introducing a new song during Sunday service. As we continue our journey with Paul in the Book of Acts, this Sunday’s sermon will remind us that we’re all on the journey of following Jesus. He’s called us all to follow him, and whatever comfort or security we forfeit and whatever self-denial, trial, or suffering we embrace is more than worth the cost because Christ is enough. Read through the lyrics and listen to the song before this Sunday to get acquainted with it.
Christ is my reward
And all of my devotion
Now there's nothing in this world
That could ever satisfy
Through every trial
My soul will sing
No turning back
I've been set free
Christ is enough for me
Christ is enough for me
Everything I need is in You
Everything I need
Christ my all in all
The joy of my salvation
And this hope will never fail
Heaven is our home
Through every storm
My soul will sing
Jesus is here
To God be the glory
Christ is enough for me
Christ is enough for me
Everything I need is in You
Everything I need
I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back
No turning back
I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back
No turning back
The cross before me
The world behind me
No turning back
No turning back
Every month, we recommend a new book for you to add to your library. You don’thave to buy it; you don’t have to do anything. But in a world where your mind is threatened by information overload, we want to recommend books and resources that are vetted, tried and true. In other words, with so much I could read, we want to help you find some books you should read.
This month’s book of the month is “Just Do Something” by Kevin Deyoung. Keying off of the sermon from Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (Acts 15:36-18:22) from which we heard encouragement to pursue the Spirit-led life, this book helps us to answer the question, “how do we make decisions and seek the Spirit’s guidance when there’s no clear ‘right choice’ before us”. This short book helps you to understand wise biblical decision making. It’s definitely worth a read.
If you’ve been visiting for any length of time and would like to learn more about what we believe as a church and how those beliefs take shape in the life of the church, this class is for you. The aim is to help you discern if this is the church family the Lord is calling you to. We want to help you in that process. If we discover together that this isn’t the church for you, we want to help you find another church. If by the end of the class you believe this is where the Lord is leading you, then we’d love to take steps to welcome you as a member.
Prayer is the power of the powerless. It’s the timeless privilege of the Church. Let’s seize the opportunity to bring the needs of our neighbors and one another before the One who holds all creation within His grasp. Here are some suggestions for how you can be praying this week:
Pray for the salvation of our Santa Ana neighbors
Pray for God’s Spirit to be powerfully present to help us apply the Gospel to one another’s lives at tomorrow’s small group meetings
Pray for those experiencing loss in any form
Pray for other churches in Santa Ana to honor God’s Word and to faithfully proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Pray for our shared efforts to resume children’s ministry on the 28th
Pray for the families who are expecting
Pray for those seeking employment
Pray for the Lord to strengthen marriages in the church in Christ and for those seeking marriage to a godly spouse
Pray for CGSA pastors to lead courteously, humbly and sacrificially as ungdershepherds of Christ
Pray for city, state and federal leaders to lead in wisdom and honor Christ the King in their decisions and actions
Every Tuesday we publish a blog post to lay out in one place what’s going in the life of the church for the upcoming week. See below for a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:
10:00am - Meeting Room: Outdoor Courtyard
7:00pm - Houlton home and Erkelens home
Building on a tradition we inherited from our sending church, Cross of Grace Santa Ana has held an annual communion service on the springtime daylight savings Sunday. Normally, this would include switching our morning service to an evening service and partaking in a Communion meal together as a church.
This year, we’ll be continuing this tradition, yet during our regular morning meeting time and without a formal shared meal during the service in light of continued Covid restrictions. We hope to resume the fullness of the tradition next year.
Nevertheless, this service will be a unique opportunity to consider the meaning and significance of the sacraments Jesus left us with; to learn about how communion should function in our lives as Christians and to learn about the community that the communion meal illuminates.
Let’s feast for the glory of Jesus and the good of our souls.
Francis Schaeffer once said, “As Christians, we must understand that there is no word so meaningless as the word god until it is defined”. In Acts 17, before a crowd of some of the greatest thinkers of his age - who defined god in various different way - Paul defined the God of Christianity. What was perhaps most startling to his hearers was his assertion that his God was and is their God, whether they accepted Him or not. He had created them and they would stand before His judgment. And this God proves His claims because this God, the One true God, has backed up His claims by being raised from the dead.
The same God who Paul proclaimed to the Areopagus is the same God who reigns over every one of us today. How would you define God? Is the God of the Bible the God you have believed in? Hear more by listening to last Sunday’s sermon.
