This month’s book of the month part of a series of books from Union publishing.
In this book, Dane Ortlund points believers to Christ, making the case that sanctification does not happen by doing more or becoming better, but by going deeper into the wondrous gospel truths that washed over them when they were first united to him.
Deeper by Dane Ortlund is on sale right now. You can buy a copy here.
Our small groups are a context where biblical discipleship happens within the church. In other words, they’re small expressions of the local church where Gospel ministry takes place. Each group meets in a home, splitting their time between singing, praying, and discussion. Some groups include young children in their meetings. All groups welcome guests.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SMALL GROUPS, CLICK HERE
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 - Houlton, Schlieder and Erkelens Home
10:00 am - French Park Neighborhood
10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
This past weekend, many of us gathered with our sister churches Sovereign Grace Church of Orange and Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena, for the 2021 CA Celebration Retreat. We sang loudly, made new friends, enjoyed the beauty of God’s creation and listened to gospel-centered preaching through the book of Jonah. This weekend left us inspired to press hard into our mission in Santa Ana.
Here are some pictures from the weekend!
Occasionally, our monthly men’s meeting lands on the same week as our small groups. Additionally, we’re just coming off of the CA Celebration. To help you prioritize appropriate patterns of rest, we are cancelling Men’s Meeting this week. Take the evening and spend time with those in your household and prepare for small group Friday night.
The Santa Ana 5K is returning to the city. As a church, it represents an opportunity to go into our city and speak to our neighbors. Whether you run or walk this race, come and join us in two Saturdays.
Here are the details from the event website:
The Revive Santa Ana 5K Run is taking place on Saturday, October 23, 2021. The free event expects to attract over 2,000 runners of all levels. Historically, the route begins near the OC Civic Center and goes past various city landmarks including the OC Historic Courthouse, Main Street and Santa Ana Stadium. The first, second and third place winners in both the male and female categories will be presented with a plaque. Finishers will receiving a participation medal and t-shirt, while supplies last. After the run, participants are invited to visit the Resource Fair hosted by local nutritional and fitness organizations providing information and giveaways. The run is open to walkers and runners of all ages and fitness levels!
You can register for the free event here.
It’s here. The 2021 CA Celebration Retreat. Many in our church will be heading up the mountain to Idyllwild, CA to gather with our sister churches Sovereign Grace Pasadena and Sovereign Grace Church of Orange for a weekend of substantive Biblical teaching, fellowship and rest. Whether you will be attending or not, there are several ways we can prepare for this weekend.
Remember to eat dinner before leaving or on your way up to the retreat
Carpool with each other and make the journey up the mountain part of the weekend experience
Registration begins at 4:00pm and the first session begins at 7:00pm
The address is 55251 South Circle Dr., Idyllwild, CA 92549
For further details and questions, see the email you received from Melissa Goins with the subject line titled “Celebration CA: Registrant Information” or email Liz Madrigal at office@crossofgracesa.org
There will be no Sunday service at Cross of Grace Santa Ana, so encourage another gospel preaching church in Santa Ana by attending one of their services on Sunday. It’s probably been a long time since you’ve been a guest at another church. Go and be reminded of what that’s like and use that reminder to better serve guests of our church.
Pray that God would begin to fill our hearts with anticipation and excitement for what He will accomplish through Celebration CA.
Pray that God will bless all of those who are already serving us by preparing, making plans, and gathering gear.
Pray that God uses Celebration Kids to plant seeds of faith in the hearts of our children.
Pray that the pastors who are preaching the 4 main sessions will be filled with the Spirit as they prepare and deliver their messages.
Pray that unbelievers among us would come to know Christ, repent of their sins, and begin to follow Jesus.
Pray that our churches would grow deeper in their love for one another and experience deeper unity.
Pray that we would grow in our love for California and the mission God has given us to reach Californians with the gospel.
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:
Idyllwild, CA
Last week, members of one of our small groups partnered with the Orange County Rescue Mission (OCRM) Chili Van to serve a hot meal and extend the love of Jesus toward our Santa Ana neighbors experiencing homelessness. Here’s how it went:
We met at the Santiago Creek Trail parking lot off of Memory Lane. An OCRM staff named Andre loaded up the van with 8 catering pans of chili, backpacks, hygiene kits and all the supplies we needed and then met us there at the parking lot.
At 6pm, we split off into two groups - one walking east on the trail and one west - looking for homeless individuals or groups to invite to come to the orange van for a bowl of chili.
After 30 minutes, we reconvened at the van and people started flowing in. In total, we were there for 3 hours and we served about 35 people.
Almost everybody who came for a meal stayed for a conversation; many didn’t leave until we left. Their vulnerability and openness to prayer surprised most in the group. We were able to pray, share the Gospel and have meaningful conversations with a couple dozen individuals, in addition to inviting them to seek assistance at the Rescue Mission and to join us for church on Sunday morning.
Would you pray for the men and women we met? Would you also pray for our other small group outreach efforts? May God continue to move us “back to the city” and spread the joy of Jesus through Cross of Grace Santa Ana.
This past Sunday we took a break from our series in 1 Samuel to sit under the preached word from Senior Pastor, Ron Boomsma, from our sister church, Sovereign Grace Pasadena. It was an expression of our partnership with Sovereign Grace Churches, in addition to a privileged opportunity to hear God’s Word preached from a faithful servant of Christ who has humbly and courageously shepherded God’s people for over 25 years.
LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE
