PARENTING BY PAUL DAVID TRIPP

This month’s book of the month falls in line with our 2022 spring class. If you’re participating in the spring class, you’ll need to purchase this book anyway, so why not get a head start on it, buy it now and start reading it this month? While today’s Christians have the blessing of a wealth of parenting books at our disposal, many of them are practice and strategy-oriented. They’re more “how to” than anything else. Paul David Tripp takes a different approach. He starts with the Gospel and says, “if the Gospel tells us that we’re fundamentally unable in our own strength to be the parents we need to be, we need to start somewhere other than "‘how to’”. So instead of giving a book full of tips, he supplies the reader with 14 fundamental principles, borne out of the Gospel, to help you to see yourself, your children and your task first and foremost through the lens of the One who has called you to be a parent in the first place. A massively encouraging and illuminating book, this month’s book of the month will be a sure bet to ground your heart and your parenting deeper into the soil of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Purchase a copy of the book here

GOD WON’T ALWAYS PROTECT YOU FROM, BUT WILL ALWAYS PRESERVE YOU THROUGH YOUR TRIALS

In 1 Samuel 18, David just kept on winning. Saul was trying to kill him, but David was blissfully unaware. As his life progresses, though, Saul’s intentions, driven by jealousy, become painfully clear to David. Cross of Grace Intern, Jason Roenicke showed us from this passage that God was no less present with David in chapter 19 than chapter 18. The difference, however, is that God’s grace was present to preserve him - not necessarily to shield him entirely - from his trial. This preservation is a particular grace that God uses to teach and form His disciples. Listen to last Sunday’s sermon to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

ALL LADIES, HIGH-SCHOOL AGED AND OLDER ARE INVITED

Women at all stages of life are invited to come and learn how to be women whose lives honor God - women who live in light of the Gospel.

Women’s Meeting takes place on the 4th Thursday of every month at 7pm. Tonight it will be at the Houlton Home. We hope to see you there!

BRING YOUR LUNCH TO FRENCH PARK AFTER SERVICE ON SUNDAY

Immediately after Sunday service, we’ll be walking over to French Park to eat lunch and enjoy one another’s company while in the midst of the neighborhood God has placed us in. Here are the details:

• It’s “BYOL” (bring your own lunch). If you forget your lunch or your favorite lunchbox isn’t clean, there are plenty of great restaurants nearby in DTSA.

• It’s optional - but we highly encourage coming!

• Bring some folding chairs - unless you like sitting on the grass, bring something to sit on.

• Expect the Lord to build existing relationships and create new ones with our neighbors

JANUARY 24 - JANUARY 30

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:

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27: WOMEN’S MEETING

• 7:00 pm - Houlton Home

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30: SUNDAY GATHERING AT THE EBELL CLUB

• 10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30: PICNIC IN THE PARK

• 12:00 pm - French Park

WE ARE ALL MADE IN HIS IMAGE

This past Sunday morning, our church observed Sanctity of Life Sunday. This special Sunday comes in the midst of the Sanctity of Life Month of January and began in January of 1984, when President Reagan issued a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of January to be National Sanctity of Human Life Day. He issued this proclamation on January 22, 1984, coinciding with the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision of January 22, 1973 which ruled that access to abortion was a constitutional right. Sanctity of Life Sunday was declared in order to bring awareness to the opposition to the sanctity of all human life in our country and recognize the lives of God’s image-bearers that were lost to abortion - a number that, since 1973, exceeds 62 million.

But ultimately, we don’t observe this day or proclaim the sanctity of all human life because the president issued a proclamation in the 80’s, but because God has issued a proclamation in his holy word (see Gen 1:26-27, 5:1-2, 9:1-7; Ps 139:13-16). God’s own proclamation of the inherent dignity and value of all human life is summed up in our Statement of Faith. The Sovereign Grace Churches Statement of Faith, section 4, paragraph 2 reads:

Man’s Creation in God’s Image - God created man, male and female, in his own image as the crown of creation and the object of his special care. God directly created Adam from the dust of the earth, and Eve from Adam’s side, as the parents of the entire human race. They were created to know and glorify their Maker by trusting in his goodness and obeying his word. God gave them dominion over all creation, to fill, subdue, and steward the earth as his representatives. All human beings are likewise made in the image of God. Despite the effects of the fall on sinful humanity, all people remain God’s image bearers, capable of fellowship with him and possessing intrinsic dignity and value at every stage of life from conception to death. Redemption in Christ progressively restores fallen men and women to their true humanity as they are conformed to the image of Christ.

WE ARE CALLED TO PROCLAIM THE RIGHT TO LIFE FOR EVERY PERSON MADE IN HIS IMAGE

As image-bearers of God who have been remade in the image of Christ, we have a calling from God to promote and protect the sanctity of all human life. We encourage you to join us in the following ways:

• Praying that God would:

  • Protect the unborn in our country by changing the hearts of men and women participating in abortions, changing unjust laws that promote abortion, & passing legislation which protects the right to life

  • Pour out his mercy and grace upon those who have participated in abortions and provide them with his forgiveness in Christ

  • Provide his people with a zeal to proclaim the the intrinsic dignity and value of every person at every stage of life

• Learning more about Sanctity of Life Sunday.

• Getting involved with our local crisis pregnancy center, Living Well Pregnancy Centers, through prayer, volunteering, or financial support.

BUT GOD’S GRACE IS GREATER THAN YOU COULD FATHOM

After he slew Goliath, David experienced a meteoric rise of influence and popularity in Israel. What he didn’t know, though, was that Saul was threatened by and jealous of his success, leading Saul to make multiple purposeful attempts at his life. But those attempts strangely resulted in even greater success for David. Why? Because God’s favor rested with David. Through 1 Samuel 18, we learned that this kind of protection and favor is the heritage of everyone who has placed their faith in David’s descendent - Jesus Christ. Listen to last Sunday’s sermon to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

IF YOU’RE A MAN, MARK FEBRUARY 19 IN YOUR CALENDAR

To be a Christian man is to carry a high calling. It’s a calling, above all things, to use the life you’ve been given to bring glory to Christ, your Savior. This importantly includes using your body to bring Him glory.

On Saturday, February 19, the men of Cross of Grace Santa Ana will be gathering to learn and have an honest conversation about Biblical sexuality. Erik Rangel, senior pastor from Legacy Church in Yuma, Arizona will be our guest speaker. We’ve rented the whole coffee shop out for the day. Every man, high school-age and older should plan to be at this seminar. Take a moment and register today and expect God to make us men after His own heart.

Click here to register for the event

EVERY FIRST AND THIRD FRIDAY AT 7PM

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

JANUARY 17 - JANUARY 23

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:

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21: SMALL GROUPS

• 7:00 pm - Houlton, Schlieder and Erkelens Home

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23: SUNDAY GATHERING AT THE EBELL CLUB

• 10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom