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:
10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
This past Sunday, we experienced the joy of celebrating a Risen Savior. We sang, heard a message full of gospel hope, fellowshipped together, and even took pictures to commemorate the moment. Thanks to Allie Brooks and Emily Jones for taking photos this year! Take a look at some of the photos captured, additional photos can be accessed through our shared photo album linked here.
Feel free to contact office@crossofgracesa.org for access to photos not in the shared photo album.
In 2 Corinthians 1:8-10, Paul tells the church at Corinth that his recent suffering had been so deep that he had begun “to despair of life itself”. In fact, he felt like he was on death’s doorstep anyway. But despite the gravity of what he was facing, he was able to see what God was doing through that and he wanted to encourage his readers to see the same thing in the midst of their suffering. And it has everything to do with Easter and the resurrection of Jesus. Take a listen to our English/Spanish sermon from this Easter Sunday.
Today, we mark the death of a Rabbi from Galilee who was beaten, tortured, and crucified though perfectly innocent of any crime. By all accounts, this seems like a very bad Friday, indeed. So why do we call it good? Because in the death of this man, Jesus, God in all his goodness, was giving us the greatest gift imaginable. He was giving us his Son.
God did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all (Rom 8:32). Putting him “forward as a propitiation by his blood” that his holy justice would be served and his righteous wrath would be satisfied (Rom 3:25). In love, he gave his only begotten Son so that his enemies could become his friends and enter into life with him (Rom 5:6-11). He died for us while we were still sinners so that we could become reconciled to God through him.
Good Friday is “good” because on the cross, Jesus took on all our badness so that we could come into the goodness of life with God through him (2 Cor 5:21). On the cross he took our sin, bore our curse, absorbed our wrath, suffered our penalty, and paid our debt. In exchange, he gave to us his righteous standing and status of sonship before God, set us apart for life with God, and brought us into every other blessing of the gospel. Though we weren’t looking for it and didn’t deserve it, God lavished us with all this goodness in the cross of Christ. He gave those who were the worst and deserved his worst, the very best.
There is no better news than this. Whatever else may seem ‘bad’ to us right now, would we rest in this greatest of goods today: that Jesus died for our sins.
As we celebrate God’s goodness toward us on this Good Friday, would we behold the man he put forward for us upon the cross. And beholding him afresh, would we boast in his cross and every good that has come from his broken body and flowed out of his shed blood.
For further reading on the glories of Good Friday, enjoy “Why Is Good Friday Good?” by Jon Lee.
We’re pleased to announce that we’re expanding our gospel ministry to the kids of Cross of Grace Santa Ana by adding a second class to our Sunday morning Children’s Ministry program. After 2 years without an elementary-aged class (as the pandemic and our location change altered our Sunday morning Children’s Ministry), we’re back!
As of 5/15, Sunday morning Children’s Ministry will be available for kids ages 0-10 and offered in 2 classes:
Preschool (ages 0-5 years old) will be offered in our current Children’s Ministry space.
Elementary (ages 6-10 or 1st-5th grade) will be offered in the outdoor Courtyard space.
Both classes will be released from our main meeting at the same time and the check-in process will remain the same.
This expansion is a step in the direction of increasing our efforts of evangelism and discipleship toward the youth in our church. It’s our prayer that our kids would experience the joy of Jesus as they come to church on Sunday mornings and come to love gathering with God’s people.
Volunteer - To make sure our expansion efforts are sustainable, we’re calling on new volunteers to join our Children’s Ministry team! If you’ve been considering it for some time or just now - in light of this new ministry need - are considering it for the first time, we’d love for you to join the team. If that’s you, contact Pastor Jeff and let him know which class you’re interested in serving in and if you’d like to be a Teacher or Helper.
Pray - That the Lord would meet us as we pursue this expansion. Asking that he would provide additional Children’s Ministry Workers, plant gospel seeds and even save our kiddos through age-targeted proclamation of the gospel, and glorify himself as the youngest disciples in our church are built up in Christ week after week.
Join us on Easter Sunday to celebrate and worship the Savior whom the grave could not hold.
Use our digital flyer, which can be found here, to invite your English and Spanish (or any language, for that matter) speaking friends and family to join us at the Ebell Club at 10:00 am Sunday, April 17.
We’re excited to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ with you. Here’s how you can prepare to make the most of it:
As we do every Easter Sunday, Pastor Kyle will be preaching a bilingual homily. Come ready to hear God’s word proclaimed in English and in Spanish.
We’ll also have a photo booth before and after service, beginning at 9:30 am. Come dressed to impress.
While we are canceling our regular Children’s Ministry program, there will be special activities for the kids that they won’t want to miss! Kids, come ready for a special treat!
We have the privilege of gathering together as small groups on this Good Friday to share in and celebrate God’s goodness to us.
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. Outside of Sunday mornings, these are the most important moments in the life of our local church. Carve this time out in your calendar every other week to be refreshed in the Gospel and to serve your friends by helping to point their lives to Christ.
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 Home
7:00 pm - Schlieder, Houlton, Erkelens Home
10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
Baptism is a celebration. Friends and family and church family gather. It’s a celebration because God the Father, through the sacrifice of His Son, by the power of His Holy Spirit is saving men and women from sin. The lost are being found. Baptism is the evidence that the resurrection power of God is real and active in the lives of those He has saved.
This last Sunday, we had the joy of witnessing the baptism of Bella Muniz. Check out the pictures and relive the celebration of new life in Christ.
In 1 Samuel 28, Saul consults a medium - an ancient magician - to communicate the a deceased Samuel and seek guidance for the battle ahead with the Philistines. The result? Through Samuel, God confirms His judgment of Saul. While you and I might not be seeking out necromancy and divination for guidance in our lives, we yet have the tendency to seek out “magical solutions” to our problems by, like Saul, seeking the results of God’s favor apart from seeking God Himself. Listen to last Sunday’s sermon to learn more.
