Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, we’re moving our monthly Women’s Meeting up a week. Tonight, the ladies of CGSA are gathering to share in an informal Friendsgiving dinner as they share in the grace of friendship. We’ll have appetizers, snacks, and desserts for you to enjoy as we spend the evening celebrating God’s goodness through our relationships and giving thanks to his name.
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:
6:30 pm - Schlieder Home
7:00 pm - Houlton, Schlieder, and Erkelens Home
7:00 pm - Cunningham Home
It’s here! The fifth edition of the Sovereign Grace Journal. It’s written by Sovereign Grace pastors for the pastors and members of Sovereign Grace Churches. This edition highlights “our shaping virtues”. While our 7 Shared Values describe what we believe, our Shaping Virtues describe the character attributes we aspire to “put on” (Col. 3:12) as members of Sovereign Grace Churches. The Shared Values characterize the convictions that bind us together, the Shaping Virtues characterize the church culture we’re aiming to build. It’s well worth the read. We hope you will enjoy it. You can download the entire PDF. Or purchase a hard copy on Amazon. Or simply read it article by article (below).
Last time in Mark, Jesus confronted the disciples' hardness of heart and unbelief (6:52). In the following scene, he encounters opposition from those who focus upon cleanliness of their hands while their hearts remain far from God (7:6). In the scribes' and Pharisees' zealous observance of the ceremonies and traditions of the elders, they'd actually come to abandon God's moral law (7:1-13). All the outward cleanliness, ritual, and observances were powerless to cleanse what was actually morally defiled: their hearts. No amount of ceremonial washing, law-keeping, or personal strategies can cleanse us to the core (7:14-23). We need God to do a cleansing work in us and in so doing, draw our hearts near to Him. It’s something that nothing but the blood of Jesus can do.
This year as the pastors and wives of Sovereign Grace gathered to celebrate 40 years of God’s faithfulness, we were blessed with a week of faithful teaching. We were freshly reminded of the power of the cross, our call to reach the lost, and the grace of our partnership together as a family of churches. Your pastoral team encourages you to listen to all 4 of these main sessions. They’ll bless your soul, build you up, and spur you on in gospel mission.
In addition to these, we highly recommend the breakout session, “The Untapped Treasure of Wisdom Literature” by Josh Blount. In this excellent lecture on the Book of Ecclesiastes, Josh holds forth the good news that in the vanity, tragedy, and difficulty of life under the sun, God has given it to us to “be joyful” (Ecc 8:15). This truth meets us where we all live in the frustration, heartache, and thistles & thorns reality that characterizes so much of our lives and injects gospel hope. We can’t commend this one enough to you.
This Sunday we’ll begin our worship of the King of Ages with a song that’s been sung throughout the ages. Originally penned in 1851, this song lifts our gaze to “the Lamb upon his throne,” whom we crown with praise as the Lord of life, Lord of lords, and wonderful Lord of love. Give the song a listen here, meditate upon the lyrics below, and marvel at the majesty of Christ. Can’t wait to sing together this Sunday!
VERSE 1
Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own
Awake, my soul and sing of Him who died for thee
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity
VERSE 2
Crown Him the Lord of life who triumphed o’er the grave
And rose victorious to the strife for those He came to save
His glories now we sing, Who died and rose on high
Who died eternal life to bring and lives that death may die
VERSE 3
Crown Him the Lord of Lords, Who over all doth reign
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word for ransomed sinners slain
Now lives in realms of light where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night, their God, Redeemer, King
VERSE 4
Crown Him the Lord of heaven, enthroned in worlds above
Crown Him the King to whom is given, the wondrous name of Love
Crown Him with many crowns as thrones before Him fall
Crown Him, ye kings with many crowns for He is King of all
Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, we’re moving our monthly Women’s Meeting up a week. This month, the ladies of CGSA will gather to share in an informal Friendsgiving dinner as they share in the grace of friendship. No turkeys, potatoes, or fancy dishes necessary. We’re keeping it simple. We’ll have appetizers, snacks, and desserts for you to enjoy as we spend the evening celebrating God’s goodness through our relationships and giving thanks to his name.
You're invited to our annual Christmas potluck to enjoy an evening of fellowship, fun, and white elephant gift exchanges as we celebrate the coming of Christ!
Our celebration will include some friendly competition: come dressed in your favorite cowboy attire and compete to win the "Costume of Christmas” Award!
The day has finally arrived - we're rolling out a digital check-in process for our Children's Ministry. After 5 years, the future is now. Digital check-in is here! Our hope is to simplify check-in for guests and volunteers, while still prioritizing the safety of our kids. Beginning Sunday 11/20, you’ll notice a new table in the lobby. You’ll see a Children’s Ministry Check-In sign, some instructions, and a few QR codes. You can check your kids into Children’s Ministry early there. This is what it will look like:
Scan the QR code on the table.
Fill out the registration form. We’re switching check in systems, so you’ll need to fill out a new child registration form.
After you’ve completed the one-time registration form, you can check-in your children through our online Check-In form, grab a sticker and you’re free to drop off your child during the 3-minute break.
Overall, this will help make check in easier and give you more time to talk to and meet new people during the break. We are encouraging all families to complete the pre-check in process before the start of service.
All guys, 15 years and older, are invited to participate in a conversation where "men talk like men" about God. The topics are chosen to challenge the group and promote humble theological dialogue. Meets every second Thursday at the 4th Street Market patio at 7:00 pm.
