MAY 1 - MAY 8

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, MAY 4: FRENCH PARK RUN CLUB

• 6:30 am - French Park Grass Area

THURSDAY, MAY 4: NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

• 12:00 pm - First Presbyterian Church of Santa Ana

  • See flyer for more details

FRIDAY, MAY 5: PRAYER IN THE PARK OR SMALL GROUP

• 7:00 pm - French Park Grass Area (Houlton Small Group)

• 7:00 pm - Erkelens & Schlieder Home

SUNDAY, MAY 7: SUNDAY GATHERING AT THE EBELL CLUB

• 10:00 am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

MONDAY, MAY 8: SPRING CLASS

• 7:00 pm - Houlton Home

SGC SECOND QUARTER 2023 PRAYER REQUESTS

From Mark Prater, Executive Director of our family of churches:

Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) For our family of churches to bear much gospel fruit we must continue to abide in Christ because apart from him we can do nothing. Jesus’ words capture our utter dependence upon him. One of the ways that we abide dependently on Christ is through prayer for Jesus says a couple of verses later in John 15:7, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Asking is a practical expression of abiding dependently on Christ.

Together, we can ask Jesus to provide for our needs. And as you ask, my prayer is that you would abide in Christ even more.

Thanks for praying.

• Pray that God would give the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace churches a renewed desire, and opportuni;es to share the gospel with unbelievers in our communities, on our campuses, and in our workplaces.

• Pray for the Ark Church in Dnipro, Ukraine asking God to protect them, and to use them to meet practical needs, and to offer gospel hope to people impacted by the war.

• Pray for Ed O’Mara and Rocco Dalia as they plant a Sovereign Grace church in Torino, Italy later this year asking God to provide housing, financial resources, and a Sunday meeting place.

• Pray for the second Sovereign Grace Europe Pastors meeting in Warsaw Poland, June 20-22, 2023, asking God to strengthen relationships and provide wisdom for how our churches in Europe can partner together to advance the gospel.

• Pray for the Fieles Conference in Juarez, Mexico, August 9-11, 2023, asking God to encourage, equip, and strengthen the pastors and wives attending from Mexico and Latin America. Pray also for Carlos Contreras as he leads this strategic conference.

• Pray that God would provide Mandarin speaking members of Sovereign Grace churches to form a core team to help Perry Wang plant Jishi Church (Cornerstone Church) in Charleston, SC later this year.

• Pray that God would continue to provide financially for Sovereign Grace Churches so that we can fund the gospel opportunities He is giving us throughout the world.

“MAKE THE BEST USE OF THE TIME” - SPEND $1/ WEEK ON MISSION

The final week of our evangelism mini-series. In week two, we were reminded that the Risen Jesus continues his work in the world through us. On Sunday, we asked: practically, what does this mission look like in our church? How will we share the gospel with our neighbors, be on mission in our city, and spread the joy of Jesus in Santa Ana? Col 4:2-6 provides us with answers to these questions and provides us with 4 key aspects of ordinary evangelism: prayer, gospel partnership, speaking the language of grace, and loving our neighbors on purpose.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

ALL LADIES, HIGH-SCHOOL AGE AND OLDER ARE INVITED

Our Women’s Ministry exists to spur women on in their pursuit of Christ through biblical discussion and building friendships. Each month the ladies of CGSA meet together for a time of discussion and prayer in order to grow in Christ and grow as friends. Tonight they’ll gather to experience biblical fellowship, share their lives, and encourage each other in the gospel.

Join us tonight at 7pm at the Schlieder Home

REMINDER: ELEMENTARY CLASS WILL TAKE A BREAK every 5th sunday

This Sunday is the 5th Sunday in April, so we’ll only offer the Preschool Class. All kids 6 and up will remain with us after the singing portion of our service to hear the preached word outside of their usual classroom setting. We’ll have coloring sheets, our pastors will prepare the kids to listen well to the Sunday sermon, and children and their parents will hear the gospel side by side.

We believe this break will provide an opportunity to bridge the gap between Children’s Ministry and the regular life of the church and get our kids ready for what comes next once they graduate from the Elementary Class. We also believe it will provide a helpful pattern of rest for our Children’s Ministry volunteers who serve so joyfully and selflessly every Sunday morning.

JOIN US FOR PRAYER IN OUR CITY

Prayer is central to our mission of spreading the joy of Jesus in our city. Next Thursday, we have the privilege of partnering with pastors and community leaders in Santa Ana to seek God’s glory and our neighbor’s good through prayer. Mark your calendars, stop by on your lunch break, and join us downtown at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Ana as we gather together with the church in our city for the good of our city.

CONTACT PASTOR JEFF WITH ANY QUESTIONS

APRIL 25 - APRIL 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, APRIL 27: FRENCH PARK RUN CLUB

• 6:30 am - French Park Grass Area

THURSDAY, APRIL 27: WOMEN’S MEETING

• 7:00 pm - Schlieder Home

SUNDAY, APRIL 30: SUNDAY GATHERING AT THE EBELL CLUB

• 10:00 am - Meeting Room: Courtyard

A PASSION FOR THE CHURCH

It’s here! The sixth edition of the Sovereign Grace Journal. It’s written by Sovereign Grace pastors for the pastors and members of Sovereign Grace Churches. We hope you will enjoy reading it. You can download the entire PDF here. Or purchase a hard copy here.

This past Sunday, pastor Ricky Alcantar shared 5 helpful steps to practically live out the mission God has called us to.

1. Identify your mission field

Your mission field is where you live and do life with those who don’t know Jesus. So the question is not “am I called to a mission field” but “how do I engage the mission field God has already given me?” Below are some examples of mission fields in our lives:

• Your workplace

• Your neighborhood,

• Kid’s activity groups

• The gym, and many more

2. Be known as a Christian  

We want to relate who we are to why we are. There are plenty of nice people in our world, but we want to connect the way we love and care for people to the love of Jesus. Below are some examples of how we can be known as Christians: 

• When asked about your week or weekend tell people about church or community group, befriending the friendless, not participating in gossip, speaking well of others behind their backs, comforting others in distress

3. Form friendships with people who don’t know Jesus

Pray and ask God to reveal these people to you. What are some ways we can do this? 

• Get to know people, remember details about their lives and bring them up in future conversations, invite people to lunch and outings, and have longer conversations that are beyond news, weather, sports.

4. Be equipped for the mission 

Notice this is not at the beginning of the list! Many times Christians delay in telling others about Jesus, but if we form relationships with people we can learn how to care and love them better. Below are ways this might play out:

• Study the Bible: you never know how what you’ve read in your quiet time can impact someone. We need to know how to apply God’s word to others' need for the gospel.

• Listen and learn to ask questions! This will help shape your care, prayers, and love towards others in a meaningful way. 

5. Apply biblical truth to people’s needs

As you form relationships, sin, and crisis will create a need in people’s lives that as a Christian friend you will be able to help them see their need for the gospel. People will turn to those who have shown an interest in them as a person. We want to be those Christians people turn to. You may see this in times of sickness, relationships/marriage/parenting, or personal crisis. 

There are opportunities all around you every day to be a witness to the gospel. Let’s lean into what Jesus is doing in our city and join him on his mission to bring our neighbors from death to life through the message of the gospel.

HE CONTINUES HIS WORK THROUGH OUR CHURCH

Two Sundays ago, we laid out the theological principles for mission and evangelism. Filling ourselves with the God of the gospel so that his gospel would overflow from us. This past Sunday, guest preacher, Ricky Alcantar from our sister church, Cross of Grace El Paso, turned our attention to the Book of Acts to look at the progress of the gospel in God's history of redemption. The story of the gospel going forth: from Jesus himself, to that early church, and onto us today. Let’s see our church in this great story God is writing and lean into what Jesus is continuing to do in and through his people. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE