BAPTISM SUNDAY

This last Sunday, we had the joy of witnessing the baptism of Marley Muniz, Silas Houlton, Joctan Martinez, Jacob Zato, and Jose Meza. They confessed with their mouths what they’d believed in their hearts and proclaimed the saving work of Christ. What took place in their hearts was made visible before our eyes as they passed through the waters and emerged on the other side. Dying to sin. Being raised to new life. Signifying their sharing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All the promises of the gospel were sealed and confirmed in their hearts and minds as the Spirit worked through this ordinary means to bring them extraordinary grace. Decisively marking an end to the old life in sin. As well as the beginning of a new life, lived together with Christ’s people for the glory of Christ’s name, which has now begun and will carry on forever.

Check out the pictures and relive this celebration of new life in Christ. As you do, be encouraged that God the Father is still saving sinners through the finished work of the Son applied in the power of the Spirit. The lost are being found. Christ’s mission is advancing in our city. Baptism is proof that this is true.

WEEKLY MEETINGS ARE CANCELLED FOR DECEMBER

In the world of agriculture, soil must remain “fallow” once every few years to maintain its fertility for years to come. To lie fallow is to lie unplowed and unplanted for a time in order for nutrients to be restored. In the month of December, we let our church calendar lie fallow. We cancel small groups, men’s and women’s meetings, and any other mid-week activities. Why? Not so that you can pull away from the life of the church, but instead to press into natural and more intimate opportunities to relate to your church family and neighbors. The holiday season is notoriously one of the busiest times of the year. We want to help you to take advantage of the few free moments you have to spend unhurried, unscheduled time with one another and with family for the grand purpose of allowing your heart to be refreshed by the work of Christ, fellowship with the saints, and cultivating friendships with unbelieving neighbors.

WHAT’S NOT CANCELLED?

• Regular Sunday Services

• Run Club - a great opportunity to build and enjoy relationships with fellow church members and Santa Ana neighbors

• Carols in the Park, followed by an all-church Christmas Party on Sunday, 12/15 (watch the blog for more details)

• Christmas Eve Candlelight Service (Ebell Club at 5:00PM)

If you have any questions about church events, check out the church calendar. It’s kept up to date to reflect changes to meetings or events.

Subscribe to the church calendar here.

JAMES 2:1-13

God is after a people who demonstrate their obedience by the way they treat his people. One evidence that we're "doers of the word, and not hearers only" is how we treat those in need. If we help those who cannot help themselves. Our willingness to love our neighbor regardless of what he or she can do for us. James challenges us to “show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (2:1). Why does he need to tell us this? Because we’re prone play favorites, be taken in by outward impressiveness, gravitate to those who are most like us, and invest in relationships we can get something out of. But how did the Lord of glory treat us? He had nothing to gain by choosing us, but he did so anyway. He was rich, but became poor for our sake. He saw us dressed in the “shabby clothing” of our sin, gave us his righteous robes, and offered us a seat at his table. We've been saved by Christ's sacrificial love for neighbors who couldn't do anything to help themselves. He gave himself for our everlasting good, so that we would give ourselves for the good of those around us - no matter who they are.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

CELEBRATE NEW LIFE IN CHRIST

This Sunday, we have the privilege of witnessing men and women publicly identify with Jesus Christ as they profess their faith in his sacrificial death and victorious resurrection. They’ll do this through their baptism. That sacrament and means of grace through which we confess with our mouths what we’ve believed in our hearts. Demonstrating outwardly what was true of us inwardly from the moment we believed. Signifying our union with Jesus in his dying and rising. Marking the end of our old life in sin and commemorating our entrance into a new life with Christ and his people - which carries on forever.

BAPTISM IMMEDIATELY AFTER SERVICE THIS SUNDAY AT THE CUNNINGHAM HOME

Join us at the Cunningham home immediately after church this Sunday (12/1) to celebrate the baptism of new believers and have a hot dog lunch. If you’re interested in being baptized or have questions about baptism, please contact one of our pastors.

THE SEASON OF ADVENT STARTS THIS SUNDAY

This Sunday marks the start of the Advent season! A season that celebrates the “advent” or “coming” of Christ into the world. Looking backward to that time when “the grace of God appeared, bringing salvation” to us through the virgin birth, perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. Looking forward to “our blessed hope” when he returns again to bring his people into the fullness of all he’s accomplished for them. Over the next 4 Sundays, we’ll remember and anticipate as we worship the One who came from heaven to earth and is coming back to usher in a new heavens and earth.

A WEARY WORLD REJOICES

Get ready to celebrate the Savior as we sing well-loved songs, enjoy a season of rest and festivity, enjoy events like Carols in the Park, and top it all off with a traditional candlelight Christmas Eve service.

As we prepare our hearts to enter into this time which is so full of so many wonderful things, would we prioritize the most wonderful of them all: Jesus Christ who was born for us. Prioritize the Christ of Christmas this season and prepare your heart to celebrate his birth by:

• Studying the birth of Christ - As an individual or a family. Open up God’s word, study the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth, and walk through a Christmas devotional as you count down the days to Christmas, light candles around an Advent wreath, and fix your hearts and minds on Christ. Here are a few suggested resources:

  • Children
    Prepare Him Room by Marty Machowski
    Promises Made Promises Kept by Marty Machowski

  • Adult Devotionals
    The Dawn of Redeeming Grace: Daily Devotions for Advent by Sinclair Ferguson
    God With Us: Reflections on the Incarnation by Charles Spurgeon

    Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus by Nancy Guthrie

    A Weary World Rejoices by Melissa Kruger

    Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent Devotional by Paul David Tripp

• Singing the birth of Christ - Not just on Sunday mornings, but throughout the entire season! Fill your mind and heart with songs that celebrate the coming of Christ and sharpen your affections for him. Add the following to your Christmas mix:

  • Heaven Has Come by Sovereign Grace Music

  • Prepare Him Room by Sovereign Grace Music

• Spending time with brothers and sisters in Christ - This Christmas season, prioritize Christ by prioritizing his people. Take advantage of our December “Fallow Month” by prioritizing fellowship with one another in the church. Use the times during the week we’d normally meet as a church to: participate in seasonal festivities in DTSA, have a game night, host another family for dinner, or do whatever you enjoy with other members in the church.

• Sharing the good news of the birth of Christ - Make your joy in Christ more full by sharing it with others. Pray for opportunities to share the good news of Christ’s birth with those in your life who have yet to receive him this Christmas season. Plan on inviting your friends, families, and neighbors to our Candlelight Christmas Eve Service at 5pm on 12/24.

HIS POW’R AND GLORY EVERMORE PROCLAIM

We can’t make too big a deal of what’s bound up in our Advent celebration. We can’t exhaust the riches of God’s grace in giving us his Son. We can’t plumb the depth of the wonder that heaven came down for sinners like us. We agree with the words of Charles Spurgeon and carry them into our time of celebration:

“It is an astonishing thing that there should have been a Christ at all: the Incarnation is the miracle of miracles; that he who is Infinite should become an infant, that he who made the worlds should be wrapt in swaddling bands, remains a fact out of which, as from a hive, new wonders continually fly forth.”

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM CROSS OF GRACE SANTA ANA!

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬-‭18‬).

We’re grateful to God for his every blessing. He’s made the heavens and the earth and given us all things to richly enjoy. He’s remade us in Christ to be his people forevermore.

Have a blessed day tasting, seeing, and celebrating the goodness of our God!

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” - Ps 136:1

NOVEMBER 25 - DECEMBER 1

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:

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1: SUNDAY GATHERING AT THE EBELL CLUB

• 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1: BAPTISM CEREMONY

• 12:30pm - Cunningham Home

GOD ADVANCED OUR MISSION

Two Mondays ago, we wrapped up our journey on the Bridge. For 10 weeks, we shared meals and built relationships with our neighbors as we wrestled through the big questions of life. Friendships were formed. Honest perspectives were shared. Questions were answered. The gospel was proclaimed. And it was all an absolute blast.

This past Sunday, church members and Bridge volunteers, Robert & Rosie Lopez, gave us a window into HOW the Lord worked through Bridge. Their report strengthened our faith and fueled our fire to continue spreading the joy of Jesus in Santa Ana. Here’s what they had to say:

Rosie:

Over the course of the wonderful meals, we got to have good conversations, share life, and develop wonderful friendships! I feel more equipped and have a greater passion to share the gospel. And I’d like to add that I am so blessed to hear my daughters share with me how the course benefited them by answering some of their questions and helping them to feel more equipped and confident to share with their friends. I’d like to encourage those who would like to participate in future Bridge Courses - by inviting guests, attending to grow in your faith, or volunteering in any way - to do so.

Robert:

I don't know if I could rightly come up with a way to express how fantastic the Bridge Course was. We gathered for 10 weeks of feasting, getting to know each other and building friendships, listening to God-centered preaching, and going through some of life's most difficult questions when it comes to God and the Bible. Like "How can God allow suffering?" "Why doesn't God just forgive everyone?" "Can we really trust the Bible?" and "Is Christianity really worth it?" Each week we wrestled with these questions and more as the individuals who attended came from different backgrounds and religious experiences. Some of them came into the Bridge Course with questions of their own and there were others who even heard what the 10 Commandments were for the very first time. But after each session, we left not only with questions answered, but with more confidence that the Bible is true, and that Christ is who he says he is.

God began working through the hearts of our guests who attended the Bridge Course almost immediately. They would return each week eager to hear more of what the Bible had to say. Before the 10 weeks were over, we saw people from the Bridge Course show up to our Sunday services, men's and women's meetings, and small groups. I've heard of people saying they began to wake up earlier to seek the Lord. People asked about baptism, and I’m looking forward to some of our guests from the Bridge Course getting baptized next month!

I'd like to encourage you to join us and participate the next time we do Bridge Course as this is a great opportunity to go out into the city, evangelize, invite people to hear the gospel and see what God does in their hearts.

We thank God for all he did in and through the Bridge Course. And we thank him for the instruments he used to accomplish it all: you. The members of Cross of Grace who served so faithfully, sacrificially, and joyfully this fall. Facilitating discussions and lovingly pursuing our neighbors. Offering generous hospitality in the form of hosting and meals. Coordinating details. Inviting friends, family, and neighbors. Fervently praying for the Lord to work in the hearts of our guests. Those prayers were answered, and we thank God for his faithfulness and power to save!

THE DEADLINE TO ORDER IS DECEMBER 4TH

Back by popular demand, we’ve got some Cross of Grace merch for you! You can order shirts, crewnecks, and hoodies that represent who we are and point your neighbors to what the Lord is doing here. These high-quality items are offered at discounted rates and available via our webstore linked below. They’re great to wear on Sunday mornings, at church events, during neighborhood outreaches, or doing anything else you’ve got planned for the day.

Shirts are available for a limited time only, so don’t miss the opportunity to get yours! The shop closes on Wednesday, December 4. Place your order and get your Cross of Grace gear before Christmas.

SHOP OUR WEB STORE HERE

THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE GRACE OF GOD

In the Book of James, the message of the gospel is not so much what he’s looking at but what he’s looking through as he challenges his readers to receive God’s wisdom and press it into action. He assumes that when he tells us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only,” (James 1:22) that we know WHY. But what if we’re still wondering? If that’s you, the Apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear in Titus 2:11-14. We should be obedient doers of the word because all God has done for us! Because “the grace of God has appeared” in the coming of Christ to do for us what we could never do for ourselves (2:11). Saving us from sin and making us new. Shaping and strengthening us to live more and more like the new people God has made us to be, “training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age” (2:12). Setting our hopes on that day when grace appears again and we behold the Savior, do nothing but live godly lives, do good works, and enjoy God’s people for the rest of forever (2:13-14). We obey because God has forgiven our disobedient undoing of our past, fuels us with power to live in the present, and promises us a future that is blessed and sure.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE