WE ARE ONE BODY, MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER

Church membership is not “membership in a club.” It’s “membership in a body.” As Paul says in Ephesians 4:25, we are one body, yet “members one of another” - vitally connected and working together for the good of the whole. In this way, becoming a church member is an expression of commitment to the people around you. A grace-empowered pledge to fulfill the “one anothers” of Scripture with a specific group. These others are the men and women identified in a particular local church. As members of Cross of Grace Santa Ana, we have the privilege of living out the Christian life with one another. We celebrate and grieve with one another. We build deep relationship with one another. We join arms to advance the joy of Jesus in a particular neighborhood with one another. We help one another pursue holiness. We remind one another of the sweetness of the gospel.

In light of this, we praise God for the new members - Jayce Prosinski & Ben Wold - we had the joy of introducing this last Sunday. Be encouraged by what Ben had to share with us during his new member testimony:

Just a little background: I moved to Santa Ana from Louisville, Kentucky about seven weeks ago. A major reason for my move is due to the influence of the Williams, which at this point, should really just be a full-time ministry for them.

Over the years, I’ve come out to visit them and, naturally, ended up visiting this church too. Through those visits, God started putting a desire in my heart to be here and to be with you all— and in His kindness, here I am.

In just the short time I’ve been here, I’ve seen God’s grace through this church in so many ways. I wanted to share three specific things that stand out to me and make me excited to be a part of Cross of Grace.

The first is your love for God’s Word. A small example would be receiving daily Slack notifications of how the men in this church are setting aside time in the morning to spend time with God in His word.

The second is your love for each other. This church is a family.

The third and final thing is your love for this city. As I’ve spent time with some of you, I’ve heard stories of how you’re faithful to the gospel in your individual workplaces.

Thank you for how you’ve welcomed me. This already feels like home, and many of you already feel like family. You’ve welcomed me into your homes leading to night conversations, you’ve invited me on surfing trips and even road trips.

I’m excited this is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to get to know each of you better and serve alongside you as we do life together and further the gospel here in Santa Ana.

We thank God for adding new laborers to the harvest that’s before us. We’re excited for these new members to join us in spreading the joy of Jesus in Downtown Santa Ana!

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MALE & FEMALE

On Sunday, we heard from 1 Timothy 2:8-15 and considered the ways that both men and women are called to play their part in building up the church. We were reminded that men and women were made equally valuable but differently glorious and designed for particular purposes in the household of God as well as their own homes.

This is a topic of foundational importance as we seek to faithfully live our lives in Christ and demonstrate to a watching world the goodness of God’s design for gender and sexuality. Below, you’ll find a short list of resources to help you be who God has created you to be as male or female and redeemed you to be as a man or woman in Christ.

Scripture:

• God’s good creation & man’s fall into sin - Genesis 1-3

• Marriage, divorce, and re-marriage - Matthew 19:1-9; 1 Corinthians 7:10-16

• Roles in marriage - Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18; 1 Pet 3:1-7

• Roles within the church - 1 Timothy 2:8-15, 3:1-7, 3:8-13, 5:3-16; Titus 1:5-9, 2:1-6

• Parenting - Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 145:1-7; Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossians 3:20-21

• Examples of godly masculinity - Jesus (Mark 10:42-45); Joseph (Genesis 37-50); David (1 Samuel 17)

• Examples of godly femininity - Mary (Luke 1:26-56); Ruth (Ruth 1-4); Abigail (1 Samuel 25)

Our Statement of Faith & Shared Values within our family of churches:

• Section 4, par 1-4 - Creation, Providence, and Man

• Complementarian Leadership in the Home and in the Church

Articles:

• Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by Josh Blount

For men

• Not Safe, But Good: The Men We Desperately Need Today by Greg Morse

• To Men who Want to Marry: How to Prepare to Lead Well by Bryan Stoudt

• For Single Men and Women (And the Rest of Us) by John Piper

For women

• Her Many and Marvelous Ministries: How Women Give Life to the Church by Scott Hubbard

• Wife, Double His Strength by Tilly Dillehay

• Every Woman’s Call to Work by Abigail Dodds

• Gender Roles and the Single Woman by Amber Komatsu

Books:

Church

• Men and Women in the Church by Kevin DeYoung

Marriage

• Love that Lasts by Gary & Betsy Riccuci

Parenting

• Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley

• Parenting by Paul Tripp

For men

• Leadership and Emotional Sabotage by Joe Rigney

• Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes

For women

• (A)Typical Woman: Free, Whole, and Called in Christ by Abigail Dodds

• Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney

LIVING OUT GOD’S GOOD DESIGN

In 1 Timothy 2:8-15, we come to what's arguably the most-controversial topic in all the letter as far as our contemporary culture is concerned. In the ordering of God's household, Paul has particular instructions for how men and women should act at church. According to God's word, our sexuality is significant. Our gender matters. It's not a social construct, but a creational one. Because of this, we must reject the bad beliefs that men and women are basically interchangeable, that biblical gender roles are ancient norms we were always meant to move on from, and that our growth in Christ is gender-neutral. In order to build up God's house, we must be who he created and redeemed us to be. We must embrace the masculine and feminine strengths bound up in God's good design. We must seek God's grace for the particular masculine and feminine temptations we face.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

ALL LADIES, HIGH-SCHOOL AGED AND OLDER ARE INVITED

Each month, the ladies of CGSA gather for a time of discussion where “women talk like women” about God, experience rich fellowship, and encourage one another. All to promote the growth of women in Christ as women in Christ.

Tonight, they’ll continue their discussion of the Shaping Virtues of our family of churches & ask how they can embody the virtue of godliness as women in Christ. We hope to see you there!

JOIN IN TONIGHT AT 7PM AT THE SCHLIEDER HOME

CHRIST IS BUILDING HIS CHURCH

This upcoming Sunday, we have the privilege of welcoming new members into our midst. These are people who have committed to participating in the life of the church and performing the “one anothers” of Scripture with this local body of Christ. They’re also individuals with whom we commit to do the same. We praise God for sending more laborers into his harvest, adding more members to our family, and advancing his gospel in Santa Ana.

SATURDAY, JUNE 28TH AT 4:00PM

For the fourth year in a row, we’re bringing an afternoon of food, fun, and community to the French Park neighborhood! We’re throwing a party to bless our neighbors, build relationships with them, and be a compelling witness to the joy that’s found in Jesus.

But to do this, we need your help! This is our biggest event of the year and we’ll need all hands on deck to make it happen. There are many ways you can contribute to the celebration: pre-party neighborhood outreach & promotion, event set-up & clean-up, serving food, facilitating games, bringing key supplies, and more! Sign up below and contact Brian Marcus or our Church Administrator at office@crossofgracesa.org with any questions.

One important way everyone can pitch in is by sharing the digital flyer with your friends and praying that the Lord uses this event to draw our neighbors closer to himself.

SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER HERE

MAY 19 - MAY 25

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 22

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

• Women’s Meeting

  • 7:00pm - Schlieder Home

SUNDAY, MAY 25

• Sunday Gathering at the Ebell Club & New Member Sunday

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

CELEBRATING NEW LIFE IN CHRIST

This Sunday, we had the joy of celebrating the baptisms of Kimberley Bello and Jayce Lionel! We witnessed them profess their faith in Jesus’ sacrificial death and victorious resurrection. We watched as they demonstrated their own sharing in Christ’s dying and rising - being buried with him in baptism and rising up from water again. We rejoiced as God confirmed in their hearts and before our eyes that they’d truly passed from death to life.

Take a moment to read Jayce’s testimony and bask in God’s saving grace:

I had a rough childhood growing up. I was living in sin and its consequences. Though I grew up in church, my whole life I did not really believe that. When certain circumstances got better in life, things still did not seem to be satisfactory and I thought my problems would just go away. But it didn’t because sin is rooted in me.

After contemplating going back to church after not attending for almost two years, Lana invited me during the week of my birthday. Which brought me to this church. Pastor Kyle gave a sermon that moved me to confess that the issue he spoke about applied to me that morning and that’s how I started this journey. Both Pastor Kyle and Jeff have encouraged me to walk in the faith. Today, I am here to confess the Lord as Savior that I may continue to find peace, joy, and healing in him. Though I am still learning about the Christian life I know this: that Jesus died for my sins so I no longer have to be a slave to sin. As Paul says, “now is the day of salvation.”

Amen! Jesus has set us free from sin and brought us into an entirely new life with him, lived together in his people, for the glory of his name. A life that begins “now” and carries on forever.

Check out the pictures and be encouraged that our neighbors are being saved, our family is growing, and Christ is advancing his mission in our city!

BECAUSE PRAYER ENTRUSTS THE SHAPE OF THE CHURCH & THE WORLD TO GOD HIMSELF

Is there anyone you don’t want to pray for? Anyone you believe is beyond the bounds of God’s reach? Or, maybe, any areas in the world or segments of society you believe God just won’t work in? 1 Tim 2:1-7 confronts our bad beliefs, cynical outlook, and hard hardheartedness by calling us to pray for all kinds of people - no matter how different they are from us. In order for the household of God that is Cross of Grace to be a healthy one, we must not only pray for those “inside the house,” but “outside” as well. For every kind of neighbor. Every kind of sinner. Every sort of person - from the homeless neighbor, to the difficult co-worker, all the way to the president of the United States. We can and should pray for all kinds of people because God desires to save all kinds of people through the person of Jesus Christ.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

WE’VE GOT FIVE DEACON CANDIDATES - WE NEED YOUR FEEDBACK

Last Sunday, we announced that over the past couple months we’ve been in the process of assessing and equipping a small group of Cross of Grace members to serve in the office of deacon. Your pastoral team commends each of these individuals as faithful saints who have displayed a heart for service and met the qualifications of a deacon as outlined in Scripture.  

But we want to hear from you. You - the members of Cross of Grace Church - have an important part to play in this process. You won’t just passively receive new deacons, but take an active role in their assessment. These candidates will be positioned to serve you in significant ways so we want to hear from you about the grace you see in their lives and their suitability for the office.

THE CANDIDATES

1) Daniel Lee

2) Fernando Madrigal

3) Peter Robles

4) Truman Severson

5) Jennifer Williams

READ 1 TIMOTHY 3:8-13

Before they are formally installed as deacons, we are inviting you, the church, to send any feedback, affirmation, or concerns - specifically as it relates to the qualifications listed in 1 Tim. 3:8-13 - you may have on any candidate to our pastoral team.

8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 The women likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

To learn more about the office of deacon and how it functions at Cross of Grace, click here.

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR FEEDBACK BY 6/1