AND BEYOND

Here’s some more content that we'd typically share during a members' meeting, but we didn’t have a chance to get to this time around. It’s been a full and fruitful year, but we’re not done yet! There are some exciting events on the horizon for you to participate in and pray for. If you would like more information regarding the events listed below, please contact us here.

Fallow Month - July 2025

• No small groups or extra events. Men’s & Women’s meetings replaced by a Men’s BBQ (7/10) & Women’s Potluck (7/24).

• Run Club continues.

• Take advantage of the open Thursdays & Fridays to rest body and soul, and enjoy summer fun and fellowship together.

West Region Youth Camp - July 11-14, 2025. Prescott, Arizona.

• This year’s theme is “Christ Over All.” Youth (ages 10-17) from all 9 of our West Region churches will gather for a weekend of enjoying worship, teaching from SGC West pastors, fellowship with other youth in our family of churches, breakout sessions, games, challenges, lip sync battles, and more!

• Last year we sent 7, this year 15! We’re sending 10 youth & 5 adult volunteers!

• Pray the Lord would meet our youth and raise up the next generation of believers, church members, and church leaders in the West.

West Coast Worship Conference - 10/1-10/4/25. Santa Clarita, CA.

• Calling all worship team, A/V crew, and CGSA members who love to sing! Bob Kauflin and the team from Sovereign Grace Music are coming to CA for a time of teaching, fellowship, and of course, LOTS and lots of singing that will follow the same basic format as the WorshipGod Conferences. Attendees will be equipped in the skills of planning, leading, projecting, amplifying, and writing songs for congregational worship.

• Want to come? RSVP with Fernando Madrigal & register here.

Pastor’s Conference - 11/18-11/20/25. Orlando, FL.

• It’s our annual family reunion of brothers and sisters from all over the globe! A time of worship, encouragement, and fellowship which exists to refresh the pastors and leaders of our churches and send them back home ready and eager for the work of ministry. It’s also a great way to get to know our family of churches if you’re new to Sovereign Grace. It’s a gathering any member would benefit from attending. Reach out to the pastoral team if you’d like to join us this fall.

• Please visit this link for conference details: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/2025-pastors-conference

Relay Conference - 1/5-1/7/26 - Glen Mills, PA

• The RELAY Conference exists to inspire young adults to live for the glory of Christ. While the conference is aimed at college students and young adults (18-25 years old), as well as their leaders, high school students ages 16-17 and young adults in their late 20s or 30s are welcomed as well. We’re asking the Lord to use this time to inspire this generation to personalize and carry forward our shared doctrine, values, and mission that we cherish as Sovereign Grace churches.

• Please visit this link for further details: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/relay-2026

JUNE 16 - JUNE 22

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, JUNE 19

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

• Small Groups

  • 7:00pm - Lee & Roenicke Homes

    • Learn more about Small Groups here

FRIDAY, JUNE 20

• Small Groups

  • 7:00pm - Houlton & Erkelens Homes

    • Learn more about Small Groups here

SATURDAY, JUNE 21

• French Park Block Party Outreach

  • 10:00 am - Ebell Parking Lot

    • Sign up here

    • Contact us here for more info

SUNDAY, JUNE 22

• Sunday Gathering at the Ebell Club

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

• Youth Ministry

  • 6:30pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA

    • Find out more about Youth Ministry here

WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

On Sunday we learned that the church is God’s very own household. God’s place where he’s truly present with his people. The people he’s gathered and caught up in his own blessed and eternal life. A life in which we join God in his grand purpose of living for his glory.

WHAT IS HER PURPOSE?

According to 1 Tim 3:15, the shape, structure, and significance of our life with God has everything to do with the truth of God. As the church we exist, first, to delight in and then to declare and defend the goodness of life with God and life God’s way. To promote and protect the reality of who God is, what he’s done, and how he’s made the world to be by living out our purpose as “a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). The church doesn’t define, decide, or decree the truth. But we perform the function of upholding the truth that God has revealed in his word. So how does this work?

WHAT DO PILLARS & BUTTRESSES DO?

After speaking of the church as those who live within the household of God, Paul advances his metaphor by speaking of the church in structural terms as the house itself. The gathered people of God are a pillar and buttress. But not all of us are architects. So to get some further insight, we reached out to one. Our resident architect-theologian, Keiren Mora helps us wrap our minds around what this means:

Just as pillars hold up a roof, the church lifts high the truth for all the world to see. Just as buttresses stabilize the walls of a building, the church serves to hold the truth steady in a world full of falsehood, confusion, and opposition to what God has revealed. In our worship, preaching, evangelism, and discipleship we promote the truth of God to one another and a watching world. In our courageous reception of all God has said (even and especially when it’s an unpopular belief in our current moment), our practice of confronting error in love, and our practice of church discipline when God’s ways are being rejected we protect the truth from cracking, eroding, and compromise.

Apart from pillars and buttresses, no structure would stand strong or stand long. Apart from holding fast to God’s truth, our church won’t stand strong (at any given moment in our life and mission) or stand long (as a fixture in our city for generations to come). We must give ourselves to this critical purpose. But, as we do so, the good news is that we’re not the ones ultimately bearing up under all the weight.

HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION

Pillars and buttresses are important, but, as Keiren helps us once again, “Pillars and buttresses won’t do much good if they don’t have a solid foundation to take on those forces which press against the structure. They aren’t meant to handle the forces on their own. So we also rely on Christ as our foundation.” Our life in God’s house is built upon him. The Truth of truths is the gospel message of who he is and what he’s done. This is the very heart and essence of the truth we’re called to promote and protect. This gospel is the very reason we’re able to live in God’s presence within the house. This gospel is the very power by which we’re fueled, motivated, and enabled to be the house. This gospel is the foundation we stand upon. The ground we must remain fixed upon, bolted to, and staking the entire weight of our lives upon.

It’s a message Paul refers to as “the mystery of godliness” and summarizes by citing one of the earliest Christian hymns. Listen to the lyrics:

“He was manifested in the flesh,

vindicated by the Spirit,

seen by angels,

Proclaimed among the nations,

believed on in the world,

taken up in glory.”

1 Tim 3:16 is the story of the Son of God all the way from his incarnation to his ascension. From glory to humiliation and back up to glory again. From heaven to earth and earth to heaven, from which we await his return again. It’s the story of the Savior whose salvation has been accomplished in his death and resurrection, announced by men and angels, and advancing in the earth to build an ever-expanding house. Because this Savior is the head of our household, we have confidence that he himself will establish us, strengthen us, and sustain us onto glory.

Let’s keep telling his story, singing his song, and inviting our neighbors to sing along.

GOD’S OWN HOUSEHOLD

We come to the beating heart of Paul's letter. A passage which brings us to his primary purpose for writing as well as the main idea he wants Timothy - and us - to lay ahold of. Above all else, 1 Timothy has been written so that we’d know how to act at church. Just why is it so important how we act at church? Because of what the church is! The very household of God, a pillar and buttress of the capital "T" truth. But what makes the church what it is? What is the essence of the truth we're called to promote and protect? What creates the house, gives it life, and brings us home to God? It's the gospel we're founded upon. The "mystery of godliness" and grand story of the Savior's work. Any home is only as good as its foundation is strong. Therefore, to be a church that builds today and lasts long we must be a church that remains firmly fixed on the gospel of Christ. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

EVERY 2ND THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

All guys, 15 years and older, are invited to participate in a conversation where "men talk like men" about God. Join in at Hopper & Burr (202 W 4th St, Santa Ana, CA 92701) at 7:00 pm. Tonight the men are discussing the unique responsibilities, strengths, and temptations that belong to us as men.

LOOKING BACKWARD WITH GRATITUDE. LOOKING FORWARD WITH HOPE.

This Sunday, we had our bi-annual Members' Meeting. It was filled with looking forward to where we believe the Lord is taking us this next 6 months and beyond. We devoted the meeting to some important updates in the life of our church and didn't have time to cover all the things we normally would.

One of those areas would be looking back to reflect upon God's grace over the past 6 months. To remind you of his faithfulness in the past, encourage you in the present, and fill you with confidence for the future, take a look at how the Lord blessed us these past 6 months:

• 2 baptisms celebrated

• Added 6 new members

• 4 dear members “sent out” to the next season of life and ministry

• 5 deacons installed

• 1 wedding

• 3 new babies

• Biblical Counseling Seminar

• 2 gospel outreaches in French Park & DTSA

• 1 new small group launched

• Youth Ministry launched

• 8th Annual Communion Dinner Service

• Hosted our first Good Friday service since 2018

• Conducted a diaconate ministry exploration group

• Preached through James, a series on the Means of Grace, & currently in 1 Timothy

• 6 different preachers in the pulpit

DUE TO FATHER’S DAY, YOUTH MINISTRY WILL MEET ON 6/22

Make note of the new date and time, and join in next Sunday at 6:30pm for another evening of deep discussion, growing in faith, and all kinds of fun!

SEE YOU THERE!

FIND MORE INFO ON CGSA YOUTH MINISTRY HERE

JUNE 9 - JUNE 15

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, JUNE 12

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

• Men’s Meeting

  • 7:00pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA

SUNDAY, JUNE 15

• Sunday Gathering at the Ebell Club

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

ON SUNDAY, WE INSTALLED FIVE NEW DEACONS

Cross of Grace Santa Ana has five new deacons - shock absorbers, qualified according to 1 Timothy 3:8-13, who demonstrate model servanthood before their church family and who free up our elders to prioritize prayer and the ministry of the word.

Praise God with us for Daniel Lee, Fernando Madrigal, Peter Robles, Truman Severson, and Jennifer Williams!

HOW DO THEY BLESS THE CHURCH?

In the church, God has purposed to extend his shepherding care to his people through his people. To perform this work, he's appointed pastors as a gracious gift for his people. But 1 Timothy 3:8-13 teaches us that they're not the only gift that he has to give. Pastors cannot do it alone. In the building project that is the church, he enlists special servants called deacons to support the ministry of pastors, strengthen the life and unity of the body, and meet the needs of members in tangible ways. Our Chief Shepherd's "earthly ministry was mighty in both word and deed (cf. Luke 24:19), and he continues this two-pronged approach [in the church] today in large part through the offices of elder and deacon. As elders serve with words and deacons serve with deeds, Christ’s holistic ministry carries on" (Matt Smethurst).

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE