PRAY FOR OUR FAMILY OF CHURCHES

From Mark Prater, Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches:

In his timeless classic, “The Christian Ministry” Charles Bridges writes, “Prayer implies the renunciation of all dependence upon our best preparations, ministerial gifts, or spiritual habits; an acknowledgement of their insufficiency to qualify us for the discharge of our commission; and a simple dependence upon our Glorious Head for his present influence.”

Why do we pray for one another as a family of churches? Because prayer is a renunciation of our self-dependence and an expression of our complete dependence on God for His present influence, provision, help, and power. Prayer is a regular reminder that we cannot accomplish all that God has called us to do without asking for His "present influence.” 

God loves to hear are desperate, dependent prayers for one another and for our shared mission. 

Third Quarter Prayer Requests

▪    Pray that God would give the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace churches opportunities to share the gospel with unbelievers in our communities, workplaces and on our campuses. Pray for the saving grace of God to reach many. 

▪    Pray for the 5 U.S. church plants that are launching this fall in Coatesville, PA,  Galloway, NJ, North Knoxville, TN, Springhill, TN and North Manchester, IN asking God to draw unbelievers and the unchurched to those churches, and to bless the labors of the church planting teams. 

▪    Pray for the first Sovereign Grace Latin America Pastors Retreat in Santa Marta,  Colombia this summer, which is the first of its kind outside of Mexico, when pastors from Colombia, Bolivia and Costa Rica will gather to build relationally, give updates, and pray about building Sovereign Grace Churches in Latin America in the future. 

▪    Pray for Jeff and Julie Purswell as they travel to Sydney, Australia to serve at the Sovereign Grace Churches-Australia Together 2025 event, August 8-10, 2025, when the pastors and members of our 2 churches in that nation will gather for worship, teaching, and fellowship. Pray for Dave Taylor and Riley Spring asking God to give them grace to lead this important gathering.  

▪    Pray for our new 2025-2026 Pastors College students and their families from 3 different nations who will be moving to Louisville, KY before classes start at the end of August, asking God to provide for them and to give them grace to grow over the next year while at the PC. 

▪    Pray for the Sovereign Grace Music West Coast Conference, “Your Gathering and the Gospel” in Santa Clarita, CA, October 1-4, 2025, asking God to use this conference to equip and strengthen pastors, worship leaders, and all who serve in music and sound ministry. Pray for Bob Kauflin asking God to give him grace to lead in a way that gives God glory. 

▪    Pray for the Sovereign Grace Churches Executive Committee retreat in Glen Mills, PA, August 19-22, 2025, asking God to give the 9 men on this committee wisdom and help in fulfilling their responsibility of overseeing and evaluating the Leadership Team. 

▪    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.

JULY 21 - JULY 27

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, JULY 24

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

• Women’s Summer Potluck

  • 6:30pm - Oda Home

SUNDAY, JULY 27

• Sunday Gathering at the Ebell Club

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

• Emily’s Send-off Party

  • 1:00pm - Madrigal Home

CALLING ALL YOUNG ADULTS

Registration for the 2026 RELAY Conference is open! This year’s theme is The Church: The Dearest Place on Earth.

If you’re a young adult (age 16-30), we encourage you to attend the 3rd-annual RELAY Conference taking place in Glen Mills, PA, January, 5-7. You’ll be encouraged to live for the glory of Christ. You’ll be inspired to make your own and carry forward the doctrine, values, and mission that we hold so dear as Sovereign Grace Churches. You’ll experience a rich time of teaching, singing, and relational building designed to strengthen us for decades to come. Whether you’re new to our family of churches or you’ve been around a while, don’t miss this opportunity get to enjoy what God is doing among us and form relationships with brothers and sisters dedicated to the same mission across the globe!

Sign up HERE before JULY 31 for A discounted rate

Planning on attending? RSVP with Pastor Jeff.

AND WE ALL NEED JESUS

Pastoral ministry is serious business. Refuting error. Promoting and protecting the truth of the gospel. Shepherding God’s redeemed people and keeping watch over their very souls. The letter of 1 Timothy has made it clear that people need pastors to perform this serious and weighty work. But Paul’s instructions in 1 Tim 5:17-25 reveal that while people need pastors, pastors need people too. The leaders of the church are weak, ordinary, and imperfect men. Beggars telling other beggars where to find bread! For this reason, Jesus - the true Senior Pastor of any church - has positioned his people to serve as instruments of grace in the lives of those who lead her. Calling them to support the work of pastors by honoring them (5:17-18) and holding them accountable (5:19-25).

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

A CLASS TO EXPLORE CROSS OF GRACE CHURCH

If you’ve been visiting for any length of time and would like to learn more about who we are, what we’re like, and what we believe as a church, this class is for you. Starting Point is a two-hour class designed to help you to get to know us, ask any questions you have, and take the next step in discerning whether or not the Lord is calling you to become part of the Cross of Grace family.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

AUGUST 17 IMMEDIATELY AFTER CHURCH AT THE SCHLIEDER HOME

LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED

JULY 14 - JULY 20

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, JULY 17

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

SUNDAY, JULY 20

• Sunday Gathering at the Ebell Club

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

PRACTICAL EXPRESSIONS OF COMPASSION

On Sunday, we learned that because Christ has provided for our eternal life upon a new earth, we should provide for one another’s lives on earth here and now. He’s given himself to us, so we give ourselves to others. This is the glorious principle at the bottom of all our benevolence. So, HOW do we embrace it and apply it today?

Here are 5 ways you can walk out your responsibility to “keep” your natural and spiritual brother, love your neighbors in need, and respond to the care of Christ.

1. Feel Responsible - You ARE your brother's keeper. God calls you to strive after the good of those in your home and those within the household of God. How you respond to the most vulnerable around you will reflect how much you’ve been gripped by the gospel and then it will reflect that gospel to a watching world.

2. Prepare to care for your aging parents - This is important for us as a young church. As believers, we need to reframe our expectations and perspectives for what it means to honor our father and mother and have them reshaped by the word of God. The care of our aging parents first and foremost belongs to us. Not even primarily the church. And certainly, is not something to be left up or entrusted to state-sponsored systems and programs. We may or may not be doing all the hands-on caregiving, but, as Philip Ryken says, “it is the responsibility of children to make sure that their parents receive the best possible care. Whenever possible, they should do the caring themselves, in their own homes.” So look to the future planning to honor your father and mother for all their days that God would bless your days.

3. Meet the needs of those in need - As you’re able and whenever possible, when you see a need in the life of a brother or sister around you first ask, “How has God blessed me in order to be a blessing to them? What do I have to share? Time, money, stuff, help, expertise? Is there any way I can meet this need or ease this burden?” Take it upon yourself to bear the burdens of your friends and do not look away in the hopes someone else will do it for you. Let’s be ambitious to serve one another.

4. Bring your needs before the church - On the flipside, when we find ourselves in need, we shouldn’t keep it to ourselves. Material needs or otherwise are not “personal problems” that we should be embarrassed to share and determined to figure out on our own. God has made us family. He wants us to receive the care of our family and not live as private people. In Christ, there are no private persons. But, we’re all one in the body. And “when one member suffers, we all suffer together,”but “if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Cor 12:26).

5. Connect others to the ministry of our church - Finally, connect those who are, right now, outside of the house to the love and care that Christ has shown those of us who are within the house. Here are a few ways to we can bless our neighbors in need.

   • Share the Need Help? page - Did you know our church website has a “Need Help?” page? It connects neighbors in need to our team of deacons to receive counsel and support, gives them a way to apply for financial assistance from our church benevolence program, and provides information on all kinds of other community resources. Get familiar with this page and point your neighbors to the practical helps it offers.

   • Volunteer at organizations that are doing good work in our city - As you have the time and ability, volunteer with organizations that serve those who are in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, homeless, experiencing a crisis pregnancy, fleeing abuse, foster youth, and on and on. AND, don’t just volunteer out there. Build a bridge to bring them in here. Bridge the gap to the local church. Bring these neighbors in and their needs closer to Christ and welcome them into a community that will strive to love them, receive them, preach good news to them, and adorn that proclamation of good news with good works. Providing for their needs. Offering rides to those without vehicles. Helping someone make a resume or look for work. Connecting someone to local resources. And more.

     • Here are some organizations that are doing good work in our city:

       • Orange County Rescue Mission - Serving men, women, and children experiencing homeless with the gospel of Jesus Christ and providing a pathway to self-sufficiency

       • Olive Crest - Serving orphans, foster youth, and children in crisis

       • Livingwell Pregnancy Center - Serving women experiencing crisis pregnancies and loving our pre-born neighbors

       • Orangewood Foundation - Serving transitional aged-youth (18-24) experiencing homelessness or other challenges by providing shelter, necessities, case management, and other resources to help them thrive

       • Wiseplace - Serving unaccompanied women and children who are experiencing homeless, fleeing domestic violence, and seeking to rebuild their lives

       • Project Kinship - Serving youth and adults whose lives have been impacted by gangs, incarceration, and violence by offering a pathway to hope, healing, and community

   • Participate in evangelism and build relationships with our neighbors - In order to bring them near to a community that is called and commissioned to “love,” not just, as the Apostle John says, “in word or talk but in deed and truth” (1 Jn 3:18). Share the gospel of the Savior who meets their greatest need. Invite them to church. Connect them to our fellowship. Labor that they would not walk alone in their struggles.

Cross of Grace Church, would we care for our natural and spiritual families. Believing that as we do, our household here will be healthy, whole, and continuously expanding as we give ourselves to those in need just as Christ has given himself to us.

RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR NATURAL & SUPERNATURAL HOUSEHOLD

1 Timothy 5:3-16 concerns the proper care of widows in the church. Out of everything we've encountered in this letter, this passage might seem like the most irrelevant or unfamiliar instruction to the church today. But, it's a word that strikes at the very heart of who God is and at the very center of who we're called to be. Because, a healthy church that stands strong and lasts long will be a church marked by compassion for most vulnerable among us. As believers, we ought to feel a godly responsibility to give ourselves to those in need just as Christ has given himself to us. To the parents, children, grandparents, and relatives in our natural families. To the brothers and sisters we’ve been set side by side with in the family of Christ. To the neighbors we’re praying would soon join us in the household of God.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

BRING A FRIEND AND NOTE AN EARLIER START TIME OF 6:30 PM

In lieu of Men’s Meeting this July, the men will be gathering together for a Men’s BBQ tonight. They’ll be sharing in the good gifts of friendship and food to the glory of God’s name. This is a great event to invite your friends, regardless of what they believe or where they’re at with church.

CONTACT US HERE FOR LOCATION DETAILS

JULY 11-14, 2025 PRESCOTT, ARIZONA

Starting tomorrow through July 14th, students from churches all across the West Region of Sovereign Grace Churches will gather together for a time of worship, teaching, games, and lip-sync battles, all to the glory of God!

In our church alone, there will be 10 youth going and 5 adults chaperoning! Would you join us in praying for all the youth and leaders that are attending. Ask the Lord:

• To bring youth to saving faith or strengthen their walks with Christ

• To build friendships amongst students

• To use the speakers, teachers, and adult leaders to minister powerfully to the next generation of our family of churches

• To impress upon our youth that there’s nothing better than living for Jesus

WATCH LAST YEAR’S RECAP VIDEO HERE