This week, 4 groups will meet throughout our city to share in the joy of Jesus and apply his gospel to each other’s lives. Outside of Sunday mornings, small groups are the most important moments in the life of our church. Make it a priority to attend one this week.
After taking a week off for Houlton send-off festivities, Youth Ministry is back! They are ready to jump back into discussions of C.S. Lewis’ classic The Screwtape Letters. Grab a copy of the book, and join in this Sunday.
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. Below we’ve got a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:
Basketball in the Park
6:30pm - El Camino Park
Reach out to Manny for more info
French Park Run Club
6:30am - French Park Grass Area
Small Groups
7:00pm - Lee & Roenicke Home
Small Groups
7:00pm - Erkelens & Williams Home
Sunday Gathering at Ebell Club
10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
Youth Ministry
6:30pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA
Learn more about Youth Ministry here
The Bridge Course
7:00pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA
Invite your friends to join us for Bridge!
If you’ve been visiting Cross of Grace for any length of time and would like to learn more about what we believe as a church and how those beliefs take shape in the life of the church, this class is for you. If you’re discerning whether or not this is the church family the Lord is calling you to, this class is for you. If you’re ready to take the next step in pursuing membership at Cross of Grace, Starting Point is your starting point to do so!
Wherever you’re at in the process, we invite you to join us one two hour class. Immediately after church at the Roenicke home in Santa Ana with lunch and childcare provided.
It is a rich privilege to be God’s instruments, but a profound relief to know we’re only instruments. Amazingly, we get to be tools in the hands of the living God. But we are just tools. Any fruit, any progress in our mission and sweetness in our life together comes from God “who gives the growth” (1 Cor 3:7). It’s good news to know that our experience of all this does not ultimately depend on any one of us. That the church is not about any one of us. It’s all about Jesus. He is the foundation of our life. The fuel for our faith. And the rock solid confidence we have as we face the future. Our job is to take up what he’s laid down and then build upon his foundation with godly ambition.
On October 31, 1517, a German Monk named Martin Luther nailed a document calling for reform in the Catholic Church to the door of the local church in Wittenburg. What followed was a movement that has changed both the Church and the world to this day!
The triumph of the Reformation wasn’t the development of new doctrine that took the world by storm, but the rediscovery of the biblical gospel. It was the recovery of “the church’s true treasure,” as Luther said time and time again.
At Cross of Grace, we gladly locate ourselves downstream of the heritage and theology that flowed out of the Protestant Reformation. “Reformed Theology” is one of the 7 Shared Values that mark our family of churches. The story of the Reformation is important to us because it’s a story that helps us better understand ourselves. It points to the shoulders of the gospel-centered saints of old that we still stand upon today.
You can find an excellent summary of what the Protestant Reformation was all about and why it remains relevant today in the article Does the Reformation Still Matter? by Stephen Nichols. In addition to this, below you will find a selection of resources that will immerse you in the story of the Reformation as you sing, watch, and listen to the events which have shaped our church and the world around us.
Sing
The Five Solas by Psallos puts the 5 summary slogans of the Reformation (Scripture Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Christ Alone, & God’s Glory Alone) to music and drives the truth of the gospel down into our hearts.
Watch
Luther: The Life and Legacy of the German Reformer - Available to stream for FREE. “Watch this documentary to discover the events God used in Martin Luther’s life that led him to rediscover the gospel of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.“ You can also download Ligonier’s free accompanying study guide.
The Story of Martin Luther - a short, kid-friendly animated film surveying the life of Martin Luther.
Listen
Luther: In Real Time - There are 2 seasons to the podcast. It was first released 500 years after the events described, this podcast allows you to walk in Martin Luther’s footsteps from his heresy charges to his famous stand for the authority of God’s Word at the Diet of Worms.
We hope this list makes you grateful to God for his work in the past and also encourages you to keep the spirit of the Reformation alive as we seek to always be reforming our church and our lives according to God’s Word. Semper Reformanda!
This gathering is all about men in Christ growing as men in Christ. Every month, guys, 15 years and older, sit under the word, engage in robust discussion, and bear their brother’s burdens. Join in at the Robles home in SA at 7:00 pm.
This Sunday, we’re excited to introduce a new song that celebrates our adoption into God’s family through the work of Christ the Son. As our friends at Sovereign Grace Music put it:
“It's a source of inexpressible amazement, joy, and awe that God provided a way for us to be forgiven by offering his Son as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. But the story doesn't end there. We've not only been forgiven - we've been adopted. We've are no longer enemies of God, under his wrath. He has made us his dearly loved children. That's why J.I. Packer has written, "To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is a greater.” This song helps us celebrate that reality with unbridled joy.”
Listen to the song, read the lyrics, and come ready to sing and hear the gospel this Sunday.
VERSE 1
O God, when You spoke into darkness
And said, "Let there be, " and it was
You made us the crown of creation
To share in Your love
And when we rejected Your goodness
To follow our foolish desires
You knew that one day You'd redeem us
Through one sacrifice
CHORUS
Oh, what a love You have lavished on us
To call us Your children, daughters and sons
One with the Savior, bought by His blood
We are Yours forever
VERSE 2
By grace You have made us Your family
We're kept in Your kindness and care
With boldness we know we can bring You
Each burden we bear
And though we are longing to see You
Your Spirit within testifies
That we are adopted and treasured
'Til faith becomes sight
BRIDGE
What now can separate us
From the hope You gave us
We will be like Christ our King
We are Yours forever
We’re so grateful to host our Sunday services in the heart of DTSA. As an expression of that gratitude, let’s continue being the best tenants we can be by making it a top priority to keep the Ebell beautiful & remembering a few simple rules:
Parents, please keep an eye on your children throughout the entirety of our Sunday morning gathering. Remind them to:
Be careful with the glass on the doors, no slamming the door or touching the glass.
No running or wrestling (inside or outside) at the Ebell Club.
In the Courtyard - please stay on the turf and sidewalk, do not walk in the planters, or climb on the guardrails.
Out front - Kids, please stay out of the planters and do not pick the flowers.
Please make sure not to roll any equipment down the stairs, or roll any strollers down the steps. Please lift these items up and over the steps as you go to avoid cracking or chipping the tiles.
Thanks for doing your part to love our meeting space and keep the Ebell beautiful!
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. Below we’ve got a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:
Basketball in the Park
6:30pm - El Camino Park
Reach out to Manny for more info
French Park Run Club
6:30am - French Park Grass Area
Men’s Meeting
7:00pm - Robles Home
Sunday Gathering at Ebell Club
10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom
The Bridge Course
7:00pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA
Invite your friends to join us for Bridge!
