EXODUS 17:8-16

Is it ever okay for us to hold a grudge? What about God? Because in Ex 17:8-16, he declares an unrelenting, unending, no-terms-of-peace-to-be-offered war with a people called the Amalekites. What’s going on here? What are we to make of God's promise to resist them forever? How does this story shape our stories in any way? It means that while God has made peace with us, there are some things we just can't make peace with. Because the beating heart of this battle back then has everything to do with the spiritual struggle and fight against our sin we’re caught up in today.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

EVERY 2ND THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Tonight, the men of Cross of Grace will gather together to sit under the word, bear their brother’s burdens, and call out to the Lord in prayer. All guys 15 years and older are welcome to join in at the Robles’ home tonight at 7pm. We’ll discuss what it means to see Jesus in his word and share the things in our hearts that cloud our vision of him. Come ready to be challenged, encouraged, and built up as men in Christ!

REACH OUT HERE FOR THE ADDRESS

THIS SATURDAY - 3/14, @10AM

This Saturday morning, a team from CGSA is going into French Park and DTSA to strike up spiritual conversations with our neighbors. We’ll get to know them, pray for them, share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and extend the invite to our upcoming Bridge Course.

Love to do this sort of thing? Come on down! Scared to do this kind of thing? Then come on down as well! We’re expecting that the Lord will use us to extend his welcome to our neighbors as he takes our very ordinary efforts and blesses them in extraordinary ways. You’re invited to grow more confident sharing the gospel, learn from your brothers and sisters as you watch them reaching out, and see God “paint our city blue,” one blade of grass at a time.

We’ll meet at the Ebell parking lot at 9:45am to pray before we go out. We’ll wrap up around noon at Hidden House for a quick debrief.

Want to see what it’s like? Check out this video from a previous outreach. Reach out to Robert Lopez to RSVP or ask any questions.

THIS SUNDAY AT 6:30PM

The youth of Cross of Grace are meeting again this Sunday, as they continue their line by line journey through the Apostles’ Creed. This time around they’re asking the question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” Come ready to wrestle with the big questions of faith and receive the answers God provides. See you at Hopper & Burr!

FIND MORE INFO ON CGSA YOUTH MINISTRY HERE

3/16 @7PM

Our 10-week exploration of the Christian faith begins this Monday! We’re looking forward to building relationships with our neighbors, wrestling with the big questions of life, and diving into honest conversations where all perspectives are welcomed.

3 WAYS TO PRAY

1. Pray about who you’ll bring - Who in your life is seeking answers, isn’t sure what they believe, or has doubts about Christianity? Ask the Lord to give you eyes to see the family members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors who are far from him and burden you for their salvation.

2. Pray for boldness to invite them - Next, pray for boldness to open your mouth, send that text, share the link, and invite them to Bridge. Ask God for opportunities to talk about spiritual things and then seize the moment to welcome them to Bridge and keep the conversation going. Pray urgently over these next few days leading up to the course for your brothers and sisters at Cross of Grace as they do the same.

3. Pray for open hearts - Finally, pray that God would go before you, cause your words of welcome to land on fertile soil, and begin drawing our guests to himself. Pray that he would bring your friends, family, and neighbors to Bridge so that they could catch a glimpse of our joy. Pray they’d honestly share their questions and doubts. Pray that they’d find answers in God’s word. More than anything, pray that the joy we have in Jesus would become a joy they’d soon share with us.

Use this link to invite your friends. Find all the details for the Spring Course here.

CHECK OUT THE SPRING COURSE LANDING PAGE

MARCH 9 - MARCH 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. Below we’ve got a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:

TUESDAY, MARCH 10

• Basketball in the Park

  • 6:30pm - El Camino Real Park

    • Reach out to Manny for more info

THURSDAY, MARCH 12

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

• Men’s Meeting

  • 7:00pm - Robles Home

SATURDAY, MARCH 14

• Neighborhood Outreach

  • 9:45am - Hidden House Parking Lot

    • Reach out to Robert for more info and to RSVP

SUNDAY, MARCH 15

• Sunday Gathering at the Ebell Club

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

• Youth Ministry

  • 6:30pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA

    • Learn more about Youth Ministry here

TWO WAYS TO CELEBRATE

Good Friday Gathering - 4/3 @7pm

We're planning a combined Small Group on April 3rd at 7pm. All Cross of Grace small groups will join forces in the Schlieder backyard to sing, read Scripture, and pray. Mark your calendars for Friday, April 3rd at 7pm for this special Good Friday gathering.

Easter Sunday Service - 4/5 @10am

Join us as we celebrate the Risen King who reigns in love. Use our digital flyer to invite your friends, family and neighbors to join us at the Ebell Club at 10:00 am Sunday, April 5th.

LEARN MORE HERE

SATURDAY 4/11 AT 8AM

Let’s keep building community in Santa Ana one run at a time! Sign up for the 5k, 10k, or Kid’s Dash event. Some of the race events are free! There will be a resource fair following the event. Don’t miss the opportunity to go into our city and get to know neighbors who don’t know Jesus.

Sign-up with a couple friends, you can find all the registration and event information here.

LUKE 24:13-35

This Sunday we had the joy of hearing our Pastoral Intern, Robert Lopez, preach to us for the very first time! He told us about 2 disciples on that very first Easter Sunday who couldn’t see Jesus. They were lost, confused, and blinded by sadness. But Christ came and found them on the road to Emmaus. On the way, the men tell him that some of their friends reported the tomb was empty and Jesus was alive, "but him they did not see." The Risen Lord responds by showing himself first through the Bible (Luke 24:27) and then through the broken bread (24:30-31). He reveals himself through the Scriptures and the sacrament and their eyes are opened to see him. And once they see him, they can't keep it to themselves. Because this experience of seeing Jesus leads directly to them sharing Jesus with the others. This sight of his glory moved them to get back on the road, race down to Jerusalem, and proclaim to the others that "The Lord has risen indeed!" (24:34). This sort of sight should do the very same thing for us. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

SEEING AND BELIEVING

Our annual communion service was a wonderful time of beholding Christ around the table. We set our sights upon the broken bread and poured out cup in order to see the Lamb who was slain for us. We worshiped. We feasted. We fellowshiped. We anticipated that great banquet to come. And we were nourished in body and soul.

Many thanks to all the hands that prepared the food, set the tables, arranged the decorations, captured photos, and made it all possible.

TO SEE PHOTOS FROM COMMUNION SERVICE CLICK HERE