Pastor Eric preached from Romans 15:14-33 this past Sunday. He reminded us that affirming the grace of God in one another brings God much glory. When we look at each other, we see what God sees: His Son. The things Jesus has called us to do, we do together. The gospel has bound us to one another.
On Sunday Kyle Houlton, our Santa Ana church planter, preached on John 1:35-51. He asked us to remember what made us decide to devote our lives to Jesus. He provided four glimpses of the glory of Jesus that make Him worthy of our allegiance.
On Sunday Pastor Eric preached from Romans 14:13-23. He reminded us that Jesus has made us free. We are free to do all kinds of things that bring us joy and please Him. But our freedoms can hurt our brothers and sisters. When they do, we are free to love them by restricting ourselves. We no longer ask, "What can I get away with?" We ask, "How can I glorify God while doing good to those for whom Christ died?"
On Sunday Pastor Eric continued our series in Romans preaching Romans 13:8-14. He reminded us that the debt of love we owe can never be satisfied. We are never done loving each other because Jesus is never done loving us. We continue to pour our lives out for others because Jesus' love is inexhaustible.
On Sunday we watched as two precious people made public commitments to Jesus Christ. We are grateful God has saved them. We are grateful they are among us.
On Sunday, church member Grant Sigafoos continued our 3-week series in Habakkuk preaching from Habakkuk 1:12-2:20. He reminded us that God's ways often leave us scratching our heads. Or worse, His ways upset us. He uses evil people for good purposes. He authorizes tragedy instead of preventing it. In these moments, our great act of faith is simply to pour out our complaints to God and then wait for Him to respond.
This Sunday we will be ending our service with baptisms out in the garden. It is one of the great joys of the Christian life to watch others commit to following the same Jesus we follow.
Be a witness. Be there to celebrate the grace of God. Be there to encourage your brothers and sisters.
You can get baptized this Sunday, but you need to act quickly. If you have believed in Jesus but have never been baptized then learn more about baptism and fill out the form ASAP. A pastor will be in touch to make sure you're ready.