Join the party this Thursday night.
The Blackman Family is hosting all Junior and Senior High students for an evening of fellowship and fun. Come ready to share something you are grateful for, to play games, and to eat food.
Theology on Tap is monthly conversations in an informal setting, with "men talking like men" about God. The topics are chosen to challenge the group, and the discussion leader always offers a few resources to prepare everyone before the meeting. Learn more here.
The "signs and wonders" gifts.
What distinction should we make between the "signs and wonders" gifts and the ordinary equipping of the saints? Is the gift of prophecy for the church today? What about the gift of healing? Read along as our current group discusses these questions this week. This is their homework for November (Please note that the following resources are for discussion purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect our churches doctrinal positions.).
The New Testament Gift of Prophecy
"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another." (Ephesians 4:25 ESV)
Pastor Mike's sermon isn't posted online yet, but that shouldn't stop us from engaging in this timely message. We live in a world more disconnect than it is ever been. It's going to take courage and work if we are to enjoy the kind of relationships God intends. We must fight the urge to hide and instead give ourselves to one another. There is no room in our community for anything other than truth.
Speak the truth about yourself.
Speak the truth about others.
Speak the truth about God.
Every year USC matches international students with families in our area for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you've been around , you've probably seen a few of us participate. It's a ton of fun and a great way to welcome others into our homes and life together.
You can do this too.
Happy autumn from USC's Office of International Services (OIS)! With the holiday season around the corner, we are gearing up for our annual Thanksgiving Match-Up Program. We greatly appreciate our families who have hosted USC international students in the past and hope that you will help us continue the tradition this year. Our students come from all over the world and are eager to take part in this great American cultural tradition. Year after year, we have heard nothing but wonderful stories from students as you have welcomed them into your home and created lasting memories of their time in the US. Last Thanksgiving, we successfully matched 130 students with 40 host families. This year, due to the popularity of this program and the increase in our student population, we expect that number to grow even larger. Please help us share this wonderful event with our students and register to be a host family this Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27, 2014.
To volunteer as a host family, please complete our online form.
The application deadline is November 7, 2014.
If you have any questions or would like to refer your friends and family to participate in this program, please contact Hanna Lee, International Student Advisor, at (213) 740-2666 or by email:oistgday@usc.edu
Every once in a while one of our small groups goes rogue and decides to meet on a 5th Wednesday...despite our neat little church calendar that says 2nd and 4th Wednesdays only.
This month the Old Towne Orange groups arranged a scavenger hunt that included among other shenanigans: howling at the moon by the Plaza fountain, reverse trick or treating, performed "Thriller" as a group (in public), and sent a member into Cafe Lucca dressed as a mummy to order "booberry gelato".
"The Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life's different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship, but to keep her on her course."
This Sunday is Reformation Sunday. One Sunday a year we like to celebrate what God has done in the Reformation, and celebrate how God is continuing to work. So we are throwing a party!
This Sunday
German Sausage Sandwiches
Semper Reformanda Desserts
The party will begin immediately after the service in the Women's Club garden The church is providing lunch, so everything is taken care of. All guests and members are welcome.
We maintain three regular church member meetings a year.
These are strategic moments in our life together as a congregation. Our pastors lead us through updates, testimonies, church business, and church vision. We laugh, we ask questions, we pray, and we celebrate. That's a members meeting at Sovereign Grace Church.
This last Sunday we gathered in the Woman's Club gardens to cover a number of topics.
Our Deaconate Ministry
Church Financial Update
Denominational Update
Church Planting Plans
That last category was a new one for us. It's never been covered in a members meeting and it was exciting. Here is the adaptation from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Planting Manual that Pastor Eric referenced.
One of the most basic questions asked of anyone who is involved in church planting is, "Why are you starting a new church?" Implied is the question: "Aren't there already enough churches here?”
Three reasons found in the New Testament:
- When a specific, unusual opportunity to plant a church occurs. (Acts 11, Acts 17, 1 Thessalonians 1)
- When a center of population and influence needs the ministry of a new church. (Acts 16, Philippians 4)
- When fellow believers need our help to carry on what Christ has begun among them. (Acts 18, Acts 19)
May we all press in and pray more fervently for our small corner of the universe. Orange County is bursting at the seams with people who need Jesus.