Join us this summer every week at either Hart Park or Corona Del Mar State Beach for summertime fun. Mothers and children of all ages are welcome. Empty-nesters too.
Our regular Afterschool Playgroup is adjusting to a summer schedule. Check out the church calendar for location and Facebook for the latest updates.
If you are a recent guest, first-time attender, just passing through, or have been around a couple weeks but haven't yet been to a guest luncheon, then please be our guest! Join us this Sunday, 06-14-15, immediately following the service, for a luncheon in the Woman's Club Garden.
The format is "come-and-go as you please" and kids are welcome. More info will be available at the service on Sunday. See you then!
Last week, pastors from every Sovereign Grace church in the Western region of the U.S. participated in a retreat. Two days of discussion, debate, strategy, and fellowship. An important couple days in the life of our little denomination.
You can read all about how our sister churches govern themselves here. However, the Book of Church Order will never help you fully understand how good it is to be part of something bigger than your local church. Retreats like these remind us why we choose to partner with these men and their churches. The following is a partial list of things we accomplished:
One of the highlights of the retreat was listening to two pastors who together have over 60 years of experience. And they've done it all in the context of our denomination. You don't get this kind of mentoring online or at seminary. These men have shared their very lives with us.
Swap instead of shop! Bring your unwanted clothes and take home something else home for free. A fun way to share with one another. All women and girls (preteen and older) are invited.
Last Sunday we "swapped" preachers with our sister church in Pasadena. Senior Pastor Ron Boomsma was with us while Pastor Eric was with them.
Unfortunately, the recording on our end is unusable (we are learning to use our new equipment). If you missed Pastor Ron's sermon from Matthew 21:28-32, you can listen to him preach the same sermon in Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena.
Shared this last Sunday...
I leave for graduate school today and must say goodbye. Of course, I'll always keep tabs on you (creepily on Facebook), but it won't be the same.
Today is also a sweet because my departure has prompted me to reflect on all my memories of you and to say thank you. I am deeply grateful to God for you. He has always been so careful and intentional in the way He placed people in my life. And for the past few years, those people have been you.
Five years ago, I began a new chapter of my life as a post-undergraduate, not truly knowing where I was being called vocationally or geographically. I had a deep sense of wanderlust, and it was hard to be content returning home to Orange County. But God's plans were better than my plans.
My time here felt like a balancing act. I was working a few jobs, interning, and going to school. I often worried I was working hard for nothing, feeling incompetent and unaccomplished, and feeling insecure about my abilities in school and the workplace. There was an unsaid expectation to perform up to a standard that I, and what I perceived as others, had expected of me. I felt as though I was getting pulled apart and thinned out because I was placing my identity in all of the things I was doing. I quickly realized I was unable to depend on my own inner strength.
You never stopped declaring the truth of the Gospel of Jesus from the day I arrived. You preached it from the pulpit. You demonstrated it through your lives. You reminded me time and time again that Jesus Christ is my identity every minute of every day. I'm not defined by my work, my school, my issues, or my emotions. I am deeply love by the one who saved me from the worst thing in this life and in the life to come. You became to me a reflection of this reality.
Thank you all for encouraging my faith and reflecting Christ to me.
It is my prayer that God would continue to plant the Gospel deeper into all of your hearts so that the fruits of His work would be all-encompassing in every aspect of your life, and evident and enjoyed by those around you. Thank you for being part of my life, I love you all, and will miss you greatly!
Official Top Secret Church Fishing Spot
You can always go here to view our church calendar. And syncing it up with your personal calendar is automagical. Here are some highlights:
June 14 - Guest Reception
June 21 - Father's Day Chainsaw Award
June 27 - Women's Clothing Swap
July 12 - Baptisms
July 19 - Guest Reception
August 23 - 3rd Annual Freestyle Chili Cookoff
Pastors from our sister churches throughout the western United States are meeting together this week in Phoenix, AZ. Pastor Eric is participating.
This time is set aside regularly for them to function as our U.S. West Regional Assembly of Elders. They pray, study, care for one another, coordinate resources, and strategize together. Please pray that God would meet them as they labor this week for God and us.
