Our youth meetings happen two times per month. They are getting together this Thursday evening and there's only one item on the agenda:
Fun
It's open to families inside and outside of the church. Contact Lisa for more info.
We are grateful to be part of a denomination that loves and writes good music. Sovereign Grace Music is a gift to our church.
This Sunday we sing a song from their newest album. Come ready to join in.
O LORD, MY ROCK AND MY REDEEMER
VERSE 1
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer
Greatest treasure of my longing soul
My God, like You there is no other
True delight is found in You alone
Your grace, a well too deep to fathom
Your love exceeds the heavens’ reach
Your truth, a fount of perfect wisdom
My highest good and my unending need
VERSE 2
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer
Strong defender of my weary heart
My sword to fight the cruel deceiver
And my shield against his hateful darts
My song when enemies surround me
My hope when tides of sorrow rise
My joy when trials are abounding
Your faithfulness, my refuge in the night
VERSE 3
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer
Gracious Savior of my ruined life
My guilt and cross laid on Your shoulders
In my place You suffered bled and died
You rose, the grave and death are conquered
You broke my bonds of sin and shame
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer
May all my days bring glory to Your Name
ROMANS 9:1-13
On Sunday Pastor Dustin showed us that sometimes the truth is personally painful. We need to embrace it, not because it's easy, but because it's from God. We are being shaped by His word.
Two brand new babies were born this week. Thank God for the gift of life.
Congrats, Nestor and Ashley!
Also congrats, Mike and Krista!
Back in October we made you aware of an opportunity to support pastors and churches in Puerto Rico after the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria. By God's provision and your generosity, our church was able to send money to aid these efforts.
We recently received an update from the pastor overseeing the aid to Puerto Rico. In his words, here is a sampling of the things they were able to accomplish with the money given:
- Supplied 37 generators to areas without power.
- Gave thousands of dollars to buy supplies for devastated areas on the island, and it also was used to cover specific needs for the operations of local churches during the emergency.
- Approximately $5,000 was used to care for pastors on the island. This money was used to meet specific needs of the pastor and their families as they functioned as first responders in their local communities. These funds also gave them some time to rest during this difficult season.
- Delivered emergency supplies, such as batteries, flashlights, and laundry detergent, along with other necessities.
- A portion has gone towards theological relief. Since the end of November, we have been meeting with a group of pastors to help them process in a biblical way the tragedy that they are experiencing and to equip them to move forward in order to better serve their churches and communities.
Thank you for loving people you haven't even met. It brings glory to God and comfort to His people. Your generosity "is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God" (2 Cor. 9:12).
Pastors Who Train Pastors
Our denomination recently celebrated the 20 year anniversary of its Pastors College with a video that explains and recounts its history. In 1997, Sovereign Grace Churches created a context to intentionally train and equip men for pastoral ministry.
287 men have been through the college and two of them are our pastors (look closely in the photos). We thank God for putting us in a denomination where calling, equipping, and supporting pastors is a high priority.
Enjoy the video above and read more on Sovereign Grace's website.
God Loves Music and So Do We
God is a singing God and His people are singing people. Fortunately, we live in a day and age where there are many talented musicians publishing theologically-rich, God-glorifying songs.
We have pulled some of them together into a Spotify playlist for you to enjoy. Included are a mix of songs we sing on Sundays and other songs we appreciate.
Join us in fasting on the first Friday of every month in 2018. Church members who fast for all 12 Fridays will be invited to a year-end party to celebrate the answers to our prayers. Sign-up so that we know you'll be joining us.
If fasting is new to you, here are some instructions.
ORANGE COUNTY
Our focus for February is Orange County and our ambition to see more gospel-proclaiming churches planted. Let's be hungry for God to do what only he can do.
- Pray for God to lead us in finding our next church planting cities/sites.
- Pray for our neighboring cities like Anaheim, Tustin, and Garden Grove, that God would be preparing His harvest.
- Pray for God to raise up church planters and other leaders, both from within our church and from the outside.
- Pray for the churches who are already faithfully making disciples throughout Orange County. Pray for their strength, unity, peace, and faithfulness to the mission.
- Pray for government officials and other civic leaders.