“The deeper into weakness and suffering and testing we go, the deeper Christ’s solidarity with us. As we go down into pain and anguish, we are descending ever deeper into Christ’s very heart, not away from it.”
-Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly

On Sunday Pastor Eric quoted from Gentle and Lowly, a book released in 2020 with the very heart of Christ as its topic. This thoroughly biblical book will warm your heart by teaching you of the Savior’s heart for you. We can’t recommend it enough.

Pick up a copy here.

You can also listen to a 14-day podcast drawn from the book.

Jesus’ encounter with the death of a friend.

On Sunday Pastor Eric preached from John 11:1-44, the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. In our grief, we must remember that Jesus is never late. He understands and sympathizes with us. He is angry at the havoc sin is wreaking in our lives. He is the One we look to for victory over sin and death.

Listen to the sermon.

We’re moving it online

This Thursday, the weather forecasters are predicting heavy rain for Orange County during our prayer meeting. If it clears up, we’ll keep the meeting in-person and outdoors in Old Towne Orange. The details are here.

If it’s raining, we’ll email a Zoom link to our church directory with instructions.

No matter what, we’re going to gather and pray. May God hear our prayers and show us his grace.

Our doctrine is grace and our ethics is gratitude.

On Sunday Pastor Mike preached from 1 Timothy 6:3-10. He asked us to consider if we are resting in Christ. We’re regularly tempted to rely on ourselves, but our Savior invites us to find contentment in Him. Peaceful hearts are the gift of those who know Jesus and trust in Him.

Listen to the sermon.

“Our praying, however, needs to be pressed and pursued with an energy that never tires, a persistency which will not be denied, and a courage which never fails.”
– E. M. Bounds

There are few things more important for a church than to pray together. Our loving heavenly Father welcomes us into His presence to hear our requests. Our prayers move His heart.

We Pray Next Thursday

On 1/28/2021 at 7:00pm, we gather together for our first all-church prayer meeting of 2021. We’re asking you to be there.

Get all the details right here and join us.

*Sync with our master calendar to make sure you never miss a church meeting.

Being in partnership with Sovereign Grace Churches means we celebrate God’s work through our sister churches. There are two exciting updates we encourage you to check out.

The first is from Living Hope Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. God has blessed their church through the pandemic. They’ve recorded a video to tell the story. God’s grace truly is greater.

The second update is from Lifegate Church in Seguin, TX. They have just reached their 40th anniversary and are in the midst of planting a new church. Read through their update and thank God for the work He’s doing in Texas.

Singing for the glory of Jesus and the good of our souls.

Our friends at Sovereign Grace Music have just released two new songs. The first is a song for the new year called “All of Our Tomorrows.” It’s lyrically rich and set to a beautiful melody.

Listen to “All of Our Tomorrows”

The second song, Christ Will Be My Hideaway, is based on Psalm 91. It was written for our current historical moment. The first verse includes the lyrics, “Though a sickness hides in darkness // Though a plague destroys by day // I will stand upon his promises // Christ will be my hideaway.”

Listen to “Christ Will Be My Hideaway”

Growing Together

On Sunday, Stephanie shared about the ways God used her One-on-One this fall. God is using our fellowship to help us faithfully follow Christ. Draw encouragement from Stephanie’s example. Take a moment to read her testimony below:

During the last few months, I had the opportunity to participate in one on one meetings with Melissa. Our study was on the Sermon on the Mount and we read a commentary, The Sermon on the Mount by Sinclair Ferguson.  

I was reminded that the Sermon on the Mount is applicable to our daily life as Christians. Our spiritual deficits lead us to mourn our sins. However, as we experience His gentleness and grace we are led to be gentle with others.  As people who have received mercy, we are called to be merciful. This calling felt daunting as I read it.

 As a child welfare social worker, I meet with people during low points in their lives. At times it can be difficult to have a merciful heart and it can be easy to judge people for the mistakes that they have made. But it’s only when we are in the mindset of experiencing his mercy toward our own sin that we are able to see others as He sees them and then we begin to extend the same mercy.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and we are freed through his grace to love obediently and where we fail His mercy is unending.

Reading this book with Melissa was a blessing. Prior to reading the book together Melissa and I had greeted each other at church a couple of times and we had also run into each other around the town.

Reading this book together gave us the opportunity to be intentional about our conversations. It allowed us to reflect with one another in the ways we could grow spiritually. Meeting one on one allowed for vulnerable conversations and an opportunity to really get to know one another. Our meetings led to purposeful conversations as well as intentional prayer and accountability.

I am grateful to have been able to spend the last few months getting to understand the Sermon on the Mount while also getting to know Melissa.