A Curated Christmas Playlist Just for You
We've created a Christmas Spotify playlist to help you get the best songs about the Savior stuck in your head during the Advent season.
Advent In Orange
The Christmas season is upon us. The city of Orange inaugurates this holiday with the annual Orange Christmas Tree Lighting & Candlelight Choir Procession. There are games and activities for kids followed by a beautiful program with Christmas carols and a Scripture reading of the birth of Jesus Christ.
It’s this Sunday beginning at 3:30pm. Join your church and your city for a wonderful evening together.
The incarnation of the Son of God was planned well before Jesus came into the world. It’s important we remember that the coming of our Savior was no afterthought. The place to begin our wonder at the Christmas story is back in the garden of Eden.
Let R.C. Sproul help you meditate on this truth by reading his article below.
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (v. 15).
The incarnation of the Son of God in the person of Christ and His subsequent ministry, life, death, resurrection, and ascension all took place in actual history. This is the testimony of the New Testament—that God entered history to save His people from their sin. Yet, this does not mean the Lord was not working in history before the incarnation. In fact, He has been working in history from the very beginning.
Genesis 3:14–15 shows this to be the case. This passage, which Christian theologians have called the protoevangelium, or “first gospel,” represents God’s actual announcement in history of His plan of salvation. We cannot understand who Jesus is and what He came to do apart from understanding this text and how it is unfolded in the rest of Scripture.
Most of us are probably quite familiar with this text and its immediate context. Our Creator gave Adam and Eve everything they needed and more, even blessing them with His presence in Eden (Gen. 1–2). However, Adam and Eve betrayed God and ate from the forbidden tree, with the consequence of being alienated from Him (Gen. 3:1–13). The Lord would have been just to condemn them right away, and indeed, He did judge them for their sin (vv. 16–19). But God showed His grace in not judging Adam and Eve first. In a text loaded with cosmic significance, the Lord first curses the serpent—who is Satan (Rev. 12:9)—saying that his head will be bruised even as he bruises the heel of the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:14–15). This is nothing less than spiritual warfare instituted by our Maker. God promised His people that the devil would finally be defeated—he would suffer a crushing blow to the head—and that snakes crawl on the ground and lick the dust is a visible reminder of this fact.
The seed of the woman refers at the same time to both one and many individuals. It does not consist of every single descendant of Adam and Eve, for spiritually speaking, some people have a lineage that goes back to Satan (John 8:39–47). Those who are children of the devil are God’s enemies; thus, those who are on the Lord’s side are the seed of the woman who will defeat Satan. Still, given the fact that even God’s friends are tainted by sin, we know that His people cannot be the seed that defeats the devil, at least not in and of themselves. Instead, the seed finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, who defeated Satan on the cross (Col. 2:13–15). In Him, then, we find ourselves defeating the devil.
The Most Unpopular Christian Convictions
Pastor Eric is taking our youth through some of the most challenging beliefs Christians hold. They’ve already covered “Christianity is the one true religion” and “Christians believe in sin.” This week they’re tackling “Christians believe in forgiveness.”
All Junior and Senior High students are invited to join. Bring your friends. Pastor Eric is leading and hosting at his house.
This Thursday
7pm-9pm
Contact Pastor Eric with any questions.
May our young men and women know, love, and serve Christ.
Look through the Lens of God’s Saving Sovereignty
On Sunday Pastor Dustin preached from Genesis 45:1-28. He reminded us that we must view every event of our lives through the lens of God’s saving purposes. Everything that happens to us is hand-designed by God to train us to trust Jesus Christ for forgiveness, help, and grace. And if we learn to see life this way, it will change us for the better.
Christmas Is On Its Way
The birth of our Savior inaugurated the greatest rescue mission the world has ever seen: God coming to save His people from their sins. We love celebrating and commemorating His first advent by singing familiar gospel songs, hearing the gospel read, proclaiming the gospel, and following it all up with sweet drinks and treats.
Everyone is invited.
Neighbors. Friends. Family.
Join us in the Woman’s Club Garden for our traditional, outdoor, candelight Christmas Eve service.
Sovereign Grace Church, help us get the word out! Use the image above or the link below to email your friends and family or post on your social media pages. The more the merrier!
With the hectic holidays upon us, we’re giving you a couple afternoons back. Our Picnics in the Plaza usually take place on the last Sunday of each month. But we’re calling them off for November and December to ease your busy schedule during this busy season.
We’re already looking forward to the last Sunday of January when we’ll enjoy lunch with you in the Old Towne Orange Plaza Park.
“We give thanks to God always for all of you…”
1 Thessalonians 1:2