We gather every Sunday to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed. God's Word is preached and the Holy Spirit transforms our hearts. We expect to encounter Jesus and be equipped to better serve him each week.
Thanks to all who missed the sermon because you were serving during the service. We are grateful for you and couldn't have done it without you. Enjoy listening to the recording.
We ended our Church Membership Month by introducing nine new church members! We asked two of these new members to tell us how being a part of the church has shown them the importance of being a good neighbor—the fourth and final defining aspect of our church culture. Read what they had to say below.
Matt:
Good morning. Melissa and I were asked to share about the neighborliness of the people in this church. We started coming to Sovereign Grace Orange in May this past year after the previous church we were at for 10 years closed. As with all transitions in life, it has been hard to transition from away from that church family.
However, being at this church for the past 9 months has made this much easier for our family. It has been so evident to see the Holy Spirit at work in the joyful, generous, and ordinary neighbors here. We have personally experienced and seen the fulfillment of Galatians 5:14—“you shall love your neighbor as yourself”—in this church for the limited time we have been here. As I reflected on this, I think of 2 primary areas that we have experience this truth: through the neighborly hospitality and intentionality of the people here.
If you reflect on what you may envision a good next-door neighbor to be, some things that come to mind might be caring, kind, and helpful, but I think deep down, we want those really good neighbors to be people who know us and we know well, who we can share life with in its ups and downs. People who have homes that we can send our kids to go play in; people who we share meals with. Being new at this church, we have just begun to glimpse this reality at Sovereign Grace. I think we still sit in the “new neighbors” place, but there has been such great hospitality shown to us. There are so many examples I could share, but I wanted to highlight a few.
Bobby and Alie Westphal invited us into their home for dinner within the first few weeks of being at the church. Then getting to share a meal with Israel and Bethany in their home. I am not sure they know how much this meant to us, as meals shared with members of our old church were something we missed dearly.
Not only in people’s homes, but the time here on Sunday mornings is like a big family gathering, where visitors are welcome but just as importantly, remembered in the weeks to follow.
These were just a few examples of what we could share about how hospitable people are here.
Second, what truly has been overwhelming, in a good way, is the intentionality that members have shown to invite us in as “new neighbors.” Being someone who is naturally more of an introvert, this has been something that God has used to allow us to see the good of His church in a great way. How you all intentionally find ways to love and serve each other is humbling. I wanted to share a few examples of the intentional love and care that we have experienced.
Pastor Dustin invited me to get coffee to discuss the church after the first Sunday we visited.
Being prayed for and encouraged as a teacher before the start of the school year, knowing the specific challenges we face as educators.
Being invited, not sure how many times, to join a small group and now being in one, the active way people pursue to love and support each other. Which has been really amazing.
And lastly, being invited, maybe prodded a bit, to go to Celebration in September, which we are so glad we went to. And the way people went out of their way there to meet us as we were still fairly new.
This is just a small subset of the ways God has worked through the people at sovereign grace to live out the gospel together as neighbors.
Finally, I think of what good neighbors do: they live life together in a way that is saturated, or dare I say as a chemist, super-saturated with grace, generosity, and love towards each other for the glory of God and good of others. And this has been so evident to us the last 9 months we have been here. Thank you.
Melissa:
When I think of the neighborliness of Sovereign Grace church of Orange, I too as Matt shared, think of the hospitality of the body here. But I’d like to also add, their generosity in, the giving of their time. On Sundays, during “the best 3 minute party in OLD TOWN ORANGE”, we had mentioned to a few people our big house news, of purchasing our first home. Upon hearing this exciting news, each person would ask, “when are you moving? And can we help you move?”
We had heard little snippets here and there about the church helping members move but we definitely didn’t have any big expectations. On moving day, the neighborliness of SGCO rang true. A few people who had committed to helping us move showed up that morning. But then, more and more people kept coming. (Did I mention that this day happen to be a rainy and wet day too!?) We were overjoyed to see all the wonderful people that came to help.
When we unloaded, it probably took all of 20 minutes to empty the entirety of our moving truck. We were surprised how quickly and efficiently everything was unloaded and organized into their new places.
The time each person took to come and help us move, in the rain, was a tremendous blessing. Their actions reflected the immense generosity, kindness and the neighborliness of Sovereign Grace church of Orange in the ordinary things of life.
Our Church Membership Month is coming to an end. Each Sunday you’ve heard teachings and member testimonies pertaining to the four aspects that define our culture: joyful, generous, ordinary, neighbors. This week we focused on the neighbor aspect.
God has placed us in a neighborhood and called us to be good neighbors. That’s why we love Old Towne Orange so much. Our love is seen in things like the daily ministry of our members and our work at local schools and ministries like Orange High and House of Hope. We want to befriend the people here. We want to show them mercy when needs arise. And we want to invite them to join us in trusting and following Jesus. God has made a way for us to be here so we want to make the most of it.
Take time to pray for your neighbors. Do you know the people who live next to you? Do they have needs you can meet? How can you spend more time with them? Do they know Jesus? Be intentional to reach out this week and continue showing them the love of Christ.
Thank you for being a church that loves our neighbors.
We’ve had different surprises each week for our Church Membership Month and it’s all led to this—free tacos after the service this Sunday! We’re telling you ahead of time so you can plan to stay for lunch. A taco cart, tables and chairs will be out in the garden so we can enjoy a freshly made meal together. We can’t wait to see you there!
Our Prayer Service is a time of singing, reading God’s Word, and prayer. Come expecting God to do great things.
Next Tuesday (2/28)
7:00-8:00pm
Women’s Club (121 S Center St, Orange, CA 92866)
If you have prayer requests, we want to pray for you. You can submit them here.
We are introducing our new church members this Sunday as our Church Membership Month comes to an end. God has gifted us with the local church and we believe the best way to experience the privileges and benefits of the local church is through church membership. We’re excited to welcome those who are making this commitment with us. Come ready to celebrate.
Our Sunday Service will start at 10 am beginning March 19th. We know. Nobody likes change. We’ve wrestled with this decision for quite awhile and our Sunday teams and church leaders have even weighed in. We believe it’s worth it. This is an instance where change is a good thing.
Changing the service time gives us more opportunity for ministry and fellowship each Sunday. Our testimonies and sermons won’t be rushed. We’ll have more time to fellowship with one another after the service. We can slow down and pray for one another. There won’t be any more pressure to leave at noon for lunch. All these things give more opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work among us and more time for us to be together. Go ahead and mark your calendars for 3/19 and we’ll see you at 10am.
We’re looking for one or two individuals willing to lead our church in support of LivingWell Pregnancy Centers. LivingWell aims to equip women and families facing unplanned pregnancy to make life-affirming choices. But they need our help. Their annual Walk for Life fundraiser (3/25) helps provide the funds they need to keep their mission going. If you are interested in either participating or gathering a group of friends to go with you, contact Andrew Maples for more details.