Views from The Ridge 1.22.2025
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
This Week
Thursday, January 23, 6-8pm, Chapel Dreamweek: Neighboring Our Way to Flourishing
Saturday, January 25 Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, 9am-1pm, Charis Park
Sunday, January 26 Scott Heare preaching: Philippians 3:13-14
9am Worship in the Chapel
10:15am Classes for all ages
Adult Classes: Fellowship Hall
Women’s Group: Chapel Classroom
Youth Group: Rm 218
Roots PK-K: Rm 102
Roots 1-2: Roots Room
Roots 3-6: Rm 203
11am Worship in the Chapel
To view recorded sermons from Sunset Ridge Church, please make sure to add us to your subscriptions on YouTube.
Coming Up…
Sunset Ridge Farmers Market - Every Saturday, 9 AM - 1 PM
Around the Community
We’re starting my year with a simple question: How can we love our neighbor if we don’t know them?
Introducing, Sunset Ridge Strolls—a series where we meet someone from our Terrell Heights neighborhood, learn their story, and take a short walk together to the heart of our community.
Each five-minute episode will introduce you to the people who make this neighborhood special—emphasizing the value of connection, and the need for diverse giftings and perspectives that help sustain a flourishing community.
We’d love for you to join. Watch, listen, and maybe even share your own story.
Because every neighbor has a story worth stepping into.
What’s in a name?
Mae Czarnecki, Storytelling Manager, Sunset Ridge Collective
In this week’s message, Pastor Scott Heare shared the story of Jacob’s transformation and renaming. Through this, he asked us to reflect on the ways God calls us to rediscover who He is and who we are in Him. Jacob’s story is a testament to how names can reflect a renewed identity—a marker of God’s work in our lives.
Naming has always been sacred to me. It was God’s first commandment to Adam—to name the creatures of the earth. It’s a task imbued with creativity and purpose. When we become children of God, we are often renamed in the process, taking on a new identity as His beloved.
When it came time to name my children, I didn’t rush. None of them were named until I met them, until I could see their faces and feel the weight of who they might be. For my oldest daughter, I chose Annette as her middle name, honoring a family tradition passed through generations of firstborn daughters.
My second daughter’s name was born out of a season of struggle. Her arrival ushered me into a place of deep pain and growth, and I knew her name had to reflect hope. I named her Norah, meaning “a bright light.”
My youngest daughter’s name carries a legacy of faith. She bears the name of the apostle who carried Paul’s letter to the Romans, paired with the middle name of a chosen sister in my life—a woman who stood by me on the day my youngest came into the world.
Each of their names holds a story, a promise, and a truth. I speak their names as a prayer and a reminder: Grace, Light, Brilliance. They are, all at once, the wide-eyed babies I held warm and wet on the day of their birth, and the teenage women they are becoming, poised to outgrow me in height and insight. Their names move me because they carry so much—identity, hope, and the assurance of God’s love.
As Pastor Scott reminded us, God is who He always has been. He is steadfast in His love for each of us, and He sees us fully, even when we struggle to believe what He says about us. Just as I’ve named my daughters with love and intention, God has named each of us—beloved, chosen, redeemed.
The world often tries to strip us of these truths, telling us lies about our worth. But just as Jacob’s encounter with God redefined him, our encounters with God reaffirm who we are meant to be.
This week, I encourage you to reflect on the names God has given you. What truths has He spoken over your life? How can you remind someone else of their God-given identity? Speak these truths over yourself and others, carrying them as a light in a world desperate for hope and meaning. Let us remember who God is and who we are to Him, always.
