Views from The Ridge 5.07.25
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
You’re Invited!
76-Year Anniversary Celebration
Sunday, May 18th
You're Invited to the Anniversary Sunday Picnic at Charis Park!
Come celebrate this special milestone by gathering to reflect on God's blessings over the years and enjoy a meal together with our church family.
Whether you've been with us from the beginning or are new to the community, there's a place for you. Please bring a blanket or chairs for you and your family; limited tables and seating will be reserved for those needing accommodations.
Please register for your lunch here.
Worship
Sunday, May 4th,
9 AM, Sanctuary, Acapella
11 AM, Sanctuary, Instrumental
Happy Mother’s Day
Main Passage: Isaiah 66:12-14
Watch previous sermons here.
Discipleship
Sundays, 10:15 AM, Bible Class & Discipleship for All Ages
Studying Isaiah 66:12-14
Fellowship Hall
Adult Bible Class: Open to all
BEMA Podcast Discussion group
Chapel Classroom, Women’s Discipleship Group
Room 218, Youth Group, 7th-12th grade
Roots: Children’s Discipleship through Godly Play
Bible Story Focus this Week: Luke 24:13-35
Key Verse: Luke 24:33-35
Room 102, PreK - Kindergarten
Room 122, 1st - 2nd Grade
Room 203, 3rd - 6th Grade
Tuesdays
Scott Heare’s Office
Limited spaces, contact Scott to join a group
7 AM Men’s Discipleship Group
8:30 AM Men’s Discipleship Group
Wednesdays
Chapel Classroom
Contact Den to join this group
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM High School (9th-12th Grade) Fellowship & Discipleship Group
Connections
This Week
May 10th, Second Saturday, Charis Park
8 AM - 1 PM, One Another Coffee
9 AM - 1 PM, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market
10:15 AM, Storytime with Miss Anastasia
Upcoming Events:
May 16th, THNA Movie Night in Charis Park, Ferris Bueller's Day Off
May 24th, One Another Coffee Birthday Celebration
May 31st, Watercolor Wellness Workshop
Every Saturday, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, Charis Park
Every Sunday, Worship at 9 AM and 11 AM
Every Wednesday, 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM, Open Studio Painting
Every Saturday in Charis Park, 9 AM - 1 PM, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market
Beyond Sunday
Active Resting
Den Slater, Pastor of Belonging, Sunset Ridge Church
The Jewish people in Jerusalem spend every Friday preparing for a restful Saturday. When the sun sets, they stop their hustle and bustle, and they settle into the weekly Shabbat. Pastor Scott lived with that rhythm for several months when his family lived in Israel. He spoke of the hushed quiet that blanketed his neighborhood as people embraced the biblical instructions to rest one day a week.1 It sounds simple. Just one day a week is to be set aside for human beings to push back against the cultural demands to overwork ourselves, and yet submitting to that one day is pretty tough.
“Oh, but what will get done?” I ask myself. I have to be careful because I could easily convince myself to work seven days a week, but I wouldn’t be very joyful or peaceful at the end of such a long slog. As Scott said, perhaps I am confused about the nature of resting. Perhaps keeping a day of rest is more than just a call to become an immovable slug for twenty-four hours. I’m beginning to think that there can be a very active state of rest.
I appeal to something Jesus said on the Sabbath. One day, Jesus healed an infirmed man, but because he did so on a Sabbath day, the Jewish leaders were angry. In their minds, Jesus broke the law of God. Jesus responded to them by saying, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”2
To myself I think, “Ah-ha, Jesus is giving us permission to nix that whole rest thing!” Except, I am not God, and well, neither are you. That’s a wonderful thing, but it’s also a pesky reality. We can find joy in settling into God’s wisdom, though. I can rest (and so can you) because God is working. God is redeeming all of creation…even as we rest.
The decree to take a sabbath rest is a strong invitation for us to experience God’s ongoing and loving restoration project. Take a day a week to soak in what God has done and continues to do. God’s breathtaking work sustains the deer as it drinks, the flower as it unfolds, and the sun as it radiates ten-thousand degrees. Active rest, then, is a mindful, Spirit-led stillness. Rest assured. All of creation is fully sustained—-not by our work, but by God’s.
1 Exodus 20:8–11; Deuteronomy 5:12–15
2 John 5:17
Grace & Gratitude
Prayers of the People
We are celebrating with Scott and Cathi Heare on the graduation of their daughter, Emily Heare, from Texas A&M University.
Janie Corona, Theresa Whigham’s sister, is hospitalized undergoing testing and treatment for an infection.
Tom Hon is hospitalized following surgery.
