Views from The Ridge 4.4.23
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
This Week…
April 2-9: Stations of the Cross
Wednesday, April 5, 7pm: Youth Group - please meet at the church this week!
April 7-8: Youth Overnight Retreat
April 8, 10am: Second Saturday Storytime on the Lawn
Sunday, April 9:
Roots Children’s classes and Adult AM classes WILL NOT MEET
11:00am— Worship on the Lawn (Seating will be provided, but feel free to bring your own lawn chairs)
Sermon: “Garden Flourishing”
Text: John 20:1-18
Easter Egg Hunt immediately following worship (Bring your filled eggs to the Fellowship Hall at 10:30 AM)
We are so grateful to our community of friends and neighbors who showed up for the grand opening of One Another Coffee. In fact, so many of you showed up that it blew out the generator! That wasn’t quite what we were hoping for on the first day, but we could not be more pleased to have seen so many new and familiar faces come out to support our neighborhood coffee trailer. All of the profits from One Another Coffee will go towards the creation and maintenance of our neighborhood park, which will break ground in spring 2023.
The small but mighty trailer will be closed this week while the team secures a new and reliable source of power, and we hope it will be open again very soon to serve you coffee and goodies. Stay tuned and thanks so much for all the love!
Wholly Weak
Riley Stirman
There is little in life more devastating than the absence of a loved one.
From the melancholy of a close friend who has moved away to the sharp pain that comes from a death, every human heart struggles when those we love have gone away.
Think of a child who has lost their parent in a grocery store. For the entirety of their life they've had a loving presence watching over them. Now, suddenly, they are faced with the absence of that presence. It's unsettling. It's horribly lonely. And it's terrifying. Suddenly they realize the world is much bigger than they once thought.
Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, is the time for us to dwell on the pain that comes from Jesus's prolonged absence. It's not just about the fact that heaven and earth haven't completely collided yet, it's also just about longing for the sweet voice of a friend who tells us how loved we are. It's about craving the gentleness and peace that Jesus spoke of. It's about realizing how difficult our lives have become since he left us.
Jesus's presence can be difficult to spot in the day-to-day minutiae of our world. Goodness and love and mercy and justice often feel as if they're being edged out by darkness and hatred. Rest and stillness feel like impossible virtues in our increasingly distracted age. "The Bachelor" is in its 27th season. It's a world in decline!
One reason I love Palm Sunday is that it provides us language to hold onto when we begin to feel despaired by Jesus's absence. Despite the fact that Israel had been left waiting for hundreds of years without a prophetic word from God, and despite the fact that all hopes of the return of their nation seemed lost, they held fast to the words handed down to them from their ancestors. So when Jesus rode on a donkey into the holy city, they greeted him with the words of the prophet Zechariah - an oracle of hope for the downtrodden and oppressed:
"Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!
Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!
Look! Your king is coming to you:
He is righteous and victorious,
Humble and riding on a donkey -
On a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will remove the chariot from Ephraim
And the warhorse from Jerusalem,
And the battle bow will be cut off.
Then he will announce peace to the nations.
His reign will be from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth."
(Zechariah 9:9-10)
In Holy Week, we look for what we cannot see. We announce the arrival of the conquering king when we still feel like the conquered. And we proclaim the lasting peace he brings when all around still looks like chaos.
In short, we're in the paradoxical space between the cross and the empty tomb. We're left with more questions than answers. But we hold these things to be true, even when all evidence seems to point to the contrary:
Your king is coming. He is both righteous and victorious. He is humble. He will end all violence and division. His kingdom and dominion will stretch across the entirety of creation.
Even if you can't see it yet, hold on. The king is coming ever nearer. This is the beautiful promise of Holy Week.
Daily Bible Readings
These passages supplement the upcoming Sunday sermon:
Monday: Genesis 2:2
Tuesday: Philippians 1:6
Wednesday: Hebrews 9:26b
Thursday: II Timothy 4:7
Friday: Revelation 22:20-21
Saturday: Luke 24:5b-6a
Foundation Update
The Sunset Ridge Church of Christ Foundation is designed to extend the ministries of the congregation beyond its routine operations. The Foundation will accept requests for funding through Thursday, April 6, 2023. Please note that requests made to the Foundation must be specific to Missions, Education and Benevolence Ministries of the Sunset Ridge Church of Christ; no other requests will be considered.
To apply, you must pick up a 2023 Application in the church office (application forms will not be mailed, emailed or faxed). After completing the Application, follow the submission instructions listed on the Application form. Application forms from prior years will not be accepted.
Sunday Volunteers
Thank you to each person who has been serving in our Sunday morning worship and hospitality! Below is a video (with audio) showing how to submit unavailability, how to see the roster for a service you’re scheduled for and resources you might need, and how to set volunteer preferences. If you would like to access the platform we use, you can follow this link. We are so grateful for this community and the ways we are able to serve each other!
Prayers & Praises
We Extend Sympathy To: The Thorne Family on the death of Elaine Thorne on March 26th. A graveside service will be held at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on April 21st at 10:30 AM. Condolences may be sent to: Gregg & Melissa Thorne 24103 Vecchio SAT 78260 and Brad & Belen Thorne 2303 Woodway, Round Rock, TX 78681
Congratulations to James and Erica Myrick on the birth of their son, James Edward Myrick III, on March 27. The proud grandparents are Jim Myrick and Cheryl Myrick McKee.
God, we gather in gratitude, thankful for the ways you seek to revive us! Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts work together to praise you in this hour. Grant your Spirit to move our hearts and inspire each of us to share your steadfast love with all whom we encounter. Help us to join in giving only what is good, not only today, but every day. Amen
