Views from The Ridge 11.8.22
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
This week…
Tuesday, November 8, 6:30pm: Life Group in the Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, November 9:
7pm— The BLESSING Group hosts a special guest in the Fellowship Hall (see details below)
7:30-9pm— Youth group hosted by the Stirmans (232 Harmon Dr.)
Saturday, November 12, at 9:30-11am: Family Morning
Sunday, November 13:
9:15am— Fall Life Groups & Roots Children’s Class
10:30am— Worship & Covenant Renewal Service in the Sanctuary (Children remain in worship)
Sermon: “Shall I Crucify Your King?”
Scripture: John 19:5-37
4:30pm— Charis Liturgy & Worship in the Chapel
Upcoming…
Sunday, November 20, at 4:30pm: Outdoor Worship
Wednesday, November 30: Wednesday Womens’ Fellowship
Sunday, December 11: Christ-Giving Lunch
“That All Of Them May Be One”
Riley Stirman
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." - John 17:20-23
These are some of the final words that Jesus speaks in the Gospel of John before his arrest and crucifixion. As his time on earth draws to a close, he takes time to pray intently - not for himself, but for his followers and for those (like us) who would come to believe in him as a result of their testimony.
I think about this prayer often. On the first day of my undergraduate theology class, my professor said that one goal he had for the class was to get his students to feel some discomfort about the fact that Christians are not living into Jesus's prayer that we would all be one. He succeeded - at least with me.
I tend to think about this prayer most often around election season. In this year's election, as with every election of my adult life thus far, I have seen legions of people buy into the narrative that a vote for their preferred party or candidate essentially amounts to a vote for Jesus. And if anyone disagrees they're either a moron, an atheist, or Satan incarnate.
There are numerous troubling assumptions lying behind this sort of attitude, but at heart what really deeply unnerves me is the fact that we have created a list of issues that are more important to us than living into Christ's prayer that we believers would be united.
Note the language that Jesus uses. He prays that we would be united as the Father and the Son are united. The intimacy that connects God the Father and God the Son should be reflected in the community that is united by God the Spirit.
My hope for this church is fairly simple - that we would be people who would value absolutely nothing above our identity as people who believe in the resurrected Christ. That includes, unfortunately, ourselves. Our desires, our political affiliations, our worldview, our needs - all of these must come second to our belief that Jesus is Lord of all and is coming to rule once and for all. We have to acknowledge that the God we serve is bigger than us, bigger than the present moment in American history, and bigger than the petty divisions we've created between ourselves.
My political views are, I believe, quite literally the least interesting part of who I am as a person. I worship the one true God who became flesh, died for our salvation, and rose again. Everything else about me is - as Paul would say - garbage.
This week, I urge you to distance yourself from this all-too-familiar narrative, that you can't be a Christian if you don't believe X, Y, or Z. Instead, find the strength to see past these distractions and find the thread that unites us with over 2 billion people on this planet: our belief that Jesus is King. This is the first step in becoming one as Jesus and the Father are one.
If nothing else, could we try? It was our Savior's dying wish. It must be pretty important.
Daily Bible Readings
Monday: Deuteronomy 21:22-23
Tuesday: Psalm 22:16, 18-19
Wednesday: Isaiah 53:7, 10
Thursday: John 18:12-14
Friday: John 18:36-37
Saturday: John 19:5-7
Guest Speaker Joins Blessing Group
Mark Miles, a representative from the Slavic Gospel Association, will be visiting with the BLESSING Group on Wednesday, November 9, at 7:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall to discuss his recent visit to Ukraine and provide an update on the work being done through churches in that war-torn region. All are invited to attend!
Kids In Worship on Second Sundays
One of the things we love most about this community is the intergenerational relationships and faith shared among our members. We believe children are important members of our body and can be blessed and a blessing in our worship service. Starting this coming week, (November 13th), children are invited to remain in the entire service on the second Sunday of the month. There will not be children’s church offered during this time, and the children will do Godly Play during the Roots class time before service at 9:15. We are so excited to see the goodness that comes out of this time together!
Covenant Renewal
Reaffirming our commitments to each other, this community, and to God
This is the Covenant we will use in our Covenant Renewal service this Sunday. It speaks to who we are, what we value, and how we hope to best live out our mission. Please feel free to look over it in preparation for our time together on Sunday!
As members of the Sunset Ridge Church of Christ, we believe it is our mission to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate his love and hope to all. We affirm this covenant with one another by God’s grace for our good and ultimately for God’s glory. We believe that the death and resurrection of Christ has brought us into new life with the Spirit. We also believe that God is at work in the world bringing about new creation and that we are empowered as his people to join that work.
Together, as we are physically and emotionally able, we will draw near to God in worship. We believe that worship is a communal act that honors God. We will engage practices that bring glory to God, make us aware of his presence, and renew our fellowship. We will engage deeply with the Word of God as it guides and shapes us, and we will be dependent on the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Together, we will remind each other of the hope we have. We will regularly join Christ in communion as we celebrate his good work in the world— past, present, and future. We will commit to being formed to Christ’s image and transformed by the work of the Spirit within us.
As a community, we will each do what we are able to edify the body of Christ. We will gather consistently, pray earnestly, and serve selflessly. We will share each other’s joys and bear each other’s burdens. We will listen carefully to one another, encourage one another with goodness language, and lead one another with our example. Having the same mind of Christ, we will treat others as more important than ourselves.
We will follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we are led to join God’s work in the world. We will give with open hands to the support of this church and devote ourselves to being good neighbors in our community. We believe in supporting the flourishing of all people and God’s creation, and we commit to being ambassadors in that effort.
We will submit to one another in humility and under the leadership of elders, who have been entrusted by God to serve and care for this body.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.
Praises & Prayers
Dick Ihfe is home now and doing well following hip replacement surgery.
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
