Views from The Ridge 10.8.25
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
Worship
Sunday
9 AM, Chapel, Acapella
11 AM, Sanctuary, Instrumental
Exodus 20:13
We are going through the Ten Commandments this fall.
Watch previous sermons here.
Discipleship
Sundays, 10:15 AM, Bible Class & Discipleship for All Ages
Studying Exodus 20:13
Fellowship Hall
Adult Bible Class: Open to all
BEMA Podcast Discussion group
Chapel Classroom, Love in Chaos Bible Study, open to women and men of all ages
Roots: Children’s Discipleship through Godly Play
Bible Story Focus this Week: God’s Ten Commandments
Key Verse: Exodus 20:6
Room 102, PreK - Kindergarten
Room 122, 1st - 2nd Grade
Room 209, 3rd - 4th Grade
Sundays 10:15-10:45 AM, Room 220, BOYS 5th - 7th Grade, Formation Study w/ Bryan Wolfe
Sundays 10:15-10:45 AM, Room 220, GIRLS 5th - 7th Grade, Formation Study w/ Den Slater
Wednesdays, 5:15 - 5:45 PM, High School Girls’ Sermon Study Group
Room 220, Contact Den to join this group, open to 9th-12th Grade
Wednesdays, 6 PM - 7:30 PM, Teen Alpha Course
Room 220, Contact Den to join this group, open to 9th-12th Grade
Connections
It’s hard to believe, but we’re coming up on the 1-year anniversary of Charis Park’s grand opening this month. It’s been an incredible year of markets, memories, and quiet moments of reflection through the paths of this once-a-parking-lot oasis.
As we approach this milestone, we’d love to hear from you. Share your favorite stories and memories of Charis Park—whether it’s a quiet moment of reflection, a joyful gathering, or a connection made here. We’ll be collecting these memories and sharing them throughout the month as we lead up to the anniversary—and would love your favorite moments to be a part of that.
Upcoming Events
Daily, NYX Yoga & Fitness
Every Wednesday, 11 AM - 1:30 PM, Open Studio Painting
Saturday, October 11th, 9 AM - 1 PM, Second Saturday Farmers Market
Every Sunday, Worship at 9 AM and 11 AM
Monday, October 13th, Offices and One Another Coffee in observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Beyond Sunday
Each Faithful Step
Jess Lowry, Executive Director & Pastoral Leader, Sunset Ridge Church & Sunset Ridge Collective
Last week in our Discipleship Group, we sat with a hard story — one that held both pain and redemption. Avery shared about the unfathomable trauma Christian teacher and author Joyce Meyer endured as a child at the hand of her father. We were studying the fifth commandment: Honor your father and mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
In Joyce’s life, that commandment took on new meaning. Her story of trauma was transformed through forgiveness — a defining and difficult act of faith. She came to see forgiveness not as approving what happened, but as an act of obedience and liberation.
I was reminded of my husband’s grandfather, Jim Derickson, who through his faithfulness and obedience forgave the stepfather who had abused him. That forgiveness opened a door for God to work in ways he could not have imagined — even leading his stepfather to faith later in life.
If we understand the Ten Commandments as Proclamations of Freedom, we see that they were never meant as legalistic guardrails but as invitations to wholeness. The kind of forgiveness Joyce and Jim practiced is miraculous — obedience that brings freedom, not confinement. The alternative is a hardened heart, closed off by pain that lingers without end.
My heart aches to think how many beautiful things might never have come into being had Grandpa or Joyce chosen that path.
Jim Derickson surrounded by all the people his tender heart loved.
No matter our story, God meets us in the quiet space between what has been and what could be — in the small, faithful acts of obedience that shape a life of faith. Each faithful step, every act of forgiveness, becomes part of God’s redemptive work in us and in the world around us.
So as you move through this week, may you listen for that gentle invitation and trust that your next faithful step, however small, is where freedom begins.
Love —Jess
