Views from The Ridge 6.10.26
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
This Week’s Scripture: Matthew 9:35–10:8
Watch previous sermons here.
Wednesdays
Join us Wednesday evenings for High School Formation Time from 6:00 - 7:30 PM in Room 220. Open to all students in grades 9 - 12, this weekly gathering includes food, fun, and meaningful group discussions as we grow together in faith and community. Contact Den to join the group.
Sundays
Worship
9 AM, Chapel, Acapella
11 AM, Sanctuary, Instrumental
10:15 AM, Bible Class & Discipleship for All Ages
Fellowship Hall
Between the Words: A gathering between our community’s two worship times where we unfold the facets of weekly Scripture together. Each week stands on its own; come as you’re able. Adults and teens welcome.
BEMA Podcast Discussion group
Roots: Children’s Discipleship through Godly Play
Bible Story Focus this Week: The Calling of Matthew
Key Verse: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26Room 102, PreK - Kindergarten
Room 122, 1st - 2nd Grade
Room 209, 3rd - 4th Grade
Sunday Setlists
What if worship started before Sunday morning? Listening to these songs during the week can help build familiarity and allow the words to begin forming our hearts before we sing them together.
This Week’s Setlist
All 2026 Songs
Community Connections
Sunset Ridge Featured in Faith & Leadership
We are so proud and honored to have Sunset Ridge's story featured in Faith & Leadership! The article beautifully captures how our partnership with The Impact Guild helped us reimagine our campus and what it could mean for the neighborhood—ultimately giving rise to Charis Park, the Collective, and everything that's grown from it. It's a wonderful read and a great reminder of what's possible when a community dares to think beyond its walls. Read the full article here and see how the story is being told!
Upcoming Community Events
Every Saturday, 9 AM - 1 PM, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, Charis Park
Wednesday, June 10, 7 PM, Spurs Watch Party (weather permitting), Charis Park
Sunday, June 7, Children’s Church Service, Sundays through July 27th
Saturday, June 13, Second Saturday Kids Market, 9 AM - 1 PM, Charis Park
Wednesday, June 13, 7 PM, Spurs Watch Party (weather permitting), Charis Park
Friday, June 19, Juneteenth, Office Closed
Saturday, June 20, Third Saturday Market: Gardening + Workshops, 9 AM - 1 PM, Charis Park
Sunday, June 21, Father’s Day
Saturday, June 27, 11 AM - 1 PM, Flower Power Watercolor Wellness Workshop, The Art Room | Cost: $15, Supplies Included, Limited to 8 participants
Saturday, June 27, Farmers Market Mercado + De Boca En Boca (Bilingual Storytime + Activities), 9 AM - 1 PM, Charis Park
Friday, July 3, Office Closed in Observance of Independence Day
July 7 - 10, 9 AM - 12 PM, Vacation Bible School, Kinder - 5th, “Growing with God and Caring for Creation,” Sunset Ridge Church
Beyond Sunday
Footsteps
Den Slator, Pastor of Belonging and Formation, Sunset Ridge Church
Two weeks ago, I was standing on a beach watching the cold Atlantic waves roll onto the shore of Ireland. I was alone, staying at a monastery pondering God and life and all that goes with those moments of contemplation. The beach lulled me into awareness of the passing of time. The sand was ancient, the waves were endless, and off in the distance was an old stone house that was more ruin than home.
I spent a good thirty minutes just standing there before an older gentleman wandered over and pointed toward the house.
“Been there, have ya?” he asked with a thick, rich Irish accent. “The stone of the threshold has a dip worn into it. How many footsteps does it take to wear down a stone like that, I wonder?”
The truth is that no one notices a stone changing. A single footstep accomplishes almost nothing. But years pass. Generations come and go. Neighbors and friends enter for tea and biscuits. It must take countless footsteps to leave such a mark, and I found myself wondering how many individual moments it takes to change a life.
Last week, we visited three stories from Matthew 9: a tax collector receives an invitation, a woman literally reaches for healing, and a young girl is raised back to life. They offer three unique views of Jesus’ mercy, revealing how God moves within ordinary lives and shapes people one moment at a time until something remarkable happens.
We find Matthew sitting at his tax booth when Jesus passes by and says, “Follow me.” Matthew’s response is his first step across a threshold, and he begins an incredible journey. Before Matthew even understands where his road will lead, Jesus sees him and calls him forward. I think many of us can point to moments when God met us in the middle of our regular lives and invited us to step across stones just like that.
Then there is the woman who has suffered for a dozen years. That’s a long time to carry pain and disappointment. I’d imagine that it’s long enough to wonder whether anything will ever change. Yet there must have been a day when she had crossed enough stones that her faith became unshakable. She reaches out believing that even a touch of Christ’s cloak will be enough to heal her. I confess that like that woman, my own trust of God was built upon countless small prayers, quiet hopes, and the ache of perseverance. None of those moments were insignificant to God.
Finally, Jesus takes the hand of a young girl and tells her to get up. In an instant, life returns where death wanted the last word. Jesus restores her heartbeat, and he restores her future. That story still speaks to us because many of us know what it means to lose sight of hope—to feel unalive. Into those places, Jesus still extends his hand and speaks words of life. The same Jesus who took that young girl by the hand continues to meet each of us and say, “Child, arise.”
I suspect many of us can spot ourselves somewhere among these three stories, but perhaps we only see that we are somewhere in the change—somewhere between the invitation, healing, and restoration. I’m reminded yet again of the old, worn stone at the Irish house. How many years of faithful presence does it take before we notice the transformation God has wrought in us? Like footsteps crossing a threshold, grace leaves its mark little by little until one day we look back and realize we are no longer the same people we once were. All three stories are part of the change: God calls us, heals us, and lifts us into life. Perhaps this week is an invitation to notice that miracle hidden in ordinary time.
Prayers of the People
Funeral arrangements for Bettye Mack on July 17 are as follows:
Service at 11 AM in the Sunset Ridge Chapel, followed by a reception in the Sunset Ridge Fellowship Hall
Burial at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery at 2:30 PM
Janie Corona, Theresa Whigham’s sister, is home under the care of hospice.
Glennie Scalercio is in a personal care home under the care of hospice. No visits, please, but cards or notes would be greatly appreciated. Please send them to:
Glennie Scalercio
c/o Vince Scalercio
3303 Rock Creek Run
San Antonio, TX 78230
