Views from The Ridge 11.19.25
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
Weekly Scripture: Psalm 100
Discipleship
Sundays, 10:15 AM, Bible Class & Discipleship for All Ages
Fellowship Hall
Adult Bible Class: Open to all
BEMA Podcast Discussion group
Chapel Classroom, new study: The Practice of Compassion, open to women and men of all ages
Roots: Children’s Discipleship through Godly Play
Bible Story Focus this Week: Advent 1, The Prophets
Key Verse: Psalm 150:6
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
Community Connections
Camelot Christmas Toy Drive Progress
We’re grateful to share that 86 of the 340 gifts needed for Camelot Christmas have already been donated, and donations continue to pour in. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. To help us reach our goal of celebrating with Camelot families this December, you can order gifts directly from our Amazon or Target gift lists (items ship straight to the church) or donate funds that will go toward stocking the store.
All gifts and financial contributions can be made through November 30. Watch the video below to learn more about this initiative and the impact it has on our community.
Upcoming Community Events
Every Saturday, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, Charis Park
Wednesday, November 26th - Friday, November 28th, Church office closed for Thanksgiving
Sunday, November 30th, 3 - 4:30 PM, Healing Holidays Workshop, Fellowship Hall
Sunday, November 30th, Camelot Christmas gifts and donations due
Beyond Sunday
How’s Your Soul?
Den Slater, Pastor of Belonging, Sunset Ridge Church
I love that we concluded our series on the “Ten Proclamations” with a Gospel message. In Matthew 22:37–40, Jesus reminds us that the greatest commandment is about love. My memory is sometimes poor, but I was delighted to think that I might actually be able to recall this particular directive—to LOVE! We are called to love the Lord… and to love our neighbors as ourselves. As I reflected on that passage, another verse settled into my mind: “We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We have learned love from the very best teacher.
Love can be present in so many of our interactions. As an introvert, I prefer to find quiet places where I can share a few moments of time with another person. Those are the spaces where I’m able to ask a simple question: “How’s your soul?” I first heard that question from my own spiritual director years ago, and I was surprised that just a few words were able to create space for a Spirit-led encounter and form a moment where two people and God meet together.
Over time, asking that question helped shape my ministry interactions more than any other practice. At my previous church home, I intentionally began meeting with several different people at regular intervals. We’d settle in at the coffee shop and chit-chat for a minute, and then I would pray and ask, “How’s your soul?”
The question served as a marker for us to move from small talk into a deeper, more personal place. The details of life still mattered, but we reframed the conversation to how those things were settling in the heart itself. Memory, grief, longing, exhaustion, hope… we carry it all. So to ask, “How’s your soul?” is to ask a penetrating question about another person’s inner life. Every neighbor carries a story, a struggle, a longing, a hope. We are all complex souls who are loved deeply by God; asking others to share their stories with us is to share in that love.
As we close our “Ten Proclamations” series, perhaps we pause to remember that if love can fulfill the law, then we truly do need community. Loving our neighbors as ourselves means loving them at the level of the soul, imperfections and all. Sometimes that looks like offering a helping hand or making a thoughtful gesture… and sometimes it looks like one person simply having the courage to ask, “How’s your soul?”
