Views from The Ridge 06.02.2024
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
This Week
Saturday, June 8 Second Saturday
8am-1pm One Another Coffee’s one-year anniversary!
9am Yoga on the lawn
10:15am Storytime
Sunday, June 9
9am Worship in the Sanctuary (Like Everyone Else - I Samuel 8:4-20)
Children remain in worship
10:15am Formation time for all ages
Adult class series: Practicing The Way
Teen formation: The Chosen
Children’s formation: Godly Play
11am Worship in the Chapel (listen to this month’s worship inspiration on Spotify)
Tuesday, June 11, 9:30am Storytime on the lawn
Wednesday, June 12, 11am Open Court time
Teens, friends & adults are invited to come play basketball, spike ball, corn hole, etc., and hang out on the basketball court each Wednesday morning. Lunch & drinks provided!
Upcoming
Wednesday, June 19 Office closed
Monday, June 24-Thursday, June 27 Sunset Camp: rising kindergarten through 6th grade Sign up today!
Interested in what’s scheduled for our campus at large? Please consider subscribing to Goodness Weekly.
Of Utmost Unimportance
Riley Stirman, Preaching Minister, Sunset Ridge Church
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building." - I Corinthians 3:5-9
One of the most frustrating parts of being a disciple of Jesus is also one of the most liberating truths: I'm just not that important.
The frustrating part is easy enough to see. I cannot force myself to become a more joyful person. I cannot by sheer force of will turn myself into a spiritually mature believer. And I cannot convince people to be disciples of Jesus just by using smart words or logical arguments or the right combination of Bible verses that I have memorized.
The upside can be a little harder to see, but it's there all the same. My own shortcomings and weaknesses cannot put the kingdom of God in jeopardy. My selfishness, anger, irrationality, or stupid stubborn pride cannot get in the way of God's work for the good of all creation. And when I wander far off track, doing the things I know I shouldn't, scared that no one could ever love me again, I still cannot outrun the reach of God's grace. Tell me that’s not the best news you’ve heard all day.
What does a person do in this situation, where we are forced to confront our small place in the kingdom of a big God? I think we have two tasks, and it would be best if we did them as often as we possibly can.
First, remember this one simple fact: the Kingdom of God is absolutely never in trouble. There's plenty in this world to be stressed about. Church attendance in decline, another vitriolic election season, food insecurity, financial concerns, wars, famine, disease, ecological disasters, you name it. Our world is a broken place. But God has not abandoned his creation. The Kingdom of God is never in trouble.
Second, our job is to offer ourselves up to God, to use us as he sees fit. In Romans, Paul says to give yourselves as "a living sacrifice." On Sunday, I used the language of spiritual disciplines as "altars of availability," where we communicate to God that we are committed to opening ourselves for his work. In I Corinthians, Paul uses the metaphor of gardening to get this point across. While we cannot provide the growth, we can still help create an environment that is most conducive to bringing about change. We can prepare the soil, plant the seed, water, and tend the garden. God will ultimately decide what to do with us.
In a culture that constantly tells us that we are at the center of the world, that we are in control of every facet of our lives, offering ourselves to God is nothing short of an act of protest. We have faith that there is something greater than ourselves working in the world. That alone is cause for rejoicing. Today, offer more of yourself to God. Give him permission to take from you your doubt, your insecurity, your pain, and your pride. Ask him earnestly to do with you whatever he thinks is best. And trust that in time, growth will come. All for his glory.
To view recorded sermons from Sunset Ridge Church, please make sure to add us to your subscriptions on YouTube.
Praises and Prayers
Meta Mancinelli is in Christus Santa Rosa Hospital (Westover Hills) recovering from a broken leg.
Larry Bob Moore is scheduled for hip replacement surgery on June 11.
Ken Westmoreland is undergoing treatment for a recurrence of cancer.
