Views from The Ridge 06.19.2024
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
This Week
9am Worship in the Sanctuary (Be Still - Mark 4:35-41)
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 (Dick Ihfe preaching: Mark 4:35-41 - listen to this month’s worship inspiration on Spotify)
To view recorded sermons from Sunset Ridge Church, please make sure to add us to your subscriptions on YouTube.
Upcoming
Wednesday, June 19 Office closed
Tuesday, June 25, 9:30am Storytime on the lawn
Wednesday, June 26, 11am Open Court for Teens
Monday, June 24-Thursday, June 27 Sunset Camp: rising kindergarten through 6th grade Sign up today!
Thursday, June 27, 7:30pm Sunset Camp Worship service
All ages are invited to join our children for a special worship service to close out Sunset Camp. The kids will be sharing some of their giftings and what they have learned throughout the week. You won’t want to miss it!
PLEASE NOTE: Women’s Wednesday Fellowship will NOT meet this month
Interested in what’s scheduled for our campus at large? Please consider subscribing to Goodness Weekly.
Around Our Community
The beautiful big curvy Community Table at Charis Park was completed last week and we can’t wait to enjoy Scott’s Pizza there alongside neighbors soon! The table can seat upwards of 30 or so people and is certainly a statement piece of the park as well as central to our mission of creating a space for community flourishing. You can look forward to the soft opening of Charis Park in the next few weeks.
The Second Mountain
Riley Stirman, Preaching Minister, Sunset Ridge Church
The second time I ever made it to the top of a mountain, I hit my knees.
It was a moment of worship, of wonder, and of awe. For miles in every direction, all I could see was snow-capped peaks sprawling into the horizon. The wind whipped around my face, the air was thin, and it seemed like I was quite literally at the top of the world.
The first time I ever made it to the top of a mountain was a little different. The first time, my family was vacationing in Colorado. And we rented a number of Jeeps to take on the driving trails through the steep passes to get to some of the lookout points. The journey took about thirty or forty minutes from the base of the trail to the summit. I was just a young kid, but I remember being impressed then very quickly ready to go on to the next thing. The journey had taken very little of my time and effort. It was just the next thing on the list.
Now back to the second time. The second time was in 2018 on Wilderness Trek. Not only was this at the end of a grueling week of tough hiking, it was also my fourth time on Trek. The first three had all, for one reason or another, ended without us making it to the summit. Instead of this being a journey of thirty or forty minutes, it was actually one of some 15 uphill miles that I had hiked. It was a journey of four different mountains that I had hoped to conquer across six years. It was a long, slow, painstaking journey. Of one step at a time. And the end was nothing short of spiritual and worshipful.
There's something about taking the long way that makes you appreciate the top all the more.
This Sunday we talked about King David's humble beginnings. A young boy, the runt of the litter, the least important family member, hanging out with the sheep while everyone else got to go to the big sacrifice in town. He would go on to become a great king. But this didn't happen overnight. And he certainly wasn't born this way. He had to climb slowly. Most importantly, he had to climb with God's help.
It's tempting to want to skip ahead. To walk the easy road. To be an instant success story. But the story of the boy David should remind us that God is with you as you grow. He's sculpting you into who you need to be. And he's hoping that we're able to look back to see his loving hand guiding us as we travel through life.
We don't get a lot of mountain-top experiences in life. They're worth celebrating whenever they come. But they will always mean more when we remember that it was God's hand that brought us there. Up the long, slow, painful trail. For his glory.
Praises and Prayers
Meta Mancinelli is at Legend Oaks West Rehab, Rm. 607, recovering from a broken leg. Call ahead before visiting.
Larry Bob Moore is home following hip replacement surgery.
Glennie Scalercio is hospitalized, but may go to rehab soon.
Please continue prayers for Ken Westmoreland.
We wish a very happy birthday to Joe Harber, who turns 92 on June 25!
