Views from The Ridge 03.06.2024
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
This Week
Saturday, March 9 Second Saturday
9am Yoga
10:15am Storytime
Daylight Savings! Be sure to move your clocks forward one hour Saturday night!
Sunday, March 10
9:15am Life Groups, children’s Roots gathering, teen gathering (see website for more info)
10:30am Worship in the Sanctuary (First Things First - Matthew 6:19-34)
4:30pm Chapel worship
6-7pm Parent Group: Every Season Sacred
6-7pm Youth group gathering
Upcoming…
Sunday, March 17 Outdoor worship
Sunday, March 31 Easter Sunday
Interested in what’s scheduled for our campus at large? Please consider subscribing to Goodness Weekly.
Does It Work?
-Riley Stirman, Preaching Minister of Sunset Ridge Church
When I was in 5th grade, I had a great science teacher. We had all known him in years past as the fun guy who helped run the city planetarium. But that year, he decided to come teach at our school, and we were so excited.
One day, he was teaching us about electric currents - that some objects functioned well as conductors and others worked well as insulators. He'd created a rudimentary circuit using a battery, wires, and a light bulb. In between the battery and the light bulb, he'd interrupted the flow of current for two small clamps. He told us to choose a random item in our possession and attach the two clamps to it. If the light bulb illuminated, we knew that the item we chose was a conductor. If the light bulb stayed dark, the item was an insulator.
We had a class of about thirty kids. And about half of us were able to make the light bulb turn on and the other half weren't. For the record, I chose a piece of pencil lead from a mechanical pencil, which is in fact a fair conductor. But I remember the very palpable sense of disappointment in the room when someone chose an item that didn't help the light bulb turn on. We looked at the bulb and couldn't help saying, "Aw, it didn't work."
Our teacher had an important correction for us. "Of course it worked! It worked perfectly. Now we know that this is an insulator. Our experiment gave us information that we didn't have before - it's working just like it was designed to."
Now, I'm using this story to talk about prayer and our spiritual practices, but I admit it's not a perfect parallel, so bear with me.
When we talk about our spiritual practices - prayer and Bible-reading and giving and fasting, etc. - our concern is often with the result that we see. Do we get our expected outcome or do we not? Do we get the answer to the prayer, the change to our lives, the direct benefit, or do we not? Does it work or does it not?
And I think the answer to that question entirely depends on what we think the purpose of our spiritual disciplines actually is. If we think the purpose of "practicing our righteousness" is to bend the will of our Father in heaven to accomplish what we want him to . . . well, no, it may not in fact "work."
But what if our goal isn't to make the light bulb come on? What if our disciplines aren't about results but about relationship? Maybe our view of what is accomplished through prayer and other practices is just too limited. We don't realize that spending a little time falling deeper in love with our God is in fact exactly what we were designed to do. So whether or not we get the answer we were hoping for, we still grow in relationship with our Creator. And in that respect, our practices work perfectly.
This week, try your best to rethink the spiritual practices that we do. Engage in them as, in Eugene Peterson's words, "rhythms of grace," where we come to experience the love of God in ordinary moments. Practice "wasting time with God," as Thomas Green calls praying. Pursue relationship over result. And as our hearts are steadily oriented more towards him, that's when our lives begin to change from the inside out. So let's start practicing.
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From Our Leaders
The Sunset Ridge Collective, which activates our campus for the flourishing of our neighborhood, has many new members that are enhancing the growing community here. Grace with Graceful Etiquette hosts weekly classes to equip elementary, middle-, and high-school students with leadership skills, Madeleine of Blissful Baker and Katie of Biscuit Baby make baked goods in the kitchen that they sell locally, Kim teaches personal training for adults and seniors, Annie is an artist who has a new studio space upstairs, and there are several new families who recently enrolled in Sprouts School where the Early Learner’s program is now waitlisted.
If you happen to be on campus during the week and see someone new, be sure to welcome them.
Foundation Update
The Sunset Ridge Church of Christ Foundation is designed to extend the ministries of the congregation beyond its routine operations. The Foundation will accept requests for funding through Thursday, April 4, 2024. Please note that requests made to the Foundation must be specific to the religious, charitable, or educational purposes of the Sunset Church of Christ; no other requests will be considered.
To apply, you must pick up a 2024 Application in the church office (application forms will not be mailed, emailed, or faxed). After completing the Application, follow the submission instructions listed on the Application form. Application forms from prior years will not be accepted.
A Blessing Of Angels
Adapted from To Bless The Space Between Us by John O’Donohue
May the Angels in their beauty bless you.
May they turn toward you streams of blessing.
May the Angel of Awakening stir your heart
To come alive to the eternal within you,
To all the invitations that quietly surround you.
May the Angel of Healing turn your wounds
Into sources of refreshment.
May the Angel of Compassion open your eyes
To the unseen suffering around you.
May the Angel of Justice disturb you
To take the side of the poor and the wronged.
May the Angel of Encouragement confirm you
In worth and self-respect,
That you may live with the dignity
That presides in your soul.
May all the Angels be your sheltering
And joyful guardians.
Amen
