Views from The Ridge 2.25.26
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: Nehemiah 2:11–18
Wednesdays
You’re invited to Wednesday Nights at Sunset Ridge Church. Join us for a catered supper at 6:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall, followed by programming for children and high school students and a communal Scripture study for adults beginning at 6:30 PM. We wrap up by 8:00 PM. Come be part of our midweek rhythm. Contact Den with questions.
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. Join us from 10:15 - 10:45 each Sunday in the Fellowship Hall. Each week stands on its own; come as you’re able. Adults and teens welcome.
BEMA Podcast Discussion group
Room 220
BOYS 5th - 7th Grade, Formation Study w/ Bryan Wolfe
GIRLS 5th - 7th Grade, Formation Study w/ Den Slater
Roots: Children’s Discipleship through Godly Play
Bible Story Focus this Week: The boy Jesus at the Temple
Key Verse: Luke 2:41-52
Room 102, PreK - Kindergarten
Room 122, 1st - 2nd Grade
Room 209, 3rd - 4th Grade
Community Connections
Chapel Updates
This week, one of the small stained glass windows featuring the Arkansas state symbol is being carefully removed and relocated to Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas, where it will join the River of Life window. We are grateful that these works will be preserved and publicly shared in a setting dedicated to the care and celebration of art.
A local artist is currently creating replicas of both the Arkansas window and the River of Life, which will be installed in their place. We look forward to welcoming these beautiful pieces back into our worship space. Additional details will be shared as the process moves forward.
Upcoming Community Events
Every Saturday, 9 AM - 1 PM, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, Charis Park
Friday, February 27 - Sunday, March 1, Sunset Ridge Women’s Retreat, Mo-Ranch
Friday, March 27, 8 AM - 12 PM, Moral Injury in Combat Veterans Conference, Fellowship Hall
Saturday, March 28, 5:30 - 9 PM, Sprouts School Pasta Part Fundraiser, Fellowship Hall
Beyond Sunday
Naming Hope
Taylor Bates, Deputy Director, Sunset Ridge Church & Collective
This past weekend our family was invited to a Lunar New Year celebration at the Botanical Gardens for one of our children’s friend’s seventh birthday. The evening felt almost cinematic—the air cool but gentle, the sun already set, paper lanterns glowing along the walkways, and the moon rising above us.
At the entrance we were each handed a paper lantern and invited to write a wish for the year ahead—one of the traditions shared that evening. Markers in hand, we paused to consider what we hoped for. I was struck by how naturally even our three- and five-year-olds entered into the moment. JoJo wished for our cat, Polka Dot, to not be sick anymore—she has feline leukemia. Simone wished for the world to be happy.
Around us, adults stood quietly, writing carefully and at length. I found myself wondering what burdens, longings, griefs, and hopes were being pressed into paper and ink.
When we finished, we followed the winding path toward the pond. Through trees strung with lights, the water shimmered with lanterns scattered across its surface. Each one carried someone’s hope, glowing softly in the dark.
As I watched my children gently push their lanterns onto the water, I felt something stir in me—a glimpse, if only for a moment, of what it looks like when people name their deepest hopes and release them, like small lights, into the darkness.
Our scripture last week was Nehemiah 1:1–11. Nehemiah receives news that Jerusalem lies in ruins. He does not rage. He does not deflect blame. Instead, he sits down and weeps. He fasts. He confesses—not only the sins of others, but his own. And he prays.
Lent invites us into that same turning. The biblical word for repentance means “to turn” or “to return.” In his prayer, Nehemiah remembers God’s promise: that even if the people are scattered, when they return, God gathers and restores them. He models a posture that feels countercultural in our age of outrage—allowing his heart to break, naming what is wrong, and turning toward God in trust.
What struck me about the lanterns was not escapism or denial of what is broken. Surely many of those wishes were born from deep ache. But instead of rehearsing what is wrong, people were articulating what they long for. They were naming hope.
Lent offers us something similar. We are invited to turn—to release what distracts or distorts us, to confess what is ours to own, and to bring our longings honestly before God. Not as wishful thinking, but as trust in the faithful God who gathers what has been scattered and restores what has been broken—again and again.
Prayers of the People
We express sympathy to the family of Barbara Edens, who passed away recently. Arrangements are pending.
