There are many facets to our life as a church! Our hope is that these posts will enable you to plan, pray, and ultimately rejoice in what the Lord is doing at Sovereign Grace Church. Here are a few updates for you to do just that! 

marriage workshop with

Trey & Charlotte Richardson

Saturday, March 23rd, from 9AM to 3PM

Join us for our Marriage Workshop where we'll explore how the Gospel can transform your relationship, bringing lasting hope and real change by God's grace!

There is still time to sign up! Visit the Marriage Workshop webpage to register and to find out more about this exciting event.

Good Friday Service & Easter Sunday Service

Good Friday and Easter Sunday are next week!

Join us for the Good Friday Service on Friday, March 29th at 7PM as we come together to worship Jesus and reflect on the sacrifice He made for us on the cross and Easter Sunday Service on Sunday, March 31st as we celebrate His resurrection!

sgu spring 2024 unit

Our next Sovereign Grace University (SGU) class will be every Tuesday in May!

SGU is a discipleship class focused on theology and this spring we will be going over THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH.

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION is now open, but only until March 31st! To register, visit our SGU PAGE.

chili cook-off &

Pie bake-off

SG Youth Fundraiser

SGYouth’s THIRD annual Chili & Pie Competition Fundraiser is April 14th! The rules are simple, sign up, bring your best, and the church will vote the winners. To sign up to compete, simply text “CHILI” or “PIE” to 520-999-2862

If you don’t want to enter the contest, just come hungry! All proceeds will go directly to sponsoring students in our youth group for the Sovereign Grace Regional Retreat this July. The youth need your help, and we guarantee you will not walk away hungry!

Water baptism

Baptism Sunday will be held on April 14th after the Sunday morning service (and before the Chili & Pie Competition)!

If you would like to be baptized, or if you want more information on baptisms, please contact any of the pastors. You can also check out a blog post that Pastor Derek Overstreet wrote about water baptisms titled “The Importance and Joy of Baptism Sunday”,

Bridge course

Our outreach to the ex-offenders in the transition homes with the Bridge Class is halfway done! Please continue to pray for the five men in the Bridge Class and for Paul McKenna and Tim Lamrbos as they lead the class.

Please also pray for the FIVE men who were saved last fall as they are part of a discipleship course for new believers that Rick Baker and Scott McLeod lead.

We hope to see some of these men get baptized on April 14th at our Church!

Regional assembly of elders (RAE)

The pastors will be traveling to the RAE that will be held in California on April 18th through the 20th.

Please pray for them as they are cared for and encouraged by other pastors in the Sovereign Grace Churches West Region!

There are many facets to our life as a church! Our hope is that these posts will enable you to plan, pray, and ultimately rejoice in what the Lord is doing at Sovereign Grace Church. Here are a few updates for you to do just that! 

Gifts of the Spirit weekend with mark prater

Join us as we allow the Scriptures to inform us about the gifts God gives his people through the Spirit!

Friday, Feb. 23rd, from 7PM-9PM & Saturday, Feb. 24, from 9AM-2PM

To sign up or find out more about this exciting event, please CLICK HERE.

march membership class

The next Membership Class will be after the Sunday morning services on the first four Sundays in March (March 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th). Lunch and childcare will be provided.

To sign up for this class, please CLICK HERE.

Marriage workshop with Trey & Charlotte Richardson

Another exciting weekend seminar coming up: a Marriage Workshop with Trey & Charlotte Richardson on March 22nd & 23rd!

Trey serves as a pastor at our sister church, Center Church, in Gilbert, AZ. His primary responsibilities have most recently been counseling and overseeing men’s and women’s ministries at Center Church.

Registration details will be sent out soon!

Good Friday Service & Easter Sunday Service

Good Friday and Easter Sunday are right around the corner! Join us for the Good Friday Service on the evening of Friday, March 29th, and the Easter Sunday Service on Sunday, March 31st. This is a great opportunity to invite friends and family!

More details to come.

Ministry Team Leaders Night

We are so grateful for all of the Ministry Team Leaders in our church! Please be praying for the leaders as they gather on Sunday, April 7th, for fellowship and leadership training.

sgu spring 2024 unit

Our next Sovereign Grace University (SGU) class will be in May!

SGU is a discipleship class focused on theology and this spring we will be going over THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. Registration and more details to come.

Check out previous class materials and lectures HERE!

There are many facets to our life as a church! Our hope is that these posts will enable you to plan, pray, and ultimately rejoice in what the Lord is doing at Sovereign Grace Church. Here are a few updates for you to do just that! 

deacons meeting

Our deacons, Scott McLeod and Bob Rabe, meet with Derek quarterly to plan and review the ministries in our church. Please pray for them as they meet on Saturday, January 20th!

regional Pastors & Wives Retreat

The pastors and their wives will be attending the Sovereign Grace Church’s West Region Pastors and Wives Retreat from January 25th to the 27th. Please pray for your pastors, Derek, Tim, and Tom, and their wives as they travel to California to be cared for along with other Sovereign Grace Church pastors in the West Region.

spiritual gifts seminar

SAVE THE DATE! Mark Prater will be at our church on February 23rd & 24th for a weekend seminar on Spiritual Gifts.

Mark has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania (our sister church) since 2002. He also serves as the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches.

Registration information and details to come!

marriage workshop

Another exciting weekend seminar coming up: a Marriage Workshop with Trey Richardson on March 22nd & 23rd!

Trey serves as a pastor at our sister church, Center Church, in Gilbert, AZ. His primary responsibilities have most recently been counseling and overseeing men’s and women’s ministries at Center Church.

More details to come!

sgu spring 2024 unit

Our next Sovereign Grace University (SGU) class will be in May!

SGU is a discipleship class focused on theology and this spring we will be going over THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. Registration and more details to come.

Check out previous class materials and lectures HERE!

“Judges:Christ in the chaos” preaching series

In October we began a 22-week series in the Book of Judges. Judges is ugly, violent, and depressing. Yet, in all the chaos, we see God powerfully at work as He faithfully and patiently sustains His people and points us forward to our Savior.

If you have not received your FREE copy of the ESV Scripture Journal on the book of Judges, you can pick one up at the Information Center.

As we step into this new year, it is your pastors’ desire to pray for you. We know that some are suffering physically, are gripped by discouragement and sorrow, at times tempted toward sin, under attack from the enemy, battle condemnation, and need wisdom and hope for the future. In what follows, hear our heart for you.  

First, hear Paul’s prayer for the Church in Ephesus from Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV):

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Now, hear our heart and prayer for you:
Father, as we head into this new year, we are thankful to you for our precious Church. Even as the faces and names of these saints come to mind, we are overjoyed with the knowledge that you are already at work in each one of them. Lord, be merciful and heal the sick and encourage the discouraged. Lift up the souls of the faint and brokenhearted. Move sinners into repentance. Lead us into everlasting joy in you

Holy Spirit, may our church know that you are at work in their “inner being so that Christ may dwell in” their “hearts through faith”. Strengthen, purify, and grow our church by your presence and work in their lives. Strengthen their faith, reminding them of the everlasting love of Christ. Fortify them against the enemy. Keep them anchored in the truth of your word and its sound doctrine. Exalt the Son of God, Jesus, and empower the Church to heed his command, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” (Acts 2:40 ESV), and empower them to watch their lives and doctrine closely according to your word (1 Timothy 4:16 ESV). 

Jesus, thank you for your undeserved atoning sacrifice on the cross for your Church. May your church grow in our knowledge of, our need for, and our joy in you. Send us to this world with this good news and make disciples. When we gather, may our worship, singing, and encouragement of each other be our overwhelming happy response as we exalt your name. We ask all of these things in your name, Jesus.

Paul ends his prayer with these words in Verses 20 and 21: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. AMEN.”

— Tom Wilkins

Our Marriages Needed the Redeeming Power of God.

Thursday night was our Community Group. It so happens that our group right now has six married couples. Our topic for discussion last night was based on the role of the husband and this was strategic and will be followed by our next meeting that will discuss the role of the wife. These two meetings follow our church’s recent Sermon Series – The Final Word: Gender, Marriage, and Complementarian Roles According to Scripture (what a gift God’s word is to us regarding these issues has been and what a gift these sermons have been to our church).

So, the agenda for our meeting was set. The Bible text was Ephesians 5. Our guide for discussion was Chapter 2 from the book, “Love that Lasts – When Marriage Meets Grace”, by Gary and Betsy Ricucci. The title of the chapter is “Leading with Love – The Role of the Husband.” 

Yet my heart for our group was one of desperation, a desperation for the Holy Spirit to minister to these couples… to Lisa and me. I knew that this meeting was coming at a time that met the various couples right in the middle of life’s suffering, bewilderment, conflict, trouble, failure, sin and more. Our meeting was not filled with starry-eyed newlyweds. Together we needed instruction, help, encouragement, correction, conviction, repentance, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and most definitely real and lasting hope, hope we knew but have often forgotten could be found only in Jesus. Our marriages needed the redeeming power of God. 

Knowing this, I began the meeting by reading the final word’s in Chapter 2. Gary wrote:

“Men, I could have easily filled this chapter with the examples of my failures to love, lead, understand, and honor my wife. But that wouldn’t serve you.” He went on. “Instead, I want to draw your attention to the glorious gospel of the Son of God who cleanses us from our past and then moves us forward to grace-filled future.” 

Each husband (and their wives) so needed to be reminded about the redeeming power of God in the glorious gospel! The time flew by, and we seemingly barely scratched the surface, yet nearing the end of our time, one of the wives highjacked the last several minutes of the meeting and each of wives encouraged their husbands in specific ways that God was at work in them as they fulfilled their roles husbands. 

Our marriages so needed this Community Group! God has been at work redeeming husbands’ and wives’ roles, redeeming their marriages, and our marriages so needed to hear it. Instead of being left to the condemning nature of a litany of failures, each husband was encouraged forward by the truth of God’s redeeming power that is at work in their marriage. 

Let this simple retelling of a single Community Group’s story direct your gratitude, and your worship to your Savior, Jesus, who loved His bride so much that “He gave himself up for her.” Ephesians 5:25 (ESV)

-Tom Wilkins

There are many facets to our life as a church! Our hope is that these posts will enable you to plan, pray, and ultimately rejoice in what the Lord is doing at Sovereign Grace Church. Here are a few updates for you to do just that! 

---

SGU Autumn 2023 Unit

The first class in the Sovereign Grace University Unit, The Doctrine of Man/Sin, started September 3rd!

SGU is a discipleship class that focuses on theology and this fall we will be going over THE DOCTRINE 0F MAN & SIN.

If you haven’t signed up yet, there is still time! To register or to find out more information, visit our SGU PAGE HERE.

“Judges: Christ in the Chaos” Preaching Series

October 29th, we begin a 22-week series in the Book of Judges. Judges is ugly, violent, and depressing. Yet, in all the chaos, we see God powerfully at work as He faithfully and patiently sustains His people and points us forward to our Savior. Don’t forget to grab your free Judges Journal, coming to the Information Center soon.

5TH SUNDAY STRETCH WORSHIP & PRAYER NIGHT

A WORSHIP & PRAYER night will be held at the church on October 29th (the fifth Sunday) at 7PM. This event is a time for us to “stretch” ourselves - to come together as a church community to praise and worship God and pray together about specific topics. For more details about this event, please reach out to Tom Wilkins.

FALL CHURCH PICNIC

After church on Sunday, November, 5th we will be having a churchwide picnic after the Morning Service! Food, fun, and fellowship…and a great opportunity to invite guests!

2023 Pastor’s Conference

Pray for your pastors and their wives as they attend the SG Pastor’s Conference in Orlando, FL, Nov. 14-16. It is a wonderful time of refreshment, teaching, and fellowship with like-minded men and women from around the globe who are uniquely on gospel mission together. 

PRE-SERVICE PRAYER

At 9:30 AM each and every Sunday morning, you will find a number of people gathered in our auditorium for prayer, including those who are serving every Sunday. We pray for our service. We pray for all those who will be attending that morning. We pray that the Gospel will advance in the hearts of all who come. And YOU are invited to come and join us too!

RELAY 2024 CONFERENCE

Your pastors are excited to invite you to RELAY 2024 - A Sovereign Grace Young Adults Conference on January 4-6, 2024, at the Sovereign Grace Church in Glen Mills, PA (Covenant Fellowship Church). 

This conference is geared towards young adults ages 18-25 years old, but those who are 16-17 years old as well as those in their late 20’s or 30’s are welcome. (Both singles and married couples are invited!)

CLICK HERE for more conference details!

The issue of gender is all around us: in schools, at work, in politics, on the internet, in your neighborhood, in your family, and in the media. The world thinks gender is fluid; the Bible says it is the fixed handiwork of God. Our goal as Christians is not to win arguments but to lovingly lead people to Jesus. For this reason, being equipped and ready to engage in humble, patient, informed, and biblical conversations is critical. The books below will help you do just that. May God use you to help others see the same identity, hope, and joy you have that IS Jesus!

---

the gender revolution

Patricia Weerakoon

“Contemporary discussions of sexual and gender issues faces a plethora of challenges….Here is the clarity of thought and writing one expects of experts. Agree or disagree with their arguments, but you will come away better informed, and better able to engage in the discussion with more light than heat” —D.A. Carson

gender ideology

Sharon James

“Get this book and read it and get lots of copies for friends and family to read as well. This little book reminds us that God created us male and female, and that that is very good” —Mark Dever

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

Carl R. Trueman

“This is a characteristically brilliant book by Carl Trueman, helping the church understand why people believe that sexual difference is a matter of psychological choice” —Rosaria Butterfield

eikon

A semi-annual journal for biblical anthropology that engages issues like sexuality, gender, marriage, singleness, family, and others from a biblical, historical, and theological perspective. You can access these journals online for free OR you can subscribe to eikon to get the copies mailed to you for only $25 annually!

There are many facets to our life as a church! Our hope is that these posts will enable you to plan, pray, and ultimately rejoice in what the Lord is doing at Sovereign Grace Church. Here are a few updates for you to do just that! 

SG Youth Kickoff

Please be praying for the youth, their parents. and the youth leaders as we start the SG Youth year with a Kickoff BBQ on Sunday, August 27th!

For more information on SG Youth, contact Jon Lambros.

sgu fall 2023 Unit

Our next Sovereign Grace University (SGU) class will be in October!

SGU is a discipleship class that focuses on theology and this fall we will be going over THE DOCTRINE 0F MAN & SIN.

EARLY BIRD registration will open on September 1st! Visit the SGU webpage for dates, times, and registration information.

Guest Preacher

We are excited to have Eric Turbedsky preach on Sunday, September 10th! Eric is the senior pastor at the Sovereign Grace Church in Orange County, CA and he is the Sovereign Grace Churches West Regional Leader.

“The Final Word” preaching series

Everybody has something to say about gender, marriage, and roles in today's culture, but God has already spoken. Beginning September 17th, we will take a look at HIS thoughts on the matter through this six-week preaching series.

Ministry Team Leaders night

We are so grateful for all of the Ministry Team Leaders in our church! Please be praying for the leaders as they gather on September 24th for fellowship and leadership training.

“Judges:Christ in the chaos” preaching series

In October we will begin a study in the book of Judges. Stay tuned for more details.

relay conference

Your pastors are excited to invite you to RELAY 2024 - A Sovereign Grace Young Adults Conference on January 4-6, 2024, at the Sovereign Grace Church in Glen Mills, PA (Covenant Fellowship Church). 

This conference is geared towards young adults ages 18-25 years old, but those who are 16-17 years old as well as those in their late 20’s or 30’s are welcome. (Both singles and married couples are invited!)

CLICK HERE for more conference details!

Community Groups

At Sovereign Grace Church we cherish our life together outside our Sunday gathering. Community Groups are a primary means by which we disciple and fellowship with one another.

If you are not part of a group, we encourage you to get involved. Visit the Community Group webpage to find a group in your area.

Verse 3 from "God Is Faithful (Psalm 114)"

We have known Your mercy and Your love as in the past
If days be few or many You will guide us to the last
You have said it, we believe it, every promise holding fast
For we know that You are good

Truths like these remind us of the faithfulness of God toward His people. From Old Testament saints to the New Testament church, including us today: GOD IS FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES!

Join us in a noisy celebration this Sunday as we sing together of the faithfulness of God!

Title: God Is Faithful (Psalm 114)
Album: Unchanging God - Songs from the Book of Psalms, Vol. 2
Link to listen HERE.

Chorus:
O sing, hallelujah! 
Our hope springs eternal!
O sing, hallelujah!
Now and ever we confess
Christ our hope in life and death

We are excited to sing a new song from Getty Music this Sunday.
Whatever we encounter this week, may this truth spur us to sing as we proclaim that Christ is our hope in life and death!

Title: Christ Our Hope In Life and Death

Words and Music: Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, and Matt Papa

Link to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OibIi1rz7mw