The season of Advent is upon us, and we have several special events over the coming weeks. On December 16 at 6:30pm, we are having a special Christmas interactive presentation, featuring an interactive telling of the Christmas story, immersing everyone in first century life in Bethlehem, followed by a Christmas puppet presentation. The evening will be a time of remembering and celebrating our Lord’s birth, reflecting on the reality of what the shepherds experienced as they searched for the baby in the manger.

On December 18 at 6pm we will have a special Christmas carols and cookies service in the worship center. This service will be a time of singing the beloved songs of Christmas and hearing a homily on the significance of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It’s a great opportunity to bring your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and other family members who do not know Christ. We’ll have invitations available soon for you to give to those you’d like to invite.

Our annual candlelight Christmas Eve service will be at 6pm. On Christmas Day, which is a Sunday this year, we will not have Sunday school. Our worship service will begin at the regular time, 10:30am. What a rare privilege we have of celebrating Christmas on the first day of the week together as a church body! Make plans to be with us Christmas morning.

For a full calendar of events in the month of December, you can always view our online church calendar.

This coming Sunday we are having our church family Thanksgiving dinner immediately following morning worship. If you have not had a chance to sign up yet, please email us and let us know you are planning on coming so we know how many to plan for. We hope to have everyone join us for this time of celebrating the Lord’s goodness to us as His people in Christ. There will be a special time of sharing specific praises and for giving Him thanks for His blessings, and we encourage everyone to have some “sacrifice of praise” to bring and offer up to the Lord with us.

On October 31, 1517, a monk named Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenburg Church in Germany. This common way of inviting debate on important theological issues started a firestorm that today is known as the Protestant Reformation. As Evangelicals, we trace our historical roots to the Protestant Reformation and to the principles set forth from Scripture by the Reformers. The Reformers’ goal was to correct errors in the Church so that the Church might return to the truth of the Gospel as plainly revealed in the Bible.

One key to the Reformers’ thought was that the Church must be always reforming. That is, once the Church becomes complacent and takes the Truth for granted, she inevitably compromises and loses the Truth. If the Church is not always diligently seeking to correct her ways with the Word of God, the Church will begin to slide into error and eventually apostasy. Tragically, we have seen the results of complacency toward the truth in far too many churches and denominations since the Reformation. It is vital that we regularly remind ourselves of the vital truths from Scripture emphasized by the Reformers.

To that end, we will be celebrating Reformation Day at Desert Hills on October 30 in our Sunday morning service. We will focus on 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 and the Reformation principle solus Christus, that is, Christ alone. What was it that was so revolutionary about the Reformers’ emphasis on Christ alone, and how can this New Testament truth revolutionize your understanding of the Gospel and God’s grace given in Christ? Come and join us on October 30 to find out why the truth of the Gospel is every bit as important today as it was nearly 500 years ago.

July is upon us, and while most of our regular ministries are on hiatus for the summer, we have plenty of opportunities for worship, service, and ministry this month.

The month begins with Community Night on July 3rd at 6pm. We began this monthly gathering in June, and it was a great time of fellowship for everyone who came. Come join us as we spend time together, getting to know each other better, enjoying food, games, and conversation. We meet in the Fellowship Hall.

July 5-9, many of the youth in the church are going on a ministry trip to New Mexico to help minister to kids at a week-long camp. Please pray for them as they travel and minister to the needs of others this week.

July 17th is our monthly corporate prayer meeting. James Hughes will lead us in a short devotional to begin our time of prayer. We will have a couple baptisms that evening as well. It promises to be a great time of reflecting on the work of our great God and seeking His hand in our lives for the days and months to come.

July 18th-22nd will be our VBS program, God Always Wins! The VBS will be from 9:00-11:30am daily. We had a great turnout in June for VBS, and we’d like to re-connect with many of these families, as well as new ones. We could still use a few helpers, so if you’re available, please let me know.

We’ll end the month with a Parenting Conference led by Dr. W. Ryan Steenburg on Sunday, July 31, from 6:00-8:30pm in the Worship Center. More information is coming in the next few days, so be on the lookout for registration and other details.

Some of our regular events continue in July. For a full schedule of July’s events, check out the church calendar.

Thanks for your faithful service to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in the month of June. I am excited about what we have planned for this month, and even more excited as I anticipate what God has planned for us and our community.

Your servant for Jesus’ sake,

Pastor Robb

Our July VBS registration is now available. The VBS program for July is God Always Wins. This is a morning VBS, July 18-22, from 9:00-11:30, for kids ages 3-12. More details coming soon!

Desert Hills’ summer Vacation Bible School program will be the week of June 20-24 from 6:30pm-8:30pm. VBS is open to all kids from 3 years old through 6th grade. Registration is free and available now online. We have exciting things planned for VBS this year, and we can’t wait to get started. More information will be published in the coming days.

This year on Good Friday we are having a worship service at 7pm. The service will be a time of reflection upon the death of our Lord Jesus. We will have readings from the passion narratives, songs that focus on Jesus’ sacrifice, and prayer. We hope you will make plans to join us for this simple yet powerful time together as we remember what Jesus did to secure our salvation.

Desert Hills’ annual Missions Sunday is this weekend, March 27. The morning will begin with a missions fair. The missions fair will provide opportunities to fellowship with our local missionaries, learn more about all of our missionaries, interact with global instruments, and explore the answer to the question, “What’s your mission?”

As you transition to the Worship Center, the worship team will introduce you to the sounds of global worship music. The morning celebration of worship will feature Desert Hills missionary Dave Buckert, who will ask the question, “Who is your Timothy?”

In the evening, you will want to be sure to return for our international potluck and a special message by another Desert Hills missionary, Gene Zigler. Here is a summary schedule of events:

9:00 – Missions Fair (Fellowship Hall)
10:15 – Global Sounds of Worship Music (Worship Center)
10:30 – Celebration of Worship (Worship Center)
**Immediately following the Celebration of Worship, we need volunteers to help set up for the evening potluck in the Fellowship Hall
5:00 – International Potluck (Fellowship Hall)
6:00 – Evening Service (Fellowship Hall)