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.

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.

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

Bringing your kids to VBS is important for at least two reasons. First, God calls us through the Gospel to trust Him for salvation. But our kids grow up in a culture that makes trusting most people very difficult. They are surrounded on a daily basis by broken promises and lies. They live in a culture that has called God’s Word into question at just about every point. It is therefore critical for kids to learn that there is One Who is absolutely faithful and trustworthy. God has kept all of His promises in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. VBS is designed this year to emphasize God’s trustworthiness to lead children to trust in Him for salvation.

Second, VBS is a great opportunity for kids to spend meaningful time with godly adults and with other children. It’s an opportunity for them to see biblical principles modeled by their teachers, by the leaders of the various stations, and by all the helpers. It’s also a great opportunity for them to meet other kids their age and build friendships. One of the most important aspects of the local church is community, and that is true not just for adults, but for kids as well. Coming to VBS allows children to begin to experience what the community of the church is all about as they connect with their teachers and with their peers.

You don’t have to register your kids to come to VBS, but we ask that you do because it helps us plan better. So if you’re planning on coming, please register as soon as possible! We’re looking forward to hitting the beach next week as we see how faithful God is!

This is surely an interesting question. Why did God choose to save sinners by sending His Son, the Lord of all, to die on a cross and rise from the dead? Why are both the crucifixion and the resurrection necessary for us to be saved? The answers to these questions become clear when we reflect upon what happened when sin entered the world through Adam’s fall. Come join us this Sunday and throughout the month of April as we worship Jesus, who was for us the suffering Servant, and who reigns today as the risen Lord.

Yours for Jesus’ sake,

Pastor Robb