May 18th, 2019

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​We invite you to participate in activities at the Evangelical Free Church of Yucca Valley where we encourage a multi-generational community of followers of Jesus Christ. There is something for everyone.
Sunday:
​Adult Sunday School - 9 am
Join us for fellowship, coffee and snacks 
     at 10 am
Worship Service 10:30 am
Tuesday:
Ladies' Bible Study 6 -7:15 pm
Wednesday:
Kids Quest - 6:15 - 8 pm FREE - ages 3 years old  to 6th grade  (through May 29th)
Adult Sermon Discussion and Bible Study - 6:30 pm
Friday:
Youth Group  - 6-8 pm
Second Saturday of Each Month:
Men's Breakfast and Bible Study 7:30 am
Women's Brunch 10 am-noon
Bi-Monthly Potluck Lunch:
​May 19th following the church service.
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See weekly bulletin
 
For additional information call the church office Mon-Thurs, 10 am - 2 pm -  760 228-1747

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​Baptism has been an important part of the Christian faith even before the movement of Christianity began. John the Baptist was here to prepare the way for the coming Messiah (Christ) by calling the people of God to repentance. The sign of their repentance was water baptism. It was an outward symbol (being immersed in water) of an inner reality (a repentant heart). When Jesus came, the One for whom John was preparing the way, He Himself submitted to John’s baptism. Not because He had repented from sin (He never committed any sin) but it was an      outward symbol of the inner reality of Jesus purity and of His personal commitment to never sin and so never need to repent.
 
For the Church, Jesus retained the rite of baptism as an external picture of an internal reality. Just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus gave the Great Commission. His disciples were told the following:
 
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt 28:18-20 nasb)
 
Baptism is an outward confirmation of a person’s obedience to Jesus. It doesn’t save them,   rather, it is a visible picture that they are already saved. So, because we are a Church and    Jesus is our Chief Shepherd, we baptize. We encourage people to “follow” Jesus in baptism. And when I say “follow” I mean both doing what He did, He Himself was baptized, and, obeying His commission to the church to baptize the disciples we make.
 
I was baptized three or four years after I was born again because I wanted to make public my personal decision to believe in Jesus. Why did I wait? Because I didn’t understand baptism.    My Mother assured me that I was “baptized” as an infant so in my mind, I didn’t ‘need’ to be    baptized again. But that infant baptism was not a profession of my faith in Jesus. When I        understood that, I realized I needed to make my testimony of my faith a matter of public    record. And so, I was baptized.
 
We will be having a baptism during our Sunday morning worship service on March 19th. There is plenty of time during the service for many people to be baptized that morning. If you have been thinking about it and would like to be baptized, you can let me know in any one of three ways: 1) indicate your desire in the registration book on Sunday, 2) call the church office,     760-228-1747, or, 3) send me an email: pastorbill@efcyv.org. If you’re not sure just yet but are thinking about it, I’d be glad to meet with you and try to answer your questions.
 
May God’s richest blessings abound to you this month of May!
 
Yours for making disciples of every nation,
Pastor Bill