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Emmaus is a Reformed Baptist church in Hemet, California. We are a community of Christ followers who love God, love one another, and serve the church, community, and nations, for the glory of God and for our joy.
Our hope is that you will make Emmaus your home and that you will begin to grow with us as we study the scriptures and, through the empowering of the Holy Spirit, live in a way that honors our great King.
LORD'S DAY WORSHIP (SUNDAYS)
10:00am Corporate Worship
In the Emmaus Chapel at Cornerstone
26089 Girard St.
Hemet, CA 92544
EMMAUS ESSENTIALS
Sunday School For Adults
9:00am to 9:45am most Sundays (Schedule)
In the Chapel
MAILING ADDRESS
43430 E. Florida Ave. #F329
Hemet, CA 92544
The Realm is our church's online network. We use this tool as our primary means of communication. Be sure to check it often and don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Interested in becoming a member? Please join us for a four-week study in which we will make a case from the scriptures for local church membership and introduce the ministries, government, doctrines, and distinctive's of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church.
Learn MoreEmmaus Essentials classes are currently offered online Sundays at 9AM. It is through our Emmaus Essentials (Sunday School) that we hope to experience an in depth study of the scriptures and Christian theology. These classes focus on the study of systematic theology, biblical theology, church history, and other topics practical to Christian living.
An audio teaching series through the Baptist Catechism aimed to instruct in foundational Christian doctrine and to encourage obedience within God’s people.
A podcast produced for International Reformed Baptist Seminary: a forum for discussion of important scriptural and theological subjects by faculty, administrators, and friends of IRBS.
A podcast devoted to discussions concerning Christian doctrine and the Christian life from a confessionally Reformed Baptist perspective.
A fourteen-week Bible study in which we consider “what man ought to believe concerning God, and what duty God requireth of man” (Baptist Catechism #6).
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At Emmaus we believe that God has given parents, especially fathers the authority and responsibility to train and instruct children up in the Lord. In addition, we believe that God has ordained the gathering of all generations, young to old, to worship Him together in one place and at one time. Therefore, each and every Sunday our children worship the Lord alongside their parents and other members of God’s family.
Learn MoreEmmaus Reformed Baptist Church is committed to the fullfilment of the Great Commision given by our Lord when he said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV), through the planting of local churches, both at home and abroad.
Sep 11
5
Of all of the encouraging things that have happened at Emmaus over the past 3 months I must say I was most encouraged by the time of fellowship we experienced at the BBQ last night. To see so many people truly enjoying one another’s company, engaging in deep conversation, and just plain having fun together blessed my heart in such a deep way. Lindsay and I stayed up till almost midnight last night rejoicing together. There was something about the event last night that seemed to appropriately celebrate all of the amazing happenings and hard work of this past summer.
Here are a few observations that led us to rejoice:
One, we heard a number of people say, “it just feels like family!” And we would agree with that assessment.
Two, our congregation is diverse in age. It was awesome to see the swimming pool filled with 20 some odd kids, more kids in the jumper, high school students on the grass talking with college students, 20, 30, 40, and 50 something’s playing wiffle ball and being competitive as all get out, and then to look and see that we are blessed with a number of more mature members; this is a huge blessing for Emmaus. From what I have heard, most new church starts lack this diversity. Let’s build on this and make sure that we love one another and minister to one another cross generationally.
Three, it seems that people in our church already know how to serve. Everyone pitched in when work needed to be done.
Four, Gabe Gomes cooks a mean tri-trip and that will not quickly be forgotten.
Thank you to those who went above and beyond to make this event happen.
Blessings,
Joe
Aug 11
8
Mark 4:1-9
1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.
2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:
3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil.
6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.
8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This passage should cause us to go two directions in contemplation. One, we should consider the sower, and two, we should consider the soils as we make application to our lives.
Jesus teaches using a parable as He explains why different people respond differently to the gospel. He compares the human heart to four different types of soil.
The first is described as a path; ground that is hard packed, unable to receive even the smallest of seeds. This represents the hearts of those who hear the gospel and reject it outright. As Christ-followers we need not be concerned with this soil as representative of our own hearts, for we are in Christ! But we should be aware that some will respond to the gospel with pure hardness of heart; though they have eyes they do not see, though they have ears they they do not hear.
Next, the human heart is compared to rocky ground; earth that has a thin layer of soil on top with hard rock just bellow the surface. The seed of the gospel is said to spring up quickly because of the shallow soil, but the plant withers away quickly with the heat of the sun. This soil type should certainly concern us as professing Christians. We must ask ourselves, do I have depth to my faith? Do I really understand the gospel? Have I truly sunk my roots down deep into Christ through daily abiding in Him and His Holy Word? This is a question that we should ask ourselves throughout our Christian life if we hope to endure faithfully through the trials of life.
After this Jesus mentions the seed that fell among thorns. This, given the culture in which we live, should probably be of greatest concern to us. Jesus, in verse 19, says that the thorns represent the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things. I would guess that many Christians find their spiritual vitality and fruitfulness choked out by these pervasive thorns.
Jesus then mentions the good soil. This represents the heart that receives the gospel with gladness and continues to cultivate a spiritual life of depth based upon the gospel. It should be noted that it is only this soil that produces a harvest “yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
As we consider the soils, we should be encouraged to daily tend the garden of our souls. We must submit to God and His Word, asking the Holy Spirit to till the soil for depth and to weed out any potential distraction to the kingdom. I trust that if we do this, we will be fruitful in our ministry.
When it comes to the sower, we should notice one thing – the sower sowed liberally. The sower did not try to discern the quality of the soil before he cast the seed. From an agricultural perspective this sort of behavior is foolish (perhaps Jesus wanted this part of the story to be shocking to His listeners as a way to draw attention to this principle). Seed was expensive in Jesus’ day and a good farmer would have made quite sure that the soil was good before he threw the precious seed. Jesus seems to be communicating that when it comes to the gospel of the kingdom it is not our place to judge the condition of the human heart or the readiness of an individual to receive the gospel; we are simply called to sow seed and to leave the rest to God.
I wonder what kind of harvest we would see if we would stop judging by appearance? What would happen if we shared the gospel more freely? I think we would find ourselves in the midst of a great harvest! Truth be told, it might be those who, according to our judgement, appear to be furthest from the kingdom who are in fact the closest. The reality is that we have no idea what God is doing in the hearts of the men and women and boys and girls who live all around us. God is constantly tilling hearts; some soil is prepared and some is not. The only way that we will know if someone is ready to receive the gospel is to preach the gospel to them.
Church, I encourage you to apply the twofold message of this parable to your lives. Ask God to till the soil of your own heart and preach the gospel freely today.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Joe
Aug 11
2
Mark 2:13-17
13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.
14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.
16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Is Jesus teaching here that there are some who are righteous and and others who are sinners living on this earth, and that He is calling only those who are sinners to Himself? We know from the rest of scripture that this can not be true. For example, Romans 3:10-12 says, “As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.'”
Jesus here is making the point that He is calling to Himself those who are aware of their sin and their need for a savior. The scribes and Pharisees, though they were sinners just like the rest, thought of themselves as righteous and, as a result, saw no need for Jesus as Savior.
If we are to come to Christ and remain in Him we must acknowledge our deep need for Him. As we do ministry we must proclaim the Gospel and understand that it is those, who under the conviction of the Holy Spirit are made aware of their deep need, that will come to Christ. The self-righteous, are in some ways, furthest from the Kingdom. Christ is able to cover the worst of sins but only if the need for a Savior is acknowledged and trust is placed in the person of Jesus Christ.
Let us not fall in to the error of the scribes and Pharisees, thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought and thinking that some, because of their sin, are out of reach of the grace of God.
Jul 11
12
Hello Emmaus,
Just a quick reminder that our scripture memory for the week is 2 Timothy 3:16 which says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” The children will have an opportunity to recite this verse in front of the congregation this week just like we did last week.
The idea here is that young and old memorize scripture together, and that parents teach their children this discipline within the home. Please, do not let your children memorize scripture without helping them to understand what it means and how it should change their lives. It is a very dangerous thing to pack a young persons mind full of scripture, and then to send them off into adulthood thinking they “know” the Bible, when in fact, they don’t understand it. Scripture should be memorized, understood, and applied; anything less is potentially destructive. The scriptures should be stored up in the mind, but it also needs to sink down into our hearts where it can truly transform us.
Blessings!
Joe
Jul 11
1
As I was preparing today to lead the people of Emmaus in the Lord’s Supper for the first time this Sunday, I was struck with the seriousness and power of this ancient tradition.
To begin with, it’s overwhelming to contemplate the fact that this ordinance was established by Jesus Christ Himself and was handed down through the apostles, the early church fathers, all the way through church history, and to us today (in fact the Lord’s Supper has as its roots the Passover feast established after the Exodus). When we participate in the Lord’s Supper we are not only considering our deep connection with one another as individuals within the local church, but also our connection with the saints around the world and those who have gone before us. This is big! The Lord’s Supper, though it involves individual contemplation, forces us to consider our unity in Christ as the church of God both locally and universally.
As we take the wafer, which symbolizes the body of Christ that was broken for us, and the juice, which symbolizes the blood of Christ that was poured out for us, the symbolism reminds us that we are not islands unto ourselves. We are, as individuals, deeply connected to and dependent upon Christ; and because of our union with Christ, we are also deeply connected to one another. As believers, we have Christ in common; He unites us as we each send our roots deep down in to Him.
This is why it is so important that we search our hearts before we partake of the Lord’s Supper. We do not want to be guilty of hypocrisy when it comes to our relationship with God or our relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ. We must examine our hearts, confess sin, and do all that is in our power to be at peace with all men (1 Corinthians 11:27-30, Romans 12:18).
We can easily forget that when Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper it was in the context of the Passover meal. Jesus was sitting around the table in an intimate setting with His disciples as they shared a meal together. When the early Church participated in the Lord’s Supper, they most likely did so in the context of sharing in a full meal together. Today, most churches take five minutes out of their worship service to remember Christ by taking a wafer and juice while the congregation sits, not with their eyes on one another, but looking strait forward. Now I’m not saying the way we do things today is all wrong, but I do think we should be aware of the fact that the Lord’s Supper was originally observed in a context that was much more conducive to the sharing of life to life relationships.
As we take communion this Sunday we will do so in the same way that we always have, wafer and juice in hand we will confess sin, remember our Lord’s death, and look forward to His second coming. This is good and proper; but please add to your contemplation a deep awareness of the unity that we share in Christ Jesus. Who knows, perhaps we will change the way that we approach the Lord’s table in the future, but for now, let’s make sure that we approach with hearts that are right before God and one another.
Jun 11
16
Psalm 130 (ESV)
A SONG OF ASCENTS.
“1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! 2 O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! 3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. 8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
You can probably imagine what it would feel like to be a watchmen on the night shift. It’s cold outside, everything in you wants to sleep, you are a little bit afraid, and you are straining to see and to listen for the enemy approaching. The night is long, and you want more than anything to see the eastern horizon begin to show signs of light.
The psalmist compares this kind of anticipation to the sense of hope that we should have in the Lord. With all of the difficulties of life pressing in, our hope needs to rest firmly in Christ. We must wait on Him, trust in Him, and live with a sense of anticipation, knowing that our God’s love is steadfast. I see in this passage a heart posture of complete dependence upon Christ; it is the kind of heart posture that every Christ follower needs to be marked by. I see a man on his knees and yet confident and sure. He is confident, not in himself, but in Lord. God, fill our churches with men and women like this!
Jun 11
7
Ecclesiastes 3 (ESV)
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
9 What gain has the worker from his toil?
10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;
13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.
15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.
17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.
18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts.
19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.
20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.
21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?
22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?
Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 (ESV)
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
May 11
27
As I began to read through 1 Peter in preparation for a sermon series that will most likely begin in a few weeks, I took special notice of verse 1-3 of chapter 2. The whole chapter, and book for that matter, is written to encourage Christians to stand firm in Christ, trusting in the sovereignty of God, even in the midst of persecution (in 1 Peter the persecution seems to be primarily of the verbal sort). The thing about being mistreated by others is that there naturally arises within us a desire to self-protect, to lash out, or to answer back to the ridicule you are receiving. But Peter tells us “to put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:1–3, ESV).
These are certainly good words for us to hear! We are to “put away” certain behaviors from amongst us and we are to “long for the pure spiritual milk”. I want so badly to be a part of a congregation that is passionate about doing away with sin and running to Christ and His Word. We need to put away all kinds of sin, but I think these sins are particularly applicable to us in our situation. We need to be a people who trust that God is truly in control of all things. When we believe this, we are truly free to live godly lives. We are free to keep our mouths shut when others slander. We are free to release bitterness and to give it to the Lord. We are free from envy and the temptation to act deceitfully. When we really trust (have faith) in God and believe that He is in control, it frees us to live as God has called us to live as we surrender fully to Him.
Let me encourage you to live trusting in God for all things. God is the one who protects, vindicates, and judges the hearts of men. Because of this, we are free to pursue God’s calling on our lives, being filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (Gal 5:22-23) as we walk daily in the Spirit, trusting that He is leading us where He wants us to go. We are free in Christ! Let us walk in that freedom instead of becoming entangled in the bondage of sin .
"Him we proclaim,
warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone mature in Christ."
(Colossians 1:28, ESV)
