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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.
Oct 12
5
Since this Sunday is a Communion Sunday and the children will remain in the service, I would like to share some thoughts on this topic.
It has been a number of months since we began the tradition of keeping our children in for the entire service on Communion Sundays. This has been a new experience for most of us, and I think it has been a great experience for our children and for the congregation as a whole. While it has provided parents with additional opportunities for discipling their children, we would be ignorant to say that it has always been easy. As I mentioned, this is new to almost all of us; therefore, we are all learning how to “disciple in the pew.” In many ways, through the grace of God, we are learning by trial and error. As a congregation, we are learning how to teach our children to worship the Lord not only through song and prayer but also through the teaching of the Word.
This whole topic has been on my mind over the last three or four months, and as I was reading “Parenting by God’s Promises,” I came across this passage under the category Seize Opportunities for Teaching; I thought it was worth sharing.
“We should make good use of the means of grace dispensed in public worship… For example, if there is a baptism in church on a Sunday morning, we can talk to our children afterward about the meaning of baptism and our part in the covenant as baptized people. Likewise, we can use open-ended questions to find out what our children learned from the sermon and other parts of the service. What part of the service meant the most to them that day, and why? Do you remember what Psalms were sung? What special needs did the minister bring to God in the prayers? Did they remember to bring a gift along to put in the collection for the benevolent fund or for world missions? We need to generate discussion about these things. If our children know we will be asking questions about the sermon and the other parts of the service, they will get in the habit of paying close attention to what is going on”.
I have taken some time to think through what the author had to say, and here are some of my thoughts.
First and foremost,we as parents we are teaching our children how to listen. We are teaching them that when they go to church they are to be actively participating and listening to what is taking place. If we want this for our child, then we must “inspect what we expect.” We must be asking open-ended questions about the different parts of the service and what was taught. As adults at Emmaus, we do this every week. You know that at your Gospel Community Group you will be asked certain questions about the sermon; therefore, it motivates you to pay careful attention to it. This sort of conversation can easily take place on the ride home from church or in a more formal setting throughout the week.
Second, teaching our children to actively listen doesn’t necessarily mean they will understand what is being taught, and that is okay. As our children grow, their understanding of the subject matter will increase. Regardless of our child’s maturity or cognitive ability, they are never too young to be developing their skills to actively watch, listen, and think about what is taking place.
Third, as parents we have the privilege and opportunity to use the sermon as a tool to further disciple our children at home. For those who have older children, you can continue the discussion or further study the topics that were introduced in the sermon. For those with elementary age children, you can provide more clarity or more age-appropriately explain the main points of the sermon. For those with even younger children, you could extend the conversation and provide instruction based on their simple observations.
While God has given parents the primary responsibility to disciple their children, it is an endeavor that requires a “body” of support. It would be a blessing to hear from others on how they are using the Sunday service to help disciple their children in the Lord.
God bless,
-Phil
Jun 12
12
Hello Church,
Just wanted to remind you that it’s time to sign up for Emmaus Essentials – Making Sense of Who God Is.
The class will start on July 3rd and run through the rest of the summer.
I was reviewing the subject this past week and I can tell you that it’s going to be a good one!
Click HERE to join!
Blessings,
Joe
Apr 12
27
Emmaus Christian Fellowship is almost eleven months old (born June 5, 2011). In some ways it feels as if we have been together for a long time, but in other ways it feels like we have just begun. The past eleven months have been filled with a lot of hard work for the Elders and Leadership core here at Emmaus; lots of study, lots of meetings, lots of writing.
In particular, we have been working hard on the Foundation Documents of Emmaus Christian Fellowship. These documents will include things such as our statement of faith, confession, bylaws, membership process, mission statement, as well as other core documents which will bring clarity to the beliefs, policies, and vision of ECF.
These documents are important and I’m looking forward to the day when we will give them to the people of Emmaus for review and feedback (I have a date in mind as a goal but I rather not say given that rushing these documents for the sake of meeting a deadline would be foolish and potentially harmful to the decades of ministry that await us).
I write this post because we are approaching a time when the beliefs of Emmaus Christian Fellowship will be stated with great specificity. My concern, as we grow in our understanding of the scriptures, is that we maintain a disposition of heart where we are able to, one, stand firm upon our convictions and, two, be humble and gracious towards those who might disagree with us on the non-essentials of the Christian faith.
Maintaining this balance is no simple task. Christians have struggled throughout the ages with this interplay between standing for truth and loving those who might disagree. It has been a struggle because it is a complicated endeavor.
I think the motto, “In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity”, is potentially helpful for three reasons.
First of all, the motto acknowledges that there are essentials to the Christian faith that all must agree upon in order to be a Christian. As a result, there are some things worth fighting for. Consider Paul’s words to Titus concerning the qualification of an Elder within the church: “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:9, ESV)
Second, the motto acknowledges that within the church we must leave room for liberty in the areas that are non-essential to the Christian faith. Consider Paul’s words to the Romans concerning the diversity which existed within the church of Rome: “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.” (Romans 14:5–6, ESV)
Third, the motto encourages us to do all things with charity, which I take to mean, humility, graciousness, and out of a heart of love. Paul encouraged the church in Colossae in the same way saying, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:14, ESV)
We must be careful at this point given that we have made a mess of this “love” concept in our modern day supposing that it means that we are never to disagree, confront, or rebuke. To those who hold the view that love is being perpetually passive I would ask the question, have you ever read about Jesus in the gospels or Paul’s writings to the churches? These men confronted boldly from time to time and yet they did so out of love.
Consider the contrast concerning Paul’s dealings with the church of the Thessalonians. First he says, “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.” (1 Thessalonians 2:7, ESV) And then a few verses later he says, “For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” (1 Thessalonians 2:11–12, ESV) Paul uses the imagery of a nursing mother and an exhorting father to illustrate his care for the believers. Both tenderness and exhortation can and should emanate from a heart of love.
In regard to the charity principle, the point is this – we must be sure that whether we are encouraging or exhorting that our hearts are truly humble and filled with love, even for our enemies. To be perpetually passive or constantly confrontational will not do. It is possible to be passive out of a heart of hatred just as it is possible to confront in love.
The issue is the heart. This is my prayer for Emmaus Christian Fellowship, that our hearts would be pure. We must stand for the truth of the gospel and do so because we possess a true love for God and our fellow man.
Click here for more thoughts on the motto, “In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity.”
Dec 11
29
Check out this recent video which explains how to connect, grow, and serve at Emmaus CF.
http://vimeo.com/33821263
Oct 11
18
It was a joy to have a conversation with my wife and kids tonight over dinner concerning the Emmaus Doctrinal Standard #3. And lest you get the wrong idea that the Anady’s always enjoy family devotional bliss – I assure you, we do not. With four little ones there is always something interesting going on. Tonight Damon was going from plate to plate steeling everyone else’s noodles while we were talking. The kid loves rice and noodles like you wouldn’t believe!
But even with the craziness of real life pressing in we did manage carry on with some meaningful conversation concerning the question, “What does the Bible primarily teach?” The answer is that, “The Bible primarily teaches what man should believe about God and what God requires of man.” It’s such a blessing as a father to have a template for systematically teaching my children the truths of the Bible. These questions cause us to talk about a number of different topics as we dive into the scriptures, looking at the support for these doctrinal truths. These are sweet times that I will always remember!
Parents, I encourage you to engage your children in Christ centered conversation with regularity. Teach them to savor Jesus. Instill in them a passion for God’s word and for sound doctrine. Above all, show them what it looks like to find great pleasure in the things of God. When the family devotions don’t go as planned, smile at your spouse and try it again. Show your children the grace and mercy that we have experienced in Jesus while at the same time teaching them diligently. Easier said than done right? How about I pray for you as you pray for me in this.
Just Thinking,
Joe
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
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.
"Him we proclaim,
warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone mature in Christ."
(Colossians 1:28, ESV)
