A Quest to Worship

Dear YFA Friends and Family,



As I write this article, we are still in the “twixt” season between Christmas and the beginning of the new year. This season gives us an opportunity to reflect on the prior year and gather our mind and intentions for the new year. If you’re like me, you’ve heard the time management pros, the visionaries, the self-improvement people providing all kinds of ways and means for us to grab 2026 by the horns and implement behaviors, make changes to our schedules, and set goals. All of this is well and good, and I join the ranks of those who are making adjustments and refining routines.


Often, as I approach the new year, I talk with the Lord about a theme or direction for the year…both in my personal life and on behalf of our church. Maybe a better way to say this is that I ask the Lord and listen to what He says to me. This year, personally, I feel the Lord directing me to a deeper worship life. I have to admit that I was a bit humbled by this thought. Having grown up worshipping and then leading worship for over thirty years, I could begin to think that I have worship “down pat”, but the Holy Spirit graciously reminded me that we will spend all of eternity worshipping. With that backdrop, any accumulated experience won’t matter much at all.


So I am on a quest to worship Him more fully in different ways and most assuredly as He directs. I love worship, and I am both excited and hopeful at the prospect of knowing our Father God better through worship and relationship. I encourage us as a church, as a body, to engage in worship in all the ways that are acceptable to our Father.


“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice -

the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

(Romans 12:1,2, CSB)


Would you join me this year in abandoning doubt and our selfish ways and seeking Him to discover all means of acceptable worship in our Father’s eyes? I believe in doing so, we will continue to be transformed into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). As for a goal or intention for the new year, I can think of nothing better than to be more like Jesus.


With that, may you have a most blessed 2026! And may we find ourselves knowing Jesus more, worshipping Him more fully, and being made more like Him.


Be blessed abundantly, 

Pastor Paula             

1-14-20256

Prayer Changes Things

Dear YFA Friends and Family,



Most of us have heard the saying, “Prayer changes things.” Jesus Himself said there are some things that only happen by prayer (Matthew 17:21). That tells us that truly, then, prayer changes things. If there are some things that only happen by prayer, does that mean that some things don’t or won’t happen because of a lack of prayer? Wow! That got really heavy really fast, didn’t it? That gives me reason to pray! I hope it gives you reason to pray as well.


Sure, we know God is sovereign, but He is most definitely a God who is moved when His people pray. “IF my people pray...” (2 Chronicles 7:14). There is no substitute for prayer in the Christian’s life. Prayer has been given a bad rap because many people find it to be difficult and, therefore, shy away. Prayer is most definitely a spiritual discipline, and with the word “discipline”, prayer can take on an unpleasant meaning for some. But the truth is that prayer is relationship with our God. Prayer is two-way; it cannot be pigeon-holed into an experience much as a relationship cannot be defined by a singular act or experience.


You know, prayer did not come easy to me. Just like anyone else, I had to do some work to develop a personal prayer life. I certainly don’t pray today like I prayed when I was a child, a teenager, or even as a young adult. Truth be told, my prayer life has evolved over the last fifty years as I have walked with the Lord. The discipline of showing up is only easier because it’s become a habit in my life, and the development of that habit took some time and intention. The discipline of centering my mind on the Lord is still a work in progress in which I’m happy to engage because I find Him to be ever so faithful.


All of this prayer talk to say the Lord has impressed upon me to deepen and even widen our prayer involvement in 2026. He has granted a vision for this church that far exceeds our ability to accomplish on our own. We must have Him. And it is my desire that everyone who calls this church home loves Jesus more and desires a more intimate walk with Him in 2026. The accomplishment of the Lord’s vision for this church and individuals growing in their relationship with Him come about by prayer.


As we peek into 2026, we will continue all church prayer on the first Wednesday of the month. We will expand on that to make the entire first week of every month a week of prayer. Those weeks will include a variety of prayer initiatives, prayer points, additional prayer times, livestream prayer pop-ups, drive-by prayers (one of my favorites), and more.


We will kick off the year joining our Assemblies of God denomination in our annual week of prayer, January 4-10, 2026. As we look toward our nation’s 250th birthday, we will pray for America. Stay tuned for more specifics. In the meantime, I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to talk to you about how you personally can grow in your prayer life. He is the best teacher and guide. And we will continue to experience together the reality and Kingdom principle that “prayer changes things”.


Be blessed abundantly, 

Pastor Paula

12-15-2025

He's Coming Soon!

Signs of the times are everywhere

And there’s a brand new feeling in the air

Keep your eyes upon the eastern skies

Lift up your head! Redemption draweth nigh!


He’s coming soon! He’s coming soon!

With joy, we welcome His returning.

It may be morn. It may be night or noon.

We know He’s coming soon!


Both of these songs were written with an intense focus on the fact that Jesus is coming soon. The first, “Redemption Draweth Nigh”, was copywritten in 1970 by Gordon

Jensen. The second, “He’s Coming Soon” was written to a Hawaiian melody in 1944. As I’ve pondered the state of our world, the first line keeps coming to mind, “Signs of the

times are everywhere.” It’s true that when we observe happenings in the world and line them up with Scripture, we know Jesus’ return is very soon.


Just this morning, I read about the recent discovery of the largest known black hole. The size is staggering for our minds to even consider given it exists in the largest known galaxy. By the way, our Milky Way galaxy seems to be rather small comparatively. My mind began to think about our forefathers and their forefathers...all the way back to the Old Testament patriarchs. I began to wonder what they knew about the stars, the galaxies, the planets. Then I considered the early apostles and thought the same.


Then I consider John, the author of Revelation. He had a front row seat to the end

times, to the finality of the war between good and evil, to the fate of this world and the promise of a new heaven and new earth. And yet, I don’t think John had the

understanding we now do of galaxies and wonders that are far greater than we could

ever dream or imagine. What a God! What a creation! And this same God in coming again will bring everything to order and set it right. Oh, am I looking for that day! Aren’t you? John’s book also contains the line from Jesus Himself, “Yes, I am coming soon.” (Rev. 22:20). Indeed, Jesus, when we take a look at this world, we can see that you are coming soon. You had John record this as Your final words in the Holy Scripture. You

meant it for the readers of John’s day, and You mean it for the readers of today. Those two songs truly emphasize the point in today’s world that Jesus is coming soon! And not only these authors declare it, but Jesus Himself declares that He is coming

soon! Can you join me in responding with John? “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev.

22:20).


“He’s Coming Soon!”

Come, Lord Jesus, Come!


“I’ll See You in the Rapture” (written by Charles Bowman Feltner, 1973),


Pastor Paula


P.S.

I sure do hope that you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and are looking to Jesus’ return with great anticipation, expectancy, and excitement. If not, you sure can! I’d love to introduce you to Him. Feel free to email the church office at life@yumafirstag.org or call us at 928.782.9238. In the meantime, you can start the

conversation with Him by letting Him know you’d love to accept Him as Lord and Savior, are ready to give your life to Him, and desire to live for Him the rest of your days. Let Him know you are done doing things your way living a sinful life and accept Jesus’ blood as payment for that sin. God will forgive you and make you His child. When He does so, you’ll be able to say, “Come, Lord Jesus, Come!” You next need to let

someone know. Again, you can email me at the address above or call the church office. You then need to read the Bible, pray, and settle into a local Bible-believing church. I invite you to Yuma First Assembly. We'd love to have you with us. If you prayed that prayer, may I be first to congratulate you? It’s wonderful to have you with us in God’s family.


8-15-2025

Prayer - Talking to the Father

I am thinking of you and our recent sermon series on prayer. Many churches engage their people in a prayer initiative at the first of the year with good reason. Prayer? Yes, we most certainly need it. We need prayer in our world, our nation, our state, our communities, our neighborhoods, our churches, our homes, our families…and in each of us. Prayer is the lifeline of our relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Without prayer, there is not much of a relationship with God. I am sure we all desire a closer relationship with the Lord, don’t we? And prayer is most certainly one of the ways in which we draw closer to Him.


Our very natural logical minds can easily fall into a transactional relationship with the Lord instead of a familial relationship. Instead of really learning about God as our Father, we often fall prey to condensing our relationship with Him to a checklist of events. And when we’ve done our checklist and God hasn’t responded the way we thought He would/should, we are disappointed. The following quote sheds some light on this quandary.


“We often spend more time approaching God as an employee instead of as a child.”


Think of this for a moment. Paul the apostle taught us that the Holy Spirit who lives within us bears witness within us that we are the children of God, joint-heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:16-17). So as a child of God, I approach Him as my Father, not my boss. He is certainly holy and worthy of my highest regard and esteem, but He is related to me, and I am related to Him. Have you ever really let that sink into your mind, heart, and soul?


And Jesus clearly taught that we are to conduct ourselves in God’s Kingdom as children (Matthew 18:1-5).


What does that mean for our prayer lives? Well, that changes our time with the Lord from sounding like a business meeting more to like a beautiful conversation with our Father in which we share our hearts with one another. We can relate to Him on that basis instead of a transactional basis.


What if we spent time considering Him as our Father when we begin the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father who is in heaven….” We are not talking to a mysterious Father somewhere in space, but we are talking to someone to Whom we are related. He is our Father. That really does result in prayer as a relationship versus prayer as a transactional conversation.


As we continue through the beginning months of this year, I challenge us all to build up our foundation of prayer by spending time with our Father, relating to Him as such. The same Holy Spirit that convinces us of our sonship is the same Holy Spirit that will assist us in relating to the Father in such a beautiful manner. You can ask Holy Spirit, and He will teach you. Jesus said that He came to do just that.


Let’s change our perspective of prayer from a checklist to our lifeline to our Father and watch what it does in our relationship with Him. I’m excited to hear how lives are transformed and changed because we see God as our Father, and we see ourselves as His children.


Be abundantly blessed…


-Pastor Paula

2-14-2025

Christmas Reflection

Christmas is a special time of reflection for us as we recall the past year. We celebrate the gift of God to this world in sending His Son, Jesus Christ to be Emmanual, God With Us. That gift is a reminder annually of God’s great love to us. When I reflect on this past year, I am deeply grateful for the love of God and His wonderful faithfulness.


As you know, this has been a rough season for our family as we walked with my dad, Pastor K, through almost a year of hospitals and care facilities. We then said, “See you soon” to him in August. People have asked occasionally how I am doing, how my mom is doing, how all of us family members are doing. It has not been easy at all, and we still deeply grieve his loss. How then, they ask, are you able to be so strong, all of you? How are you able to get up and preach, sing, play the piano, go on the mission field, continue working, worship, pray for others, and smile when your heart is breaking? It is God’s love and His wonderful faithfulness.


I want you to know that during the dark days and the hard nights, God's faithfulness never failed. There was one particular morning while we were in Tucson to be with Dad that I woke up early in the morning and sat in the lobby of a hotel drinking my coffee. I can't say that I was "talking" to the Lord, but my heart was sure speaking. I'm sure you know exactly what I mean as many of you have also walked some rough paths this past year. It was during that time spent with Him that the phrase, "breath-takingly faithful" dropped into my heart, mind, and soul. That was in early 2024. I am here to tell you today that His breath-taking faithfulness never once failed. He is indeed breath-takingly faithful. I pray that this great truth will fill your hearts and souls this Christmas season. My hope for you all is that you will experience this same faithfulness in your lives, and that by that great faithfulness you will know the love of our Father as made real through the precious gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.


And may I also add this? The same God who was faithful in 2024 will be faithful in 2025. You can count on it! It is who He is!


With great love and Godly affection,


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


--Pastor Paula and Kelly

Jesus is the Vine

We are off and running with our 21-day fast to Easter (March 10-30, 2024). If you haven’t started yet, today is a great day to join us! I hope you are encouraged as you spend time with the Lord during this season. I know many of us are not only fasting to increase our dependence on Jesus, but we are fasting for answers from the Lord about particular situations and circumstances. We are joining together to see souls come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. And not just any soul; we are praying for those people in our circles who will not go to heaven if Jesus comes back today. I join with you in agreeing for salvations of these individuals as we both fast and pray.


Additionally, we are reading John 15:1-17 daily during our time of fasting and focusing on John 15:5 specifically.


“I am the vine; you are the branches.

If a man remains in me and I in Him, he will bear much fruit;

apart from Me you can do nothing.”


Jesus is the vine; He is the source of life…both now and eternally. We must remain in Him through active dependence and loving obedience. When we do so, we will bear much fruit. Why? Because we are attached to the Life-Giver, Jesus. So what happens when we detach or no longer remain in Jesus? We have no spiritual nutrition, we have no source of life; we can do nothing.

Jesus isn’t putting us down. On the contrary, He is allowing us to receive from Him what the Father has given Him. Did you catch that? When we remain in Jesus, you and I experience our Father the same way Jesus experiences our Father. That is simply amazing! Jesus is willing to allow the fullness of God to run through Him to us as we fully remain in Him and increase our dependence upon Him.

I am praying for you as you engage in our time of fasting. May your dependence upon Jesus increase, may you bear much fruit, and may you have the assurance that your situations and circumstances are fully handled by our Father in heaven. And may we see those specific individuals for whom we are praying to be saved to come to know Jesus this year!


-Pastor Paula


3-14-2024

2024 - It’s Time!

There is a certain urgency the Lord has placed on my heart as we enter 2024. It’s time to take hold of the promises of God and the prophecies He’s given us over the years. I am reminded of Jesus’ words that we can’t place new wine in old wineskins (Luke 5:38-39).

In other words, we can’t just take Jesus and insert Him into our lives. Our lives must be made completely new by the transforming work of the Holy Spirit within us. Holy Spirit, thank you for showing us what we need to discard as we move into the newness You are bringing to us.


It’s Time!

The first and best thing we can do as Christ-followers is pray! I encourage you to continue or start a pattern of prayer in your lives in 2024. Together, we kick off this year with a focus on prayer. We join with Assemblies of God believers around the world in united prayer January 7-13, 2024. Stay tuned for an email next week which will include our prayer points.


All Church Prayer – every Wednesday, January 3-February 21, 2024.

You don’t want to miss these building blocks of learning and coming together to agree and pray as the Holy Spirit directs our church.

We don’t always know what God is going to do in us and through us, but we do know it always starts and is fueled by intense (intentional) prayer. Join us for these power-packed times as we join together in prayer and discover what it means to encounter Jesus afresh and anew!


I am excited as we venture into 2024 with an expectation of wonder as to what God is doing among us!

I know God has the BEST in store for us, for YOU!

Please don’t miss a moment!

It’s Time!


-Pastor Paula


12-27-2024

Generosity Challenge

A couple of Sundays ago, I challenged us to live generously on a daily basis. I will continue our generosity series on Sunday, June 25. This will be a meaningful service as we talk about generosity around the Lord’s Table. We will partake of Communion together, recognizing the most generous gift ever given – God’s gift of His only beloved Son (John 3:16). You don’t want to miss it!


Let me refresh your minds on a couple of thoughts from God’s Word.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 NLT  

‌

6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

 

The law of sowing and reaping is always in effect where God is concerned. And giving is a matter of the heart. Generosity does not always have to do with money; it’s a lifestyle mindset. If we are stingy,... click here for the full message.

6-16-2023

You Do You!

Have you heard this small one-liner lately? I’ve heard it spoken when someone is expressing a particular style, an opinion, a plan of events that is perhaps not popular or deviates from the norm. It is somewhat of an embracing of an individual’s personality and style. There is most definitely something to be said for being true to one’s individual likings and not conforming to others’ expectations. God has certainly designed us uniquely; each of us is beautifully fashioned by our Master Designer. Therefore, you are indeed a masterpiece.


For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10


We are custom-designed by the Creator. And when we are made new through the wonder of salvation, we are... click here for full message


4-24-2023

I still have my Quarter...

I still have a quarter on my desk from this time last year.


Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”     Matthew 27:37-39 (NIV)


As our thoughts in February often swirl around the concepts of love, may this simple email remind us...  click here for full message.


2-20-2023

Is THAT in the Bible?

Not everything you’ve grown accustomed to hearing, saying, and maybe even believing is from the Bible.


Live your truth!


This popular Instagram post went wild this year. Celebrities telling us to seek out and find our own truths and then living those truths. The thought is that each individual must seek and find his/her own truth and live life to the fullest based on self alone, not being told by others what to do or how to live. In the face of peer pressure, we are encouraged to not succumb to other’s perceptions or society’s standards of how each of us should conduct our lives. 


I get the notion in the slogan that each individual should not live life based on another’s expectations. The quest, however, that is promoted is that each of us should look within ourselves to find our truth. The supporters of this mantra want us to defy the status quo and shake off any external standard. They instruct us to define our own truth. It doesn’t matter what our “truth” is, only that we live it with self-integrity. It even seems that the most degrading lifestyles are celebrated for “living their own truths”. This self-actualization is somehow the epitome of this “woke” generation.

I’m sure you’ve ascertained the danger...  click here for full message.


1-26-2023

And Wonders of His Love

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, Jesus. That’s love. That’s the wonder of His love.


And that’s just the beginning of His love. His love is eternal. His love provides. His love secures. His love calms the storm inside of us. His love is greater than the starry sky or the grains of sand on all the beaches in the world. His love knows the numbers of hairs on your head (today and again tomorrow) as well as the number of your days on the earth. His love holds you when you are without strength and cheers for you when you win a battle. His love reaches to the lowest valley and extends far above the

highest mountain peak.


His love is so great…and yet His love is extended to every one of us individually. His love is wonderful!


Joy to the world! The Lord is come!

May the wonders of the love of God fill your heart and your home this Christmas.


With love,


Pastor Paula and Kelly

12-23-2022