Bethel Crc Lacombe

Welcome to Bethel!  Pastor Jake is continuing his series on trees in the Bible by reflecting on Psalm 1.  In order to produce good fruit, trees need to be nourished by a reliable source of water; as followers of Jesus we also need to be regularly nourished and Psalm 1 points us to meditating on the Torah as the source of our nourishment.   All are welcome! 

This week Elder August Luymes will be bringing us the Word from Luke 24:13-35, The Road to Emmaus.

This week Pastor Jake is beginning a short summer series, looking at trees in the Bible.  Trees are found in both the first and last chapters of the Bible and play a role in so many stories.  They provide us with so many things that bless our lives: sap, wood, bark, fruit, fresh air, and so much more.  We will begin by reflecting on Genesis 2, The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil.  

This week Pastor Jake is wrapping our journey through Jonah by reflecting on Jonah 4, Angry at God.  When God’s grace is offered to people who have hurt us and we’re unable to see how they are punished for the hurt they’ve caused, we often find ourselves filled with anger and confusion.  How do we live with God’s grace to those who have hurt us, how does God’s compassion and justice hold together, a real and haunting question for many of us.

This week Pastor Jake will continue our look at Jonah, reflecting on Jonah 3 and Unexpected Grace. God’s grace often shines out at unexpected times and to unexpected people; it is not earned, but flows out of the relationship God has with humanity. 

Welcome to Bethel! This week Elder August Luymes is continuing our 4-week series on the book of Jonah.  We often skip over this prayer of Jonah and yet there is much to learn about confession, trust and God’s mercy.  When times get tough, we turn to prayer to reach out to God and God hears our prayers with a heart of compassion and grace. 

Welcome to Bethel! This week Pastor Jake is beginning a 4-week series on the book of Jonah. We so often focus on the big fish, but there is so much more in this prophet’s tale about God’s grace and mercy and how this works with his justice and righteousness. We will begin by reflecting on Jonah 1, CAN YOU RUN FROM GOD?  Maybe another way of considering Jonah 1 is asking, “Why would we run from God?” 

 Today is Father’s Day and we will be bringing the Word from John 14:1-14 and reflecting on God as our Father.  The image of God as our Father is found throughout scripture and points to the relationship God desires to have with us.  A beautiful intimate relationship based on trust and love.  

Today we wrap up our journey through Acts by looking at the Pentecost story, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.  We will be turning to Acts 2:1-21, What Does this Mean?   Peter reminds the people that the prophet Joel talked about the Spirit being poured out and the result is a people who dream dreams; hold onto visions of what can be and prophesy, speaking God into the world.  What an exciting way to see the church! 

We will be turning to Acts 16:16-34, An Unexpected Convert as we continue the story from last week and reflect on a slave girl who is healed and a jailor who becomes a follower of Jesus.  

Acts 16:9-15   How often is following Jesus more about doing what we want and then trying to get Jesus onside with our plans?  Are we willing to listen hard to Jesus and change our direction and goals based on where he is leading us?

We will be turning to Acts 11:1-18, Who is In, Who is Out?  Our tendency is to try and figure out who belongs and who doesn’t.  When it comes to belonging to Jesus, are we sometimes too quick in keeping people out?

Acts 9:36-43 

Acts 9:1-19

Acts 5:12-32

Mark 14:53-65, Mark 15:1-15

Mark 16:1-8

Luke 16: 1-11 

2 Corinthians 5:11 - 6:2

2 Corinthians 9:6-15