Bethel Crc Lacombe

Today is New Year’s Day. We will be reflecting on Matthew 4:1-17, Following the Spirit into Uncertain Places. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus was led into the wilderness. The wilderness was a place to meet God and to be shaped and refined by him. Jesus fasts for 40 days, a discipline that teaches self-control and trust in God to provide. At the end of the 40 days, Jesus is engaged by the devil who tries to tempt Jesus away from his purpose and reason for coming. We will be reflecting on preparing ourselves to be led and shaped by God in 2023. 

Annual Christmas Eve Candlelight service. Featuring reading and Carols.

Merry Christmas! We will be reflecting on Luke 1:26-38 Mary and Jesus—God with Us. We will be reflecting on the angel’s visit with Mary, informing her of God’s plan for her to carry his child and give birth to a son, Jesus. The Holy Spirit will come over Mary, giving her a child that is both divine and human, fulfilling God’s promise to the serpent in Genesis 3 that a child of the woman will crush his head. Mary responds in trust and faith, seeking an answer to how this will happen, showing us that faith doesn’t mean not having questions, but being willing to listen and learn. 

We will gather during this Christmas season in a spirit of somber remembrance. While the rest of the world seems to celebrate the joyous occasion, we come to the manger realizing that the world is cold as stone, feelings of loneliness and loss overwhelm, and our heart cries out “help me be strong”. You will be invited not to hide or suppress those feelings, but embrace them, realizing that they bring you much closer to the real Christmas story. For this evening we remember the true story- a helpless babe born into a world that was struggling, a world that was questioning where was God, and a world crying out, “why?” The helpless babe born in cold stone room, without the joyous welcome we often picture. The helpless babe born in a family that was poor, tired, and frightened. The helpless babe who would change all this for the world. We will be reflecting on Matthew 11:28-30. Come All Who Are Weary 

The Scripture focus will be on Matthew 2:1-12 The Magi: The Nations of the World Come to Jesus. With the coming of the Magi to worship Jesus, we see the beginning of God’s promise to Abraham that his descendant will be a blessing to the entire world beginning to be fulfilled. 

Today we celebratethe second Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the church year. This year we will be reflecting on People Around the Manger. We will continue our Advent series by reflecting on Luke 2:1-20 The Angels—Heaven and Earth Rejoices. While shepherds watch over the flocks in the dark of the night, they are visited by an angel, who tells them that  the glorious news that the Messiah has come! After telling the shepherds the good news, the angel is joined by a company of angels who praise and glorify God, celebrating the wonderful news that the Saviour of the world has come, God has fulfilled his promise of a Messiah who will save his people, even if he’s a baby in a manger right now. The shepherds rush to see this Messiah child and return rejoicing and praising God for his faithfulness and celebrating the arrival of the promised Messiah! 

Today we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the church year. This year we will be reflecting on People Around the Manger. We will begin our Advent series by reflecting on Luke 2:1-20 The Shepherds—Hope and Wonder. While shepherds watch over the flocks in the dark of the night, they are visited by an angel who fills them with hope and wonder. The angel shares with them the good news that a Saviour has been born to them in the town of Bethlehem. This glorious news is first shared with humble, ordinary shepherds who respond with excitement and a desire to go and welcome the Saviour into the world! 

Today we are continuing our journey through the book of Judges, looking at Judges 6: Gideon—The Lord is With Him. Israel has turned away from the Lord again and now God looks to an insignificant man to be his deliverer, insignificant even in his own eyes, yet God calls him “mighty warrior.” Because Gideon thinks so little of himself, he asks God a number of times for a sign to give him confidence that God is really with him. We’ll reflect on our own confidence in Jesus. 

Today we are continuing our journey through the book of Judges, looking at Judges 7 Gideon—the Three Hundred. Gideon has received the reassurance from the Lord that He truly is God and now prepares to enter into battle against the Midianites. In an echo back to Jericho, God does battle differently than anyone else; first whittling away Gideon’s men until there are only 300 left; the Lord then has them go into battle with only trumpets, empty jars, and torches. The Lord is making sure that everyone knows that the glory for this triumph is completely the Lord’s! 

Today we are looking at Deborah—The Prophetess and Judge. Ehud has passed away, the people once again do evil in the Lord’s eyes. The Lord allows them to be sold into the hands of the King of Canaan who has the powerful general Sisera keeping the Israelites under his thumb. The Israelites cry out to the Lord to save them! The Lord responds by telling Deborah, (who was leading Israel at the time) to call Barak to be the Lord’s general and go up against Sisera and the Lord will give Sisera into his hands. Barak wants Deborah to go up with him, so the Lord still promises that Israel will win, but that the hero will be a woman instead of Barak. 

We are continuing our journey through the book of Judges, looking at Ehud—the Left-Handed Judge. Othniel has died and Israel has once again drifted in idol worship and wanting to be more like the nations around them rather than as a distinct people of God. God allows King Eglon of Moab, with the help of the Ammonites and Amalekites, to conquer Israel and make them his subjects. Once again, the Israelites cry out to God. God stays true to his covenant with them and raises up Ehud, a left-handed man, to deliver them from Eglon. Ehud would not have been Israel’s first choice of a hero, but God often uses the unexpected to save his people. 

Luke 5:12-16 The man with leprosy

We will be reflecting on a variety of passages, including Mark 10:14, Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:11-12, and Ephesians 1:7-8 Baptism: Washed Clean by Jesus. Baptism is one of the two sacraments that we have been given to us as the church. Sacraments point us to who Jesus is, and what Jesus has done for us, and in us. Baptism points to the new life we have in Jesus, to having been washed clean from our sins. This invitation Jesus gives to us and our children to come to him. In baptism, it’s not the parents alone who are called to raise their children in the church, it is also part of the promises we make to the families to walk alongside them in leading their children to know Jesus. 

Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica is filled with encouragement and teaching on how to follow Jesus well. Paul had to flee the city when his life was threatened, but Timothy had remained behind to care for the church. Now Timothy has come to visit Paul and has brought back a really encouraging report about how they were doing, yet there were a number of things Paul also still needed to teach and encourage them in. Today is Thanksgiving Day, it’s actually a government holiday, not a church day. Thanksgiving should not be just a one day a year thing, Biblically, thanksgiving is a way of living. On Sunday, when we spend time in worship to confess our sin and ask for God’s forgiveness, every time we hear God’s words of forgiveness and grace, our response is to turn to God and Jesus in a spirit of thanksgiving 

Today we will wrap up our short series on the blessings of mentoring. We will be reflecting on Acts 16:1-5, Paul and Timothy: Mentoring the Next Generation of Leaders. Paul comes across this young man Timothy and sees the potential in him since others spoke so well of him, so Paul takes Timothy along with him on one of his journeys to different cities. Paul invests in Timothy, training him, sharing what he knew and had learned about Jesus, encouraging him as he became a pastor, and challenging Timothy to faithfully engage his gifts and calling. What Paul does is mentor Timothy into his faith, call, and character.  |   

Today we are beginning a journey through the book of Judges. We will be reflecting on Judges 1:1-3, 2:1-4, 3:5-11, Othniel – The First Judge.  We will look at Israel’s relationship with God as they settle into the land, how they began to do things their way instead of fully trusting in God, how God honours their choices but with consequences, but also how God never gives up on them as well as looking at the first judge, Othniel. 

Today we will continue our short series on the blessings of mentoring. We will be reflecting on Acts 9:19-31: Barnabas & Paul, Recognizing Potential. Paul, still called Saul, was bringing a lot of people to Jesus in Antioch. The Apostles in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to check out Saul. Many of them were still scared of Saul because he had been such a strong enemy against the church earlier on. Barnabas went and met Saul, saw his potential to do amazing things for the Lord. He took Saul to Jerusalem to convince the apostles to trust in Saul and help him in the ministry Jesus had called him to. Barnabas used his reputation, the trust others had in him, to help Saul and to even join him on a couple of his missionary journeys. Followers of Jesus are always on the lookout for those with gifts for the kingdom of heaven and then they invest in them. Using their reputation, gifts, and life to help them become who Jesus has created them to be.

Today we have the pleasure of having Ron deVries, Youth Ministry Catalyzer for Faith Formation Ministries deliver a message from Acts 4:5-13, Do You Remember When…? We will focus on the need to move from a place of worldly hope to one focused on the resurrected Jesus Christ. Jesus often finds ways to remind us that he has not left us, that he is present in our everyday and that our HOPE and identities are rooted in His story.

Today we will be starting a short series on The Blessings of Mentoring. We will begin by reflecting on 2 Kings 2:1-15, Elijah and Elisha: Walking Together. Elijah knows that the Lord will be taking him home to heaven and begins a journey to the Jordan River where this is going to take place. Elisha, who was chosen by Elijah with God’s guidance to be a prophet, is walking with Elijah. Elijah keeps telling Elisha that he doesn’t need to come, but Elisha insists on walking this journey together. In a strong mentoring relationship, there is a commitment to walk together through the good and the difficult. After Elijah is taken up to heaven, Elisha carries on the work he has been entrusted with and mentored in. 

This is Labour Day weekend, and today we will be reflecting on Genesis 1:26-31 & James 2:14-19, The Goodness of Work. We are created to work, to take care of this amazing creation of God’s. We are created in the image of God. We are given the gift of imagination, insight into who God is and his presence in the world. We were given this gift to recognize the potential God has placed in creation. We are to develop it in ways that honour God’s work. This call to take care of creation extends in James in caring for each other. If we see a need or injustice and do nothing; our faith is dead. A community shaped on God’s shalom and imagining the kingdom of God is one where we look for the potential in others and create ways for that potential to be developed and realized. Thus, creating fruit filled communities and people.