Bethel Crc Lacombe

Welcome to Bethel! Today we will end our series on “Why Church” by reflecting on Romans 12:1-8, To Find Your Gifts and Grow Them. I love this passage because Paul emphasizes that the church is all about “we” instead of “me,” that in Jesus, we come together as one body to discover and grow our gifts so that we can be a blessing to each other. This is what worshipping God through the week looks like, it looks like serving and being a blessing because God has blessed us.

Welcome to Bethel! Today we will continue our series on “Why Church” by reflecting on Ephesians 2:11-22, To Belong and Experience God’s Spirit. We all need a place to belong, a place where we are accepted for who we are. Family in one place where we experience this, but the church is also a family where we find belonging and acceptance, at least in a healthy church. There are so many barriers in our culture that separate us from others, therefore Jesus came, to bring people together, to join people from every nation and background into one people under him, shaped by him through the gift of the Holy Spirit 

Welcome to Bethel! We will be reflecting on Genesis 12:1-3; Matthew 5:13-16, To Change the World Together. God called Abram to follow him with a promise of blessings and that Abram and his descendants would become a blessing to the nations of the world. Jesus calls us to be light and salt in the world, both impact and transform the world, adding taste and hope. They are not neutral, but active agents. We too are called to be active agents in our communities, bringing a good taste, bringing hope, bringing Jesus. 

Sunday, October 24th we will be continuing our series on “Why Church.” Some people have used the pandemic to stop coming to church, some have adapted to worshipping from home, while others have other personal reasons for not attending. So, this fall we will explore why belonging to a church and participating as a member of the local church is important for our faith, our emotional and spiritual health, and for growing in all areas of our lives. We will be reflecting on Genesis 12:1-3; Matthew 5:13-16, To Change the World Together. God called Abram to follow him with a promise of blessings and that Abram and his descendants would become a blessing to the nations of the world. Jesus calls us to be light and salt in the world, both impact and transform the world, adding taste and hope. They are not neutral, but active agents. We too are called to be active agents in our communities, bringing a good taste, bringing hope, bringing Jesus. 

Welcome to Bethel! This morning we have the pleasure of welcoming August Luymes to the pulpit and a special guest, Martin Luther!  Truly a treat on this Reformation Sunday.  August will be concentrating his message from Genesis 1-26-31 & Ephesians 5:1,2,  How is Your Nose ?

Today we will be reflecting on Joshua 3, Crossing the River. Israel is at the end of their 40 years of wandering through the wilderness and they are preparing to enter into the Promised Land.  This is so much more than simply crossing a river, this is all about a change in their identity, a change in how they will see themselves. From nomads without a home, to a nation of people with a place to call home. A place where they can have dreams and build homes, communities, and a permanent place to worship God.  We will be reflecting on growing deeper in our identity in Jesus. 

This week we are returning to our summer series focused on the many references to rivers in the Bible. Rivers and water hold deep meanings in many passages and often point us to different aspects of who God is. We are reflecting on Amos 5:18-27, Let Justice Roll on Like a River. Amos shows up at a disturbing time in Israel and Judah’s history.  The people had turned their backs on living the way God had called them to live.  They were building their own kingdoms by stepping on the weak and vulnerable. Amos arrives, calls for justice to roll on like a river and proclaimed to the people to return to God’s way of caring for and loving each other.

Today we welcome Mark Patterson as he delivers a message from Luke 12:22-34.  May our Lord bless you as we gather together this day.

Today we welcome Pastor Neil de Koning as he delivers a message from Genesis 26:1-22, Living as Aliens in a Time of Crisis.  May our Lord bless you as we gather together this day.

This week we are continuing our summer series focused on the many references to rivers in the Bible. Rivers and water hold deep meanings in many passages and often point us to different aspects of who God is. We will be reflecting on Psalm 137, Weeping by the River. This psalm was written when Israel was taken into exile by the Babylonians and then mocked by being told to sing their songs of worship. How do you sing during sad times, in difficult times? This is a hard psalm with difficult images that many of our brothers and sisters in the faith still face around the world.

This week we welcome Elder August Luymes as he brings the message from Luke 24:15, Walking with Jesus.  Walking with Jesus is not always easy but he does walk with us, he does not forsake us and he carries us when we are too weak to walk. We are blessed to have so much loving care that we can live in joy and peace knowing the love of our Father in Heaven.

Today we are beginning a summer series focused on the many references to rivers in the Bible. Rivers and water hold deep meanings in many passages and often point us to different aspects of who God is. We will begin by reflecting on Psalm 46, and River of Gladness. God’s grace and blessings flow from his sanctuary to his people, bringing peace and hope, but God is also a God who protects His people and brings peace to the land.

Today we are reflecting on Deuteronomy 4:7, Life Line. Prayer is an important part of our relationship with God, but is God always listening, can the life lines get cut off? 

Today we wrap up our series on Jars of Clay by reflecting on 1 Kings 11:1-13, Solomon: Tempted by Other Gods. Solomon is the wisest guy in the world and is still led away from worshipping God alone by his attraction to his pagan wives. Wisdom alone will not keep us close to God; it takes a strong relationship with God for that to happen. Thankfully Jesus stays in relationship with us so that we can stay in relationship with him.

Today we continue our series on Jars of Clay by reflecting on Matthew 26:69-75, Cowardly Peter. Archibald Robertson says that one of the tragedies of the cross is the bleeding heart of Peter. Judas has messed up really bad and can’t seem to accept forgiveness, is the same going to happen to Peter? Satan has sifted Judas and Peter, what is Peter made up of: wheat or chaff? 

Today we jump back into our series on Jars of Clay by reflecting on Exodus 4, Moses: Uncertain. Have you ever felt that God might be calling you to do something, take up a new challenge, perhaps take on a leadership or mentoring role but felt unprepared or not capable of following through on the sense of calling? Moses is being called to lead, a role that he was trained to as a child in Pharaoh’s palace, but after 40 years tending sheep, he no longer felt able to do what God is calling him to do. Does God really give up what we need when we feel his calling, or do doubts keep us from listening or following through? Lots of questions come up in Moses’ story, not all easy ones either. 

We delay our series based on 2 Corinthians 4:7, Jars of Clay in order to celebrate Pentecost! The four pastors of Woodynook CRC, Wolf Creek Community Church and Bethel CRC will be collaborating on a sermon together based in Acts 2, via Zoom, for all three congregations. Pentecost is a coming together of people from many nations and peoples and being formed into the Body of Christ as the church. In a time when we’ve spent the past 2 months physically distancing from each other, we thought, as local CRC pastors that it would be a blessing for all of us to see that we may be physically separated, but in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, we are all one in Christ. 

Today we will be reflecting on 2 Samuel 11, David & Bathsheba. “The heart wants what it wants.” Emily Dickinson wrote that. Depending on your age, you might connect this quote with Woody Allen or Selena Gomez instead. This is also what David might have said about his relationship with Bathsheba; the problem is God is calling for our hearts to want God more than anything else. This week, the church also celebrated Ascension Day, the day Jesus returned to heaven in order to send us the Holy Spirit. It’s a day often forgotten, but Ascension Day affirms Jesus as God’s Son and the King of all creation! 

Today we will be reflecting on Genesis 27:1-40, Jacob: Liar. A few months ago, we reflected on this same story, looking at the theme of blessing. However, this story has a second theme, that of deceit and how Jacob’s deceit created so much brokenness and yet God never gives up on Jacob. He uses Jacob as the foundation for the birth of the nation of Israel and the coming of the promised Messiah. Jacob’s jar of clay has many cracks where God still shines through.

Today we will be reflecting on Genesis 38, Tamar: All Honour Sacrificed. Sin has a way of infecting generations of families and Jacob’s family is no different. In Jacob’s family deceit is a way of life and its ripples touches many lives and its hurt cause’s people to do things they never would otherwise. Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law is deceived and hurt by his two oldest sons and she is promised his youngest son as a husband, but she is deceived by Judah.  Tamar goes to great lengths to protect her honour and future. Where is God in such a time,how does his light shine through people like Judah and Tamar?