Bethel Crc Lacombe

Today we are celebrating our Children’s Christmas service where the children and youth will be leading us in worshipping Jesus through the Christmas play: Manger Moments: But Wait! There’s Myrrh! We will also continue reflecting on The Names of Jesus, by reflecting on Isaiah 9:6-7; John 14:27; John 16:33, Prince of Peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace who helps us find peace in our hearts and souls with God our Father and helps us to build peace with others through offering and receiving forgiveness and grace. Jesus also helps us to find peace from our worries and fears by giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Today we continue our theme for Advent by reflecting on John 10:11-21, I Am the Good Shepherd. When Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, he immediately points to how his willingness to lay down his life for his sheep; He is fully committed to providing for and protecting his sheep from the dangers around. The second thing we learn about Jesus as the Good Shepherd is that he knows us, he knows who we are—our hopes and dreams, our fears and failures, our desires and struggles—he knows in a way that no one else ever can and loves us for who we are.

Today we will reflect on Ephesians 1:15-23, Gather, Grow, Go. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is one of his most positive and encouraging letters to a church. Paul is writing to help the church know God better; to understand the high goals God has for the church as well as His eternal purpose and grace. In these verses, Paul is expressing his thankfulness for them and how God has chosen them to be His children. He reminds them of their salvation found in Jesus and how God has revealed to them what His will is - which is to unite all things in heaven and earth under Jesus. The amazing thing is that He uses us to bring glory to His name as He uses us to bring the gospel story to the world 

Today Bethel is blessed to have Pastor Bob De Moor to lead us in worship. Pastor De Moor will be focusing on James 3:7-18, Mind your Tongue! As followers of Jesus, what we do really matters, but so does what we say and how we say it. That will either be a significant contribution to God’s church or Kingdom, or it will cause distress, disunity, and disfunction within the family of God and in the world to which we are called to be Christ’s ambassadors. Ambassadors need to honestly and openly speak God’s truth. But they must do so showing all appropriate respect and diplomacy. Shall we?

Today we are finishing up our series based on N.T Wright’s book, Broken Signposts. We reflect on John 19:1-16, Broken Signposts – Power. Jesus is standing on trial before Pilate. Pilate has the power of life and death over Jesus; however, Jesus tells Pilate that the only power Pilate has comes from above. What is power? Why are we given power? How is power to be used as a follower of Jesus? These are all important questions in a time when we see many people use power carelessly and even dangerously for their own ends 

Today Pastor Bob De Moor will be leading us in worship. Pastor De Moor will be focusing on John 2:1-11, Glimpse of Glory. Jesus’s first public miracle seems to be relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things; he rescues a bridal couple from embarrassment. But his disciples, with the eye of faith, see much deeper revelation of who Jesus truly is and what he has come to do.

Today we will reflect on John 18:28-40, Broken Signposts – Truth. Jesus is standing before Pilate. He tells him that everyone on the side of truth listens to me. Pilate asks a really important question, “What is truth?” In a time like ours, where truth has become very slippery and subjective, this is an important question for reflection. Jesus calls Himself the way, the truth, and life, so if we’re looking for truth, the first place to go is Jesus.

Today we will reflect on John 8:31-41, Broken Signposts – Freedom. When we think about freedom, we often think in terms of the North American definition of freedom which is the choice to do what we want without anyone being able to tell us anything different; to have the freedom to be who I want to be. When we follow Jesus, we discover that true freedom is the freedom to serve, the freedom to follow the path of Jesus and to be the people Jesus calls us to be. Freedom is about becoming a slave to Jesus; giving our lives over to Him completely as our Saviour and Lord 

Today we continue our series based on N.T Wright’s book, Broken Signposts. We will reflect on John 1:1-18 Broken Signposts – Beauty. At the beginning of John’s gospel, we see how John introduces us to who Jesus is. The universe was created through Jesus; this beautiful, wonderful universe. In Genesis we’re told that God saw everything he had made and it was good, very good. The beauty found in creation points us to who God is and tells of God’s glory.  John’s focus is that in Jesus we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son.

Today during our Thanksgiving service we will be reflecting on Psalm 95 Let Us Come Before the Lord with Thanksgiving. We’re called to sing for joy, to come before God with thanksgiving because of who God is, not because of what we get from God.

Today we are continuing our series based on N.T Wright’s book Broken Signposts. We will reflect on John 13:1-17; Broken Signposts – Love. Jesus lives out His love for His disciples through the act of washing His disciples’ feet. Love can be really hard, especially when the person you are showing love to is actually working against you. We all ache to be loved. However, many people feel alone and unloved today. Love is a signpost that points us to Jesus and his sacrificial love. Love that led Him to the cross, so that we can be reconciled and experience deep unconditional love.

Today we will begin a series based on N.T Wright’s book Broken Signposts. As Wright recognizes, “signposts name a reality and point us in a direction.” The signposts we will reflect on point to deep meaning that help us understand the world and its challenges. However, these signposts are broken and let us down. This is why we will turn to the Gospel of John to show us how these themes point us to Jesus and the kingdom of heaven. We will reflect on John 3:16-21; Broken Signposts – Justice. Jesus is sent to the world not to condemn it, but to save the world through Himself. We know that things aren’t the way they should be in our world and that injustice is all around us. Something needs to be done to make things right, but what? Jesus came to shine His light into the darkness and invite those who love the darkness to come into His light 

Today is our commissioning service for all those involved in our various children and youth ministries; a sign that our new church year is here! We will be focusing on Proverbs 22:6 Training Our Children. Beginnings are important. The better the beginning, the stronger the finish; this is true for our children and especially their faith. In Old Testament Israel and throughout Scripture, it is both the parents and the faith community that are responsible for raising children in the faith. It is a reminder that we are part of the family of God together 

Today we welcome Pastor Frank de Boer to lead us in worship. We will reflect on Lord’s Day 32 and Ephesians 5:1-20, 2:4-5,8,9 - Saved by Grace or Good Works? If we are saved by grace, then why do we need to be good? If our good works are needed for salvation, then why do we need grace? The theme is that our good works come from living out our faith that comes through God’s grace 

Today we are finishing our series on the Prophet Nahum. We will reflect on Nahum 3 Yahweh – Destroyer of Evil, Restorer of Creation. As we saw in the first two chapters of Nahum, the Lord is slow to anger, but he will address the evil in the world and hold those responsible accountable for their wickedness. This is a big part of why Jesus came to earth: to engage Satan on our behalf, battling for our hearts, souls, and minds and drawing us back to the Father 

 Today we welcome Chaplain Rick Mast to lead us in worship. We will focus on Mark 12:38-44; 14: 1-11, A Good Kind of Giving during our service today. The book of Mark concerns itself with addressing/answering this question: Is Jesus REALLY the new King, The Messiah? The people in his day were (sometimes literally) dying to know! Jesus surprises people. He challenges regular and accepted practices. Jesus does this in order to explain, herald and usher in God's new kingdom - a kingdom we would not be able to figure out on our own, with Jesus as the head of it all (fully human and fully God, a servant and a martyr). A widow's last two coins and another person's alabaster jar of very costly ointment. Two stories of giving, similar and different. Jesus acknowledges only one gift with great praise. Surprise! God's kingdom will continue to surprise...

Today we welcome Pastor Bill Nieuwenhuis to lead us in our worship service. Today will focus on Pauls’ letter to the Corinthians in his sermon, Insights into the Heart of God. At the heart of the Christian faith is the doctrine of the Trinity.  This doctrine proclaims that God is three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; yet one God. It is a teaching that is hard to grasp. It leaves us wondering about the true nature of God and how we are to understand his very nature. As the Apostle Paul brought his correspondence to the Corinthian Church to a close, he extended the blessing of the triune God upon them (2 Corinthians 13:14).  In doing so, the Apostle revealed something very important about the very heart of God himself.  In this blessing, each person of the Trinity extends to God’s people a particular aspect of the Almighty’s heart.  When we consider our great God from this perspective, we suddenly realize we are indeed a very blessed people.

A look through the book of Acts, focusing on how the Holy Spirit worked in the early church.

Today we will reflect on Nahum 2 – Yahweh – Warrior for His People. The Lord warns Nineveh through the prophet that an attacker is coming up against them. This would be a shocking warning against the most powerful empire in the world at that time. The Lord then promises to restore the splendor of Jacob, a reminder that this vision of Nahum is as much about comforting Judah as it is a warning to Nineveh. Jesus warns us about persecution and suffering for following Him. So many people do not acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and are willing to work against His followers for their own wants. Jesus will allow this for a time, but we know that He is returning one day to raise up His people in splendor and take His place as King of kings defeating all those who stand against Him and His people.

Today we are starting a short series on the Prophet Nahum. We will start by reflecting on Nahum 1 Yahweh – Judge of Evil and Refuge for His People. Israel is being oppressed by the Assyrians, represented by their capital city of Nineveh. This occurs after the prophet Jonah warned the Ninevites of God’s anger. They repented, and God showed them mercy. However, Nineveh didn’t turn completely and God is preparing to punish Nineveh and rescue the Israelites.