Bethel Crc Lacombe

Today we continue our Lenten series “Were You There…” by reflecting on Luke 19:28-40 Were You There… as a Demonstrator? Jesus is now preparing himself, his disciples, and the people for what is going to happen soon: his sacrifice. Jesus now publicly reveals who he is: the son of David, heir of David’s throne, King of Israel! Jesus uses the imagery of the Old Testament prophets to show the people that the Messiah has arrived and this triggers the start of what we call Holy Week, or Passion Week which will end with Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. 

Today we continue our Lenten series “Were You There…” by reflecting on Luke 23:26-31 Were You There… as a Sympathizer. As Jesus walks down the road to the place where he is going to be crucified, he comes across a number of women who are weeping for him and for what’s happening. Jesus tells them not to weep for him, but to weep for themselves and what’s coming up. Jesus likely has in mind the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70, as well as pointing ahead to the day of judgement when the king will return to judge the world.

Today we continue our Lenten series “Were You There…” by reflecting on Matthew 27:32-44 Were You There… as a Spectator? As Jesus is crucified, a whole cast of characters shows up, most of them taking the time to mock Jesus, only Jesus’ mother Mary, her friends, and John are there for Jesus. God’s plan of redemption is being played out in front of everyone, and yet no one sees God at work.

Today we continue our Lenten series “Were You There…” by reflecting on Matthew 27:1-32 Were You There… in the Shouting Crowd? On Palm Sunday the crowd was shouting for Jesus to become their king, now just a few days later the crowd is calling out to crucify Jesus. It is easy to get caught up in joining the crowd in the moment, but it’s also easy to forget who we are as followers of Jesus and to stop reflecting on who Jesus is calling us to be in those moments. 

Today is the second Sunday of Lent. We begin our Lenten series “Were You There…” by reflecting on Luke 22:7-38 Were You There… at the Supper? It’s time for the Passover, the feast where Israel remembers how God saved them from slavery and led them into freedom and the Promised Land. Jesus takes the Passover and fills it with new meaning, pointing us to the freedom we are given through Jesus’ sacrifice for us as the Passover lamb, who frees us from our sin. As part of our service today, we will be re-enacting the foot washing with Jesus and his disciples and doing a reading of the whole Lord’s Supper.  We are doing this in place of the usual form to help us understand the meanings behind the Passover and the various elements of the Lord’s Supper. 

Today we are  celebrating GEMS Sunday, a time to rejoice in our girls’ ministry! We will be focusing on Micah 6:6-8 Act, Love, Walk. We will take a close look at their theme verse, Micah 6:8. There are a lot of questions in these verses. What does the Lord expect from us: does he want our stuff, does he want our very favorite things for himself, does he want us to give him some of our stuff, or maybe even all of it? The Lord tells his people that what he really wants is for us to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. We will explore what that looks like. 

Today we are wrapping up our series on the Book of Judges by reflecting on Judges 16 Samson – The Foolish Man. Samson once again finds a Philistine woman to fall in love with, but as we go through the story, we discover that their love is about using each other for their own goals, rather than a self-sacrificing love that builds the other person up. We see that Samson is addicted to his desires and to the adrenaline rush of danger and violence. Like all addictions, this makes Samson blind to the reality of what’s around him, leading to his ultimate destruction. Addiction, no matter what form it takes, hurts. 

We will be reflecting on Psalm 78 Telling Our Children God’s Story. Psalm 78 begins by calling us to listen to the stories our ancestors have told us so that we can tell them to our children. The writer then moves into telling the story of God’s faithfulness in his relationship with his people, how he provides for them, protects them, and how the people fail to be faithful to God. The psalmist ends with how God punishes his people, but in order to draw them back to him, he provides them with a faithful king.

Today we are returning to our series on the Book of Judges by reflecting on Judges 15 Samson – The Angry Warrior. Samson is treated unfairly by his wife’s father and he takes vengeance on the area.  When the Philistine leaders come to Israel, they demand the Israelites give them Samson so they can punish him. The Israelites comply. The Israelites are seeing themselves as slaves again instead of as God’s people. The Spirit of the Lord once again comes upon Samson and he destroys 1,000 Philistine men.  Even though Samson has been given the Spirit of the Lord many times, his character is not changing. We also can have the gifts of the Spirit without growing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. 

Today we are celebrating Cadet Sunday and having the Cadets be an important part of our worship. The Cadet theme this year is Amazing, and we will be focusing on Joshua 3:1-6 Amazing. Israel is getting ready to enter into the Promised Land and Joshua calls on the people to prepare themselves, telling them that “tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” We will take time to reflect on the “amazing” things in creation, the “amazing things” God has done and is doing. Our focus will be on the awe and wonder of God and to marvel at who God is, the creation around us, and our relationship with Jesus. 

Today we continue our series on the Book of Judges by turning to Judges 14 Samson—Doing it His Way. Samson’s birth story is one of those in the Old Testament where God gives a barren woman a child who will be used by God.  The angel tells Samson’s parents to raise him as a Nazirite, dedicated to God for His purposes. However, we learn in the historian’s first story of Samson that Samson is going to live life his way, quickly ignoring the call to be a Nazirite, being drawn to the Philistines and desiring to be more like them. How often do we really think about who God has called us to be and how to live as His people in our day-to-day decisions? 

Today we continue our series on the Book of Judges by turning to Judges 11:1-6; 14-40; 12:7 Jephthah—The Foolish Vow. This is a heart-breaking story of a mighty warrior who is called to be a judge in Israel and save the people from their enemies. But Jephthah has been influenced by his culture in how he understands who God is and makes a vow to God before going into battle, but the vow turns out to cost him dearly! 

Today is the third Sunday of Advent. We will continue our Advent series by reflecting on Matthew 1: 18-25 Joseph: Obedience and Righteousness. Joseph is chosen by God to be the earthly father of Jesus. Joseph is described as a righteous man and a compassionate man at the same time. For Joseph, faith and obedience go hand in hand, all while being open to having God completely change his life and plans. Joseph gives Jesus the name the angel told him to, making Jesus his son and from his family tree, adopting him into the family line of David, a family line of kings, the family line of the Messiah. Joseph becomes just the right earthly father that Jesus needs to learn to love and trust his heavenly father!

Today we return to our series on the Book of Judges by turning to Judges 9:1-15;42-57 Abimelech: The Thornbush. Abimelech is Gideon’s son through a concubine and so he murders all his half brothers in order to rule over the people. His half-brother, Jotham, escapes and then curses Abimelech. Israel is looking and acting more and more like the nations around them instead of the people God wants them to be - shaped by his laws and festivals. God allows Abimelech to rule for a few years but turns the people against him. God allows us to suffer the consequences of our choices, but when we cry out to him, he responds and will bring order into the chaos we create through our own choices. 

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!