As of Sunday, we have finished with the sermon series, “Through the Valley to Joy.” Not that we’re through walking through valleys! While some can be walked fairly quickly, others take years to work our way through. I’m so thankful to hear from many of you that the series was helpful for you. I still [...]
Soooooo, anyone looking for a challenge for Lent? It’d be good for us and even better for the people of Africa. Forty Days of Water – Blood Water Mission. You can read more about Blood:Water Mission at Christianity Today. I’m not saying that we would necessarily give to them, but the money would be given [...]
This Sunday, our second offering will be for Ministry Shares. Ministry Shares are a way that we give to both our Classis and the Christian Reformed Church of North America. Both the classis and the denomination divide their expenses among the churches to determine what each congregation’s “share” of the ministry costs are based on [...]
I ran across a video today on LeadingSmart.com about Valleys – specifically, the valleys that early Christians walked through. There is a real value to studying history. In part, it helps keep our own lives in perspective. The Early Church from Granger Community on Vimeo. By the way, did you know that on Sunday at [...]
All right, so it’s cold outside and most of us are hoping for summer, but not really thinking about it much yet. But some of us are! Specifically, we’re thinking about summer activities and what we as individuals and as a congregation might be involved in. It is looking like we will not be involved [...]
As our Classis gets ready to meet again (March 1 and 2 in Edina), I thought you should be able to read this note that we just received from the clerk of Classis. “I hope it will run as smoothly as the one in September! Wayne Tobak…informed us that that was the cheapest – as [...]
We all want to see our lives on a path to a deep and abiding joy that can not be taken from us. Often, the path to that joy takes us through dark valleys. When we travel through the valley well, we can experience joy on the other side. Join us as we encourage each [...]
We (Bethel staff) were just wondering the other day how it’s going with the transition to “announcements by email.” There seems to be some confusion still for those who are not signed up for “announcements by email” as to whether they’re getting all the news. The short answer is, “If you’re getting the worship folder [...]
Well, it’s official! We have now switched our website over from Joomla to WordPress. Too much information? That’s fine. That long and the short of it is that they are both free (except for our host), but WordPress is a lot easier to manage. This should allow us to maintain an up-to-date website with minimal [...]
Bethel Church is going to be hosting a Christmas party on Sunday, December 20 beginning at 4:00 pm and you and your friends and family are invited to attend! We’re looking forward to a festive time together where we “Celebrate the Child!” Obviously, at a Christmas party we’ll be celebrating The Child, Jesus, and the [...]
At what point do you become a part of the Body of Christ – when you are baptized or when you make a public profession of your faith? Do we receive God’s grace when we understand how God forgives sin or when we trust that He has forgiven our sin? Who can truly understand how [...]
Our Council recently ran a survey on switching the order of our Sunday School and Worship Service. Some people have suggested that we would do well to have worship first, then Sunday School after. Some have had experiences at churches where that has worked really well for them. Others have had experiences were it didn’t [...]
Over the years, Bethel Church has shown a great deal of care for me and my family in a number of different ways: After threats to give us a weekend on Mille Lacs in an ice house, you gave us instead a gift certificate to the Mall of America. Following in that tradition, you’ve blessed [...]
Many Questions I’ve been intrigued lately by some of the new questions I’ve been asked! “Why do we use leavened bread instead of unleavened bread in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper?” “What do you think of the rock group KISS? They’re one of my favorites, but I think they are often misunderstood by Christians.” [...]
Taste of Bethel For a number of reasons (sicknesses, hunting, etc.), our recent Taste of Bethel class was a small one. While we had good conversations about the Reformed faith and membership at Bethel, the small size means that we got done early. As a result, Taste of Bethel will not be meeting on Sunday. [...]
Keeping the Sabbath I hear that some people had some good conversation yesterday regarding Sabbath observance. I had one person ask me, “Where are the rules? How am I supposed to know what to do?” Good question. While we talked about Sabbath yesterday during our worship service, the real rub comes when we get home [...]
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