Thursday I visited the Native American Museum here in Bentonville with our Keenagers group and enjoyed lunch with them. Friday we dropped in on the Refuge Lockdown and were blessed not only by seeing 30 teens show up to stay up all night, but were also privileged to exit and sleep in a nice comfy bed! Saturday we watch the University of Arkansas Razorbacks get decimated by Alabama. And today, we had a great day together in worship as a church family.
Today was filled with the second installment of our Marriage Matters class, where couples laugh at each other’s inability to get basic communication quite right. The time of worship was rather powerful and we threw a shower for Kenneth and Christa, who will be wed at Bethel this weekend, which reminds me how happy I am for my cousin John in Louisville who has found a bride and will be wed this weekend as well.
We closed the book of Exodus in our Journey throught the Word and will be jumping into Leviticus in another couple of weeks. I must say, closing the second book of the Bible in this series is a bit like saying goodbye to a friend - I’ve learned much. In fact, I’ve learned far more than my congregation. We closed this evening with a look at the fact that God didn’t allow the nation to move until He was ready, and He wanted them to move as a community. What a lesson for every church. We need to stay in step with God and move as a community directed by the presence of God.
I can’t wait until next Sunday!
This past Sunday was tremendous! It started off with a pretty neat first session of our Marriage Matters class. If your marriage were an animal, what would it be, and why? Pretty cool question and we got some pretty cool answers! Angie and I sang during the morning service and I’ve discovered a special harmony with the one I love so dearly. In my more selfish times, I don’t want to suffer the embarrasment of singing before a congregation, but I’ve discovered that praising God together brings about a wonderful connection.
Sunday evening, we heard from Kurt Talley, our Awana Missionary, who did a great job of reminding us of the need to reach the next generation. The night closed with our Family Meeting in which we discussed God’s rich provision and the challenges that lie ahead in relation to our growth. How do we accomodate more people? Right now it’s looking like two services is the immediate answer.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
This morning, we welcomed the Stephens’ to our church family, making the 49th and 50th new members to join Bethel in these last twelve months. We love setting extra places at the table!
Tomorrow we kick off our Men’s early morning Bible study at 6:15 a.m. I invite you to come if you have the time and can get out of the bed. It’s a challenging time together, in spite of the donuts and coffee.
This semester, we’re going to be studying from the book Because We Love Him by Clyde Cranford. It’s all about “embracing a life of holiness.” Frankly, it’s one of the single best books I’ve ever read on what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Cranford was a personal disciple-maker and spent untold hours pouring his living beliefs into young Christians.
He died prematurely, but not before making a mark on many believers and leaving behind this great work. I’d encourage you to get a copy (click the photo) and dive in. It’s life-changing.
Today we handed out a survey at church asking people to indicate which service they would attend if we did decide to offer a second service as an overflow solution. The answers were all over the board. It’s going to prove difficult to chart because so many made multiple choices - which is actually a good thing. The question the survey answered was, if we offer a second service, will anyone actually show up? I think they will.
Now comes an even more intense time of praying and weighing this difficult issue out. It’s not an easy decision. Going to multiple services will cost us, but the big question is, will it help us reach more people for the Kingdom. If so, then that pro outweighs all the cons on the board. Would you mind saying a quick prayer for us?
I’m excited about the work that our new Pastor of Youth and Outreach is doing already, and now you can keep track of him too at www.refugeministry.net.
Refuge Youth Ministry
I believe God blesses the areas of our church’s life in which we are most willing to be sacrificial in our investment. Further, if we’re unwilling to invest in a group of people, I think God often withholds the blessings of growth in that area. We’ve done some heavy investing in our children’s ministries and God has blessed. We expanded our budget, hired staff, and recruited more willing and loving volunteers and we’ve seen child after child come to know the Lord and become a part of Bethel, their parents usually with them. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
I love Resurrection Sunday! I especially loved this one. It really is funny to me how seriously people take this one Sunday. Many who do not attend church at all the other fifty-one weeks of the year will join in on the special family occasion of dressing up and heading to church together. For my part, that’s okay, I welcome our rare guests! WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Our annual Friend Day was this past Sunday and we ended up hosting a ton of friends and first-time guests. We had 224 for AM worship. More importantly I received some feedback telling me that a few of our guests who had not been to church in many years were delightedly surprised by the service. I always enjoy having guests but I’m really thrilled when we connect spiritually with people who don’t go to church yet.
God blessed in the preaching too. The story of Abraham’s (almost) sacrifice of His Son Isaac, and how that event was the climactic moment in his becoming the “friend of God” came alive. I could tell people were responsive and God moved in their hearts throughout the service. I’m looking forward to our Pastor’s Oasis this week, but I can’t wait until next Sunday!
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I must say, I was tremendously blessed to be Bethel’s Pastor tonight. Our folks came through in a tremendous way. The choir performed at the top of their game. The fellowship team prepared and served a wonderful meal. The ushers even ush’ed well! But more importantly than all of that - we experienced God speaking to us about His heart for a people on the other side of the world.
For the safety of others, I’ll not write in detail. I’ll simply say that hearing from our dear brother from the Middle East was humbling, to say the least. We live in a land where it seems tough to go to church sometimes because… it’s raining. He comes from a land where it’s tough to go to church because it’s raining bombs and bullets. Yet they go, and they hunger and thirst for more!
After hearing the message, what hit my heart so hard was the thought, why does my intensity for evangelizing my country not match his? God, give us hearts for the globe - for Iraq and the Middle East, for Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia, North and South America, and even Antarctica and Greenland (wherever it fits in!). Oh, and give us hearts for our next door neighbors too!
