Bethel Crc Lacombe

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?

Today we will be continuing our series based on 2 Corinthians 4:7, Jars of Clay, we will be reflecting on 1 Kings 19:1-21, Elijah: All Hope Lost.  God uses people to build his kingdom here on earth, but the people he uses are not perfect and go through both the highs and lows of life.  In the highs, life is good, but in the lows, some of us will struggle hard with doubt and even depression, sometimes deep depression or despair.  Elijah goes through a time of despair even to the point of wanting to end his life.  How do we walk through hard times? As we go through, where is God?

This week we are starting a new series based on 2 Corinthians 4:7, Jars of Clay.  Today’s message from 2 Corinthians 4 has Paul saying “We have this treasure in jars of clay.”  When you stop and think of it, it’s pretty amazing that Jesus trusts us with the Gospel News; with sharing the Good News of Jesus with the world.  He especially uses those of us who have been broken and cracked by life; hurt and weak, often strange and odd to the world, to reveal the power of the Gospel in our lives and to invite others to accept Jesus’ love and heart renewal for themselves.  

Today we will be reflecting on the GEMS’ and their theme for this past year. We will be reflecting on 1 John 3:1-3, Loved! Our greatest desire is to be loved; if we miss out on knowing the amazing love of God for us, we will fill that empty place with something or someone else instead. We are loved so much by God that he makes us his children, a part of the family!

Easter Sunday! The church’s historical greeting on this day is: Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed! We will be reflecting on Matthew 28:1-10, He is Risen, Just as He Said. After Jesus’ crucifixion, the Jewish rulers were still afraid, afraid that something unexpected might happen to Jesus’ body.  Since they knew about Jesus’ claim that he will rise again in three days, they persuaded Pilate to post guards on Jesus’ tomb. As the saying goes, you can’t keep a good man down.  This is especially true if he’s the Son of God who has taken the sin of the world to the grave with him. What a great reason for rejoicing! 

Today the carpenter’s hands are nailed to a cross, the King of kings is crowned with thornsand wears the purple robe of mockery. Today he sets us free, himself imprisoned on a tree. Today is God’s Friday. We come in worship.

This fifth Sunday of Lent we will continue our Lenten series by reflecting on Leviticus 23:33-44 and John 7:37-43, The Feast of Tabernacles. It’s also Palm Sunday. The Feast of Tabernacles remembers the time Israel spent in the wilderness in temporary dwellings. When you journey or wander through the wilderness, especially for 40 years, thirst is a constant companion and Israel needed to depend on God to provide enough water for the entire nation every day of those 40 years! In the New Testament, Jesus invited anyone who is thirsty to come to him and drink, implying to the people at the festival, that he is from God who satisfied the thirst of their ancestors, but Jesus will provide generously: rivers of living water. 

We continue our Lenten series on the Feasts of Israel by reflecting on Leviticus 23:23-25, The Feast of Trumpets. In this Feast, the trumpets, or shofars are blown to call the people to experience God’s presence again. In the harvest, it was easy to get so caught up in the work that we can forget to remember that God is here with us and calls us to experience his presence each day. God’s presence changes us, his holiness leads him to judge our sin, but his love leads him to take our punishment on himself! We also plan to gather together in spirit and celebrate the Lord’s Supper together.

We continue our Lenten series on the feasts of Israel by reflecting on Leviticus 23:15-22 and Acts 2:1-13, The Feast of Weeks-Pentecost. This is a feast that reminds us to be generous with the blessings God has given us, especially in the harvest. There are echoes to the story of Ruth and Boaz and to the coming of the Holy Spirit. It also became connected to the gift of the Law. We will explore how these events are all connected.