Bethel Crc Lacombe

Today we have the pleasure of having Pastor Henry Wildeboer leading us in worship. He will be reflecting on John 14:11-14, Even Greater Things…

Today we will be completing our series on worship by reflecting on Exodus 24, Sealing our Relationship with God. In this account from Moses on meeting with God and receiving the Ten Commandments, it happens in the context of worship. As part of this worship, Moses and the leaders of Israel meet with God on the mountain and they all see God and God does not kill them, but instead they eat and drink together in God’s presence. What a beautiful image of the meal that Jesus later gives us, the Lord’s supper. Worship, covenant, Law, and meal all connected together and point us to Jesus.

Today we will be reflecting on Jesus’ gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost from Acts 2:1-39, The Wind Blows and Fire Appears. We see God on the move as the Holy Spirit comes pouring into the world in a powerful public way. Pentecost is about Jesus equipping us with the Spirit to be his witnesses to the world of the good news found in Jesus. Pentecost is about hope, about dreaming of the kingdom of heaven, and preparing the world for Jesus’ return. Are you in? 

Today we will be reflecting on Jesus’ ascension to heaven, Act 1:1-11, Worship: What Goes Up, Must Come Down. This is a joyous, sad, and even confusing time for Jesus’ followers and yet necessary for them, and us to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In returning to heaven, Jesus is also seated at the right hand of the Father and given all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus is now our king. 

Today we have the privilege of having Pastor Frank de Boer from Leduc, AB. He will be delivering us a message from Exodus 20:1-3, Freed to Obey the True God. During the service we will be casting lots for the Office of Elder. May our worship together be blessed. 

Today we have the privilege of having Pastor Ron Klok from Edmonton. Pastor Ron will be focusing his message from Corinthians 6:12-20, Body Temples. May our worship together be blessed. 

Welcome to Bethel! Today we continue our 4-week series on worship by reflecting on Joshua 24:1-28, Worship: Hearing God’s Promises with Anticipation. The Israelites are now in the Promised Land and God has helped them to conquer it. Now it is time to settle down and become a nation that puts its nomadic ways behind them and develop the land and the people according to God’s will and Law. Joshua looks back over God’s faithfulness and promises to encourage the people to follow God alone.

Today we will continue our 4-week series on worship by reflecting on Nehemiah 9:1-15; 26-37, Worship: Confession and Honesty. The Israelites were home again in their own land after 70 years of exile. They have just finished celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, remembering their time in the wilderness. During the feast, the priest Ezra read the Scriptures. In response to hearing the Law read again and recognizing how far they have drifted from God’s Law; the people enter into a time of deep and honest confession and worship.

Today we will begin a 4-week series on worship, as requested by someone through their personal faith plan. We will begin by reflecting on Psalm 81, Worship: Our Relationship with God-Built on Promises. We worship God because of who God is, and because we are commanded to worship. Because worship is based on our relationship with God, worship reminds us of God’s promises to protect and provide for his people, while punishing those against him. We are privileged to have a personal, covenantal relationship with God because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Worship expresses that relationship.

Today is the sixth Sunday of Lent, which is Palm Sunday, and our theme is Good News. We will be reflecting on Zechariah 9:9-13 and Acts 2:39, Good News: Even Better Than Expected. The king approaches Jerusalem and the crowd shouts for joy as they had for generations and call out for salvation. This is a king of peace who is also a king of might who comes to his struggling people to bring hope. We are struggling in many ways too. Zechariah echoes ahead to Palm Sunday and Jesus coming as a king. The crowd then expect the Messiah to be an earthly king who would restore the Davidic dynasty. While they were wrong about the kind of king Jesus would turn out to be, they were absolutely right to connect Psalm 118 to Jesus (see vs. 22 and 27, for example). The good news of the gospel for us today is that Jesus saves us from our sins even as he is with us in our struggles. We can cry out “Hosanna!” to him (“Save us!”) and know that he will.

BECOMING THE WAY - A Good Friday Reading by Lee Fennema  ~ JESUS ~Song:  Here I Am to Worship ~ BETRAYAL ~Song:  What Wondrous Love ~ TRIAL ~Song:  When I Survey the Wondrous Cross ~ CRUCIFIXION ~Song:  The Power of the Cross ~ BURIAL ~

It is Easter! The empty tomb is a historical fact upon which the message of Christianity rises or falls. The women in Mark 16 were trembling and bewildered when they encountered it, and we have a hard time believing it ourselves. Yet the eyewitness accounts and the life transformation of the disciples are evidence that it is true. We can believe in this good news and share it. 

Today the fifth Sunday of Lent, and our theme is Good News. We will be reflecting on John 12:20-33, Good News: For All. In Jesus’ day, people were divided by ethnicity, gender, and social and economic class. The Pharisees in particular liked to keep people in their place and were disturbed at how Jesus upset the social order (John 12:19). Our culture today hasn’t overcome division either. In this passage, Jesus tells us that when he is lifted up on the cross, all will be drawn to him. In a world of division, we are reminded of the universal call of the gospel. 

Today the fourth Sunday of Lent we have the privilege of celebrating the Lord’s Supper together. We will be reflecting on John 3:1-21, Good News: A Fresh Start. We are reflecting on John 3:1-21, Good News: A Fresh Start. Nicodemus was likely the very picture of a successful person in his culture. This makes him an unlikely follower of a perceived troublemaker like Jesus. In this famous passage, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he needs to make a fresh start and be “born again.” This actually is good news for Nicodemus and for us. God can and will give us a fresh start, a spiritual rebirth, when we believe in the savior who was lifted up on a cross and raised from the dead to deal with our sins.

Welcome to Bethel! Today is the third Sunday of Lent, and our theme is Good News. We are reflecting on John 2:13-22, Good News: The Temple is Rebuilt. There are a few things we would do well to understand as we approach this passage. The first is the fierce and holy passion behind Jesus’ extreme actions. The second is how spiritually dysfunctional the Jerusalem temple had become. Jesus came into our fallen world as the true temple that would link heaven and earth. This temple would be destroyed and rebuilt in three days, just as he said. This is the good news of the gospel! And we who believe are the assembled body of Christ on earth who will proclaim his kingship until his return 

Today is the second Sunday of Lent, and our theme is Good News. We will be reflecting on Mark 8:31-38, Good News: Worth Dying For. We also have the privilege of celebrating a Profession of Faith! In this passage, right after Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus starts teaching them what being the Messiah is going to actually look like: suffering, rejection, death, and then resurrection. Being a follower of Jesus is always about Jesus, never about what we want, but Peter doesn’t understand that yet and rebukes Jesus for talking the way he is. In one of the most shocking rebukes in the Bible, Jesus then turns and rebukes Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” We will explore what being a follower of Jesus is really about.

Today is the first Sunday of Lent, and our theme is Good News. We are also celebrating GEMS Sunday, our girl’s ministry. They will be leading much of the service, as we will be focusing on the theme Standing Firm on God’s Promises by reflecting on Psalm 62:2 and Matthew 7:24-29. God is a rock, a place of strength, a place of safety and hope. Jesus teaches that if we shape our lives on his teaching then we are like the wise man who builds his house on the rock and no matter what happens, the house stands firm.

Today we have the privilege of celebrating in the Lord’s Supper and we will be wrapping up our series on the Apostle’s Creed by reflecting on Psalm 57 and John 20:24-29, Resurrection Flesh. The creed teaches us under the section the work of the Holy Spirit that we believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. The psalmist takes refuge in God, trusting God to protect him and save him. Jesus comes to save us; he dies on the cross and comes back in his physical body to reassure his disciples that he is truly alive. Jesus comes to restore all creation. The physical creation, including our bodies is central to the redemption Jesus brings. 

Today we will be celebrating the sacrament of Baptism for two lovely little girls. The parents have chosen Psalm 103 and Psalm 145, with the title of the message being: The Lord is Compassionate and Gracious. Both these psalms focus on praising the Lord for being a God of forgiveness, a God who does awesome works, whose greatness no one can fathom. Our God is compassionate and gracious, who calls us to tell his stories to our children and our children’s children so that they too will believe in and love our Lord.

Welcome to Bethel! Today we will be returning to our series on the Apostle’s Creed by reflecting on Psalm 51 and Mark 2:1-12, Forgiveness: Healing Power. The creed teaches us under the section under the work of the Holy Spirit that we believe in the forgiveness of sins. Our thoughts almost immediately go towards the forgiveness that we experience through Jesus’ death on the cross, however we are called to be a people who seek forgiveness from God through confession and repentance, and who offer forgiveness to others. Forgiveness is not simple, nor is it easy; forgiveness always comes at a cost. This week we will be focusing on God’s forgiveness of us, after Easter we will take a look at Jesus’ command for us to offer forgiveness and what that looks like.