Bethany Church of Canby

This Sunday, we begin our new series in Acts: Unstoppable with our message The Mission of God in Motion. These crucial first verses of Acts connect the job Jesus has given us to do, after his ascension, with the power to do it - the Holy Spirit. Let's look this morning at three M's- The MESSAGE, MISSION, and MOTIVATION.

When we think of the early church in Acts 2 we tend to highlight the Apostles' powerful preaching and wonderful miracles. And while the early church thrived on doctrine, Luke also mentions the incredible devotion to: shared worship, shared meals, shared possessions, shared lives. It’s a family life. Therefore, friendship in the church is not privatized, but public, and meant to form a rich fam...

True biblical friendship, while nurtured by proximity, convenience and similarities, is based on a covenant like commitment. Real friendships have the biblical marks of wisdom and the gospel marks of the nails in Christ’s hands and feet. Let’s look this morning at 6 marks of true friendship.

Friendship is not a luxury but a necessity. And yet, so many of us struggle with the concept in our modern world and a loneliness epidemic plagues our young men. Friendship is not a side benefit, but it is central to how God made us. This morning we want to see that from the garden to the cross that we were made by a relational God to be relational as friends.

Bob Yoder

Pastor Jeff Jennings

Guest Speaker: Rob Chadwick, PNW EFCA Superintendent

Guest Speaker- Richard Parker

- Guest Preacher, Ray Keen

This July, we set out on a road trip through some Psalms. In Psalm 117, at this outdoor service, we are challenged to look beyond our walls to the great reach of the Gospel to all the nations. God’s steadfast love and faithful, fresh promises are for everyone! But the exhortation could remain largely empty unless we enter into the obligation to live out the Good News.

As we close the Sermon on the Mount we look one more time to answer the question, who is this preacher? We will see that Jesus didn’t preach so we would marvel at his speaking skills, but so that we would submit to his AUTHORITY and OBEY. But why would we do that? Let’s find out by looking at why the crowds gave Jesus a standing ovation.

Neither professing Jesus as Lord, nor hearing the Gospel, guarantees you are in God’s Kingdom and will stand on the final judgment day. While both are necessary for salvation, what guarantees that we will stand on the final day, like the wise man who built his house upon the Rock, is a profession partnered with true works of obedience from the heart. This is a haunting and hard-hitting passage. Le...

Everyone naturally is heading towards destruction on the broad, easy path. Jesus, in his kindness, tells and shows us the narrow pathway that leads to life. We must find the narrow gate, the narrow path. False prophets will arise, trying to steer you towards the broad path to destruction. We can recognize them by the produce of their lives.

Guest Speaker: Joseph Clair

We all feel worry and anxiety as human beings. The problem for us is when we feed worry and anxiety. Jesus tells us today that we do not have to be anxious in this life because of our VALUE to God, our FAITH in God, and our VISION for the Kingdom.

As disciples, we are called to live differently from the world around us. Instead of hoarding possessions to ensure our financial security, we are to view the world through God's eyes and share from the abundance he has given to us. Jesus warns that if generosity isn’t our default mode, then maybe we are confused about who we worship.

Disciples are apprentices of Jesus. And this morning, Jesus apprentices us in the school of prayer. He does so by showing us two negative models of prayer, and one that is his own. His model shows us the richness of an interior life with God that is absolutely necessary to live outwardly as the kind of citizen the larger Sermon on the Mount describes. Let’s look this morning at three models of pra...

We all have practices in our life that we do with the intention of growing deeper in our faith, but Jesus warns us that the way in which we do those practices is just as important as if we do them at all. We can look devout on the outside, but if our motivations are wrong it's actually a sign of darkness not light in our lives. When our religion is done for a true audience of one it leads to g...

Nowhere is the upside-down nature of Jesus’ Kingdom more obvious than in these verses. Jesus asks us to uniquely love, the evil and our enemy, who are sometimes one and the same person. Nowhere is it also more obvious that obedience to these two commands can only flow from a true citizen of God’s Kingdom. The true definition of spiritual maturity is spontaneously loving the evil one and our enemy.

Joy is mentioned in 3 out of the 4 resurrection accounts. On Resurrection morning, why did the women leave the tomb with Joy and how can we increase our own joy? This Easter we look at the Road to Joy that culminated in a risen Savior and an empty tomb. Let’s look at three reasons for Joy from Matthew 28:1-10.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that Sunday of Holy Week, he came in on an unexpected road as an unexpected King. The people were expecting a ruling political liberator, but Jesus in humility had come riding on the humble means of a donkey, to serve and give his life as a ransom for many, and rule as king in the hearts of men and women. This morning our baptisms point to both this unexpected road...

This morning, we look at the emotion of ANGER and how it is a seed that when fertilized gives bloom to MURDER. What will we do with our seeds of anger? Will we uproot them with the gospel, or will we fertilize them to rage? This morning let’s explain ANGER from the text, and work through some IMPLICATIONS for us to see that God is slow to ANGER even if we are not.

In the rest of chapter 5, Jesus is going to endorse the moral law and give his interpretation of it. But before he does that, he wants to make sure that we understand how he views the Scripture, God’s Word. Jesus wants us to know the TRUSTWORTHINESS of God’s Word, the CENTRALITY of its message, and its place in our RELATIONSHIP with him. This morning it is Jesus’ doctrine of Scripture.

This morning Jesus AFFIRMS us as SALT and LIGHT of the world. But what does this mean? And how should it impact us? This morning, we will explain the words of Jesus to his disciples and then look at some implications for us as a church for our LIVING and our SPEAKING. Are you lit? Let’s find out.

This morning, we introduce The Sermon on the Mount by looking at 7 guiding principles that will help us understand, WHY this was written, to WHOM it was written and WHAT is its intended impact? May God give us the grace to face the Sermon on the Mount in all seriousness, honesty and prayer until we are transformed through it, living as lights in the world.