Bethany Church Fresno

Jesus tested his first followers with the simple question, “What do you seek?” LIkewise, Jesus challenges us to consider what we are looking for in our relationship to Him.

We need to pay close attention to Jesus’ teaching on worry to find out how to stop worrying. With no guarantees for tomorrow, we really only have today and forever.

When God promised the aged Sarah a child, she laughed. How do we respond to God’s messages of life and hope?

Hagar found her hope in a relationship with “the God who sees me.” Knowing that God sees us where we are is exactly what we need to endure until the time of deliverance.

What happens when we let our unmet expectations drive unhealthy emotions? Will we receive the grace God offers to save us?

The surest way to secure a new beginning in your life is to face up to the situations that trip us up. But how will we do that?

Every believer is confronted by a real enemy, the Devil, but we can resist when we stay alert, develop a vital spiritual life, and remember the power of grace.

When we yield to God’s order in the church, and God’s personal care for us, we find a better way to live. Will we trust God’s way?

We ought to be ready and willing to endure hardship for the name of Christ, because it is a privilege to be counted worthy to suffer for Him.

The church is so much more than a gathered group of people – it is a community of individuals gifted and called by God to love and serve those both in and out of the church.

The reason for our hope in this life is that we’ve been made alive for the will of God. And while many around us are spiritually dead, we have a message of life and salvation to share with them.

Baptism will never save us, but it is a powerful proclamation of the gospel to the community. Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins and to destroy the works of the devil.

We have an incredible hope in Jesus Christ, therefore we don’t have to worry or give in to fear in the midst of opposition or struggles. Our lives, lived respectfully, can be disarming to our opponents; but even in suffering, God cares for us. We need to be ready to answer why we are a Christian in ways that are consistent with our character in Christ.

The secret to a good life and enjoy happy days is to be a blessing with our words and actions, responding to mistreatment with words of life.

The Christian household is meant to function in such a way that those apart from God will see a practical testimony of the Good News of Jesus. Is it really possible for our daily lives to reflect Jesus Christ?

As followers of Christ, we are to submit to those in authority, even if it means relinquishing our rights and preferences, so that our lives will lead others to Christ.

We live our life in Christ among those who need Christ, but we don’t live like them. We are God’s very own possession and have a unique identity in Him, living our lives in ways that show others about God’s great mercy and goodness.

When a person comes to Christ, they are granted new life, a fresh start. But our salvation is more than individual rescue; we are being built into something greater, on Christ the Cornerstone.

The Christian is a person “born again”, but like a newborn baby, needs good nourishment to grow up into maturity.

The hope of the gospel is that we are saved FOR a God-pleasing life, not saved BY trying to live like it. And we aren’t only saved FROM our old life, we’re saved FOR a new, fruitful life, one marked by love for others. What kind of life are you living?

We all need hope, but where do we find it? Our hope of eternal life is worth enduring hardship in this life, because the joy of our faith now and our reward of eternal life will be worth it all

As believers in Jesus, we are God’s chosen people, cleansed and holy, always in need of more grace and peace, living as temporary residents in this world. Do you know who you are and what you need?

On Pentecost Sunday, we are reminded of the dramatic fashion in which the church was born. Can the gifts demonstrated at the church’s Pentecost birth still bring our friends and neighbors to new life in Christ today?

God does not tempt us, but the prayer for deliverance acknowledges that none of us are above falling to temptation, and leans on God’s daily power available to us by the Holy Spirit.

As we continue to reflect on the Lord’s Prayer this week, Jesus teaches about forgiveness – for us and for others. But what really happens in the act of forgiveness? Is it possible to forgive if the other party doesn’t want forgiveness? Are we condoning hurtful behavior when we forgive? Forgiveness is an essential part of the life of a Christ follower.