Bethany Church of Canby

Two Sundays ago, we looked at the parable of two brothers who are both just as lost, one through moral license, and one through moral conformity. This Sunday we look at what both brothers need to be brought into the Gospel feast, and how the Gospel feast is brought to us in different ways.

John, Peter, and Mary, saw in different ways at the empty tomb, and yet all believed. We too are called to see an empty tomb and wrestle with those implications. This morning, we not only want to see the truth of the resurrection, but also the beauty and goodness of the resurrection. Let’s look together and SEE this Resurrection Sunday!

Is it possible to avoid Jesus in two different ways, one through flat out rejection, but the other being through obedience? Jesus tells a parable of two brothers who are both just as lost, one through moral license, and one through moral conformity. This Sunday we look at the two lost brothers and one loving father.

If you are a Christian, meaning you have repented and believed in Jesus, your life is uniquely tied to his life in what the Bible calls “union with Christ.” This now defines your reality, you are holy, pure, free and good. The call of Jesus is not to become something you are not, but rather to live out the reality of who Jesus has made you to be when you join his life to yours. Baptism is the phys...

Two of Jesus’ simplest parables contain the heart of God and the heart of the Gospel. This Sunday we look at lostness, the search, and the found community. Jesus not only changes us individually, but is also creating the most distinct community the world has ever seen.

Jesus isn’t interested in gathering the crowds; he is interested in gathering disciples. In this passage Jesus wants us to consider -up front- what discipleship is & to really count the cost of following him. By doing so we will see that serious reflection and daily walking is needed by anyone who truly follows Jesus. But even more so, a deep love for Jesus.

This Sunday Jesus addresses the call of the Christian to generous, costly, hospitality. We will look at the humility it takes to invite the stranger in, and the homelessness and hospitality of Jesus, that makes it all possible.

How can such an immeasurable kingdom have such a narrow door? This Sunday we look to find encouragement not only in the spread and certain victory of the immeasurable kingdom, but we also look at the urgency of the message to enter the narrow door. And as citizens of that kingdom now, what is the key to entry and heart of the citizen to be? We will look to Jesus and see.

There is a cosmic battle between Christ and Satan that plays out in our individual lives. In this story, Jesus enters the life of a woman with a disability to show that compassion and love are the weapons of this battle, not custom and convention. While legalism shrinks the soul and the cosmic battle to a life-sized problem, compassion and love free us from bondage to our greatest enemies.

The sequence of this section of Luke is very important. Jesus’ ministry marks a dividing line between humanity and brings division even to the closest relationships, the family. In considering the divisions, one should examine closely the signs for Jesus’ claims, and choose repentance. A reckoning, a day of settling all debts is coming, and there is only one way to be freed from your debt. Let’s l...

Jesus wants his disciples to know that the reality of the already/not yet, Kingdom of God, is a gift that transforms citizens now. This morning we look at Jesus’ call to action, which is a call to whole life transformation. How do you live if you have been given the kingdom? - with awake, sober, joyful service? This is only possible when you see the master has become the servant. Let’s look at the...

Stand alone sermon by Pastor David Beuving

We begin the 2024 New Year with a return to our study in the gospel of Luke. It seems appropriate to enter this new year with a message that puts our focus on “His kingdom” and off of the things that tend to distract us and cause us to worry. In this text today, Jesus presents us with some thoughts on how we might overcome worry in our lives: we will Face the Facts about what it is and does and th...

Christmas is the season of lights. But why? The imagery of light runs throughout the entire story of God’s Word. This Sunday we look at the words of Jesus as he declares himself to be the Ultimate Light of the world and what that means for us.

Bob Yoder filling in for Pastor Jeff

How do you view your money and stuff? And what is the place of money and stuff in our lives? This week we look at our relationship to money through the parable of a rich farmer. What we will see, is that the problem is not so much money, but our attitude towards money and God. Do we take God into consideration when making money decisions? Let’s look at The Warning, The Foolishness of Greed, and th...

How does the fear of God rid us of fear? That is the paradoxical question we seek to answer this morning as we look at Jesus’ private message to his disciples amidst the overwhelming crowds. Let’s look at WHAT the fear of God is, WHY it brings us peace, and HOW to get that proper fear. 

It wasn’t that Jesus didn’t wash his hands; it was that Jesus didn’t respect their extra-biblical customs. This was the conflict between the legalism of the Pharisees, and the deeper, truer, internal righteousness Jesus was seeking. Legalism wants to work from the outside in, where the Gospel works from the inside out. Let’s take a look at some of the symptoms of legalism and see how the Gospel So...

We all know Jesus told us to “Go and make disciples,” but WHY? It might sound like a simple question, but Jesus does give us more answers than just, because I told you to. The answer is that we make disciples because God’s goal for all history and humanity is to gather to himself a multitude of people who will spend eternity with him. This is the answer that gives so much urgency and importance to...

Every section of this text today is a call to examine our choices in light of how we respond to Jesus’ words. Every choice is crucial. Like the hearers of Jesus’ day, we too are accountable for how we respond to  what we hear from Jesus. Will we walk in the light or the darkness? Will we emit light or darkness? Today we look at a beatitude, a warning, and an exhortation to discover the “something...

Jesus makes it very clear this week that you are either for him or against him. It is his declaration of dependence. However, we are tempted to depend upon so many other solutions to the problems in our lives, including the problems of sin and evil. Let’s look at this short passage to find again that we need to be not just dependent upon, but possessed by, the stronger man Jesus.

In our study of Luke’s gospel, we see that the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry is fast approaching an end. He is wanting to teach all He can to His disciples. We will find Him speaking in many parables and taking every opportunity to teach what these followers need to know of Him and of the Kingdom to come. How can we most benefit from Jesus’ teaching? In today’s message, we will look at some ways...

Last week Jesus challenged his disciples, as messengers of the Gospel, to call everyone to believe. This week Jesus challenges his disciples to gospel love of their neighbors regardless of what they believe. In Jesus’ mind the two are inextricably linked together.  So why do all Christians have a hard time keeping them together? Let’s find out by looking at the COMMAND, the CAVERN, and the CATALYS...

The call to evangelism can scare us when we think of having to speak out loud for Jesus. But if we will look together at the WAY Jesus lays out for evangelism and the HEART behind it, we will be encouraged as we find out that the power comes from him, the message is his, and the entire program is under his control. Let’s look today at the WAY of evangelism and the HEART behind it.

What does it mean to count the cost of FOLLOWING Jesus? And what does Jesus expect the cost to be? How are we to respond when we face some cost or REJECTION for being a disciple?  These are questions we will answer as we look at the primacy that Jesus places on kingdom discipleship and how to respond when the kingdom of the world rejects us. This morning we will each be challenged and asked to giv...