Bethel Lutheran Church Cupertino

Here and Now Message delivered by Dave Denny.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You Message delivered by Pastor Anne Carlson.

Do Not Fear Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29–31 Do not fear. These words are often repeated in scripture. From angel’s greetings to Jesus instructions to the disciples, do not fear appears again...

Sent Out Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37–38 God equips the called. Think about this. Many times we think only the most qualified, educated, pious and pure are called to do God’s work. But God does not call the equipped; God equips the called. If Jesus...

Mercy Not Sacrifice But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” Matthew 9:12–13 Of all the sayings of Jesus, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” may be the most profound in its graciousness. So much of of world is des...

1+1+1=1 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. 2 Corinthians 13:13 These familiar words are the last words Paul writes to the Corinthian church. After he writes two very long letters (and scholars believe an undiscovered third letter) to them, he ends with what we now call “the apostolic greeting.” Paul invokes the Triune God a...

Spirit Power When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spi...

Bearing Witness But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 These are the final words Jesus speaks to the disciples. After this, he ascends into heaven to be at the right hand of God. Jesus is preparing them for the miracle of Pentecost which will give them the ability...

Guiding Spirit If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. John 14:15–17 Our gospel text this week is a continuation from last week....

The Way Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 Members of the early church were called “people of the way” rather than Christians. Those who believed he was the Son of God committed themselves to following in the way of Jesus by adhering to his teachings. Following the way of Jesus leads us to discover the truth of Go...

Abundant Life So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” John 10:7–9 This Sunday is sometimes called “good shepherd Sunday” as it always features the story of Jesus as th...

Journey with Jesus Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Luke 24:13–16 When the resurrected Jesus walks with two disciples fo...

Without Doubt But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” John 20:24–25 The Sunday after Easter always features the story of the...

Christ is Risen! But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay." Matthew 28:5–6 For us, with Easter hindsight, the empty tomb is an exclamation point for the promise of eternal life. But for the women who gathered the first Sunday, the empty tomb...

Last Supper Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.

Righteous Entry A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Matthew 21:8–9 The day we call Palm Sunday was filled with positive energy....

Death to Life The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God , you know.” Ezekiel 37:1–3 We believe in a God who brings life to w...

Calling Message delivered by Chris Christensen.

Living Water Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ” John 4:10–11 Sunday’s gospel text is one of my favorites. Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the we...

Paradigm Shift Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” John 3:1–3 Many people h...

Tempted Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Matthew 4:1–3 The story of Jesus’ temptation by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days is why Lent is a season in the churc...

Pure Heart Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.

Encountering God Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Matthew 17:1–2 The story of the transfiguration of Jesus has a lot of rich, symbolic meaning, but it also shows us God has a real flair for the dra...

Fulfillment Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Matthew 5:17 Our gospel text for Sunday continues with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus makes clear his ministry and teaching are not only consistent with Old Testament laws, but is the very fulfillment of it. In Jesus’ ministry we see the full embodiment of a faithful life. It...

Bless You When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:1–3 In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus offers his moral vision for a faithful life. It is worth reviewing regularly as Jesus teaches us prin...