Bethel Mennonite Church – Gladys VA

Proverbs 3 emphasizes the need to trust God and be faithful to Him. Solomon talks about three areas in which we need to trust God “above” something else: our understanding, our possessions, and our circumstances. To trust God over our own understanding is to consider who God is and what He may want from us […] The post A Proverbs 3 Challenge appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys...

Good leaders are focused on the welfare of the people they lead, take responsibility for their poor decisions, are under authority, speak truth with love, and lead but don’t push. In the story of the prodigal son, the father didn’t go after the lost son, didn’t berate him, but instead longed and waited and prayed […] The post A Message for Fathers appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church -...

The Corinthian believers were not recognizing the Creator’s design and purpose for their bodies. Paul addresses their problem with sexual immorality by making several points: You aren’t asking the right questions. Your bodies are designed for the LORD. Your members are members of Christ. The Creator designed marriage. You must flee sexual immorality. Your bodies […] The post Designed With Pu...

What we believe in our minds and what feels true in our hearts determines how we live. Unbiblical beliefs lead to sinful living. This is especially true of beliefs about the relationship between faith and works. Here are five faulty views: True faith requires perfection in all areas of life: obedience, spiritual desire, applications of […] The post Championing a Faith That Works appeared fir...

Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt because of a famine. We know that their “going to Egypt” was part of God’s plan, even though God generally warned his people about assimilating into any of the cultures around them. Perhaps God knew they were better off being in Egypt as a people to themselves than being in […] The post Joseph’s Brothers Come to Egypt appeared fir...

I believe most believers want to experience in their mind and heart what they profess to believe. I also know that many believers struggle to experience what they say they believe. This sermon will explore the meaning of baptism as expressed in New Testament Scriptures that speak about conversion and baptism, and consider whether this […] The post Experiencing the Meaning of Baptism appeared...

Many people start well but don’t finish well. One reason for this is the habit people have of wanting Jesus to be their Savior but not their Lord, the habit of making choices that have disastrous results, results that make it impossible for their lives to end well. In the parable of the soil, the […] The post Finish Well appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

Our relationship with God is connected to our relationship to other people. This is obvious in verses that talk about God forgiving us as we forgive others. God considers how we relate to other people. Are we willing to apologize? When trust grows, relationships grow. When relationships are healthy, husbands love and wives respect; parents […] The post Relationships – Do They Matter? a...

The impact of Christ’s death on those who experienced it was definitely profound. The words used to describe their response are “affrighted, amazed, afraid, believed not.” These words speak of panic, having a phobia, shock, standing outside oneself. They were confused and hopeless. They definitely had not understood Christ’s words when he said he would […] The post The Impact & Meaning...

Jesus died at the time of the Passover, not on the day of Atonement. God knew even at creation that the people he created would sin and that would require the suffering and death of His Son. And the Father knew what Adam and Eve’s sin would cost Him. What kind of love did the […] The post Greater Love appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

The difficult truth of Psalm 23 is that to experience the goodness of God, we need to accept his authority and shepherding. Moses struggled to accept God’s call because he focused too much on his own inadequacies and fears. In spite of having Aaron as a mouthpiece, Moses experienced many setbacks in Egypt because they […] The post The Shepherds Call appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church...

Two years have passed since the chief butler left the prison. Joseph has been waiting hopefully for a release from prison on the chief butler’s promise that he would remember him to Pharaoh. The butler forgot Joseph until Pharaoh had a dream which could not be interpreted. Then the chief butler remembered and told Pharaoh […] The post Joseph Gets Out of Prison appeared first on Bethel Mennon...

We each have to choose if we want to follow Jesus. We’re not born into God’s kingdom—we must decide for ourselves to become part of His family. Being part of the church is not something we inherit from our parents. It’s a decision we make when we hear God’s call and say yes to Him. […] The post Religious Affiliation appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

Our true citizenship is not in any country on earth—it’s in the kingdom of God. We may be born in one nation and hold a passport from it, but we are not born into God’s kingdom. That takes a choice. When we follow Jesus, we are choosing a new identity, one that doesn’t depend on […] The post Citizenship appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

In God’s kingdom, money, power, and status don’t define who we are. The world may divide people into rich or poor, high or low, but God looks at the heart. Whether we have a lot or a little, each of us is loved and valued the same. God knows what we need and promises to […] The post Class appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

We are all part of one human family. The Bible tells us we come from Adam and Eve, and later from Noah’s sons—but nowhere does it divide people by race. That idea comes from people, not God. Over time, society creates categories like “race” to separate and rank people, but that’s not how God sees […] The post Race appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

We’re reminded that God creates us with purpose, including our gender. He makes us male and female, and both are equally valuable in His eyes. Our world says we can choose our identity, but God calls us to embrace the identity He gave us. Being a man or woman isn’t about liking certain hobbies or […] The post Gender appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

Prayer is critical to any mission, as exemplified by Jesus and the early church. Jesus’ Prayer Examples in Luke: Praying at his baptism (Luke 3:21) Withdrawing from crowds to pray in the wilderness (Luke 5:16) Spending an entire night in prayer before selecting disciples (Luke 6:12) Praying before asking disciples about his identity (Luke 9:18) […] The post Pray for the Mission appeared firs...

Joseph is in prison along with the chief cupbearer and chief baker. He has been put in charge of everything that goes on there as well as in charge of the prisoners. When Joseph saw that the cupbearer and baker both looked dejected he asked them why they were sad. They each had dreams that […] The post Joseph in Prison appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

Brother John continued his series on the Patriarchs with a study from Genesis 37 on the early life of Joseph. He brought out numerous practical lessons for us today, including the harmful effects of favoritism in family life. Joseph’s parents and grandparents were guilty of it, and it affected the family greatly. In today’s study, […] The post Joseph, The Favorite Son appeared fi...

Jesus calls us to wake up, endure, and overcome. He sees our struggles, our strengths, and our weaknesses. He isn’t impossible to please—He just wants us to be fully committed to Him. The churches in Revelation give us examples of what pleases Jesus and what doesn’t. Sardis looks alive but is actually dying. Jesus tells […] The post Wake Up, Endure, and Overcome: Jesus’ Call to the Churches...

How can we encourage vision and joy in people, so they don’t need to explore and pursue sinful pleasure? Do you experience church as trying to keep the wheels from falling off the wagon, or do you experience church as pursuing an energizing vision, as trying to reach an energizing goal? People who do not […] The post Life – Giving Vision appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Glad...

The story of Joseph in Potiphar’s house in Egypt is an incredible story of one man’s integrity and obedience to his God. Joseph was far away from home and alone. What would he do? How did he resist temptation? He knew God was with him. God had been with him even when his brothers threw […] The post Joseph in Egypt appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

Who was Rahab? We read about her in Joshua 2. She was a harlot or maybe an innkeeper in Jericho. She had heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for the Israelites when they came out of Egypt. She had heard how they had destroyed the Amorites east of Jordan. She hid the […] The post Worth Seeking appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

There are several things that are mentioned in this chapter—Jacob’s return to Bethel, a birth, and three funerals. When Jacob was told to go to Bethel, there were three things he wanted his family to do: Purify themselves. Change their clothes. Put away their false gods. Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died during their journey. She was […] The post The Journey Back to Bethel appeared first on Bet...