Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA

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Today is Father’s Day and Galatians 3 isn’t the typical passage to use for Father’s Day. John said his relationship with his earthly father was fairly negative, so it probably wasn’t surprising that when he thought about God, he always had a hard time believing he cared about him. Galatians 3 says both Jews and Gentiles can become children of the Abba Father by faith in Jesus apart from works of t...

In II Timothy 4, Paul charges Timothy to remain faithful to his mission by preaching the Word, regardless of how people react. Each of us has a mission that is our unique obligation. Finishing well involves viewing one’s life as a “drink offering” – a complete, faithful sacrifice, and looking forward to the appearing of Jesus. The reality of the mission is that we will face human struggles s...

Acts 1:3 says Christ “presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs.” I Cor. 15 says Christ was seen by many people after the resurrection, and if Christ had not risen our faith would be in vain. A major truth in the sermons in Acts is that Christ is risen from the dead (Acts 2:22-24; 3:13-15). Jesus said he is the resurrection and the life (Jn. 11:11ff). Critics of the res...

The instruction in Scripture to admonish and warn someone is not given so we will admonish people after they have become deeply enmeshed in sin but to admonish people before things get so desperate. The people who warned in the Old Testament were called prophets or watchmen. Even though they spoke the message of God, in general the people did not like them. But the reality is that we have a respon...

Kings 18 is Elijah’s experience of being overwhelmed and exhausted by evil circumstances. God showed up in his space to feed and heal him. God told Elijah to eat, to sleep, to worship, to anoint two kings, to anoint his successor. Elijah’s small obediences were the method God used to heal Elijah. The post Elijah and Small Obediences appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA .

The goal is to come to rest instead of being determined to fix our troubles. The better thing is to consider what is one thing I can do to trust God. Jesus has something for us to do because we can’t reason our way out of our troubles. While we are demanding to be fixed we can’t find a single thing to do that God wants. Jesus can take care of us even when we can’t. The post Foundational Beliefs fr...

Our troubles weigh on Jesus. Jesus can handle us even if we can’t handle ourselves. The question for each of us in our situation is what small steps of faith can we take in the midst of trouble? Our existence would change if we could believe Jesus is beautiful and is with us in our trouble. Surrender in the midst of trouble isn’t just giving up; it might mean doing something. The post Questions Ab...

I Timothy 3:13-17 shows us that scripture is important for both salvation (pointing to Jesus) and spiritual development (as “God-breathed”instruction). A healthy practice involves reading often, prioritizing quality (reading with purpose and a “needy attitude”) over speed, and making an effort to internalize scripture (memorization and meditation/murmuring). The post Love Your Bible appeared first...

The value of woman depends on her “created in the image of God” value. God created man in His image, male and female. The Trinity is three persons but one substance. Man is two persons, male and female, but one substance. Male and female are not two kinds of human, the one more valuable than the other. This one of three Trinity and one of two human speaks of oneness of purpose amid diversity of ro...

Galatians is not about how to get saved. It is about how Jews and Gentiles can become one people of God through the Messiah, apart from the Law of Moses. The Judaizers resisted Paul’s message and wanted to say that he was in conflict with the apostles in Jerusalem. Paul says when Peter first visited Antioch, he shared the Lord’s Supper with the Jewish and Gentile believers there, but when agitator...

What Jesus won us to (to love God and others), He won us by (His love for God and others). Jesus was not a puppet. He surrendered to the Father and the pain of the cross because of His love. We cannot die for and save ourselves, but we can surrender to Christ. Victory is the result of surrender. God is fully able to accomplish the good end He has in mind, and His goal is always good. Jesus’ strugg...

The church at Jerusalem, where Christianity began, was composed entirely of Jewish Christians. Peter had preached the Gospel to the Gentile Centurion Cornelius, which opened the Gospel to Gentiles. The question, then, was whether Gentile Christians were required to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. Galatians addresses this issue. Paul begins his discussion by giving his qualifications. He...

There is a finish line ahead, and not everyone who starts the race runs all the way to it. Gideon started well but stumbled. Solomon began with great devotion and drifted into idolatry. Demas walked with Paul and then quietly turned back, having loved this present world more than the world to come. These are sobering reminders, but they are not meant to discourage us. They are meant to make us wis...

We are not meant to run this race alone, and we were never designed to. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and Psalm 23 shows us everything we gain when we follow him closely: rest, guidance, restoration, courage in the darkest valleys, and the overflow of his Spirit. When trouble comes, the call is simple and urgent: do not try to fix yourself first. Run to the Shepherd right away, just as you are, and...

Running hard is not just for the gifted or the strong. It is for all of us, and we are running a race where every one of us can win. The great enemy of running hard is not failure but apathy, that slow drift where we stop caring, stop feeding on what is good, and eventually become content with going through the motions. What we feed on today becomes our hunger tomorrow. If we fill our eyes and ear...

There is a weight we were never meant to carry into the race. Hebrews 12 calls us to lay aside both sin and every burden that slows us down, and there is a difference between the two. Sin must be confessed and put to death, not managed or hidden. Walking in the light, with openness before God and honesty before our brothers and sisters, is the path to freedom. The blood of Christ cleanses us as we...

There is a race set before us, and each of us must run it. Like a trail through the woods, it has a clear starting point, marked boundaries, and a finish line we cannot see from where we stand. The great danger is not that we mean to go the wrong way, but that we drift off course without ever noticing. Good intentions, we are reminded, are like a rocking chair: they feel like movement but take us...

The cross is a reality for both Jesus and us. The seven sayings of Jesus on the cross teach us the meaning of the cross. “Father forgive them” speaks of the peace God offers those who trust Jesus. “Today you will be with me” speaks of assurance. “Care for my mother” speaks of concern for others. “Why have you forsaken me” speaks of the darkness Jesus...

We are living in perilous times. The apostle Paul warns Timothy that the last days bring people who look godly on the outside but are rotten on the inside. They say the right things, lift their hands, and quote scripture, but they deny the power of the Holy Spirit. These are not strangers. They creep into our communities and our homes. We must learn to recognize them and turn away. Not everything...

The believer has a calling to walk worthily that is rooted in the provisions of God, not in human resources and effort. The grand and glorious Gospel message is that the believer is chosen, predestined, adopted, accepted “in Christ the Beloved” and redeemed/forgiven, and this chosen and redeemed person is participating in the grand mystery of all things in heaven and earth being gather...

Christ is a gift-giver. Each believer is gifted, and each gift and gifted person is for a purpose. Rather than judge one another’s gifts, we are called to love and respect other people and their gifts. The purpose of gifts is the growth of God’s Kingdom. Since people exercise the same gifts in different ways, exercise of gifts can be the source of much friction. Love is the answer to friction. The...

This sermon is taken from Ephesians. The first three chapters tell us the divine blessings that make the worthy walk described in the last three chapters possible. The believer is chosen, predestined, adopted, accepted in the Beloved, redeemed and forgiven by the shed blood of Christ, participants in the final gathering together of all things in Christ (both Jew and Gentile and heaven and earth),...

Jesus had a reason for instructing his followers to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We know there is something special about this service and that Jesus is present to minister to us in a special way, but exactly how Christ is present is a mystery. We may not fully understand the mystery, but we know that we are in need of something that Jesus offers us in Communion, grace and mercy, the Christ who ca...

I Corinthians 12:31 introduces chapter 13, saying, “and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” Charity is a requirement to honor Christ and bless others. Chapter 13 presents Christian charity–its importance, description, growth in it, and its permanence. Then chapter 14 begins, “Follow after charity” (KJV). Jesus was a GREAT LIGHT in a dark world (Matt. 4:13-17). One way people “saw” or sensed...