Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA

1 Kings 19 – This is when Elijah realized that his life was in danger and that Jezebel was out to get him. God was present with Elijah and He met his need! John the Baptist is someone that we know a decent amount about. He was a cousin to Jesus, and he paved the way for Jesus and His ministry. The crowds had been following John the Baptist, and then they started to follow Jesus. At some poin...

This first verse kind of sums up the first part of this chapter. If we are doing our good works for the sake of others, that’s as much benefit as we’ll receive from it, there is no eternal reward. Jesus gives three examples of areas that we are prone to do our acts of righteousness before men instead of before and for God. Jesus contrasts the way that we should live with the way that pagans and hy...

We often look at life and wonder how we’re doing. How are your dreams? Are they on track? If your childhood dreams haven’t worked out, let’s take a look and see if we can reevaluate some of these things. Many times the things that we think will bring happiness, money, homes, wives, husbands, etc. indeed do not fulfill us and bring us happiness. God wants us to be happy, fulfilled people, the...

1 Corinthians 11:17-22 – Paul admonishes them about a sin that they were committing when they come together for a “love feast.” The early church celebrated a feast meal prior to communion. They also had the Lord’s Supper at least weekly (if we understand correctly). Paul is correcting them for selfishness and for lack of love. In this correction, Paul is correcting the tendency to create gro...

1 Corinthians 11, 2 Corinthians 4:7 – God knows what we are made of, He knew how his disciples struggled. Peter, even with the best of intentions denied Jesus. He knows how the weaknesses that we have in our flesh affect us. Mark 11:1-33 – Jesus was coming into Jerusalem riding the donkey, He was surrounded by a mob who were shouting Hosanna! Matthew says that the people were shouting...

This discipline, this training, it takes work. Because I care, I am willing to sacrifice. In training our children, we need a no pain, no gain attitude. We have only one life to impart a faith that can save our children. God wants us to communicate our story to our children. tell them what God has delivered you from. How can you understand someone, without talking to them? We need to listen, to as...

In the last message we addressed the role of the husband to lead. Now we will look at the role of his help-meet. Women are designed to care for others, and to help; even in the temptation in the garden, Satan appealed to Eve’s desire to help. When we sin, we often try to cover it up. And it takes a lot of work to cover… Because of sin, women have a tendency to want control. And this is exace...

We see men that are turning away from leading the home, the church, etc. It’s time for us to step up to the plate and lead spiritually. We are supposed to lead. It is God’s design. It is His proper order of headship. We need to take this seriously, to be committed personally to Jesus Christ first of all… And to take our god-given responsibility in the home. Be the godly person and leader tha...

Struggle is a theme from Genesis to Revelation. There is a worship that God delights in and there is one that He doesn’t. There is one that He accepts and one that He does not. Truly worship expands beyond what we do on Sundays. How do we prepare to worship? Most of us dressed up a little bit, combed our hair, etc. Who taught us that these things are necessary for worship? We need to understand th...

This morning we’ll be looking at two groups of people in the Bible. Both are having a “frustrated religious experience.” The motivation of this sermon is just to remind us of some basic principles. Isaiah 58 & 59 – This group of people was not doing well, but they are described as seeking God daily and delighting to know His ways. Usually, we would expect people doing this to have a grea...

God could have made a completely utilitarian creation. He could have made things a lot “uglier” and they would have worked “fine” but that isn’t what He did! He created a world that is wonderful to see and hear and be a part of. God is righteous and good and we are not… yet that is what we are called to be. Psalm 46 – God is good not because He causes good things to happen in our lives, but...

Our hands are very useful things. We can probably all think of someone who is missing arms, or fingers, or legs. For folks in this situation normal things are more difficult, they can usually adapt, but things are more complicated. Why would God want to limit Himself to work through our hands? He is the all-powerful creator of the world, is there really a need for Him to use our hands? Does He let...

The main text for this sermon is Psalm 96. A homework assignment for you. What percentage of singing referred to in the Bible is “group” singing, as opposed to “individual” singing? Singing is useful in teaching and admonishing one another. Singing together provides the music for the worship service. The Bible commands us to sing many times. The old and young can do it together. It can be a teachi...

Matthew 16:4 – Jesus often used the phrase “follow me” when he was inviting people to be His disciple. If we want to be followers of Jesus we should watch how He lived and take up His cross, the life He has for us, and follow Him. We are all “little” in God’s sight. Jesus cares about us, just as a good shepherd cares for His sheep. Jesus doesn’t give up on lost sheep! A sheep that was lost a...

Matthew 6:19-34 – So, what is a treasure? A dictionary would say it is wealth, money, jewels, stored up. Something of great worth and value. For this message we’ll say, a treasure is “that which is valued most, desired most, is most dear to us.” Earthly treasure is temporary. It will perish. There are many people who can tell stories about great material losses, some of them very suddenly. I...

Distractions are everywhere. Have you ever started on something, got half way and then got hung up on some details? The enemy is constantly looking for ways to defeat the work that God is doing in the local church. We must not miss what Christ has for the church because the church itself is in the way. We are to be actively living out the Christian life. It can be a natural tendency during tough t...

God has a reason for salvation, and grace needs to be worked out and expressed in the way that we live. A new Christian can sleep well at night, his sins are forgiven, he can be secure in God’s grace. Yes, there are things to do, but he can rest in Christ. We as humans have a pretty small role to play, but there is an element of choice that God gives to us. God gives us the “want to” and the “doin...

Philemon 1:1-25 – Onesimus, the slave of Philemon was suddenly gone. He didn’t show up, he had run away. Even before running away Onesimus was already a disappointment, he wasn’t a very good servant. How might Paul and Onesimus connected in Rome? We don’t know. Did things get bad for Onesimus and he hit bottom and thought about Paul? There is a good chance that Onesimus remembered Paul from...

2 Timothy 2 – When we talk about God being absolutely faithful we mean it is an absolute truth, it isn’t going to change. There is no circumstance or factor that changes this truth. If we endure, we will also reign with Him. God does have a plan for us, this plan is in the future, it is with Him, and it is beyond generous. If God is faithful (and He is) this is the kind of statement that sho...

Grace is what God does… faith, belief, these are the things that are part of our “mustard seed” response to God’s offer. If we respond in faith it results in a “new birth” or the “beginning of the salvation journey.” One thing that is a common thread between the newest most immature babe in Christ, and the most mature, gray-haired, lifelong, pious, saint, a sense of unworthiness and indebtedness t...

Romans 8:28 – This is probably one of the most well-known verses in the Bible, right up there with John 3:16. What does it mean for us? Many of us one way or another have experienced hard things in life. Sometimes these hard things are short-lived and then life is back to normal. When those things seem to go on and on, believing this verse can become more difficult… when it seems that there...

Whosoever will may come. Whoever desires to, is invited to come to Jesus. These are great invitations, Jesus says that few will respond to his invitation. We’ve sung the song “Just As I Am” many times. Though it is often sung at revival meetings, it seems like it is applicable to all of a Christians life. From conversion to wherever we are in our spiritual journey towards greater Christlikeness. W...

Text: Matthew 28:18-20 Other Scriptures referred to: Habakkuk 2:2; Acts 2, 4; Acts 10, 11; Galatians 2:11; Acts 15; Colossians 2 Characteristics of a New Testament church: It has a mission or purpose (Matthew 28:18-20) It has a shared vision of what God wants to accomplish through this church It has struggled with relational and disciplining issues — these are not a reason to panic It clarifies be...

Esther was a remarkable lady. She was born with some handicaps but she didn’t let them stop or discourage her, she was a cheerful soul. She was contented, and at peace with how things were. Esther may not have moved gracefully or easily, but she did move. She had limitations, what can a person with limitations do for others? God values and uses small things. Things that man would call insignifican...

1 Thessalonians 5:11-15 – These are instructions to every member of the church in Thessalonica to comfort one another. Always pursue what is good for both yourselves and for all. Do all of these things in patience. Some churches would say, and would actually have it written in their constitution, that church member problems are the work of the deacons. In many Anabaptist churches that is &#8...