Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA

Romans 9 Abraham was called out of the land where he was living. Israel was the apple of God’s eye. She was miraculously led out of Egypt by a pillar of cloud and fire. Christ is over all. As his children we need to know this and let others now about it. John 3:16 – God loved the world and gave his son for it. God is able to save his people completely. This is his will. The Jewish lead...

We are all changing. There is no such thing as “staying the same” or “being static.” The choices we make today, the things we are doing today become habits. Whatever this is it takes as long to change the thing as it did to grow it. People are not math problems. The things that affect change in our lives are not numbers in a math problem. It would be nice at times if life and change would be a mat...

Hebrews 8:1-13 A covenant is: An agreement between two people or groups that involves a promise on the part of each to the other. (Nelson’s Bible Dictionary) A covenant is however more than just a contract. It is setting up a relationship. There were other covenants in scripture. Why would God set up a covenant with a human? God is faithful, he doesn’t need to make any promises. God is...

Let me warn you first… the audio for this particular podcast episode is pretty horrible. I apologize… totally my fault. 1 John 1:1-2:2 Although he doesn’t specifically say it, it seems that this letter is written by John. John obviously had no idea how big things would get. He started his career as a lowly fisherman, followed Jesus the Son of God, saw him crucified, saw him after...

Ephesians 5:1-21 We are often struck with a thought of “where did the time go?” We all find ourselves in “times” or “seasons” of life. Regardless of where we are in life we are called to live and take advantage of the moments that we find ourselves living in. Often times it is the mundane parts and times of life that are the most difficult to “redeem.&#822...

Luke 4:1-13 Luke wrote both the book of Luke and the book of Acts to this “Theophilus” guy. In Luke 4 we will be taking a look at Jesus and his temptation in the desert. He was tempted for 40 days! A lot of times we struggle because of past sins. We are tempted partially because of our past sin, however a victory can lead to the courage to win another battle. Jesus temptation took plac...

Hebrews 3,4, Numbers 13:27 Rest is faith in action, it can happen when we know that we belong to God, that we are his. Joshua and Caleb saw an opportunity for God’s power to take care of the Children of Israel. The other spies saw themselves in front of the giants, just small flesh against large flesh. This rest is something that God has promised his followers. God made us in his image, he w...

1 Timothy 6 If we take a look at what we have and compare it to many in the world we are very rich. We have worked hard, we’ve (generally) earned what we have. Regardless of what we have or what we’ve accumulated we should not be proud of it. Ultimately all that we have comes from God. The apostle Paul didn’t push for a revolution or redistribution of wealth. He did suggest howev...

Hebrews 11:8-16 – They were seeking something beyond this life here. A better and a heavenly place. As strangers and pilgrims here on earth. Abraham considered his life a pilgrimage. A pilgrim is one who is traveling through a foreign land. Or a devotee traveling to a shrine or a holy place. For us as Christians this term fits well, we are all traveling through life, we are making decisions,...

Mark 9:42-50 – There is a central message here that we need to be sure not to miss. Sin is serious. As we go in to this we need to be sure to remember that we will never be sin free people. We will always be in need of the grace and cleansing of Christ. What is a millstone? This is a big rock, turned by a donkey. Who is this warning directed towards? Anyone… Anyone who causes a “...

This is a message directed to fathers. It doesn’t come from a place of having attained perfection as a father, but out of a call to deeper commitment to leading as God calls fathers to lead. Genesis – We see Adam in the garden as a groundskeeper. For Adam there wasn’t a helper found. So God took a rib from Adam and created a woman from that rib. She was designed and perfectly fit...

Isaiah 50:4-7, Psalms 19:12-14 God knows our words even before we speak. God will judge our words. We should all be concerned that all our words are acceptable to God. Words come from the heart…the heart is the real person. Words carry messages. Words are like trucks. Some are empty, some carry explosives, some carry treasures. Only that which is constructive/wholesome should come from our m...

Matthew 5:48 – Jesus told his disciples that they need to be perfect. As we get older it is easier to become more skeptical. More problems come up. More disappointment. Fewer answers. A measure of insecurity can come into our lives as we realize that we often fail. One of the main answers to this is to focus on something other than ourselves. Turn your focus to Christ. See the marvelous salv...

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 – It was often easier for the Children of Israel to recognize and fear the Lord than it was for them to remember to love him. Matthew 22:35 – This command of love for God and others will never be demoted. This first commandment is still the first. It supersedes doctrinal differences. It is the underlying thing that all other laws and commands are based upon. Love is h...

Hebrews 3:1-19 Let us focus in on Christ this morning in a worshipful way. It is often difficult to push away the things of life and this world and really focus on Christ, but our prayer this morning is to do this. Hebrews was written to show the supremacy of Christ. The writer seems to be addressing the Hebrews. Exodus 32:1-14 How long does it take for us to develop a heart of unbelief? Moses int...

Mark 9:33-37 – Matthew 18:1-6 Before we look at what Jesus has to say about greatness, lets take a look at this argument the disciples had just had. Jesus had just warned his disciples again that he would die and rise again. The disciples knew that they were going to Jerusalem, and although they didn’t know what exactly would happen, they probably thought that Jesus was about to set up his K...

Genesis 2:18-25, 1 Corinthians 11:3, Ephesians 6:4, Titus, 1 Peter – Leaders and help meets are never born with all of the qualifications they need. They are however able to grow. There is no doubt that the mother speaks a lot of influence into the future of a child. Holy Behavior 1 Peter 3:3 – A woman is called to live a life to based on the things of God, not based on the things that...

Luke 3:1-22 John the Baptist was an incredible man. Jesus and others throughout the New Testament spoke highly of him. John lived in the same as some very important people, Caesar, Herod and some others. Yet we are told in the New Testament that John the Baptist “eclipsed them all.” John the Baptist was stern and unafraid in his preaching. He spoke against what the pharisees and the leadership of...

3 John 4, Isaiah 61:3, Job 7, Romans 8:28, Job – Life is serious and short. You can live a life of pleasure committed to sinful things or you can live a life dedicated to Christ and to the church. When we are born we all have a specific number of days assigned us. For some that number is large. For others that number is not very large. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – Blessed be the God and Fathe...

Too often we have a vision for how to grow our business but lack having a vision for the future of the church. Comparison is the biggest robber of joy, be content with what God is asking you to do. Once a culture is developed and engrained, it is difficult to change the culture. Church has culture and it is important to have a culture that is pointing people towards community and growing together...

Isaiah 45, Romans 9:20 – Are you satisfied with the way God made you? Surrendering to the will of God is often not easy. There are times when we won’t know why, but it is the only place to be. All of us want to be part of the cool group don’t we? The pharisees wanted the approval of men more than they wanted the approval of God. Aren’t we often that way too? The praise of men often leads to...

Revelation 5:9 – Every tribe, every nation, every kind of people… not just our kind of people! My race, my clan, your race, your clan… all are recipients of God’s grace. We have a tremendous responsibility to share the things that God has done for us, and that he wants to do for those around us. What is hindering the harvest of souls from every tribe and every nation today? Are there too man...

Genesis 22:1-14 – To take a biblical position in your child training when the world has gone far off course is difficult. Yet it is vitally important. Parenting wasn’t for cowards in the olden days, it is still definitely not for the faint of heart. There are a lot of things that are not said here in Genesis, but we can imagine some of these things. Abraham had packed his bags to follow God,...

Psalm 1:2, Joshua 1:7-9 – What are we thinking about as we go about our days? Do we constantly reflect on Biblical truth and its principles? Many Christian people are in a rut, there is no or little joy in their Christian journey. Could it be that we are “doing it wrong” and have been for a long time? Are we saturated and grounded in God’s word? Romans 12:1 – Guilt is a poor motivator...

What is a saint? Are you and I saints? Isaiah 6:1-7 – Even our greatest efforts fall far short of God’s Holy and perfect standard. Deuteronomy 10:12-13 – A summary of God’s will and desire for his people. God expects the same of us today. At times it seems as if those who call themselves christians have very little evidence of a righteous life. Jeremiah 17:9-10 – Sometimes we don...