Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA

Mathew 4:23 – Mathew 9 Jesus calls people to submit to him as Lord, but Jesus always claims that submitting to him as Lord will be in our best interest. Submitting to him will be a restful place, a place in which you will not be harassed, and Jesus will have your best interest in mind. He will care for you. Is this still the gospel of the kingdom today? Do we live today as if all that Jesus...

Dilemma Hebrews 11:23-29 – Today when we talk about having “a situation,” we are often saying that we have a dilemma. We will face dilemmas in our lives, situations that require us to make a decision. Is your faith going to factor into the decision that you make? Will you look inward? Will you look back at situations you’ve had in the past? Will you look at other people and the way they’ve r...

Job 13:15 – The times we live in can be confusing. It is important to stop and analyze life and to choose to trust God. This is the point that all of us need to come to. God is the only one who is truly trustworthy. Life can get very confusing and we might not know what’s going on… God can seem distant at times. It is in those times that we need to come to the place where we can say, “I will...

Mark 10:46-52 – We don’t know whether Bartimaeus was born blind or if it was something that happened to him later in life. Regardless, he faced a sever handicap that affected how he faced each and every day. Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus. When a crowd passed by and Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was coming by he cried out to Jesus… and kept calling earnestly. Jesus heard. Jesus healed. Barti...

Revelation 5:1-14 – We are here to remember. We are here to remember while we take of the bread and drink of the cup. We remember Him, who he is, what he did and what he is like. Who is Jesus? He is the lamb of God who came and made provision so that the sin of the world could be taken away. John 1:29 – The Jewish people were expecting a warrior, instead they got a “lamb of God.” Isaia...

The husband wife relationship is a relationship. We are all in relationships, whether or not we are married. Ephesians 5:14-33 – Have we been awake to our responsibilities and relationships? We need to be attentive to the needs of those that are around us. All of us need to be “awaken” at times to see the needs of the ones we relate to. One of the biggest challenges of marriage is the fact t...

Mathew 7:24-29 – When Christ talked people listened. Jesus taught as one having authority. We need to keep in mind that our kingdom is not of this world. Our king commands, based on this truth, that we not fight. Instead of fighting authority we are told that we should obey authority and respect those in authority and pray for them. There will be times when we do need to stand in opposition...

When we stop hearing and we stop doing – we stop walking with him. The time is here and the time is now. If we don’t act on what we hear the urgency goes away. Here we are and if “it” still isn’t done, the best time to do it is today. If God has been showing you something, take care of it now. Today is the best day to do it. Romans 1:16 – As believers we have something that the world a...

Sometimes the initial beginnings of a church are easier than “the long haul.” Maintaining purpose and maintaining unity requires ongoing maintenance. It is easy at times to become disillusioned with our churches and believe that other churches “have it figured out.” Rest assured that there is no “perfect” church. Mathew 12:46 – How is Christian brotherhood different from the other brotherhoo...

Wherever God’s spirit is working he is working to build a local body that functions as a reflection of the New Testament practice. Acts 5:12, 1 John 2:19 – There is a lot of definition here – either of us or not of us. The requirement to be “of us” is to continue with us and among us. 1 John 1:6; Mathew 18:15-20 How would we apply this thing of submitting to our brothers an...

1 Kings 20:1-12 – Can you imagine the position that king Ahab was in here? Ahab surrendered to the wishes of the king outside. Have we surrendered our lives to Jesus? What kind of relationship are we going to have with Jesus? A mediocre Christian life isn’t really worth it. Jesus work on Calvary was a very expensive transaction. He did it for us, providing the basis for salvation. 2 Corinthi...

When we come from the outside to the inside of the kingdom of God that is only the beginning. The world around us, the temptations, the struggles, they are all still very much a part of our lives. Romans 6:17-18 – Even people who are in the kingdom of God struggle. There is some debate around holiness and how “free from sin” God want’s/needs us to be. How much is too much? How much is enough...

2 Timothy 2:19 – God knows those who are his own. He will never make a mistake. This is a comfort to the children of God while at the same time being something that should be terrifying to those who don’t know God as their father. Two Things We Should Be Thankful For There is an open door. Wouldn’t it be awful to not have the ability to go through the door from darkness to light....

Can you imagine a place where God’s character is the law? Can you imagine the perfection… perfect love, nothing out of place, selfishness is so unheard of that every action is motivated by selfless concern for another, perfect holiness, a sin free place. A place where God’s spirit is the atmosphere. This place of course fits the definition of heaven perfectly. Jesus calls it “the kingdom of heaven...

Any time a relationship happens between man and God it only happens because of God’s initiative. Luke 10:22 – Jesus is the only hope we have to know God. We are faced with the choice to open the door and have a relationship with the creator of the universe. Or to not open the door when he calls us. How can a man walk with God? Man, even in his wisest moments is far less wise than Gods foolis...

God is a lot smaller and impersonal to people today than he should be. God is neither small nor impersonal. God told Moses in Exodus 3, that “I am that I am.” God is eternal, the self existing one. When we look at the names of God we start to get an idea of who he is. God is all powerful. God needs nothing outside of himself. God is the perfection of love. God is the standard for all other holines...

Our spiritual lives are somewhat like a house. When we become Christians, God makes a bunch of really great changes in our lives, but there is still work that needs to be done. James 1:19-27 – Using a mirror is a good place to start if we have something on our face. However just looking into a mirror doesn’t make the food on our face go away. Nor does just reading our Bibles or listening to...

Every two year old has two questions that they are grappling with. If they can’t get these two questions answered in the right manner, they will find that they have a “tough row to hoe.” Can I do what I want to? Do I really have to obey authority? If we as parents have children who are growing up without getting the answers to these questions we are making it difficult for them to get a no from th...

The news cycle today is pretty short. The resurrection of Jesus is never old news. Acts, Romans – The disciples continually were preaching about Jesus being raised from the dead. The fact of the resurrection is told in Scripture, it is believable to those who are open to it. Psalm 16:10 – Jesus resurrection was prophesied in the Old Testament. The resurrection was an astonishing and mi...

If we go home today in a mindset of refection of what Christ has done for us, then we will have gotten what Christ has for us today. Zechariah 9:9, Luke 19:28-40, Exodus 12:1-28 The history of the Passover makes the Passover very important to the Jewish people in years past and today. There is much more importance for us as Christians today. Luke 2:46-49, Mathew 21:1-11, John 12:1-50 From a kingly...

It is a blessing of each of us to be able to give. Giving is an act of faith. Mark 10:29-31, Luke 18:28 Jesus didn’t say that we would necessarily receive a return in the same kind of currency. Jesus makes it clear that the return is only valid in the Kingdom of God. Jesus isn’t just talking about money of course. He is also talking about time, energy and things like that. God is interested in peo...

Let’s look at God’s ownership of our bodies. In the beginning Satan lied to Adam and Even by telling them that God was with-holding good things from them. It is the same lie that Satan uses on us today as well. In what sense does “God own us?” He created us! God also gave us a free will. God didn’t make us to be a robot. God made us in his image and he isn’t a robot. How would we be able to actual...

God gave Solomon an extra dose of wisdom. He didn’t need a DNA test to tell which of the two ladies was the actual mother of the baby. The motive for the one lady being willing to give the baby to the other woman was love for her baby. This is the same motive that will have a large part to play in our eternal judgement as well. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Today everything we do is an act of faith. We ca...

Many fallacies in doctrine stem from a false understanding of who God is, but a lot of them also come from a false understanding of who we are. If we look at creation we can see how each part of creation, apart from humans, operates on instinct. God could have made humans who did the same thing… but he didn’t. A clarity and understanding of the differences between the old and new covenant is impor...

God is a social God… He loves to interact and he created us in his image so that he could interact with us. God said that it is “not good that man should be alone.” God was planning a time of fellowship way back then, he was planning for fellowship when he made you. To bring glory to God is man’s “purpose,” but to “become known” and to “have a relationship with God” is also a part of the purpose o...