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 in a given situation. Saul exemplified leaning on his own understanding when he chose not to...

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 for him. When the son returned, the father forgave him, but forgiveness did not resto...

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 are temples of the Holy Spirit. You...

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 Scripture, and submission to the church. This is impossible be...

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 Canaan among a people they could not conquer. God used the circumstan...

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 understanding agrees with the view we have inherited in our Ana...

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 kind of fruit depended on the kind of soil the seed fell on. People play a part in the direction of th...

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 love and nurture and children respect and obey; employers...

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 die. But neither did they understand his word...

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 Father have that he would allow his son to die on a cross to redeem the same people who had rebelled against Him? God demon...

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 were actually part of God’s plan. For us, God’s call can include service opportu...

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 about Joseph, the man who could interpret dreams. Joseph, a young man of 30...

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. God’s kingdom is not the same as the world around us. We don’t try to control or fix the world by force. Our job is t...

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 politics, race, class, or the flag we pledge to. We live in a world full of strong opinions and political fights....

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 take care of us. Chasing after wealth can leave us tired, anxious, and empty. True peace comes when we trust God, live simply, an...

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 us. The world has used race to justify slavery, unfair treatment, and discrimination—even by people cl...

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 wearing certain clothes—it’s about living out the roles God designed with joy and honor. Even though c...

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) Praying during the transfiguration (Luke 9:29) Modeli...

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 they couldn’t understand. Joseph was able to interpret the dreams. He asked them to please remember him when...

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, Joseph experiences Jacob’s favor, is hated by his...

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 them to wake up before it’s too late. Philadelphia is small and struggling, bu...

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 have a fulfilling task to do that engages their creative energies will often use their energie...

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 him into a pit. God was with him in Egypt and had him elevated to a high status in Potiphar’s house. Joseph gave...

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 two spies on her rooftop. She said to them, “Your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” Because of her faith, she a...

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 very old by this time and had served the family well. They loved he...