Bethel Crc Lacombe

Today we are celebrating GEMS Sunday, where our girls’ ministry will be leading many of the parts of our worship. We will reflect on Isaiah 40:28-31, Rise Up! Lessons from Queen Esther. Esther is a fascinating woman in Israel’s history, she goes from being an orphan to becoming the most powerful woman in the empire. Esther is called to put her life on the line for the sake of her people and to fulfill God’s plan to save his people from a powerful threat. Esther responds in trust, with prayer, and using her gifts to save her people 

Today we are celebrating the sacrament of baptism . The family has chosen Isaiah 46 where God promises “I Will Sustain You.” God is speaking through Isaiah, reminding the people that he has upheld his people and carried them since they have been born, unlike the idols which have to be borne by beasts of burden or people. Rather than sustain idols, the people are reassured that God sustains them. This is a beautiful passage of hope and a reminder to keep our eyes on God.

This year our Good Friday Service will be held at 7:30 p.m. on March 29, 2024. We will hold a Tenebrae service reflecting on John 1:29 and John 10:14-18, Picture Jesus: The Lamb. This is a service of shadows as we journey to the cross with Jesus. During this service, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

Today is Easter the high point of the church year! We will join with the universal church by rejoicing in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. We will reflect on John 11:25-26 and John 20:1-9, Picture Jesus: The Resurrection and the Life. These are wonderful words of comfort & hope; knowing that whether we live or die we belong to Jesus. Through his life and resurrection, we also experience life and resurrection. 

Today is Palm Sunday celebration we will reflect on John 12:12-19, Picture Jesus: The King. Historically Palm Sunday has been associated with Jesus’ kingship; however he was not the king the people wanted but the king that the people need. The Jewish leaders and the Romans felt threatened by Jesus as king. They mocked the idea of his kingship in his trial and his death by posting on the cross above his head “King of the Jews.” Following this story John records God affirmation of Jesus and directs us to glorify Him. The question we will be leaving with is: “Is Jesus truly our King ?"

Today is the fifth Sunday of Lent and we will focus our reflection on John 13:1-17, The Foot-washer. This is our Mexico Mission trip commissioning service. We will reflect on what it looks like to be a servant; to be willing to humble ourselves, to place the needs of others first, making serving a part of our character, and a regular part of our life journey as we follow in Jesus’ footsteps. We will reflect on how washing feet is also an image of Jesus washing away our sins.

Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent and we will reflect on John 10:11-18, The Shepherd. In this passage Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd; echoing back to the bad shepherds that Ezekiel describes in the Old Testament. Kings, such as King David, were often referred to as shepherds, called to provide and protect their people and ensuring that there was justice in the land. Being a shepherd is not an easy task, as sheep don’t always follow well and can be stubborn. Yet Jesus chooses to be our shepherd, chooses us and we get to call him our shepherd. We get to say that the creator of the universe has chosen us as his sheep and knows us by name !

Today is the third Sunday of  our Lenten series, John 2:1-11, The Miracle Worker. Picture Jesus at a wedding feast  when an embarrassing problem comes up; the wedding runs out of wine. This is a shameful thing for the groom and his family, so Jesus’ mother asks him to help. Jesus replies that it’s not his time yet, but in a spirit of grace, Jesus turns 6 jars of water into the best of wines. This was the first of many  signs revealing his glory. Our focus today is the meaning of this sign.

Today is the second Sunday of Lent. We will reflect on John 6:25-40, The Bread of Life. This story happens the day after Jesus fed 5,000 people with only 2 small fish and 5 loaves of bread. During the night, Jesus spent time with his Father and then walked on the water to join his disciples in their boat. Soon after arriving on the other side of the lake crowds begin to gather; their hope is to be fed again by Jesus, but also to put him on the throne in Jerusalem. Jesus challenges them on why they want him, telling them that he is the bread of life and  if they come to him, they will never go hungry. What does it mean to come to Jesus; what are you hungry for ?

Today  is the first Sunday of Lent.  During the Lenten season, we will reflect on the pictures of who Jesus revealed in the Gospel of John, beginning with Picture Jesus: The Living Water, John 4:1-15. As Jesus travels with his disciples from Judea to Galilee, he encounters a Samaritan woman at a well during mid-day; an unusual time of the day for someone to come to the well. Jesus asks her if she would be willing to give him some water and during their discussion, Jesus offers her living water so she would never be thirsty again. Jesus asks us the same question still today, “Do you want my living water?” How do you answer him ?

Today is Friendship Ministry Sunday. We will celebrate this ministry with our Friends and their mentors.  To wrap our series on Ephesians, we will reflect on Ephesians 6:10-20, The Armor of God. When we put on the armor of God, we are able to be brave, have courage, and stand firm in our faith against the devil’s schemes. Paul calls us to be strong, to stand firm, and to pray in the Spirit. All these acts fill us with the courage to trust in God and be his people. It’s important to remember that Paul is writing this from a prison cell and wants people to experience the same courage that he’s received from Jesus.

Today is Cadet Sunday. A time for us to celebrate our ministry to boys. Each Meeting their counsellors lead them to a deeper knowledge of Jesus and how to live it out. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians will direct our  reflection on the Cadet Theme “Rooted and Grounded,” Ephesians 3:14- 19. Good roots help us grow strong and healthy and we need to be rooted in good soil of the Bible. As followers of Jesus, we’re called to be rooted in the Bible, connected to the vine, and filled with the Holy Spirit 

Today we will reflect on Ephesians 5:1-21, Be Filled with the Spirit. In this chapter Paul focuses on being imitators of God by living as His children and living with love towards each other. We are challenged to a way of  thanks-living. He contrasts the ways of darkness with being light in the Lord, thus echoing back to Jesus’ call to be the light of the world. Paul then calls us to live as wise followers of Jesus rather than unwise. We  have a choice. Who are you going to be ?

Today we will reflect on Ephesians 4:1-30,  Unity of the Spirit. Paul returns again to his ongoing theme of grace in this letter, this time it’s about living out the grace that we’ve been given by God.  By living and growing together in the Lord it builds strong unity in the faith. Showing a maturity in Jesus; a growth in our faith, and recognition that how we live together, reflects to the world who Jesus is.

Today we begin a new series on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. We will reflect on Ephesians 1:1-14, Spiritual Blessings. Paul is reconnecting with the church in Ephesus, a church it seems that he has a special love for. Unlike many of Paul’s letters, he doesn’t have any errors or heresies that he’s addressing. This is a letter that reflects a lot on what the church is and how the church lives together. He begins by offering them a blessing and reminding them of who they are, where they find their identity.

Today we continue our series on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. We will reflect on Ephesians 2:1-10, The Lord and Giver of Life. In this part of his letter, Paul contrasts the difference between being dead in our sin and alive in Jesus. Paul focuses heavily on God’s grace in Jesus that brings about our salvation and new life. Love, mercy, grace, and faith are all things Paul touches on as being rooted in God’s kindness to us.

Today we will reflect on Matthew 2:13-23, A Nazarene, the story of how Jospeh took his family and fled with them to Egypt because of Herod’s murderous anger. Jesus becomes a refugee and spends time in a foreign land because it’s not safe for him in his own land. When they return to Judah after Herod’s death, they go to Nazareth in Galilee, far from the circles of power. Nazareth is a small village with nothing to distinguish it from any other village, in a province that also is not powerful or influential; an unusual place for a Messiah to come from.

Today we are completing our Advent series The Names of Jesus. We will reflect on Matthew 2:1-12 and Colossians 1:15-23, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Magi from the east came looking for the one-born King of the Jews, after reading God’s birth announcement in the night skies. Imagine their surprise when they got to Jerusalem, and no one had a clue regarding what they are talking about! When Israel’s Wisemen checked out their claims, they rediscovered that the Magi’s news fits with their own prophets’ predictions. Paul described Jesus as being higher than any king and he is also head, or king of the church .

Lessons and Carols will be held this evening at 6:30 p.m. (so young families can feel free to come as well.) We will have a brief homily on John 1:1-14 and how Jesus came to live among us.

Today we come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We will focus on Matthew 1:18-25, Immanuel. In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth, Joseph is told to give Mary’s baby the name Jesus, which means “he saves.”  Matthew goes on to remind his readers that the prophets told the people that the virgin will have a child and his name will be “Immanuel,” which means God is with us. This is a message of hope and comfort in a troubled world, a message that holds the same hope and comfort in our day!