Bethel Crc Lacombe

Today, we will be celebrating Pentecost by reflecting on Ezekiel 37:1-14, The Holy Spirit Renews Us. Pentecost is about the coming of the Holy Spirit, but this is already foreshadowed in the Old Testament in a number of places, including Ezekiel 37. Israel is in exile, and hope is lost, and the people feel like dry bones, that life has left them. The Lord comes to Ezekiel with a promise of new life and restoration! Pentecost is about the Holy Spirit coming into the world and creating new life by empowering the people of God with spiritual life and power to go into the world, offering new life to everyone through Jesus witnesses to our communities, to repent and believe because the kingdom of God is near.

Today, we will be celebrating Ascension Day. We will reflect on Acts 1:1-11, Being Witnesses. After Jesus’ resurrection, he spent 40 days with his followers, teaching them and preparing them to continue the work he had begun. Jesus leaves them with this charge, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This is the call of the church still today, to be Jesus’ witnesses to our communities, to repent and believe because the kingdom of God is near.

Today, we will reflect on Ecclesiastes 7:1-8:1; Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:20, Wisdom is a Good Thing. These are two passages that reflect on what wisdom looks like, and yet what wisdom looks like in various circumstances can be difficult to figure out. When we live under the sun only, wisdom is often overlooked or even rejected. Wisdom is often disregarded because of who it comes from. Wisdom is a good thing, even if disregarded.

Today, we continue our series on Ecclesiastes by reflecting on Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12, Contentment. Wealth carries its own temptations, as Solomon observes. If you love wealth, you’ll find that you will always be striving for more, and living a life of thankfulness becomes almost impossible; wealth can harm you through worry, stress, and hurt relationships and trust in others; wealth can be lost. Solomon reminds us over and over again what a blessing it is to enjoy God’s daily blessings and to be happy in their toil 

Today, we re-enter our series on Ecclesiastes by reflecting on Ecclesiastes 3:1-22, A Time for Everything. This is a well-known passage, yet there is more to this passage than many of us realize. Solomon is looking at life under the sun, where everything is always changing. There is little permanence in our lives; everything we build will one day fall, we are born, but we also die. This leads us to a place where the only permanence we can count on is God; wisdom calls then to live well under the sun, looking to live under God with an eye on eternity, holding things lightly, living with a spirit of gratitude for the gifts God gives us, for we will be held accountable for how we live.

Today, we will reflect on Ecclesiastes 4:1-16, A Cord of Three Strands. Solomon is seeing the pain and brokenness in the world, but he’s also seeing how many people walk alone in the world and reflects on the value of companionship, that two are better than one, that a cord of three strands is not easily broken. We are not called to walk alone; we were created in the image of God, created for companionship and community.

Today, we continue our series on Ecclesiastes by reflecting on Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Careful Words. In this passage, Solomon is warning us about the power of our words and how we speak to and about God. God is in heaven, he is the creator of the universe, and we are his creations, valuable, precious creations, created in God’s image, and we are called to humbleness and respect for God.

Today, we will be reflecting on Leviticus 18, Intimate Holiness. God reminds Israel of the actions God took when God liberated God’s people from Egypt, and then God uses that as the reason for calling God’s people to holiness. So, when a holy and majestic God acts to redeem us, we will not live recklessly or indifferently before that God. Instead, we surrender ourselves to the one who redeemed us. This includes obeying God in the most intimate areas of our lives.

This week is Good Friday. We will be hosting our Good Friday service at 7:00 p.m. and will be reflecting on Leviticus 23:26-32, The Greatest, Most Dreadful Day. This passage is on the Day of Atonement, a reminder that the daily and weekly sacrifices for sin were not enough to atone for the people’s sins; the sacrifices were a temporary measure that God gave the people to enable them to come close to him. The Day of Atonement points directly to Jesus’ sacrifice of his life for our sin as the one who is fully God, so that he could bear the weight and horror of our sin, and fully human, so he could take our place.

Today is Easter Sunday! We will be reflecting on Leviticus 25:8-22, New Life! Jesus is risen and brings new life and hope into the world as death is defeated, sins are forgiven, and our relationship with God is healed. We will be reflecting on the Year of Jubilee, a year where people who are slaves are set free, people who have lost their land have it returned, and all debts are forgiven. The Year of Jubilee is a year of new starts and restoration, pointing ahead to the return of Jesus and the restoration and renewal of all creation that he will bring 

Today, we will be reflecting on Leviticus 17:1-16, Power in the Blood. As you read through the Bible and are introduced to the sacrificial system of Israel, you begin to see how blood represents life. In the sacrifices, we see how the sacrifices point to the seriousness of our sin and that the cost of our sin is life through the shedding of the blood of the animals. The original punishment for sin in Genesis is death; the cost for sin is life. Over time, people began to believe that our life force was found in the blood of creatures, and so rituals were designed to take that life for themselves. So, God gives his people laws to prevent the unnecessary shedding of blood, revealing how God honours all life and that all life belongs to God, not to us. When the proper time came, God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sin through the shedding of his own blood on our behalf so that we are washed clean from our sin and made holy in the eyes of God .

Today, we will be reflecting on Leviticus 13:1–8, Mold, Mildew, Sores, and Infectious Diseases. God communicates our need for holiness in all areas of life by giving rules for the transmission and elimination of unclean matter. This pointed God’s people to a greater spiritual reality: Living in God’s presence requires holiness in all of life, and ultimately God provides holiness for us.

Today, we are celebrating GEMS Sunday. The GEMS theme this year comes from Deuteronomy 7:6-10, Walk on Water. Girls everywhere are battling the storm of life and are tossed and turned by waves of lies, doubt, and fear. Many girls are simply treading water, looking to culture, social media, or peers to determine their identity and define truth. In Deuteronomy 7:6-10, we discover God’s faithful character and learn that God is always with us. God invites ordinary people to step out in faith to be part of his awesome plan 

Today, we will be reflecting on Leviticus 8:1-13, The Go-Between. Aaron and his sons are chosen to become priests for Israel. Priests in Israel offered sacrifices on behalf of the people, and after the Tabernacle was built, the priests were the ones who were able to enter the Holy of Holies to offer the sacrifices of atonement for the people. They acted as mediators, as go-betweens between the people and God. To be able to do so, Aaron and his sons needed to be washed with water, as a symbol of cleanliness and purity from filth and sin; they also needed to be anointed as a sign that they were set apart for this task. The priest pointed ahead to Jesus, who became our high priest and perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Today, we will continue our series on Ecclesiastes by reflecting on Ecclesiastes 2:17-26, Work is Meaningless. For so many people, their identity is wrapped up in what they do to earn a living and put food on their table and a roof over their head. Unfortunately, we then equate our value by what we’re able to accomplish rather than in who we belong to. We will take a look at how work is a good thing, but not an ultimate thing.

Today, we are beginning our Lenten series Holy God, Holy Lives as the 40-day Lenten period in the church year begins this Wednesday, a time of reflection as we journey to the cross on Good Friday and Jesus’ resurrection on Easter. We will begin by reflecting on Leviticus 1:1-9, When God Moves In. Leviticus is all about our holy God calling for his people to be holy as he is. It’s a book of sacrifices pointing to Jesus, and a book that reveals through laws and images, how serious our sin is and how great God’s grace is. We will begin by looking at a sacrifice of atonement.

Today, we return to our series on Ecclesiastes by reflecting on Ecclesiastes 2:1-11, Pleasure is Meaningless. Our “under the sun” understanding and experience of pleasure is so often “me” focused instead of cultivating pleasure in God. We are a culture lost in meaningless pleasure, filling our minds and souls with vapid meaninglessness; this can cause us to miss meaningful God-moments and encounters.

Today is Cadet Sunday, and we will be reflecting on 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, Stand Firm. We will reflect on being on our guard, standing firm, being courageous, being strong, and doing everything in love. The Cadets and their counselors will be leading us in the worship service.

Today, we are beginning a series on the book of Ecclesiastes, a book found in the Wisdom section of the Bible. The word “hevel,” often translated as “meaningless,” is found 38 times in this book, making it an often-misunderstood book of the Bible. Over the next few months, we will explore what “hevel” is and where the author is looking to guide us in search of wisdom.

Today, we will have Pastor Chad Vandervalk leading us in worship. We will be reflecting on Genesis 1:26-31; Jeremiah 29:1-14, Life and Work in a Broken World. God’s original call for humanity to cultivate and extend the goodness of creation still stands today. Though sin brought brokenness, God has promised renewal, which has been initiated through Jesus and will be completed at the final restoration. In the meantime, God calls His people to live as witnesses to that coming renewal by seeking the prosperity and shalom of the places they inhabit, spreading wholeness and goodness through all they do.