Bethel Crc Lacombe

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.

Today is New Years Day. We will be reflecting on Luke 6:37-42, Noticing God in the New Year. As we enter into a new year, we will reflect on what to keep our eyes on as we journey through the 365 days ahead. We can choose to keep our eyes on each other; unfortunately, this often leads to a lot of comparison and judging of others. This year, let’s make a commitment instead to keep our eyes on God’s presence in all the small things of life and to respond to him with a spirit of gratitude, humbleness, and joyful awe.  

Today, we will reflect on Jeremiah 29:1-14, a Christmas Letter? With Christmas behind us and a New Year in its infancy, we are reminded that God desires for us to include Him in every part of our lives over the course of the next 365 days.  He will walk with us through the simple and the challenging moments this next year holds.

Today, we are celebrating Friendship Sunday! We will be reflecting on their theme of Spiritual Gifts by looking at 1 Peter 4:7-11, Spiritual Gifts for Serving Others. Peter is writing about the last times and Jesus’ return and encouraging the people to be alert and of sober mind so they can pray. Then Peter moves into speaking about the importance of love and using whatever gift they have to serve others. When we grow a servant’s heart, we become more like Jesus, and God is praised!

Today is Christmas Day! We will be reflecting on Isaiah 61, Psalm 98, Luke 2:1-20, The Promised Seed. If Christ’s birth was ordinary, there wouldn't be angels announcing it. If Christmas was all about a cute baby, then the shepherds wouldn’t have left the field, nor the magi their home. “Do not be afraid,” we read in Luke 2, “for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” The point isn’t that a baby is born, but that the long-awaited Messiah is born. God “has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness.” But before we get too excited, this same Psalm warns, “he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Christmas is a time of wonder and awe, but also a time to reflect on our relationship with God. 

Today we wrap up our theme of GROUNDED AND GROWING, by reflecting on John 4:27-38, The Fields Are Ripe for Harvest. Our passage this morning is part of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Through advent, we’ve reflected in the images of growth, and now Jesus is reminding his disciples that the fields, the world, is ripe for a harvest of souls, the good news has come, the Messiah has arrived, and salvation is at hand. We have the gospel, the good news, and it’s meant for the world! Are you ready for the harvest, are you ready to reap the harvest for our Lord? 

Today we will reflect on Isaiah 37:26-32; Psalm 36:5-12; Matthew 1, The Loving Gardener. For plants to truly flourish and for there to be an abundant harvest, the gardener or farmer needs to carefully tend to them. Whether it’s a few plants on a patio, a back yard vegetable garden, or acres of corn, for plants to thrive, someone needs to care about their health: make sure the conditions are right and that there aren’t weeds competing with them for nutrients and water. In scripture, God is the loving gardener. It is God who carefully watches and tends our souls to make sure the harvest is plentiful, and scripture shows that God has been doing this for generations: “Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above” (Isaiah 37:31 ).

Today we will reflect on Isaiah 27:1-6; Psalm 85; Matthew 3:1-12, From Repentance to Growth. Our world is full of prickly weeds—full of sin. We are all sinners, whether we want to admit it or not. While this is an uncomfortable truth, we need to sit in that reality. We need to take off our rose- colored glasses and truly look at the world and look at ourselves. This is where the Advent journey takes us. It is a journey among dangerous dragons, prickly weeds, and a warning from John the Baptist that judgement is coming. We need to understand our need for a Savior before we celebrate Christ’s first coming and eagerly anticipate Christ’s second. When we are able to be real about our sin, we are able to better appreciate what Jesus experienced on our behalf so that we might experience God’s forgiveness and grace.