Bethel Crc Lacombe

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service:  Come with the family as we journey From Darkness to Light in a candlelight service. We will be reflecting on Isaiah 60:1-3 where Isaiah celebrates that the Lord’s light has come, and the Lord’s glory rises upon us!

Advent is here! Today we will have a very special Children’s Service. Our children and youth will lead us in Searching For Jesus. Join us as we hear the Christmas story through the words and eyes of our children. We will continue our Advent series What Are You Waiting For? by reflecting on John 4:4-14, Waiting to be Satisfied. The Samaritan woman was searching for something but didn’t really know what until she met Jesus who offered her living water and eternal life. We too wait to fully experience the living water into eternal life that Jesus offers us. 

Advent is here! We continue our Advent series by reflecting on Isaiah 40:1-11, Waiting for Strength. Israel has been in exile for almost 70 years now. After so many years, hope is hard to hold onto, and the people are feeling weak. God comes to Isaiah and commands the prophets and leaders to comfort his people, to help them experience hope, and in this they will find strength 

Blue Christmas service. This special time of worship is for those who are finding the Christmas season difficult. Join us as we reflect on Jesus as our peace, and we light the candles to offer hope to those who are mourning and weary.

Advent is here! We will begin our series on Waiting by reflecting on Luke 12:35-40, Active Waiting. Jesus has gone home for a while, but he has promised to return, yet we don’t know exactly when that time is. Jesus tells a parable of a master going to a wedding and expecting his servants to continue running his household until he returns. This is an active waiting, engaging in the master’s work and business until returns. The master expects the servants to always be ready for that time. There are twists and turns in this parable that are unexpected and show that Jesus is the master in the parable. So how are you actively waiting for Jesus’ return? 

Welcome to Bethel! Today we will end our series on “Why Church” by reflecting on Romans 12:1-8, To Find Your Gifts and Grow Them. I love this passage because Paul emphasizes that the church is all about “we” instead of “me,” that in Jesus, we come together as one body to discover and grow our gifts so that we can be a blessing to each other. This is what worshipping God through the week looks like, it looks like serving and being a blessing because God has blessed us.

Welcome to Bethel! Today we will continue our series on “Why Church” by reflecting on Ephesians 2:11-22, To Belong and Experience God’s Spirit. We all need a place to belong, a place where we are accepted for who we are. Family in one place where we experience this, but the church is also a family where we find belonging and acceptance, at least in a healthy church. There are so many barriers in our culture that separate us from others, therefore Jesus came, to bring people together, to join people from every nation and background into one people under him, shaped by him through the gift of the Holy Spirit 

Welcome to Bethel! We will be reflecting on Genesis 12:1-3; Matthew 5:13-16, To Change the World Together. God called Abram to follow him with a promise of blessings and that Abram and his descendants would become a blessing to the nations of the world. Jesus calls us to be light and salt in the world, both impact and transform the world, adding taste and hope. They are not neutral, but active agents. We too are called to be active agents in our communities, bringing a good taste, bringing hope, bringing Jesus. 

Sunday, October 24th we will be continuing our series on “Why Church.” Some people have used the pandemic to stop coming to church, some have adapted to worshipping from home, while others have other personal reasons for not attending. So, this fall we will explore why belonging to a church and participating as a member of the local church is important for our faith, our emotional and spiritual health, and for growing in all areas of our lives. We will be reflecting on Genesis 12:1-3; Matthew 5:13-16, To Change the World Together. God called Abram to follow him with a promise of blessings and that Abram and his descendants would become a blessing to the nations of the world. Jesus calls us to be light and salt in the world, both impact and transform the world, adding taste and hope. They are not neutral, but active agents. We too are called to be active agents in our communities, bringing a good taste, bringing hope, bringing Jesus. 

Welcome to Bethel! This morning we have the pleasure of welcoming August Luymes to the pulpit and a special guest, Martin Luther!  Truly a treat on this Reformation Sunday.  August will be concentrating his message from Genesis 1-26-31 & Ephesians 5:1,2,  How is Your Nose ?

Today we will be reflecting on Joshua 3, Crossing the River. Israel is at the end of their 40 years of wandering through the wilderness and they are preparing to enter into the Promised Land.  This is so much more than simply crossing a river, this is all about a change in their identity, a change in how they will see themselves. From nomads without a home, to a nation of people with a place to call home. A place where they can have dreams and build homes, communities, and a permanent place to worship God.  We will be reflecting on growing deeper in our identity in Jesus. 

This week we are returning to our summer series focused on the many references to rivers in the Bible. Rivers and water hold deep meanings in many passages and often point us to different aspects of who God is. We are reflecting on Amos 5:18-27, Let Justice Roll on Like a River. Amos shows up at a disturbing time in Israel and Judah’s history.  The people had turned their backs on living the way God had called them to live.  They were building their own kingdoms by stepping on the weak and vulnerable. Amos arrives, calls for justice to roll on like a river and proclaimed to the people to return to God’s way of caring for and loving each other.

Today we welcome Mark Patterson as he delivers a message from Luke 12:22-34.  May our Lord bless you as we gather together this day.

Today we welcome Pastor Neil de Koning as he delivers a message from Genesis 26:1-22, Living as Aliens in a Time of Crisis.  May our Lord bless you as we gather together this day.

This week we are continuing our summer series focused on the many references to rivers in the Bible. Rivers and water hold deep meanings in many passages and often point us to different aspects of who God is. We will be reflecting on Psalm 137, Weeping by the River. This psalm was written when Israel was taken into exile by the Babylonians and then mocked by being told to sing their songs of worship. How do you sing during sad times, in difficult times? This is a hard psalm with difficult images that many of our brothers and sisters in the faith still face around the world.

This week we welcome Elder August Luymes as he brings the message from Luke 24:15, Walking with Jesus.  Walking with Jesus is not always easy but he does walk with us, he does not forsake us and he carries us when we are too weak to walk. We are blessed to have so much loving care that we can live in joy and peace knowing the love of our Father in Heaven.

Today we are beginning a summer series focused on the many references to rivers in the Bible. Rivers and water hold deep meanings in many passages and often point us to different aspects of who God is. We will begin by reflecting on Psalm 46, and River of Gladness. God’s grace and blessings flow from his sanctuary to his people, bringing peace and hope, but God is also a God who protects His people and brings peace to the land.

Today we are reflecting on Deuteronomy 4:7, Life Line. Prayer is an important part of our relationship with God, but is God always listening, can the life lines get cut off? 

Today we wrap up our series on Jars of Clay by reflecting on 1 Kings 11:1-13, Solomon: Tempted by Other Gods. Solomon is the wisest guy in the world and is still led away from worshipping God alone by his attraction to his pagan wives. Wisdom alone will not keep us close to God; it takes a strong relationship with God for that to happen. Thankfully Jesus stays in relationship with us so that we can stay in relationship with him.

Today we continue our series on Jars of Clay by reflecting on Matthew 26:69-75, Cowardly Peter. Archibald Robertson says that one of the tragedies of the cross is the bleeding heart of Peter. Judas has messed up really bad and can’t seem to accept forgiveness, is the same going to happen to Peter? Satan has sifted Judas and Peter, what is Peter made up of: wheat or chaff?