Bethel Mennonite Church

There is a finish line ahead, and not everyone who starts the race runs all the way to it. Gideon started well but stumbled. Solomon began with great devotion and drifted into idolatry. Demas walked with Paul and then quietly turned back, having loved this present world more than the world to come. These are sobering reminders, but they are not meant to discourage us. They are meant to make us wise. The race asks us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and to keep eternity in view. Heaven is more beautiful than anything we have imagined, and the suffering of this present life is not even worthy to be compared with the glory that is coming. Finishing well also means staying connected to the vine. Jesus himself, fully God and fully man, went off alone to pray to the Father again and again. If he needed that connection, we certainly do. We are to abide in Christ, welcome his discipline when we stray, and run the race together in close brotherhood. We are called to look out for one another, to lift up the drooping hands and strengthen the feeble knees, and to reach toward those who are struggling before it is too late. Now is the time to make straight paths. Now is the time to run, and to run all the way to the end. The post Are You Running to Finish? appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

We are not meant to run this race alone, and we were never designed to. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and Psalm 23 shows us everything we gain when we follow him closely: rest, guidance, restoration, courage in the darkest valleys, and the overflow of his Spirit. When trouble comes, the call is simple and urgent: do not try to fix yourself first. Run to the Shepherd right away, just as you are, and let him lead you back to the path of righteousness. But running with Jesus also means running with others. To be alone is not simply to be by yourself. It is to be unknown, and we can be surrounded by people and still be completely unknown to them. God did not design us to run as islands. He placed us in the body of Christ so that we would be truly known, confess our struggles, and carry one another. Discipleship is not optional and neither is vulnerability. Pride and fear will tell us to hide, but God gives grace to the humble. So we humble ourselves, open up to trusted brothers and sisters, and run the race together with Jesus as our shepherd leading the way. The post Are You Running with Jesus appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

Running hard is not just for the gifted or the strong. It is for all of us, and we are running a race where every one of us can win. The great enemy of running hard is not failure but apathy, that slow drift where we stop caring, stop feeding on what is good, and eventually become content with going through the motions. What we feed on today becomes our hunger tomorrow. If we fill our eyes and ears with the noise of the world, our hearts will follow. But if we feed on God’s word and dwell on what is true and good and lovely, a passion for the things of God will grow in us naturally, the way a seed becomes something far greater than itself. Running hard also means staying alert to the danger of lukewarmness, that comfortable middle place where we are not fully cold but not truly burning either. We are to be moved by compassion, grateful for what God has done, and intentional in how we train. The choices we make now are not small. They shape the runners we will become. Like the path that seemed easy at first but leads somewhere unexpected, half-heartedness creeps in quietly. So we fix our diet, guard our hearts, rejoice in the Lord, and press on. There are no civilians in this race. The post Are You Running Hard appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

There is a weight we were never meant to carry into the race. Hebrews 12 calls us to lay aside both sin and every burden that slows us down, and there is a difference between the two. Sin must be confessed and put to death, not managed or hidden. Walking in the light, with openness before God and honesty before our brothers and sisters, is the path to freedom. The blood of Christ cleanses us as we walk that way, not all at once, but continually, like a stream that never stops running. Weights are trickier, because they are not always wrong in themselves. They are simply things that fill our hands when God means for them to be open. Digital noise, endless recreation, the pull of bare minimum Christianity, all of these can rob us of the time and energy we need to grow. When we lay them down, we are not losing something good. We are making room for something better, for the spiritual disciplines, for the fruits of the Spirit, for love of God and neighbor. The race is not meant to be run heavy. It is meant to be run free. The post Are You Running with Christ appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

There is a race set before us, and each of us must run it. Like a trail through the woods, it has a clear starting point, marked boundaries, and a finish line we cannot see from where we stand. The great danger is not that we mean to go the wrong way, but that we drift off course without ever noticing. Good intentions, we are reminded, are like a rocking chair: they feel like movement but take us nowhere. Direction, not intention, determines destination. One small degree off course today becomes a vast distance from where we hoped to be tomorrow. We are, at heart, like sheep, prone to wandering and too easily pulled along by the paths others are walking. But there is hope, because we have a Shepherd, and he is the best one we could ever ask for. To run straight, we must add real direction to our good intentions, pay close attention to where our daily choices are leading, and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, and he will direct your paths. Let us run, and let us run straight. The post Are You Running Straight appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

The cross is a reality for both Jesus and us. The seven sayings of Jesus on the cross teach us the meaning of the cross. “Father forgive them” speaks of the peace God offers those who trust Jesus. “Today you will be with me” speaks of assurance. “Care for my mother” speaks of concern for others. “Why have you forsaken me” speaks of the darkness Jesus felt during his deepest suffering. “I thirst” speaks of the suffering of Jesus that offers us the water of life. “It is finished” speaks of a work completed. “Into your hands I commend my spirit” speaks of surrender and trust. The path to life passes through death. The path to victorious living is suffering with Jesus, dying with Jesus to sin. This is the believer’s cross. The believer’s cross is experiential. No one can crucify himself, but we can repent and God does the work. Our daily cross is to do the Father’s will. Only as we die with Christ can we produce fruit. The post The Reality of the Cross appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

We are living in perilous times. The apostle Paul warns Timothy that the last days bring people who look godly on the outside but are rotten on the inside. They say the right things, lift their hands, and quote scripture, but they deny the power of the Holy Spirit. These are not strangers. They creep into our communities and our homes. We must learn to recognize them and turn away. Not everything around us is false, though. We have been given true examples to follow. The evidence is in the lives of faithful people who have suffered, endured, and kept going anyway. Scars are not lies. When we look at those who have gone before us and see that God delivered them through hard times, not around them, we find reason to trust the same road ourselves. Continuing is not a flashy calling. It is not the kind of word that fits on a banner or gets people excited. And yet it is the very thing Paul urges us to do. We grow weary sometimes. We wonder if the gospel is working. We hear voices telling us we are on the wrong path. But the challenge is simply this: keep going in what we have learned and been assured of. There is a great sadness in those who are still searching. The imposters, the deceivers, the ones chasing something they cannot name, they will not find it outside of Jesus. They are caught in a long, tired loop of wanting and disappointment. God desires better for them. He desires that all people come to the knowledge of the truth. So we press on together. God is a deliverer, and his power is given to those who say yes to his Spirit. We encourage one another to continue, because none of us should be left to assume the others are fine on their own. Like travelers on a long road through a dark wood, we are each other’s company and each other’s strength, until we are presented faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. The post 2 Timothy 3 – Perilous Times appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

The believer has a calling to walk worthily that is rooted in the provisions of God, not in human resources and effort. The grand and glorious Gospel message is that the believer is chosen, predestined, adopted, accepted “in Christ the Beloved” and redeemed/forgiven, and this chosen and redeemed person is participating in the grand mystery of all things in heaven and earth being gathered together in Christ coming into the fullness of its created, intended purpose (1:1-23). We walk worthily when we walk in unity and love in the church. Unity and love require humility, meekness, patience, forbearing with one another in love, living together in the oneness and power of the Holy Spirit, exercising gifts of the Spirit, speaking truth in love. We walk worthily when we walk in holiness (4:17-5:21). The old man is the old way of living and behaving. The new man is the new behavior produced by the mind renewed by the Spirit. The new man does not grieve the Holy Spirit, walks in the light, and is filled with the Spirit. Summary: Change from old man behavior to new man behavior requires vision, intention, and means. Vision: This means that I develop an internal vision of what my life could be if I was indeed different. This is a vision of who I could be if I was consumed by and fully engaged in a Kingdom of God life. This is the vision that I was created to be fully alive with the life of Christ, fully free to be fully alive and engaged in life-giving activities. Intention: To intend is to decide. You cannot change if you do not decide to change. The intention to change has to be greater than the intention to stay the same. And if we intend to, we decide to. This is not about what we will or should do; this is about what we decide to do. Means: The means is the actions that provide a framework for the new habits to grow. The post Walking Worthily appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

Christ is a gift-giver. Each believer is gifted, and each gift and gifted person is for a purpose. Rather than judge one another's gifts, we are called to love and respect other people and their gifts. The purpose of gifts is the growth of God's Kingdom. Since people exercise the same gifts in different ways, exercise of gifts can be the source of much friction. Love is the answer to friction. The post Gifting for a Purpose appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

This sermon is taken from Ephesians. The first three chapters tell us the divine blessings that make the worthy walk described in the last three chapters possible. The believer is chosen, predestined, adopted, accepted in the Beloved, redeemed and forgiven by the shed blood of Christ, participants in the final gathering together of all things in Christ (both Jew and Gentile and heaven and earth), and all of this is experienced “in Christ,” in the heavenlies. The person who has experienced these blessings “in Christ” is equipped to live a worthy walk. Eph. 4 calls the believer to walk in unity, in holiness, in love, and in hope and courage. We walk in unity as we walk in humility, meekness, patience, and forbearance in love. These are the attitudes that make a worthy walk possible. The post Walk Worthy of Your Calling appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

Jesus had a reason for instructing his followers to celebrate the Lord's Supper. We know there is something special about this service and that Jesus is present to minister to us in a special way, but exactly how Christ is present is a mystery. We may not fully understand the mystery, but we know that we are in need of something that Jesus offers us in Communion, grace and mercy, the Christ who came and the Christ who is coming again. Psalm 22 describes David's deep distress and suffering and foretells the suffering of Christ. The Psalm is the cry of a heart that is feeling lost and abandoned. And this is how both David and Jesus felt, but the heavenly Father had abandoned neither of them. The Father is not far away even though we feel alone. We need to see that while this Psalm begins with a lament – a picture of a suffering Savior – it ends with a song of victory Jesus came to gain victory over his enemies. His death and resurrection delivers people from captivity to sin, the devil, and death. Christ is risen from the dead and He is able to bring to us the victory he won on the cross and in his resurrection. Christ suffered greatly for us. We will suffer too. But we are also alive in the midst of suffering because Christ is risen from the dead. In the Lord's Supper we celebrate the life Christ's death and resurrection brings to us. The best of Jesus met the worst of humanity and Jesus was the victor. He was surrounded by men acting like animals, He experienced terrible suffering, and in the end, He won the victory. As we take these emblems this morning, let us remember not only Jesus' suffering and death, but the reasons for it and the resurrection that followed, for there we can find victory. The post The Table of Victory appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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Two of the most important questions facing people of Jesus’ day and today are, “Who is Jesus?” and “What does He want me to do?” John records seven “I am” statements used by Jesus to reveal who He is. John 6 records a sign (the feeding of the 5,000), a sermon (in which He states, “I am the bread of life”), and then shows how this teaching was a stumbling stone to many of Jesus’ followers. The many parallels between the feeding of the 5,000 and the manna in the wilderness seem intended to show that Jesus is the source of abundant life in the wilderness of this earthly life. Jesus calls us to feed on Him by coming to Him in faith, believing that He is able to satisfy our hunger and emptiness. A community of believers who are living by Jesus’ words of life can be a place of abundance even as all of creation longs for the promised land of the new heaven and new earth. The post A Sign, A Sermon, A Stumbling Stone appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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Genesis 50 looks back and ahead. A major focus is leaving a legacy. At the end of his life, Joseph was satisfied. He had lived his life in such a way that he had no regrets. It hadn’t been easy and he had suffered much along the way, but he had lived well, and he was satisfied with his life. After the lengthy period of mourning for Jacob, Joseph’s siblings were afraid Joseph would retaliate against them for their sins against him. They had never asked for forgiveness, so maybe they still felt guilty. But in all of this Joseph maintained a Godly attitude. He had not forgotten, but he had forgiven. At the end of his life, Joseph requested that his bones be taken to the promised land. He knew that Egypt was just a temporary home and the land of Canaan was where they belonged. Joseph is known for loving and being loved by his father. He is known for his thirteen years of much suffering from the time of being put into the pit until he became ruler of Egypt. He is known for his capacity to forgive. He is known for having no sin recorded against him. We can live a good legacy by living well. Living well requires living intentionally rather than in reaction; telling stories that communicate the truth of our lives and God’s work; being a Godly example for people to follow; building relationships; apologizing when we are wrong; focusing on things of eternal value; finishing well. The post Wrapping Things Up appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 The Holy Spirit is given. The gospel transcends all cultures. Jesus equips his church by giving the church the necessary gifts: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers. Jesus is looking for a pure bride so the Holy Spirit exposes sin in the church. Jesus gives the church the power to persevere. The gospel will not be stopped. The post I Will Build my Church appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

Psalm 68 – God shares His victory and strength with His people. Ephesians 4:7-13 – Jesus shares His victory with the church, and gives it grace and gifts to equip the saints. II Timothy 2:1-7 – We need to lean on Jesus for the strength to be steadfast. Steadfastness looks like: enduring hardship, staying unentangled, remaining obedient to the Gospel, and working faithfully in hope of harvest. When we’re feeling weak, we should continue to wait on Jesus for strength. We should also be willing to share our struggles with people in the church; not all of the grace we need comes directly from Jesus to us. The post The Strength to be Steadfast appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

Jacob’s deathbed prophecies are recorded in Genesis 48-49. The Jews believed deathbed blessings had special powers. These prophecies were prophetic in their own way but didn’t change the future. First Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons, after which he blessed his own sons. The applications of the story of Jacob’s deathbed prophecies are: Nothing that happens to us is surprising to God. He gives us choices but knows what we will choose. Many prophecies are dependent on our choices. It might be easy for us to be fatalistic about God knowing the future, as if nothing we do will change the future, but our lives are affected by our choices. It is just that God stands outside of time and knows all that was and is and will be. Things we do affect our children and others, but that doesn’t mean our future is determined by our parents’ past. There is redemption for past failures. Redemption follows true repentance, which includes change. We should never trade liberty for comfort. Our choices and lives matter. We should live thoughtfully and wisely. The post Deathbed Prophecies appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

Scripture presents a view of salvation (a soteriological vision) that provides a vision for personal and community life at Bethel. This is the view that Jesus Christ shed His blood unto death so that both Jews and Gentiles can be forgiven of their sins, that by trusting Christ as Savior and Lord a person's faith […] The post The Implications of the Gospel for Bethel appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

II Timothy 1 – are we living our lives according to the promise of life in Jesus? Paul's Situation: Imprisoned, anticipating death, abandoned by some, yet unwavering in faith. Timothy's Situation: Ministry challenges, fears, and discouragement; receives Paul's letter of encouragement and challenge. Paul's Greeting: God called Paul to the ministry because of the promise […] The post Living According to the Promise of Life appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

Often people believe that the reason they can't achieve their goals is that circumstances conspire against them. But the more likely reason might be a failure to count the cost and do the hard work necessary to achieve the goal. Grace is free, but that doesn't remove the need for human effort. One reason people […] The post Achieving Our Goals appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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A covenant is more than a contract. Contracts are about “I.” Covenants are about “we.” Covenants are moral commitments sustained by loyalty and fidelity. The Old Covenant included endless sacrifices that looked forward to the New Covenant and the final sacrifice of Jesus Christ. At communion we look back at Christ's suffering and sacrifice and […] The post The New Covenant appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

Are we truly seeking first the kingdom of God, or are we caught up with the world's desire for more security financially? Are we able to sleep, or do we worry about the future? Are we laying up treasure in heaven or earth? What if Jesus meant every word that he said? The post What Gets You Up in the Morning and/or Keeps You Up At Night appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

According to Scripture, whoever believes in Christ has eternal life and will not perish, and the person who does not believe in the Son of God is condemned and under God's judgment (John 3:15, 18, 36). Becoming a believer starts with the realization that I have sinned and need a Savior. Becoming a believer in […] The post Becoming a Believer in Christ appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

If God is all-powerful and all-loving, why does he let people suffer and die? When he lived on the earth, he calmed the ocean and raised the dead. If he is present with us now, why doesn't he do the same things he did back then? Why does it seem that he is sleeping? Joseph […] The post The Problem of Pain appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

I believe Christ's mission or commission to the disciples in Matthew 28:18-20 includes His intention that His disciples disciple one another. Christ says go and make disciples who learn to do whatever Christ wants them to do. Learning to do what Jesus wants us to do is not an easy task. Several hindrances come readily […] The post Making Disciples of Fellow Believers appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

The return of Joseph's brothers to Egypt to buy more food represents not simply a physical return but a time of repentance. It is obvious that Judah has learned something life-changing since that fateful day when Joseph was sold into Egypt. Now in these circumstances Joseph is threatening to keep Benjamin in Egypt and send […] The post Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

This sermon is to encourage Dads to do well and to encourage children to have good relationships with their parents. Proverbs 17:6 shows us three generations, grandparents, parents and grandchildren, a picture of what God would like to see in families. Even in the beginning of time we see broken relationships between fathers and sons; […] The post Parent Child Relationships appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

Just as academic tests reveal hidden facts about our knowledge, tests of the heart reveal the often-hidden state of our heart – whether we love God with all our heart. Three kings gave three tests of the heart. David was faced with conflicting accounts about Mephibosheth, but when he gave half of Mephibosheth's land to […] The post The Test of the Heart appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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The title for this sermon is taken from Christ's response to John the Baptist's disciples who followed Jesus. Jesus asked them, “What do you seek?” and they asked, “Where are you staying?” and they followed Jesus and stayed with him the rest of the day. In these three accounts of Jesus' encounters with people (Nicodemus, […] The post What Do You Seek appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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The question is, how does the faith counted for righteousness relate to the fruit of faith? For 500 years, Mennonites have connected faith and its fruit in a way that makes the fruit of faith the foundation of faith, and for 500 years, Protestants have separated faith and its fruit in a way that makes […] The post Championing a Faith that Works Without Losing One's Faith appeared first on 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 […] The post A Proverbs 3 Challenge appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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 […] The post A Message for Fathers appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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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 […] The post Championing a Faith That Works appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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 […] The post Joseph's Brothers Come to Egypt appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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 […] The post Experiencing the Meaning of Baptism appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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 […] The post Finish Well appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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 […] The post Relationships – Do They Matter? appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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 […] The post The Impact & Meaning of the Resurrection appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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 […] The post Greater Love appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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 […] The post The Shepherds Call appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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 […] The post Joseph Gets Out of Prison appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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. […] The post Religious Affiliation appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.

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 […] The post Citizenship appeared first on Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA.