Wednesday Words for November 5, 2014
From Interim Senior Pastor Len Hoffmann
Please click below to view Bethany Weekly Newsletter
Worship 8:00, 9:00, and 10:30 am
Children’s Church, Sunday School and Adult Education at 9:00 am.
New Coffee and Get Acquainted Hour 10:00 am.
Sunday, November 9 – Youth Sunday
Special Congregational Meeting following 9:00 a.m. Worship
To act on the unanimous recommendation of the church council to extend a term call to
the Rev. Paul Cannon as
Associate Pastor for Youth and Family Ministry until December 31, 2016.
Our next Fanning the Flame event will be Thursday, November 13. Soup Supper 5:45 - 6:15 pm
Purpose and Planning Session 6:30 – 8:30 pm – Skills and Competencies
of our next Pastoral Leader
Find a new opportunity for supporting God’s Mission. Go to our website and click on “Give on Line.”
A special thanks to our choirs, musicians and Vision Dancers
for their leadership last Sunday.
Thought for the Day:
Empowered by God — Responding by Grace
“Now as you excel in everything — in faith,
in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness,
and in our love for you — so we want you to
excel also in this generous undertaking” (2 Cor. 8:7).
Next Sunday at Bethany:
On Sunday, November 16 we will be entering into our annual stewardship emphasis entitled, “Empowered by God — Responding by Grace.” During this time, we will consider how God has empowered us and how our response, by grace through faith, can be used by God, especially through the ministry here at Bethany Lutheran Church.
Just what does it mean to be empowered by God? The Lord Jesus said that his disciples would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:8). That not only happened as he said it would, but we, too, receive God’s power by grace through our faith in Christ as the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us.
As we experience God’s power through faith in Christ, our hearts respond. Our response begins with the realization that God owns everything. God is our Source. God is the Creator and Sustainer of life. God is the Provider of all that we have, whether it is life itself, the air we breathe, water which sustains us, or financial resources through which we obtain the necessities of life. On a daily basis, God demonstrates again and again his abundant power as he “richly provides us with everything” (1 Tim. 6:17).
And what should be our response to God’s provision for us? According to 2 Corinthians 8:7, we respond by “faith,” implicitly trusting God to provide all that we need. We respond by “speech,” sharing the good news of the Gospel with others. We respond by “knowledge” through the study of God’s Word. We respond in “complete earnestness,” that is, through a demonstration of the sincerity of our love for the Lord. And we respond by excelling in the “grace of giving.”
As an example of what it means to give by grace, the Apostle Paul points to the Christians at Macedonia. These were poor people — dirt poor, poor as the proverbial church mice — who were commended by Paul for giving beyond their ability to give. How could they do that? The answer is found in 2 Corinthians 8:5 — “ . . . they gave themselves first to the Lord.” Giving does not begin with the movement of the hand to the wallet, purse or pocketbook. Giving begins in the heart.
In fact, this principle goes back to God’s instruction to Moses in Exodus 25:2, “ . . . from all whose hearts prompt them to give you shall receive the offering for me.” This principle is still in operation today. As we give our time, talents and treasure to the Lord, we do so by God’s grace because we have already given our hearts to God.
“Empowered by God — Responding by Grace.” That was true of the Macedonian Christians. May it also be true of us here at Bethany.
Sunday, there will be special Youth Sunday Lessons, Message and Prayers.
We also remember our Veterans who have served our nation faithfully through war and peace!
