Bethel Baptist Church

Greetings

Today is Ash Wednesday. You may see people walking around with a black smudge on their forehead. For those of us in a non-liturgical tradition this may seem strange. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, a time of preparation for Easter. It occurs 46 days before Easter. It reminds us of the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. The ashes used are made from burning the palms from last Palm Sunday. This is to be a time of reflection and, for some, sacrifice. Many people will "give up something for Lent" as a symbol of their commitment to God. Although we don't celebrate Ash Wednesday, it is a good reminder that we too need to begin to prepare our hearts for Easter. Easter this year is April 8.

As we prepare for Easter we are working our way through the Gospel of John on Sundays. I would encourage you to read through the gospel and fill in the empty spaces that always occur between sermon texts.

Pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training this past weekend. The rest of the team will be arriving soon. Baseball is again on the horizon. At this point everyone has a shot at the pennant. When it comes to baseball, hope springs eternal!

I was just informed that we could get some significant snow tonight. Although it has felt like spring for a while, winter is not yet over.

May God richly bless you today.

Pastor Dave

Check out my blog at daves-randomramblings.blogspot.com. 

Greetings

Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV)
⁷ "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
⁸ For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
⁹ "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Greetings in the name of Christ

Something that many people struggle with is the idea that if people really knew them they would not like them. Because we are afraid to be vulnerable we hide behind a facade of having it all together. Today I was struck by the reality that God knows all there is to know about me and He still loves and accepts me. Psalm 139 tells us that there is nothing hidden from God's sight.

Psalm 139:1-4 (NIV)
O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

The good news is that God still loves us. Romans 8:1 says, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That is wonderful news. Although we should do everything we can to live lives worthy of Christ, we can stop trying to impress him. He knows all there is to know about us and he still loves us.

Fun Fact: Holland is the lowest country in the world. 1/3 of the nation is below sea level. If that little Dutch boy ever takes his finger out of the hole in the dike they are in BIG trouble.

Reminder #1: A scholarship fund is being established in Jim Moore's name. There are framed photos that Jim took in the Ravine Room that are for sale. The proceeds from these will help to fund the scholarship. Please take the time to stop in the Ravine Room and check them out.

Reminder #2: Our annual meeting is this Sunday, Jan. 29 at 6:00PM. We encourage everyone to come.

God uses a variety of ways to speak to us. Recently I came across a book titled "Five Minutes on Mondays". It was written by a Jewish Rabbi who also works for a real estate firm in New York City. His boss asked him to start their Monday staff meetings with a "devotional". He offers a spiritual perspective on the world of business. Although it is not Christian I think God's fingerprints are on it.

Enjoy the January thaw. The cold returns tomorrow.

Blessings

Pastor Dave  

Greetings

Winter has finally arrived in Mankato.

Here are a few fun facts that I discovered the other day. Did you know...
- At 840 acres Central Park in New York City is larger than the Principality of Monaco.
- If Manhattan had the same population density as Alaska only 17 people would live there.
- 28% of Africa is wilderness, 38% of North America is wilderness.
- Canada has 2 million lakes, more than the rest of the world combined.
- There are more Irish living in New York City than in Dublin Ireland.

I have been thinking  a lot recently about how important it is to develop the significant relationships that we have in our lives. We only a short time to really share life with one another. When the time clock of our life runs out that opportunity is gone.

Our small group is studying prayer. Prayer can be a struggle for us. At times it is hard to believe that prayer makes a difference in life. Yet we are instructed over and over again in scripture to pray. Whatever else prayer does, it centers our lives on God, and that is not a bad place to be.

Psalm 34:4-8 (NIV)
I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Our Saturday prayer group will be meeting this week in the prayer room. Everyone is welcome to join us.

May you find joy in the new fallen snow today, and in the Creator who designed it in the first place.

Pastor Dave 

Merry Christmas

The clock is ticking. It are only about 81 hours until Christmas officially arrives.

Today marks a significant change in the year. Today and tomorrow are the shortest days of the year. Actually the Winter Solstice arrives at 12:30AM Thursday morning officially ushering in Winter. We can say for sure that after Thursday our days will start getting longer.

If you don't have enough to fill your holiday calendar let me suggest you check out these additions.
Dec. 21 is Forefathers' Day, National Humbug Day, National Flashlight Day and Look on the Brighter Side Day. (It is also the last day of classes for school children in Mankato).
Dec. 22 is National Date Nut Bread day
Dec. 23 is Festivus Day (First celebrated in 1997 as a direct result of the Seinfeld Show, for all the people who don't celebrate other holidays).
Dec. 24 is National Chocolate Day and National Egg Nog Day.

One of the greatest gifts at this time of the year is joy. It can be found in many places but it cannot be captured or commercialized. As C.S. Lewis reminds us, joy is illusive. When you seek joy you cannot find it, but it shows up often when you are not looking for it. Joy is a byproduct of generosity, love and faith. Joy was one of the first gifts given at Christmas. The angel announced to the shepherds that he was bringing good news of great joy! My prayer for you is that you will be surprised by joy in a thousand different ways this Christmas season.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her King!

Join us at 5:00 PM on Christmas Eve and share the joy of this season.

Let me leave you with the ancient Aaronic blessing.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you peace. Amen

Christmas blessings

Pastor Dave 

Greetings

It looks like we are going to have a brown Christmas this year. For a brief moment there was hope, but the rains washed that away. Historically we have a brown Christmas about 25% of the time. Our last brown Christmas was 2006. Last year on Christmas day there was 19" of snow at MSP airport.

The word for today is "incarnate": to give bodily form or substance to.

This Christmas season I have been contemplating John 1:14. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. The reality that God chose to take up residence in our world as a baby is amazing.

Christmas is a time for traditions. In our often anti-traditional world Christmas almost demands that we perpetuate the old traditions. In fact people expect them and are disappointed if they don't happen. One of the traditions we have established at Bethel is giving away Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve to people who have to work that night. We will be doing that again this year, but we need your help. If you can provide some Christmas cookies please contact the church office and let us know.

A fun Christmas fact. It was Martin Luther who began the tradition of decorating a tree with candles for Christmas. I'm sure the Fire Marshal was very happy with him.

Take the time to enjoy this season. There is nothing else quite like it.

May God richly bless you today.

Pastor Dave 

Greetings

It happened on this date 70 years ago. At 7:55 AM on a quiet Sunday morning 353 Japanese war planes attacked our naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Almost 2,400 American servicemen lost their lives. About 2,700 survivors from that fateful day are still with us today. About 100 of them gathered this morning at Pearl Harbor to remember. Let us not forget.

We build on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. The Church began with 120 people willing to take a stand. Over the years they have been joined by countless thousands more. Together we have grown and matured and changed our world, a little at a time. It is easy to live in the moment; to view life from the narrow perspective of today. But let us not forget that we are here because others blazed the trail before us.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Pastor Dave 

Greetings in the name of Christ

December is upon us. It is a time of joy and celebration as we anticipate Christmas and the birth of Jesus into our world. As you make your way through this month you may want to keep a couple of special days in mind.
Dec. 4 National Cookie Day, Dec. 15 Cat Herders Day, Dec. 16 Chocolate Covered Anything Day

This time of the year always makes me feel reflective. I think about past Christmas seasons; the memories I have of growing up and of watching my own children grow up. Last Friday we went to Little's Tree Farm to cut our Christmas tree. It is a family tradition to do this on the day after Thanksgiving. We have cut a Christmas tree at Little's every year for the past 23 years. We were sad to learn that this is the last year for Little's. We decorated our tree last night. We always do it with Christmas music and eggnog. There were only three of us this year hanging ornaments on the tree. Things are changing.

As a pastor, Christmas is always a challenge. The Christmas story is so familiar to most people that we don't really think about just how significant that first Christmas was. It is my challenge to present the story in such a way as to get us all to "see it again for the first time." The scripture that always stands out to me every Christmas is John 1.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-2, 14 (NIV)

Elizabeth and I set up our backyard ice rink the other night. That almost guarantees we will have snow. Once the ice is hard you are welcome to try out your skills. We have skates so that's not a problem.

Remember that we will have a Christmas Eve service at 5:00PM and only one worship service at 11:00 AM on Christmas Day.

May you fully experience the amazing joy of this season.
Emmanuel: God is with us!

Pastor Dave 

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ

Time has gotten away from me and I have not blessed your inbox with a random rambling for some time.

This month we focus on Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent as we look forward to Christmas. This month also holds some other interesting observances.
The month of November is Peanut Butter Lovers' Month. Nov. 14 was American Teddy Bear Day. Nov. 19 was World Toilet Day. (That is not as gross as it may sound. It is an effort to raise awareness of the need for proper sanitation around the world. Thousands of children die every year because of the lake of proper sanitation.) Nov. 25 is Flossing Day. That is very appropriate as it comes the day after Thanksgiving. Nov. 26 is Celebrate Jonathan and Abby Banfield's Wedding Day. This one hasn't gone national yet but we are working on it. (Open house at Bethel from 3-6PM Nov. 26)

Thanksgiving often gets slighted, as holidays go. This year all of the focus is on Black Friday, which in some stores actually begins on Thanksgiving day. Many people don't know what to do with Thanksgiving because they don't feel all that thankful. So they settle for overeating and watching football. As followers of Christ, Thanksgiving  is a reminder of all that Christ has done for us. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Paul reminds us that being thankful is part of God's will for our lives. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. I want to encourage you this Thanksgiving to take time both privately and corporately to give thanks to God for all He has done for you.

On a personal note, I ran the Mankato 1/2 Marathon again this year. The conditions were excellent. God was good and allowed me to beat my goal. I set a goal to finish in under 2:10 and I crossed the finish line at 2:01:56. I give thanks to God for the ability to run because there are many who cannot.

Recently I did some thinking about the significance of the fact that we are created in the image of God. I was struck by all the amazing things God has blessed us with as the climax of all of creation. So here is "short" list of things that I am thankful.
1. I am thankful that I was created for eternity and not time; that one day I will be able to be free from the limits of time.
2. I am thankful that I can think and reason. I can learn new things and use that knowledge to change my world.
3. I am thankful for the ability to be creative; to take the raw materials of this world and shape them into new forms.
4. I am thankful for the ability to enter into loving, caring relationships that go way beyond the need for survival.
5. I am thankful for the most important relationship, my relationship with Jesus Christ.
6. I am thankful for the ability to think abstractly.
7. I am thankful for physical life and eternal life; the most precious gift we have.

May God give you a blessed Thanksgiving.
Pastor Dave 

Greetings in the name of Christ

What a crazy autumn we are having. We go from frost warnings to 80+ in a matter of days. And the wind has been a killer for those of us who are runners.

Speaking of crazy, do you remember Looney Tunes? When I was a child they were among my favorite cartoons. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Tweety, and Foghorn Leghorn. Looney Tunes were developed by Warner Bros. as direct competition to Disney. The amazing thing about Looney Tunes was that all of the characters were voiced by the same man, Mel Blanc. What a gift!

It seems like every time I turn on the radio the economic news is bad. It is easy to get discouraged and lose hope. As I was studying for the sermon this week I was encouraged by the opening of 1 Peter.

1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Praise the Lord that we have an inheritance in Christ that can never be taken away from us.

A note of celebration: We have 6 people being baptized on Sunday following the 11:00 service.

Just a reminder that we are still meeting at noon on Saturdays in the Prayer Room for a time of fasting and prayer. Join us.

May God richly bless you today as you live in the reality of the hope we have in Christ.

Pastor Dave