http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org 20270 Iberia Avenue Lakeville, MN 55044 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:35:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 ©Bethlehem Lakeville admin@bethlehemlakeville.org (Bethlehem Lakeville) admin@bethlehemlakeville.org(Bethlehem Lakeville) Religion 20160 Religion, Church, God, Lutheran, Christian, Sermon, Bible, Sunday Sermons Bethlehem's Sunday Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville Bethlehem Lakeville admin@bethlehemlakeville.org No no http://bethlehemlakeville.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/logocolorbold144.jpg http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org 144 144 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/03/14/on-the-way-to-the-cross-jesus-is-the-needed-substitute/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/03/14/on-the-way-to-the-cross-jesus-is-the-needed-substitute/#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:09:23 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1566 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/03/14/on-the-way-to-the-cross-jesus-is-the-needed-substitute/feed/ 0 00:01:01 March 14, 2010 Mark 15:6-15 Pastor Ben "Jesus is the Needed Substitute" For sermon notes, click here. About 60 years ago there was a young girl who lived in Texas. ... March 14, 2010 Mark 15:6-15 Pastor Ben "Jesus is the Needed Substitute" For sermon notes, click here. About 60 years ago there was a young girl who lived in Texas. She was a cute, slightly-awkard little girl with red hair and freckles. Eventually she grew into a teenager and became a little more awkward and somewhat overweight. She didnrsquo;t fit the criteria of what the teens at her school felt was acceptable and so they made her the target of jokes and hurtful nicknames. After high school she decided to make a new start and left Texas looking for acceptance. The girl turned young woman ended up in San Francisco, got into singing, caught a few breaks and eventually made it big. And yet, while the crowds shouted her name on a nightly basis, while the fans cheered her on in large numbers, while more money than she could imagine came rolling in, the insecurities of her childhood remained. She never really felt good enough, accepted or loved. So she tried a new way to fit in: Do what everyone else is doing. Act like everyone else is acting. She started drinking excessively, doing drugs, and a whole host of other types of wild living. And then in 1970, at the age of 27, this freckle-faced girl from Texas named Janis Joplin died. The coroner said it was a drug overdose. Herersquo;s what was really going on: She didnrsquo;t feel worthy so there wasnrsquo;t any peace in her heart, in her mind, in her life. Now, none of us I pray are at the same point of desperation as Janis Joplin. And yet I think that all of us can relate in one way or another to some of her feelings. The worldrsquo;s a difficult/hurtful place in which there can be a lot of pressure and stress to meet certain standards of what it means to be successful, of what it means to be pretty, of what it means to be popular or socially accepted or happy. And in the process people resort to all sorts of different things to help themselves feel accepted, feel worthy, feel loved. Letrsquo;s pick off a couple of the ways that we try to feel as if we measure up. Some people will just pour everything they have into their work. Why? Maybe theyrsquo;re looking to meet certain worldly standards of success. Maybe theyrsquo;re trying to support a socially preferred style of living. Some people in an effort to find happiness and acceptance will work endlessly on their appearance. Plastic surgeries and extreme makeovers become commonplace. Relentless dedication to exercise or dieting can have less to do with good health and more to do with social acceptance. Still others become so consumed and paralyzed by the pressures and concerns of the worldrsquo;s standards that they, like Janis Joplin, just give up because it seems impossible. They try to numb themselves to it all in a whole host of different ways. Itrsquo;s hard going through life feeling as if yoursquo;re not good enough, as if you never quite measure up. And you know what? Over my years of being a pastor, Irsquo;ve found that this is precisely one of the reasons that people spend portions of their lives neglecting God or avoiding church. You see, God has His own set of standards and directions. In fact, standards that are infinitely more important than the newest fashion trends or the latest and greatest in successful business practices. And unfortunately church can be viewed as just one more area of life where Irsquo;m going to see that Irsquo;ve fallen short, that I donrsquo;t measure up. A place where Irsquo;m going to hear about sin, about my sin, and then even more guilt is going to be heaped on me. Some people avoid God and the church because theyrsquo;d just rather not put themselves through it. And herersquo;s the truth. In parthellip; theyrsquo;re right. This church is a place where yoursquo;re going to hear about sin. This church is a place where wersquo;re going to hear that we donrsquo;t measure up to Godrsquo;s perfect standards. This church is a place where wersquo;re going to feel ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/03/07/on-the-way-to-the-cross-easier-said-than-done/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/03/07/on-the-way-to-the-cross-easier-said-than-done/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:16:36 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1558 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/03/07/on-the-way-to-the-cross-easier-said-than-done/feed/ 0 00:01:01 March 7, 2010 Mark 14:66-72 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. "Easier Said than Done" March 7, 2010 Mark 14:66-72 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. "Easier Said than Done" Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/02/28/on-the-way-to-the-cross-jesus-knows-your-heart/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/02/28/on-the-way-to-the-cross-jesus-knows-your-heart/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:02:20 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1550 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/02/28/on-the-way-to-the-cross-jesus-knows-your-heart/feed/ 0 00:01:01 February 28th, 2010 John 13:18-30 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Do any of you recognize the name Andrew Young? Itrsquo;s a name thatrsquo;s been in the news ... February 28th, 2010 John 13:18-30 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Do any of you recognize the name Andrew Young? Itrsquo;s a name thatrsquo;s been in the news of late. Andrew Young was a personal aide to former Senator and Presidential candidate John Edwards. In fact, Young was more than just an aide. He was so close to the former Senator that he began to learn information about Edwardsrsquo; private life that no one else knew. Alleged information that Young was supposed to keep a secrethellip;especially during the time of the Presidential campaign. Well, now Andrew Young is in the news because hersquo;s making the rounds promoting a ldquo;tell-allrdquo; book that he wrote. Itrsquo;s a book that exposes all the secrets that Edwards had been keeping from the public. If what hersquo;s written in the book is true, this personal information will change the way that many many people view John Edwards. The more you know about a person, the more you know private details about a personrsquo;s life, does it make loving that person easier or harder? You might answer that question with a question of your own. ldquo;What details are you talking about?rdquo; Irsquo;m talking about all of them. The good things yoursquo;ve done. The stupid things yoursquo;ve done. The embarrassing. The shameful. The public. The private. While none of us are famous enough to have a book written about our private lives, we all have things in our lives or from the past that wersquo;d rather people not know about, right? When people are getting to know us, we make an effort to accentuate the positive. Think back to the beginning of a dating relationship. You might have a guy who regularly eats with his fingers, spends all his time talking about sports, wears the same pair of worn out blue jeans and believes that showers on a daily basis are optional if you use the right deodorant. Thatrsquo;s what this person is normally like. But if hersquo;s trying to impress a girl that he likes, a total transformation happens where those who really know him wonder if itrsquo;s even the same guy. All of a sudden silverware and table manners come into play. He begins to talk about things other than footballhellip;even feelings if necessary. Hersquo;s suddenly willing to take as many showers as it takes. So, does the more you know about a person make loving that person easier or harder? Now imagine that what a person knows about you is more than just how you would normally act when going out to eat. Imagine that itrsquo;s more than even the private details of a former politician. Imagine if someone knew every thought, every unspoken word, every desire of your heart. Even those who are the very closest to us might find it hard to keep loving us. Herersquo;s what the Bible says about God, ldquo;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. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lordrdquo; (Psalm 139:1-2, 4). Dates come and go. If therersquo;s anyone that we would want to accentuate the positive for, hide whatrsquo;s bad, it would be the One whorsquo;s in charge of eternity. And yet, at the same time, He happens to be the One who knows us best, better than we know ourselves. This weekend On the Way to the Cross, Jesus is going to encounter a man who had a lot of things going on in his mind and in his heart that people around him didnrsquo;t know about. In fact, the mere mention of his namehellip;Judas Iscariot, moves people to think about dishonesty, scheming and betrayal. Jesus knew what Judas was up to. Jesus knew what He was scheming. And as Jesus interacts with Judas, we will learn more about how God interacts with us. And thatrsquo;s goodhellip;because we are people who God also knows intimately, people who can also be guilty of dishonesty, scheming and betrayal. Itrsquo;s the evening before Jesus would die. The 12 disciples are gathered in a room wi... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/02/21/on-the-way-to-the-cross-battling-temptation/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/02/21/on-the-way-to-the-cross-battling-temptation/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:24:16 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1521 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/02/21/on-the-way-to-the-cross-battling-temptation/feed/ 0 00:01:01 February 21, 2010 Luke 4:1-13 Pastor Ben "Battling Temptation" For sermon outline, click here. As most of you know, the Winter Olympics have been going on for about a week. ... February 21, 2010 Luke 4:1-13 Pastor Ben "Battling Temptation" For sermon outline, click here. As most of you know, the Winter Olympics have been going on for about a week. And I wonder if something thatrsquo;s been happening to me has also happening to any of you? Irsquo;ve found myself sitting around the TV and watching certain events during the Olympics that Irsquo;d never, ever find myself watching for even a second at any other time. Like ski jumping or snowboarding or bob-sledding or ice dancing. Or how about that event where people sweep the ice really quickly? Curling. And how about the one called Biathlon where people cross country ski and shoot guns at targets? I mean, to be really honest, I donrsquo;t usually have much interest in most of the Winter Olympic events excepthellip; during the Winter Olympics. This is that one time every four years where each of these sports are put on the world stage. Itrsquo;s their moment for victory and fame and glory. And so, every four years we sit and watch and hear names that we havenrsquo;t heard for four years like: Bode Miller, Shawn White, Lindsey Vonn, Apollo Anton Ohno. Where have they been? Have they been hibernating for 4 years? Have they been taking it easy? Not exactly. Theyrsquo;ve been training. Theyrsquo;ve been competing. Theyrsquo;ve been working hard so that when the moment of truth called the Winter Olympics comes aroundhellip;theyrsquo;ll be ready. Theyrsquo;ll be ready to be Olympic champion. We are in a season of the year called Lent, where peoplersquo;s hearts and minds begin to focus on the cross and Jesusrsquo; suffering and death. And in a lot ways, Good Friday and Easter Sunday can be viewed much like the Winter Olympics: as the main event, the thing that everyone focuses their attention on. Thatrsquo;s the place, thatrsquo;s the time when Jesusrsquo; victory over sin and death and hell was ultimately won. And while that might be true, while that might be the main event, Jesus didnrsquo;t just suddenly show up on earth on Good Friday. His work of Savior wasnrsquo;t just a one or two day job. He was actively and intentionally and faithfully doing the work of our Savior every single moment of every single day of His entire life. We see it at the age of 12 as Jesus goes to Jerusalem with His parents and reminds them that He needs to be about His Fatherrsquo;s business. We see it as Jesusrsquo; does amazing miracles and then asks people not to tell anyone what they saw. He wasnrsquo;t here to put on a show. He was here to be our Savior. We see it as Jesus could have stayed in Galilee where it was safer, but instead Luke records that He ldquo;resolutely sets out for Jerusalemrdquo; and right into the middle of a hornetrsquo;s nest. And while much of the focus and attention is put on the cross, and rightly so, the honest truth is that Jesus was also being our Savior and doing the work of our salvation ldquo;On the Way to the Cross.rdquo; And so herersquo;s the impetus for this new sermon series. Over the next weeks leading up to Good Friday wersquo;re going to take a close look at Jesus being our perfect Savior in the last days and hours before the main event: His death and resurrection. And what wersquo;re going to see is Jesus impacting the lives of the people around Him and being our Savior On the Way to the Cross. To begin though, this week wersquo;re going to kind of set the context for Jesusrsquo; final battle on the cross, by backing up to the very beginning of Jesusrsquo; ministry. Wersquo;re going to get a clearer picture of Jesusrsquo; work as Savior from sin, by seeing that Jesusrsquo; battle with the devil didnrsquo;t just take place on the cross, but every single day of His life. And in the process wersquo;re going to learn what we should do when tempted by the devil. Read vs. 1-2. Jesus lived on earth for about 33 years. The formal ministry part of His life was just the last 3 years. This event takes place at the v... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/02/07/maintaining-balance/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/02/07/maintaining-balance/#comments Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:45:07 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1502 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/02/07/maintaining-balance/feed/ 0 00:01:01 February 7, 2010 1 Timothy 6:6-12, 18-19 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. February 7, 2010 1 Timothy 6:6-12, 18-19 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/31/balanced-plan-to-give-2/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/31/balanced-plan-to-give-2/#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:55:46 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1464 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/31/balanced-plan-to-give-2/feed/ 0 00:01:01 January 31, 2010 Malachi 3:6-12 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Wersquo;re in week 3 of this series where wersquo;re looking at what God says about ldquo;Balancerdquo; in ... January 31, 2010 Malachi 3:6-12 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Wersquo;re in week 3 of this series where wersquo;re looking at what God says about ldquo;Balancerdquo; in the area of money and financial blessings. In week one, we set the stage by looking at part of Jesusrsquo; Sermon on the Mount. Jesus made it clear that the whole topic of money is really not first and foremost about money. Itrsquo;s really a teaching about the heart. What do we treasure the most? Is it our stuff? Or is it our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? How we hand our money will show whatrsquo;s in the heart. Last week we answered the question, ldquo;Whatrsquo;s the main goal or objective for all that we have?rdquo; In Monopoly the goal is to build up your personal empire and force everyone else out of business. But whatrsquo;s the goal in life? And herersquo;s what we discovered: the main goal for the money we have is to give glory and honor to God. Not just with a check on Sunday morning. Not just with a percentage. We should give glory and honor to God with ALL that we have. And so I challenged you to think about ways that you need to change your use of money so that yoursquo;re honoring God. Maybe you need to spend lesshellip;because getting stuff has become too important. Maybe you need to save more. Maybe you need to give more. Irsquo;m not quite sure what you need to do. The goal is the same for everyone: Give glory and honor to God. The details of what you need to tweak or change to honor God is different for every single person here. Well, today wersquo;re going to talk specifically about Giving. Hopefully over these first two weeks yoursquo;ve begun to see that having Godly Balance in the area of money is a whole lot more than just ldquo;Give.rdquo; And yet, in order to be truly ldquo;Balancedrdquo; Biblically, a study of giving back to God has to be included or otherwise wersquo;d be unbalanced. And so, to get us thinking, I wanted to bring up a news story from this past week. Irsquo;m sure some of you saw it on the news. The kids at a high school in Kansas decided to play a prank on one of their teachers. They told him that hersquo;d win tickets to college basketballrsquo;s Final Four if he made a half court shot with a blindfold on. And herersquo;s where the prank part came in: the entire gym was instructed to yell and scream and pretend like he made it even after he missed this impossible shot. The teacher wouldnrsquo;t know the difference because the blindfold was one. Hersquo;d be all excited for tickets to the Final Four, only to be shown on video that he had missed and gets nothing. Kind of a cruel prank, isnrsquo;t it? Well, the kids blindfolded their teacher. He takes the half court shot. And guess what happened? The one thing that they didnrsquo;t plan for happened. Their teacher made the shot. The one thing that should have been asked, ldquo;What if he actually makes this impossible shot?rdquo; had never been discussed. They didnrsquo;t have any Final Four tickets. ldquo;Ohhellip;why plan for that? Itrsquo;ll just kind of take care of itself.rdquo; The best the kids could do was to pool some money together and get him a gift card to a local Mexican restaurant. Whatrsquo;s true with High School pranks, is also true in almost every area of life, including money and personal finances: taking time for good, thorough planning is important. For instance, if you blow your entire paycheck on a spending spree at the mall or Home Depot without thinking for a moment about how yoursquo;re going to eat that monthhellip;yoursquo;re going to have problems. If yoursquo;d like to have money someday for a down payment on a house, but never take time to plan that into your budget. I hate to say it, but that down payment money isnrsquo;t going to magically appear. If yoursquo;d prefer not to work full-time all your life, but have never made financial plans for retirement, yoursquo;re probably going to be workin... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/24/balanced-all-glory-and-honor-to-god/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/24/balanced-all-glory-and-honor-to-god/#comments Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:17:04 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1416 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/24/balanced-all-glory-and-honor-to-god/feed/ 0 00:01:01 January 24, 2010 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Well, wersquo;re in the second week of this series on material blessings and finances called ldquo;Balanced.rdquo; ... January 24, 2010 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Well, wersquo;re in the second week of this series on material blessings and finances called ldquo;Balanced.rdquo; Last week we saw that one of the things that can get people out of balance with money is putting too much emphasis on the earthly treasures that we have. Jesus mentioned that every earthly treasure will eventually break, wear out or die. In contrast, the things that Jesus has done for our eternities will never wear out or die. And so, we are Balanced when God and not our stuff has first place in our lives. Which brings us to today. A few weeks ago on a Friday night my family was home for the evening and we decided to spend some quality family bonding time by playing a board game together. We had gotten Monopoly for Christmas, so thatrsquo;s what we pulled out. I donrsquo;t think I had played Monopoly since I was in high school. Taking out the board and looking at all the pieces was kind of a nostalgic walk into the past. We picked our playing pieces, (Elias and I had the top hat), handed out the standard allotment of $1500 to each player and began playing. We had about a half hour to play until the kids needed to go to bed and in that half hour, I was reminded of a couple of things about Monopoly. Number 1: Itrsquo;s a really, really long game. In fact, one of our kids asked to ldquo;be donerdquo; within the first 15 minutes. Number 2: and I think this also plays into her wanting to ldquo;be done.rdquo; Monopolyrsquo;s not a very easy game. Each player is given $1500. And herersquo;s the objectivehellip;itrsquo;s written right on the box, ldquo;Be the last player left after everyone else has gone bankrupt.rdquo; There it is. Thatrsquo;s the goal. Thatrsquo;s the objective for your money. In Monopoly you manage the money yoursquo;ve been given so that yoursquo;re able to build up your personal empire, take everything the other players own and force everyone else to go out of business. Wow! What wonderful family bonding time. Maybe Candy Land would have been a better choice. Buthellip;at least one thing you can say about Monopoly: the objective for main goal for how you are to manage your money is crystal clear. So, let me transition to real life. Is the objective for the money thatrsquo;s put at our disposal as crystal clear in life as it is in Monopoly? Every week or every two weeks or every month, when you receive a paycheck, a retirement check, or an allowance of some kind, how would you answer this question, ldquo;Whatrsquo;s the main objective or goal for what you have?rdquo; Have you even thought about that question before? How might you answer it? ldquo;To build up your personal empire, take everything the other players own and force everyone else to go out of business?rdquo; Hopefully not. Thatrsquo;s Monopoly. So, what is the answer? Maybe some of us would answer, ldquo;Itrsquo;s to provide for my family and give them everything they need.rdquo; Thatrsquo;s a responsible and important goal. Maybe yoursquo;d answer, ldquo;To save as much as I can so that I donrsquo;t have to worry about the future and can retire at an early age.rdquo; Therersquo;s certainly nothing wrong with saving. Maybe some of you would say, ldquo;My goal is to use what I have to have fun. You only live once, might as well enjoy life.rdquo; And to be honest, the Bible mentions using what God has given for our enjoyment. And yet, while none of these goals or objectives are necessarily wrong in and of themselves, none of them have hit upon the main, overriding goal that the Bible lays out for what God has given. In fact, if any of these things are the main objective for what we have, then wersquo;re out of Balance. So, what does the Bible say about all of this? Today, we turn to the Old Testament book of 1 Chronicles. Itrsquo;s about 1000 years before Jesus was born. King David is on the throne and the nation of Israel is at... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/17/balanced-wheres-your-treasure/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/17/balanced-wheres-your-treasure/#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:18:53 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1410 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/17/balanced-wheres-your-treasure/feed/ 0 00:01:01 January 17, 2010 Matthew 6:19-24 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Where's Your Treasure? When two people get married, the husband and wife tend to divvy up certain jobs ... January 17, 2010 Matthew 6:19-24 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Where's Your Treasure? When two people get married, the husband and wife tend to divvy up certain jobs and responsibilities. And one of the roles that has fallen under my job description has been to be the ldquo;official painting/picture/artwork hanger guy.rdquo; You knowhellip;the guy who makes sure that things on the wall are properly placed, spaced and anchored. And in my 10 years of experience at this job, Irsquo;ve found what many of you have probably found toohellip;the items that are the hardest to get right are the ones that have to be anchored at multiple points. Why? In order that theyrsquo;re not crooked,They need to be ldquo;Balanced.rdquo; And so what do you do? You get out the tape measure, pencil, screws, anchors, drill, and hammer. You desperately try to juggle all of them in the two hands that God created you withhellip;while also attempting to make precise measurements at the same time. Was that 33frac14;rdquo; or 33frac34;rdquo;? nbsp;Finally the screws are anchored. The picturersquo;s hung. And the moment of truth has come: the moment that you take out the level and check for Balance. You hope beyond hope that the little bubble in the level doesnrsquo;t go too far to the right or too far to the left because that means wersquo;ll have to drill more holes. But we hope that the bubble says right in the middle. Balanced. I suppose therersquo;s a different way to achieve Balance. It takes a whole lot less time and effort. Put the tape measure and pencil down and just eye it up. Do your best to guesstimate where the screws should go. What do you think about that plan? You know what I think? I think itrsquo;s the recipe for losing your position as ldquo;official picture hanger guy.rdquo; (Which may be good for you, but isnrsquo;t good for Balance.) In the arena of wall-hangings, Balance very very rarely ever happens by accident. Right? Well, let me transition to the arena of money and personal finances? Does God-pleasing Godly Balance in that arena happen by accident? Very very rarely too. Why? We are inundated with so many different attitudes and perspectives about money. nbsp;ldquo;Itrsquo;s all yours so do with it whatever you want.rdquo; ldquo;You canrsquo;t afford what you want? Well, that doesnrsquo;t matterhellip;just charge it. Worry about it later.rdquo; ldquo;Why plan or budget? God will take care of you. And if God doesnrsquo;thellip;well then the government will.rdquo; ldquo;Moneyrsquo;s a status symbol in which you find your worthiness and place in life.rdquo; ldquo;Lots of money means lots of stuff. And lots of stuff means lots of happiness.rdquo; But like with many things, just because the world believes something as being true, that doesnrsquo;t necessarily mean that it is. So, how do we know what to believe when it comes to money? How do we know whether we have God-pleasing Balance? What sort of ldquo;levelrdquo; we can apply to the how we handle money? Andhellip;and why are we talking about this stuff at church? Many thatrsquo;s something yoursquo;re wondering about this morning. Lots of people get uncomfortable whenever the church begins to teach or speak about money. I suppose there are lots of reasons for that. One of them may be a bad church experience in the past. Maybe yoursquo;ve experienced a church which was high on pressure and guilt, but lacking in Biblical truth and Christ-centered Gospel motivation. To that Irsquo;d say, itrsquo;s possible that a church in your past has done a bad job of teaching about money. Remember God never makes mistakes. Churches sometimes do. But maybe your being uncomfortable has nothing to do with a past church. Maybe yoursquo;ve just always felt that God and money shouldnrsquo;t be mixed. Money and finances are not a ldquo;Godrsquo; thing. Theyrsquo;re a personal thing. I know most of you pretty well, so Irsquo;m just going to be very direct with... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/10/ubuntu-we-are-therefore-i-am/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/10/ubuntu-we-are-therefore-i-am/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:24:20 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1378 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/10/ubuntu-we-are-therefore-i-am/feed/ 0 00:01:01 January 10,2010 Galatians 6:1-5 Ubuntu- "We are, therefore I am" Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. January 10,2010 Galatians 6:1-5 Ubuntu- "We are, therefore I am" Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/03/joy-that-the-world-cannot-take-away/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/03/joy-that-the-world-cannot-take-away/#comments Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:03:08 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1372 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2010/01/03/joy-that-the-world-cannot-take-away/feed/ 0 00:01:01 January 3, 2010 Philippians 1:12-21 Joy that the world cannot take away! Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. January 3, 2010 Philippians 1:12-21 Joy that the world cannot take away! Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/27/my-fathers-business/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/27/my-fathers-business/#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:44:36 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1344 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/27/my-fathers-business/feed/ 0 00:01:01 December 27, 2009 Pastor Ben Luke 2:41-52 My Father's Business For sermon outine, click here. Have you ever gone to a grocery store and purchased stuff than you had never ... December 27, 2009 Pastor Ben Luke 2:41-52 My Father's Business For sermon outine, click here. Have you ever gone to a grocery store and purchased stuff than you had never wanted to buy in the first place? If you have, yoursquo;re not alone. Statistics say that grocery store shoppers on average buy 40% more than they originally intended to. And while the stores are not totally to blame for this kind of thing happeninghellip;I mean, store employees arenrsquo;t dropping products in your cart when yoursquo;re not lookinghellip; stores do try to distract shoppers into buying more stuff. For example, the music in grocery stores is strategic. Irsquo;ve heard that stores might even put subliminal messages in the music. I canrsquo;t prove that. But herersquo;s what has been proven. Grocery stores use music that is cheerful and has a slow beat. Why? People enjoy themselves more and move more slowly in the process. And the longer a happy person stays in the store, the more of a chance theyrsquo;ll stuff their cart with things they donrsquo;t need. Or what about that weird collection of odds and ends that yoursquo;ll find in the checkout line? Candy, magazines, batteries, toothbrushes, chap stick, soda and always my favorite as a parenthellip;toys. Toys right at eye level for Elias. They know that yoursquo;ll be waiting in line for a while. And the longer you wait mindlessly, the easier it is to give in to temptation and to get yourself or your Elias that which you didnrsquo;t really need in the first place. Herersquo;s my advice put on headphones that plays music really fast and blindfold yourself and especially your children in the check out line. Alrighthellip;maybe thatrsquo;s not realistic. How about this simple solution? It might sound simplistic, Just be about the business at hand. Before you get to the store, write down your shopping list, your business. And then, be about thathellip;your business. You know, what could work in the grocery store, might not be a bad way to approach life. There are so many things we could be doing, we could be pursuing, we could be buying. What we need to do is to remember whatrsquo;s most important and then just simply be about that business. Which leads us to our lesson for this morning about 12 year old Jesus. Read vs. 41-42. We see that Mary and Joseph were very devout, God-fearing, Christian parents. Every year they were sure to follow the Jewish law and go to Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover. Read vs. 43. Well, the Passover feast had ended and now it was time to make the three day, 80 mile journey back to their hometown of Nazareth. Therersquo;s just one little problem, 12 year old (7th grader) Jesus wasnrsquo;t with them. Now, maybe yoursquo;re wondering how Mary and Joseph could have forgotten their son in Jerusalem. Well, people traveled far distances in large groups. For safety and convenience reasons entire towns or extended families would stick together. Mary and Joseph must have thought that 12 year old Jesus was somewhere in the group, maybe playing and hanging out with the other kids his age. Read vs. 44-45. As the first day of traveling begins to come to a close, you can imagine Mary and Joseph beginning to ask around about Jesus. ldquo;Hey, have you seen Jesus?rdquo; ldquo;No, he hasnrsquo;t been over here with us.rdquo; And eventually, as more and more of the group was checked by Mary and Joseph, as the day went on and maybe nightfall began to arrive, Mary and Josephrsquo;s initial inquiries turned into panic and fear. Their 12 year old son was not in the group and they had no idea where he was. So they turn around and head back to Jerusalem to look for him. Read vs. 46-47. And so they head back to Jerusalem and where did they finally find Jesus? He was sitting and hanging out in the temple courts. He was spending time with the rabbis and teachers listening and discussing Godrsquo;s Word. As a 12 year old boy who happened to be true m... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/20/christmas-presence-presence-of-god/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/20/christmas-presence-presence-of-god/#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:37:10 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1338 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/20/christmas-presence-presence-of-god/feed/ 0 00:01:01 December 20, 2009 Matthew 1:18-25 "Presence of God" Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Some things are easily identified and understood at quick glance. Other things need further investigation ... December 20, 2009 Matthew 1:18-25 "Presence of God" Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Some things are easily identified and understood at quick glance. Other things need further investigation and explanation. As an examplehellip;here are pictures of 2 blankets. They look very similar. In fact, they look quite ordinary. At a quick glance they both look like theyrsquo;re merely something to keep you warm as you watch TV on a cold December evening. Well, the one on the left is just as it looks: an ordinary store bought blanket. Valuable on a cold winter evening hellip;no doubt. But beyond that, of no real value or significance. And what about the one on the right? Well, the owner of that blanket knew it was old. It had been handed down through the generations of his family. But beyond that it didnrsquo;t seem to be all that special. And so, for years it sat on the back of the familyrsquo;s rocking chair. Theyrsquo;d pull it out now and again on especially cold evenings. Well, about 6 years ago, the owner took the blanket on the right to The Antiques Roadshow for further investigation. Herersquo;s what he found out. Itrsquo;s a blanket that had been made for a Navajo Indian Chief back in the mid-1800rsquo;s. In fact, it happens to be one of the oldest and rarest Navajo blankets in the world. Because of how long it took to weave the threads together so tightly, because of the rare indigo dye that was used in the striping, a blanket like this cost about $150 in the mid-1800rsquo;s (an entire yearrsquo;s wages). ldquo;Today,rdquo; the appraiser told the stunned blanket owner, ldquo;it would probably sell for $350-$500K.rdquo; After he picked his jaw up off the floor, the blanketrsquo;s owner wiped tears of joy from his eyes. Isnrsquo;t it ironic that for years they had walked by this blanket on the rocking chair and thought very little about it. Ohhellip;he knew it was old. He knew it was special. But he didnrsquo;t truly appreciate its value until he dug a little deeper and really considered what it was. As we sit just 5 days away from Christmas, most people understand that this is no ordinary birthday that we celebrate each year. Even those that donrsquo;t know too much about Jesus and the Bible know that this birth was special. There were angels singing, ldquo;Gloria!rdquo; And shepherds worshipping on bended knee. And a special star that marked the place where Jesus lived. And while all those things are unique aspects of Christmas, those arenrsquo;t the things that truly set Jesus apart from every other child. And I believe, just like the blanket owner above, you and I wonrsquo;t truly appreciate the birth of Christ until we whole-heartedly focus on and understand what makes Him different from every other child. I mean at first glance He looked like just an ordinary child. He had 2 arms and 2 legs, 10 fingers and 10 toes. Little Jesus probably had a full head of hair. But what is it that makes Him so special that the world still remembers His birth 2000 years later? Itrsquo;s only when we focus on what was inside the outer packaging, that Christmas will be the celebration it was meant to be. And so to clearly see that answer, today we turn to His very conception. Wersquo;re going to look at Matthew 1hellip;a familiar section. Read Matthew 1:18-25. Now, this is one of those places in the Bible where if we donrsquo;t pause to consider what we read, wersquo;ll probably miss the magnitude of what happened. It says that Mary was ldquo;pledged to be married to Joseph.rdquo; This meant that they had made their marriage promises to each other, but hadnrsquo;t consummated the marriage or began living with each other. And so, it was during this in-between time that Mary came to Joseph with some news that Irsquo;m sure was very hard to share. Now, let me make it perfectly clear. Mary wasnrsquo;t some sort of holy mother who lived her life with a halo around her head. Mary was a normal young woman, prob... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/13/christmas-presence-presence-of-life/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/13/christmas-presence-presence-of-life/#comments Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:53:49 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1331 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/13/christmas-presence-presence-of-life/feed/ 0 00:01:01 December 13, 2009 John 10:7-11 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Well, with the Christmas season in full swing, prime time TV has also been filled with classic ... December 13, 2009 John 10:7-11 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Well, with the Christmas season in full swing, prime time TV has also been filled with classic Christmas shows and movies. Shows like:ldquo;Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer,rdquo; ldquo;Frosty the Snowmanrdquo; or ldquo;Charlie Brownrsquo;s Christmas.rdquo; But the movie that always seems to end up at the top of the best Christmas movie list is one thatrsquo;s been around since 1946hellip;ldquo;Itrsquo;s a Wonderful Life.rdquo; In case you havenrsquo;t seen it, let me give you a quick summary. ldquo;Itrsquo;s a Wonderful Liferdquo; is about a man named George Bailey who has spent most of his life focusing on others and making their lives better. He gave up his dreams, his aspirations, even his money for the betterment of those around him. Well, at a certain point George Bailey begins to question whether his life has really been worthwhile. As others around him, like his brother Harry, go on to fame and power and wealth, George starts to become dissatisfied with his life. So thenhellip;remember, itrsquo;s Hollywood. So then an angel named Clarence comes down from heaven on Christmas Eve. He comes to speak to George and to teach him about a wonderful life. He shows George what life in Bedford Falls would have been like if he hadnrsquo;t stuck around. He shows George, who thought his life was a failure, who thought his life was just a bunch of unfulfilled hopes and dreams, just how full and blessed and wonderful His life really was. And after this visit from Clarence, Georgersquo;s entire attitude changed. He gets a whole new lease on life. And so, he runs home. He canrsquo;t wait to see the townrsquo;s people. He canrsquo;t wait to kiss his wife. He canrsquo;t wait to hug his kids. He canrsquo;t wait to get back to life. Now, let me ask. What had happened to George Bailey in the course of that angelrsquo;s visit? Why did He now see His life as wonderful and ldquo;fullrdquo;? Was it that the circumstances of his life had really changed? No. It was the same quirky town. The same humble job. The same house in need of repair. The same wife and kids. The circumstances of his life didnrsquo;t change. Herersquo;s what did change. George Baileyrsquo;s perspective. His perspective on what it meant to have a full, wonderful life changed. He didnrsquo;t need to fulfill every single personal hope, every single personal goal in order to feel satisfied. His change in perspective made it obvious that His life already was wonderful and ldquo;full.rdquo; He had just been concentrating on the wrong things. Wersquo;re in the midst of a season, Christmas, where people have high expectations for the circumstances around life. ldquo;Herersquo;s how it should go. Herersquo;s how I should feel. Herersquo;s what I should get.rdquo; And then when the circumstances of the season, when the circumstances of life arenrsquo;t exactly what we had in mind, itrsquo;s easy for people to become disenchanted. When itrsquo;s perceived that everyone else is filled with joy, everyone else has what we want, everyone else is experiencing ldquo;life to the full,rdquo; it can become easy to get depressed like George Bailey. In fact, everyone thinks that the Christmas season is ldquo;the most wonderful time of the yearrdquo;hellip;it may be for some. But itrsquo;s also happens to be ldquo;the most depressing time of the year for many others.rdquo; Why? Because like George Bailey, lots of people have the wrong idea about what a ldquo;full,rdquo; ldquo;wonderfulrdquo; life or full, wonderful Christmas looks like. In fact, some of you here today may be in the midst of a difficult depression. For you, todayrsquo;s message of Christmas Presence will be a strong spiritual encouragement to strengthen and uplift you as you continue to work through that depression. For others here today, maybe the doctor wouldnrsquo;t call it depression, but your Christmas isnrsquo;t as ldquo;Merryrdq... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/06/christmas-presence-presence-of-a-miracle/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/06/christmas-presence-presence-of-a-miracle/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:28:42 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1327 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/12/06/christmas-presence-presence-of-a-miracle/feed/ 0 00:01:01 December 6, 2009 Matthew 9:9-13 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. December 6, 2009 Matthew 9:9-13 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/29/presence-of-a-servant/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/29/presence-of-a-servant/#comments Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:40:53 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1284 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/29/presence-of-a-servant/feed/ 0 00:01:01 November 29, 2009 Pastor Ben Mark 10:35-45 "Presence of a Servant" For sermon outline, click here. Well, today wersquo;re starting this sermon series called ldquo;Christmas Presence.rdquo; And Irsquo;d like to ... November 29, 2009 Pastor Ben Mark 10:35-45 "Presence of a Servant" For sermon outline, click here. Well, today wersquo;re starting this sermon series called ldquo;Christmas Presence.rdquo; And Irsquo;d like to start out by speaking for just a moment especially to the husbands among us. Fellas, wersquo;re part of the same fraternity. Wersquo;ve been united by this splendid thing called ldquo;husbandry.rdquo; And I felt compelled to share some important information with you this morning, because quite frankly, I care about you. So here it is, ldquo;There are 27 days left until Christmas.rdquo; And just in case yoursquo;re a husband like me who sometimes needs people to connect the dots for you, nbsp;let me get right to the point, ldquo;You have 27 days left to buy a Christmas presenthellip; for your wife.rdquo; Now, herersquo;s what moved me to make that announcement. A couple of years ago I was behind on getting my wife her present and so I went to Burnsville Center the day before Christmas. And I saw something that I had never seen before. It was like some sort of parallel universe really. The mall was filled to overflowing with men. And all of them had a panicked, ldquo;deer in the headlightsrdquo; look on their faces. I recognized the face because it was the same one I had on mine. It shouted, ldquo;Irsquo;ve procrastinated too long. The day is upon us and I only have a few hours left to get my wife the perfect Christmas present.rdquo; And so fellas, there are 27 days left until Christmas. Getting your wife a nice Christmas present is important. Donrsquo;t wait until itrsquo;s ldquo;menrsquo;s day at the mall. Did you know that the most important part of Christmas is the presence? Really, it is. But as important as it might be to get your wife the right gift for that day, Irsquo;m not talking about presents spelled, ldquo;p-r-e-s-e-n-t-s,rdquo; but instead ldquo;p-r-e-s-e-n-c-e.rdquo; And so, as we embark on these 27 days leading up to Christmas, Irsquo;m hoping that this little play on words in seriesrsquo; title is a good memory hitch that you can remember throughout the season. As the world aroundnbsp; you focuses on presents, you can remember that Christmas is about a presence of a different kind. The birth of Jesus and what His presence means for the world. Now, the honest truth is that keeping that kind of perspective amidst the secular backdrop of Christmas can be very difficult. The greed and selfishness and me-first mentality that surrounds gifts and the secular celebration of Christmas can be quite distracting. And I doubt that therersquo;s a day that more exemplifies those traits than the Friday after Thanksgiving. While shopping doesnrsquo;t have to be a bad thing, the selfishness and greed that often accompanies shoppers on Black Friday is alarming. In fact, following last yearrsquo;s Black Friday trampling death of a Wal-Mart employee in Long Island, OSHA got involved this year. To the list of dangerous work environments like construction sites, mining operations and factories with heavy machinery, OSHA has added stores on the day after Thanksgiving. Their newly published guidelines include such things as how to construct proper barricades and a reminder to remove products from the front door that could serve as projectiles. Now, Irsquo;m hoping that this room is filled with people who show a little restraint on Black Friday (and Christians should). People who wouldnrsquo;t think of using boxes of ldquo;Little Debbiersquo;srdquo; as projectiles (and Christians shouldnrsquo;t). But even so, we are a people who also struggle with the sin of selfishness and ldquo;me-firstrdquo; during the Christmas season. It can be found in a lot of different ways, but one of them is in the form of high personal expectations for the season that have nothing to do with Jesus or Godrsquo;s plan for our lives. Like how the house is going to look, how the food is going to taste, how the visit from family... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/22/the-end-and-they-lived-happily-ever-after-christ-the-king/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/22/the-end-and-they-lived-happily-ever-after-christ-the-king/#comments Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:28:15 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1277 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/22/the-end-and-they-lived-happily-ever-after-christ-the-king/feed/ 0 00:01:01 November 22, 2009 Revelation 1:4b-8 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. November 22, 2009 Revelation 1:4b-8 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/15/the-end%e2%80%a6and-they-lived-happily-ever-after-%e2%80%9clook-forward-to-deliverance%e2%80%9d/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/15/the-end%e2%80%a6and-they-lived-happily-ever-after-%e2%80%9clook-forward-to-deliverance%e2%80%9d/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:52:37 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1233 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/15/the-end%e2%80%a6and-they-lived-happily-ever-after-%e2%80%9clook-forward-to-deliverance%e2%80%9d/feed/ 0 00:01:01 November 15, 2009 Daniel 12:1-3 Pastor Ben To view sermon outline, click here. So, wersquo;re in the second week of this series where wersquo;re looking at Godrsquo;s truth about ... November 15, 2009 Daniel 12:1-3 Pastor Ben To view sermon outline, click here. So, wersquo;re in the second week of this series where wersquo;re looking at Godrsquo;s truth about the end of the world. Last week we addressed all the fascination that people have with figuring out the exact date for the end of the world. Will it be December 21, 2012? And herersquo;s what we found. Concentrating on dates is a waste of time and thatrsquo;s because God says no one will know when it will be. Instead, we should put all our energy into being ready everyday. We should daily focus on the coming Judge: Jesus Christ. This week wersquo;re going to unpack peoplersquo;s fears about destruction and at The End. Sohellip;let me start by mentioning a book that I came across the other day. Itrsquo;s called ldquo;The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook.rdquo; Have you heard of it? Itrsquo;s a book all about deliverance and safety even in the midst of the most difficult situations. It has a chapter on how to land an airplane. You know, in case yoursquo;re flying on Northwest and the pilots fall asleep. But that would never happen. It has a chapter on how to win a sword fight, how to jump from the top of a burning building into a dumpster. Did you know that if yoursquo;re ever traveling through quicksand, the best thing to do is to travel with a long 2x4 or closet pole? Really. And as you begin to sink, lay the long pole along the top of the quicksand. The surface area will keep it up and keep your from sinking. It tells how to perform an emergency tracheotomy. Irsquo;ve read it twice and am looking for a volunteer to let me try it on. Therersquo;s a chapter on how to deal with a bull thatrsquo;s charging, how to run on top of a moving train. Believe me, you havenrsquo;t lived until yoursquo;ve run on top of a moving train. Hey, did you know that if yoursquo;re ever buried in an avalanche, the first thing to do is to spit on the snow so that you know which way is really up? Thenhellip;dig as fast as you can in that direction. How about this worst case scenario, what do you do if the entire state of California falls into the Pacific Ocean? How do people survive if the east coast floods and a large air craft carrier flips over onto the White House? Where does a person find deliverance if the entire world as we know it implodes like the movie 2012 depicts will happen at The End? Could this king of destruction even happen? What do you think about the end of the world? Well, there arenrsquo;t any chapters about these things in ldquo;The Worst Case Scenario Handbook.rdquo; But I do have a book suggestion for you. Itrsquo;s the Bible. You see, God started addressing these types of things 2600 years ago. And thatrsquo;s where wersquo;re going to turn today. Wersquo;re going to study three verses of a vision that God gave a man named Daniel 600 years before Christ. For those of you who are new to the Bible, you may have never heard of Daniel. For others, you hear Daniel and you immediately think of a lionrsquo;s den. But therersquo;s so much more to the life and ministry of this man. Daniel was a Jew who was carried off as a prisoner by the Babylonians. While in Babylon, because of his giftedness and through Godrsquo;s plan, Daniel became a governmental official. He was a man who fearlessly shared his faith in the true God in the midst of hardship and persecution in this heathen country. The last 3 chapters of Danielrsquo;s book is a vision that God gave about the future and the end of the world. Letrsquo;s turn to the end part of that vision. Read vs. 1a. The first question that people often have when popular culture an movies depict catastrophe and destruction at the end of the world is whether that stuff is really going to happen. Will it look like the movie 2012 depicts? Will it look just like the move? Probably not. And yet, Daniel clearly mentions an unprecedented time of distress and catastrophe will occur as The End world ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/08/the-end-and-they-lived-happily-ever-after-be-ready-for-the-judge/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/08/the-end-and-they-lived-happily-ever-after-be-ready-for-the-judge/#comments Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:48:19 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1226 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/08/the-end-and-they-lived-happily-ever-after-be-ready-for-the-judge/feed/ 0 00:01:01 November 8, 2009 John 5:19-27 Pastor Ben To view sermon outline, click here. On Friday, a new movie hits the theaters called, ldquo;2012.rdquo; If you havenrsquo;t heard about it ... November 8, 2009 John 5:19-27 Pastor Ben To view sermon outline, click here. On Friday, a new movie hits the theaters called, ldquo;2012.rdquo; If you havenrsquo;t heard about it yet, Irsquo;m sure you will in the days and weeks ahead. ldquo;2012rdquo; is based on the latest theory about when the end of the world might happen. Let me explain the theory around which it is based. Supposedly, the ancient Mayan calendar has a life cycle of 1.9 million days or 5,200 years and then it starts over. Well, this cycle of 5,200 years comes to an end on December 21, 2012. And yoursquo;re thinking, ldquo;Yeah? So what? A calendar comes to and end.rdquo; And thatrsquo;s what Irsquo;m thinking too. But somehow, somewhere, some doomsday antagonist decided to attach ldquo;end of the worldrdquo; significance to the end of this calendar cycle. And so, therersquo;s been discussion and speculation about 2012 for a number of years. Go to Amazon.com and do a book search using ldquo;2012rdquo; as the keyword. There are 1000rsquo;s of books on the topic with names like: ldquo;Apocalypse 2012.rdquo; Doomsday 2012.rdquo; ldquo;2012: You have a choice.rdquo; ldquo;2012: What the Government already knows and what you need to know to prepare,rdquo; and many, many more. And now this new movie is Hollywoodrsquo;s attempt to prey on peoplersquo;s fears and make some money in the process. The moviersquo;s website is, ldquo;whowillsurvive2012.com.rdquo; On the site, theyrsquo;ve invented an organization that they call the ldquo;Institute for Human Continuity.rdquo; They even have an opportunity to vote in a fake election for the leader of the post-2012 world. Irsquo;m sure the movie folks would say that theyrsquo;re not hurting anyone. Itrsquo;s all in good fun. But itrsquo;s just been more fuel for end of the world hysteria. Predictions of The End have been around for centuries. In fact, there was so much speculation about the year 1000AD marking the end of the world, that people allowed it to affect how they lived in some surprising ways. Farmers stopped planting crops, homes and buildings were left unrepaired, criminals were set free, and lots of people sold their stuff and gave the money to the poor. And most of the time all this speculation has produced more than anything: fear. And thatrsquo;s because it always seems to revolve around three things: specific dates to be wary of, destruction that will wipe humanity out of existence, and chaos that no one can control. Itrsquo;s against that cultural backdrop that we begin this new series today that is quite counter-cultural. And in this series wersquo;re going to put away speculation and myth and theories, and instead we are going to listen to Godrsquo;s truth about The End. And herersquo;s how I pray that we grow over the next three weeks. I pray that The End becomes something that you think about oftenhellip;but not fearfully. I want you realize that you donrsquo;t have to start digging a bomb shelter under your house because December 21, 2012 is only 3 years away and therersquo;s a lot of hard clay to dig through around here. Instead, I pray that over the next three weeks we more fully understand what Paul meant when he wrote that he was ldquo;eagerly awaitingrdquo; (Philippians 3:20) The End. That The End is really not The End for a Christian, but simply the beginning of an eternity lived happily ever after. So let me ask, ldquo;How do you think God reacts to all the energy and focus that people put into predicting a date for The End of this world?rdquo; Listen to this verse from Matthew about Judgment Day, ldquo;No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Fatherrdquo; (24:36). The interesting thing in all this predicting is that the Bible speaks directly against the idea of people being able to know a date like December 21, 2012. It says that no one knows the date and that it will come at a time when people least expect it. So... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/01/fear-glorify-worship-god/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/01/fear-glorify-worship-god/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:05:50 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1208 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/11/01/fear-glorify-worship-god/feed/ 0 00:01:01 November 1, 2009 Revelation 14:6,7 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. November 1, 2009 Revelation 14:6,7 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/25/seek-the-lord/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/25/seek-the-lord/#comments Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:40:42 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1202 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/25/seek-the-lord/feed/ 0 00:01:01 October 25, 2009 Amos 5:6, 10-15 Pastor Ben Seek the Lord! Have you seen any pictures like this in the last week or so? It looks like a flying ... October 25, 2009 Amos 5:6, 10-15 Pastor Ben Seek the Lord! Have you seen any pictures like this in the last week or so? It looks like a flying bag of Jiffy Pop Popcorn, doesnrsquo;t it. But you know what it really is. Itrsquo;s a homemade helium-filled balloon put together with plywood, tarps and duct tape by a man named Richard Heene. Last Thursday, much of America (maybe you were one of them) was watching television with baited breath as the nation thought that a little 6-year boy was traveling inside the balloon. The police, the National Guard, medical personnel and the media all sent out helicopters, manpower and other resources to chase this runaway balloon only to find out that the boy wasnrsquo;t in there. He was hiding in the familyrsquo;s attic. So end of story, right? A happy ending to a potentially tragic situation. Wrong. Just days later, it would seem as if the entire thing was just a big hoax put together by Richard Heene. Why would he do something like this? Well, Richard Heene was looking for more than just a laugh. It would seem as if hersquo;s a man consumed by himself. His acting career failed and didnrsquo;t bring him the fame he was looking for. After a reality TV show appearance, Richard Heene was now jockeying for an opportunity to get his own reality TV show. Richard Heene needed publicity. He needed notoriety. He needed fame. He was so consumed by himself that he used his family as pawns in his big scheme. He wasted 1000rsquo;s of tax payer dollars. He put rescue personnel in danger as they attempted to rescue the boy. Whatrsquo;s your reaction to what Richard Heene did? Itrsquo;s easy to be disgusted and label him as horribly selfish person. And yet, putting ourselves first and being consumed by the pursuit of self, even at the expense of others, is something that wersquo;ve all struggled with. In fact, if we were honest, itrsquo;s something that comes pretty naturally. Why? Well, selfish ambition (Galatians 5:6), focus on self, is part of the sinful nature that each one of us struggles against. Think about it. One of a childrsquo;s favorite words ishellip;ldquo;mine.rdquo; And if a play-friend comes over and happens to even touch their favorite Fisher Price toyhellip;look out. Therersquo;s likely to be a meltdown. This kind of attitude continues through the teen years. Therersquo;s this culture of competitiveness (me first, me best), rooted in self-seeking, that pervades fashion, grades, sports and popularity. It becomes very hard to be happy for someone elsersquo;s successhellip;especially at the expense of my own. And adults, although we might like to think we grow out of this kind of thing, ldquo;focus on selfrdquo; continues into adulthood and permeates the workplace, the neighborhood and even sometimes the church. When we look at the 10 commandments, we may read the first one, ldquo;You shall have no other godsrdquo; and feel like we can check that one off of our lists. I donrsquo;t worship Allah or Buddah or a golden calf. What we forget is that an idol is anything that we elevate as being more important than God and His will. Guess what idol people of this world struggle with the most? Itrsquo;s not made of gold or wood Itrsquo;s not sitting on some altar. The idol we struggle with most is the one we look at in the mirror everyday. Itrsquo;s elevating ourselves and our desires, ahead of God and His desires. 3700 years ago, the northern Kingdom of Israel also struggled with too much focus on self. This was a time when the people of the northern Kingdom was experiencing an unprecedented time of wealth and prosperity. Theyrsquo;re described as having stone mansions and lush vineyards (5:11). Some had separate vacation homes for the summer (3:15) and beds with inlaid ivory. They enjoyed choice lamb, fattened calves, wine by the bowlful and the finest of lotions (7:4-6). Now, wouldnrsquo;t you think that this would be the kind of environment where it would be easy to f... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/18/not-me-but-we/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/18/not-me-but-we/#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:09:25 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1194 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/18/not-me-but-we/feed/ 0 00:01:01 October 18, 2009 Genesis 2:18-24 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. "Not me.nbsp; But WE." October 18, 2009 Genesis 2:18-24 Pastor Steve For sermon outline, click here. "Not me.nbsp; But WE." Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/11/bethlehem-a-place-to-find%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9dconnections%e2%80%9d-connect-to-ministry/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/11/bethlehem-a-place-to-find%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9dconnections%e2%80%9d-connect-to-ministry/#comments Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:53:48 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1188 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/11/bethlehem-a-place-to-find%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9dconnections%e2%80%9d-connect-to-ministry/feed/ 0 00:01:01 October 13,2009 Acts 6:1-7 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, clicknbsp;here. Connect to Ministry About two weeks ago I was driving my car and attempted to turn on the heat for ... October 13,2009 Acts 6:1-7 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, clicknbsp;here. Connect to Ministry About two weeks ago I was driving my car and attempted to turn on the heat for the first time since last April. As I continued driving, the warmth that I was hoping for never seemed to arrive. Maybe it will just take a few minutes. I waited. And waited. And waited. Therersquo;s no heat coming out of the vents. So I call up my trusty car guy, Mike Provancha, and that night we look under the hood. The first thing we notice is that the antifreeze reservoir is almost completely empty. Well, thatrsquo;s not a very good start. As Mike does a little more investigating, he finds that the pipe that leads from the reservoir to the heating system is rusting through. This leaky pipe was the reason that the antifreeze was gone. And before Mike could do a further inspection, he explained how this one leaky pipe could cause a lot of other problems in the engine. The heat doesnrsquo;t work because the antifreeze leaks out. The thermostat could get burned out because therersquo;s nothing to keep the engine cool. Little rust flakes and other debris that fall from this crack into the system could the radiator to clog up, which could cause thenbsp; entire car to overheat and the engine to break down. Irsquo;m like, itrsquo;s just a little hole in one pipe. One pipe. There are a lot of pipes in that engine. One bad pipe will cause all those problems? But you see, there are no unimportant parts under your hood. Everythingrsquo;s there for a reason. All the parts, every one of them, need to do their job and work together. And when they donrsquo;t, the car doesnrsquo;t function like itrsquo;s supposed to. Well, as we end this series on the purpose of the church, wersquo;re going to find that what is true under the hood of your car is also true here. As wersquo;ve learned, the church is not made of bricks and siding. The church is made up of people. People to whom Jesus has given work to do. People to whom Jesus has asked to be ldquo;lightsrdquo; in this sinful world and to share the light of Christ with others. As I shared with the kids, being a light and living a life of thankfulness is something that we can do every day wherever God has put us. As a parent, a boss, an employee, a student, a child, our entire lives are to be an offering to the Lord as we live and serve Him. And yet, in the church, therersquo;s this unique opportunity to join together talents and gifts and resources to do together, like Aaron and Hur, what we could never do or accomplish on our own. Thatrsquo;s the kind of ministry wersquo;re going to focus on today. To be honest, what Irsquo;ve found is that the work of church is something that many would rather not talk or think about. Sermons on this topic are not always peoplersquo;s favorite. We cram our lives and our schedules full of so many different things that living for the Lord, doing the work that He has put before us quickly feels like just another pull on our busy lives. Like one more thing that we need to do before we get some needed sleep. If thatrsquo;s what our lives of faith and Christian service have become, just one more thing on a calendar filled with things to do, then wersquo;ve failed to keep perspective. Then wersquo;ve lost control of our calendars and something needs to change. Wersquo;ve sinned. So what do we do about it? Well, a sermon on ministry and serving the Lord doesnrsquo;t need to make us cringe. If it doeshellip;herersquo;s what we need to do. We need to turn to Romans 12 and be reminded of how God directs our lives as Christians. In Romans 12, Paul doesnrsquo;t just write, ldquo;offer your bodies as living sacrifices.rdquo; He writes, ldquo;In view of Godrsquo;s mercy (love), offer your bodies as living sacrificesrdquo; (vs. 1). You see, our entire lives of service are a response to what Christ has done for us. Many of you are familiar with the line of clothing and brac... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/04/bethlehem-a-place-to-find%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9dconnections%e2%80%9d-connect-to-others/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/04/bethlehem-a-place-to-find%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9dconnections%e2%80%9d-connect-to-others/#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:32:45 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1164 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/10/04/bethlehem-a-place-to-find%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9dconnections%e2%80%9d-connect-to-others/feed/ 0 00:01:01 October 4, 2009 Hebrews 10:23-25 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Connect to Others I recently read about a ceremony that takes place at the Pentagon building in Washington. ... October 4, 2009 Hebrews 10:23-25 Pastor Ben For sermon outline, click here. Connect to Others I recently read about a ceremony that takes place at the Pentagon building in Washington. When a group of soldiers come back from combat, sometimes theyrsquo;re invited by the generals to have lunch. Itrsquo;s about 110 yards to walk from the outer ring of the Pentagon to the inner ring where lunch is served. And as these soldiers enter the building, the entire length of the Army corridor becomes lined with people. Soldiers, officers, secretaries, janitors and whoever else may be working leave their desks and offices and stand in the hallway. There are literally 100rsquo;s of people standing in the hallway as these soldiers walk by. As the first soldier enters the building in the outer ring, clapping begins. Like a tidal wave, the applause moves down the hall as the first soldier leads the group and continues until every soldier has passed by. The applause has been described as steady and heart-filled. This comes from the fact that most who are clapping are also combat veterans, who understand the pain and sacrifice of the battle. The applause continues for 25-30 minutes as soldier after soldier enters the Pentagon and walks down the hallway. Some are in wheelchairs, missing legs and feet. Some insist on getting out of their chairs to march as best they can. Some are smiling, while many along with many onlookers are filled with tears. The people line the hallway to show their gratitude and thankshellip;thatrsquo;s true. But as I read the article, their applause was much more than that. It was encouragement. Encouragement given by people whorsquo;ve been there. Encouragement given by people who know what the battle is like. Encouragement given to some who will be going back into battle. Itrsquo;s a tidal wave of encouraging applause. Pretty cool, huh? Now, I realize that most of us have never taken up a gun or put on fatigues. And yet, in a very real way, those who wear the name ldquo;Christ-followerrdquo; or ldquo;Christianrdquo; can expect to have a battle on their hands. Therersquo;s a daily spiritual warfare that the Bible describes us having against the devil and this sinful world. The battle is described like this, ldquo;Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devourrdquo; (1 Peter 5:8). Or, ldquo;I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soulrdquo; (1 Peter 2:11). And dear Christians, you know as well as I do, that this daily battle against sin is long and difficult and exhausting. Itrsquo;s something that you have in common with the person sitting next to you. He or she daily battles sin too. Itrsquo;s something that you also have in common with Christ-followers from 2000 years ago. The words that we have before us this weekend were written to a group of Christians who had converted from Judaism. While we arenrsquo;t sure exactly where they lived, maybe Rome, itrsquo;s clear from the letter that it was an area of intense persecution. When they were new Christians and this battle against sin and persecution and the world was new, it sounds like they did a good job of fighting. Listen to Hebrews 10, ldquo;Remember those earlier days after you had received the light (faith), when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution (Their persecution was out in the open. Seemingly everyone joined in.); at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison (At this time it was usually family and friends that cared for prisoners. They were willing to be seen as friends of Christians) and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessionsrdquo; (10:32-34). At the beginning of their faith lives, their fire ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/27/bethlehem-a-place-to-find%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9dconnections%e2%80%9d-connect-to-god/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/27/bethlehem-a-place-to-find%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9dconnections%e2%80%9d-connect-to-god/#comments Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:11:44 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1151 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/27/bethlehem-a-place-to-find%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9dconnections%e2%80%9d-connect-to-god/feed/ 0 00:01:01 September 27, 2009 Ephesians 4:11-16 Pastor Ben "Connect to God" For sermon outline, click here. A few weeks ago on a Saturday, I received an unexpected phone call. It ... September 27, 2009 Ephesians 4:11-16 Pastor Ben "Connect to God" For sermon outline, click here. A few weeks ago on a Saturday, I received an unexpected phone call. It was from a couple whorsquo;s been visiting our church and taking classes. They were expecting their first child in December. Well, the phone call was an urgent one. You see, the mother was diagnosed with a dangerous condition called preeclampsia. The baby needed to be delivered immediately. Remember, this little girl wasnrsquo;t due until December. She was only about 24 weeks along. Well, I immediately went up to the hospital. And just before I got there, a little baby girl was born. And when I say ldquo;little,rdquo; I mean 1lb. 8oz. little. I mean little enough that her entire body could almost fit right into my hand. I stood next to the proud new father in the ICU. We both stood there in amazement. Her hands and fingers and toes were so tiny, and yet she was able to move them around. She had on this little, little diaper. We wondered aloud if you could buy that size at Wal-Mart. The nurse just laughed. It couldnrsquo;t have been bigger than a folded Kleenex and yet this new little girl seemed to be drowning in it. nbsp; And then came my favorite part. Then came the main reason why I was there. I reached my hand into that incubator. Put a little bit of water on her head. And said, ldquo;Aurora, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.rdquo; And on that Saturday afternoon, that tiny little girl was born into her earthly family and also born into the family of God. Through baptism and the Word, Aurora was ldquo;connectedrdquo; to Godrsquo;s family through Jesus and through faith. At baptism, Christrsquo;s sacrifice became her sacrifice. Christrsquo;s victory over sin, became her victory over sin. Well, Irsquo;m happy to share with you that since that Saturday, Aurora continues to do well. Day by day, shersquo;s growing bigger and stronger. And someday, more than likely people wonrsquo;t even know that she was born so tiny. Shersquo;ll just continue to grow and mature like any other child. Growing and maturing physically is not something that we really have to think about or put a whole lot of effort into. When I was in 5th grade, I was hoping to get taller for the basketball team. I thought about hanging from a bar and putting weights on my legs to help stretch them. That doesnrsquo;t work. God has built all of our bodies with this amazing ability to grow from tiny 1lb 8ox. babies into full grown adults. Bones grows. Muscles expand. In fact, when it comes to physically aging and maturing, we try to do whatever we can to slow it down. As much as Aurora needs that kind of growing and maturing, thatrsquo;s not the kind that she needs most. Thatrsquo;s not the kind of growing that wersquo;re talking about this weekend. What Irsquo;d like to talk to you about this morning is more related to other thing that happened to Aurora a few Saturdays ago: her life and faith connection with God. As important as physically growing is for Aurora right now, growing and maturing in faith is even more important. Itrsquo;s important for all of us. Now, some of you might be wondering why maturity of faith is really that important. You might even be recalling in your minds words from Jesus like these, ldquo;I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter itrdquo; (Luke 18:17). Isnrsquo;t Jesus commending an immature faith? Not at all. With these words, Jesus isnrsquo;t addressing the maturity or strength of faith. Hersquo;s simply stating what faith is. Any faith, strong or weak, is a child-like trust in our heavenly Father. In fact, listen to how God feels about immature faith from the book of Hebrews, ldquo;In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of Godrsquo;s wo... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/20/bethlehem-a-place-to-findconnections-why-connections/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/20/bethlehem-a-place-to-findconnections-why-connections/#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:30:18 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1144 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/20/bethlehem-a-place-to-findconnections-why-connections/feed/ 0 00:01:01 September 20, 2009 1 Peter 2:4-6 Pastor Ben "Why Connections?" For sermon outline, clicknbsp;here. September 20, 2009 1 Peter 2:4-6 Pastor Ben "Why Connections?" For sermon outline, clicknbsp;here. Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/13/pass-it-on/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/13/pass-it-on/#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:06:21 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1138 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/13/pass-it-on/feed/ 0 00:01:01 September 13, 2009 Deuteronomy 6:1-9 Pastor Steve "Pass it on" For sermon outline, click here. September 13, 2009 Deuteronomy 6:1-9 Pastor Steve "Pass it on" For sermon outline, click here. Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/06/why-bother/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/06/why-bother/#comments Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:31:48 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1116 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/09/06/why-bother/feed/ 0 00:01:01 September 6, 2009 Mark 5:21-43 Pastor Steve "Why Bother?" For Sermon outline, click here. I canrsquo;t imagine what it feels like to lose daddyrsquo;s little girl. Parents arenrsquo;t supposed ... September 6, 2009 Mark 5:21-43 Pastor Steve "Why Bother?" For Sermon outline, click here. I canrsquo;t imagine what it feels like to lose daddyrsquo;s little girl. Parents arenrsquo;t supposed to bury their children, are they? So where is God when tragedy hits close to home? Where is God when he shows us the promise of hope and a future and then he takes it away? Why bother with Jesus when it seems like all he does is set you up for big time pain and disappointment when yoursquo;ve prayed so hard for hope and healing and deliverance and he doesnrsquo;t come through? Jairus figured, why not? It couldnrsquo;t hurt to try. Jairus was a leading church councilman in the Jewish synagogue. Most church councilmen of the day thought Jesus was a fraud and a troublemaker. But Jairus dared to hope. Daddyrsquo;s little girl was dying. She was only 12. Just finished the 6th grade. He hoped to some day walk her down the aisle. Hersquo;d taken her to all the specialists, tried all the home grown remedies. At least with Jesus he had one last shot. This was the hour of his greatest need. He needed a healer. ldquo;My little daughter is dyinrsquo;. Please, Jesus!rdquo; Can you feel the anguish in his tone of voice? At another time in his life, a respected guy like Jairus might have been a little hesitant to make a public scene in front of a large crowd. But not now. He knew therersquo;d be a crowd. There always was when Jesus the miracle maker was in town. It was worth it to him to bother finding Jesus in the crowd and to throw himself at Jesusrsquo; feet and plead with him. Jesus gave him hope. ldquo;Sure, Irsquo;ll go with you, Jairus.rdquo; At least there was a shothellip;if they hurried. ldquo;But a large crowd followed and pressed around him.rdquo; Do you think Jairus was frustrated? ldquo;Get out of the way people! Quit bothering Jesus!rdquo; And in the background there was a woman, hardly the kind of person to hold up a ticker tape parade. She had a condition. Chronic hemorrhaging of blood. Her condition not only caused her extreme physical pain but Irsquo;m sure caused her quite a bit of emotional trauma too. She was embarrassed. She was vulnerable. She was considered unclean all the time according to the law. Shersquo;d gone to all the specialists, tried all the home grown remedies. Medicaid had quit footing her hospital bills long ago and her last penny was gone. This was the hour of her greatest need. She needed a healer. And she didnrsquo;t want to make a scene either. She thought ldquo;If I just get close enoughhellip;if I just touch his robehellip;if I just trust him.rdquo; So she went, that poor frail woman, and touched Jesusrsquo; robe. Instantly she was healed. Immediately Jesus stops dead in his tracks. Hersquo;s in the middle of a crowd of people and he wants to know who touched his robe? ldquo;Are you kidding me?rdquo; ndash; the disciples think. ldquo;Everybodyrsquo;s trying to pat you on the back and shake your hands and so forth and yoursquo;re asking who touched your robe?rdquo; What do you think Jairus was thinkingmdash;while Daddyrsquo;s little girl was dying? ldquo;Why bother, Jesus? This isnrsquo;t the time for a pit stop. My little girlhellip;rdquo; But Jesus kept looking around. Jairus was getting antsy. He kept checking his watch. He was beside himself. ldquo;Whatrsquo;s he looking at? Whatrsquo;s taking so long?rdquo; The woman knows. Trembling, the woman throws herself at Jesusrsquo; feet and tells ldquo;the whole truth.rdquo; Did Jairus hear her say shersquo;d been afflicted for 12 years? Did it strike him thatrsquo;s just how old his dying daughter was? Did he hold onto that as hope for daddyrsquo;s little girl? Then Jesus shows his compassion. He calls that woman ldquo;daughter.rdquo; He commends her daring faith. He promises her peace and freedom from her pain. Was Jairus thinking, ldquo;Irsquo;m gonna keep hanging on to hope. Maybe Jesus can do this for... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/30/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-am-i-ready-for-death/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/30/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-am-i-ready-for-death/#comments Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:52:59 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1099 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/30/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-am-i-ready-for-death/feed/ 0 00:01:01 August 30, 2009 Matthew 25:1-13 Pastor Ben "Am I Ready for Death?" For sermon outline, click here. One of the places that Irsquo;d like to visit someday is the ... August 30, 2009 Matthew 25:1-13 Pastor Ben "Am I Ready for Death?" For sermon outline, click here. One of the places that Irsquo;d like to visit someday is the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii. Itrsquo;s fascinating to me to get a glimpse into how an ancient city looked and existed. And for those of you who donrsquo;t know all the background, the reason why Pompeii is such a great window into the ancient world is because the entire 25,000 person city was preserved by the volcanic ash that destroyed it. The area around Mt. Vesuvius in Italy had long been an area known for tremors and earthquakes. And so when the first rumblings of a volcanic eruption began, the people ignored the signs. nbsp; And then on August 24, AD 79 Mt. Vesuvius exploded. Fire, mud and lava quickly swallowed up nearby farms and homes. And by the end of the day, the debris from Mt. Vesuvius had buried whole towns, including Pompeii. Because the people werenrsquo;t watching, because the people had been lulled into complacency, because the people werenrsquo;t ready, almost all of the citizens of Pompeii died too. In fact, the volcanic ash petrified their bodies and created a cast. And so today wersquo;re able to see what many of them were doing and how they were reacting as death so suddenly came upon them. nbsp; Over the last seven weeks, wersquo;ve looked at questions that we find ourselves asking. Is there more to life than this? Why is life so unfair? But today, I wanted to end this series with a question that might not consume your mind on a daily basis, and yet it should. In fact, itrsquo;s the most important question in the series. Am I Ready for Death? Now, Irsquo;m not talking about whether you have an escape plan set up just in case the hill that All Saints sits on explodes with volcanic ash. And while ldquo;willsrdquo; and ldquo;powers of attorneyrdquo; and ldquo;life insurancerdquo; are important things to set up and take care of, as you might expect Irsquo;m not talking about those things either. Am I spiritually ready for death? Where do I stand with God? Where will my eternity be spent? Thatrsquo;s the kind of readiness that wersquo;re talking about this weekend. Thatrsquo;s the kind of readiness that Jesus wanted the disciples to consider in Matthew 25 Itrsquo;s Holy Week, just a few days before Jesus would die for the sins of the world. Jesus is on the Mount of Olives with His disciples and Hersquo;s talking to them about future things. He wants to emphasize the importance of being ready, so He tells them this story. Read vs. 1. And it took only one verse for many of you to be lost. We donrsquo;t live in that time or culture so itrsquo;s easy to get confused. Why are there 10 women? Why do they have lamps? Why are they out meeting a groom? Well, at this time when a couple got engaged there would be a ceremony officially joining the couple as husband and wife. But they wouldnrsquo;t live together right away. The groom would spend time getting their new home ready. And then, when it was, theyrsquo;d set up a time when there would be a celebration and a formal procession to their new home. The groom would leave the house he prepared along with his groomsmen and walk to his bridersquo;s home. At the house, the groomrsquo;s arrival would be greeted by the bridesmaids. And then together, the entire wedding party would walk back to the groomrsquo;s house and have a banquet and a celebration with family and friends. You could think of the 10 virgins as the wedding party. They were bridesmaids waiting for the groom to pick up his bride. Read vs. 2-13. (Explain the parable as it is read.) Now, there are a couple of things in Jesusrsquo; story that werenrsquo;t how things usually happened. The groom would never have been so late as to arrive in the middle of the night. Secondly, late arriving bridesmaids would not usually have been locked out of the festival. And yet, these details, that ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/23/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-why-is-it-hard-to-do-what-i-should/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/23/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-why-is-it-hard-to-do-what-i-should/#comments Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:45:54 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1088 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/23/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-why-is-it-hard-to-do-what-i-should/feed/ 0 00:01:01 August 23, 2009 Romans 7:15-25 Pastor Ben "Why is it hard to do what i should?" To view the sermon outline, click here. About 10 years ago, there was ... August 23, 2009 Romans 7:15-25 Pastor Ben "Why is it hard to do what i should?" To view the sermon outline, click here. About 10 years ago, there was a movie that came out starring Jim Carey called, ldquo;Liar, Liar.rdquo; The basic storyline of the movie was that Jim Carey had an almost impossible time telling the truth. Hersquo;d break promises and lie about almost everything. And so, Careyrsquo;s son was affected by all the lying because Jim broke a promise to be at his sonrsquo;s birthday party. And as the boy was blowing out his birthday candles, his wish was that his dad couldnrsquo;t tell a lie for an entire day. Of course, being a movie, the boyrsquo;s wish came true. And therersquo;s one particular scene where Careyrsquo;s in his office and hersquo;s set on telling at least one lie. And so, he takes a blue pen off of his desk and what he tries to say, ldquo;This pen is red.rdquo; But he canrsquo;t do it. His mouth wonrsquo;t let himself say the words. He tries a number of times. ldquo;This pen is r.r.r.rhellip; This pen is r.r.r.rhellip; This pen is r.r.r.royal blue.rdquo; He tries to write that the pen is red. His eyes close as he tries with all his might. He opens his eyes only to see that his hand wrote that the pen is blue. And pretty soon, in typical Jim Carey fashion, hersquo;s flying and flailing all over the office. In the midst of this struggle with himself, he finally finds himself under his desk. And as he pops up so the camera focuses on his face and therersquo;s one word written all over it. ldquo;Blue. Blue. Blue.rdquo; nbsp; Now there are some very imaginative circumstances surrounding this storyline. And yet, I wonder if that struggle that Jim Carey had with himself sounds familiar? Oh, we may not be flailing all over the room, running into walls and falling beneath desks. But do you ever feel a certain amount of tension with yourself? Have you ever wanted to act one way, wanted to say one thing, wanted to think one way, only to find yourself doing the exact thing that you didnrsquo;t want to do. Yoursquo;re determined to speak more kindly about others and not to gossip. But you get to work or to school or on the phone and you canrsquo;t believe it but you end up doing it anyway. You make a pact with yourself to be more patient with the kids. You go to bed that night. You even pray about it. The next morning is stressful and hectic and you blow up just like you promised you wouldnrsquo;t hours before. Does this ever happen to you? Jim Careyrsquo;s struggle and tension is not just something found in the movies. nbsp; When things like that happen in our lives it feels horrible, doesnrsquo;t it? We feel like failures. We make promises and prayers about changing actions in our lives because we really want to change. We donrsquo;t want to keep on sinning. We donrsquo;t want to do the wrong thing. In fact, sometimes we might even wonder, ldquo;Can I be a Christian and continually act this way? Whatrsquo;s going on inside of me?rdquo; If yoursquo;re new to church or new to Christianity, this has been something that has bothered you about Christians. They seem to be two-faced. They say one thing and then some times do exactly the opposite. Why is it hard to do what I should? Well, one of the greatest men of faith in the Bible struggles with the very same thing in his life. Letrsquo;s see what he writes about in Romans 7. nbsp; Read vs. 15-20. Therersquo;s a running joke with my grandpa that centers around, of all things, ldquo;bean soup.rdquo; You see, many years ago we went on a vacation with them. And the group decided to go to a Mexican restaurant for supper. And in a menu filled with burritos, tacos, quesadillas and enchiladas, my grandpa orders bean soup. Not refried bean soup. Not pinto bean soup. Just American green bean soup. We still give him a hard time about that, but herersquo;s what my grandpa knew: that spicy Mexican food would cause a conflict wit... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/16/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-where-is-god-when-im-hurting/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/16/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-where-is-god-when-im-hurting/#comments Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:34:25 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1081 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/16/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-where-is-god-when-im-hurting/feed/ 0 00:01:01 August 16, 2009 Psalm 13 Pastor Steve "Where is God when I'm hurting?" To view the sermon outline, click here. August 16, 2009 Psalm 13 Pastor Steve "Where is God when I'm hurting?" To view the sermon outline, click here. Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/09/when-life-meets-death/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/09/when-life-meets-death/#comments Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:22:43 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1076 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/09/when-life-meets-death/feed/ 0 00:01:01 August 9, 2009 Luke 7:11-17 Pastor Ben When Life Meets Death To view the sermon outline, click here. Freshly cut grass. Steamy August two-a-day practices. And of course, the ... August 9, 2009 Luke 7:11-17 Pastor Ben When Life Meets Death To view the sermon outline, click here. Freshly cut grass. Steamy August two-a-day practices. And of course, the sound of hard plastic striking plastic in one collision after another. Itrsquo;s the time of year when hope runs eternal for your high school, college or professional football team. And while every team needs a little bit of finesse and agility, donrsquo;t expect to play football without enduring a collision or two. Theyrsquo;re inevitable. This was painfully brought home to me during my very first football game. I played defensive back which is a position where you have to be able to run and catch, but donrsquo;t have to do a whole lot of tackling. And yet, collisions happen. Like during the 2nd quarter when our opponent was on the 5 yard line and getting ready to score a touchdown. The ball was handed to their running back. The lineman all were blocked. The linebackers all were blocked. So guess who was left? It was just me and the running back. Mehellip;standing at the goal line. The running backhellip;coming at me full steam ahead. Now, herersquo;s where Irsquo;d like to say that the running back met me, the ldquo;immovable object.rdquo; That I broke up the play and saved the game. But that wouldnrsquo;t be true. I got ran over and my chin got split open. nbsp; Some collisions, some confrontations are inevitable. Like when someone whorsquo;s always enjoyed eating food in mass quantities meets increased age and the slowing metabolism that come with it. Like when protective dads who love their daughters collide with the inevitable reality of boyfriends and dating. (Itrsquo;s still a few years away for me yet.) Like when a group of people with different personalities and different ideas spend lots of time together at work or at a family reunionhellip;there is bound to be a collision or two. During this past week of VBS, our inventor named Gadget, was confronted with one robot problem after another. First, Gizmorsquo;s hands didnrsquo;t work. Then it was a broken processor. Then it was his ears. Finally it was his energy levels. Gadget always seemed to have the right solution. Wouldnrsquo;t it be nice to have solutions for all the collisions of life? An extra 100 pounds for when the running backrsquo;s headed my way. A pill to keep extra the pounds off. An alarm that keeps the boys away. nbsp; What about this inevitable collision? When our earthly lives are confronted with death. Unless God comes back first, thatrsquo;s a collision thatrsquo;s inevitable for all of us. And if we were to be honest, itrsquo;s one that we all spend some time thinking about. And so itrsquo;s good to talk about. Is there a solution for that collision? I have good news to share with you: there is. So, letrsquo;s get into our sermon lesson for today. nbsp; Read vs. 11-12. Nain was a small town in Galilee and on this particular day there was a funeral procession coming out of town. You can imagine the tone and demeanor of the crowd as they head to the cemetery. It was a young man they were to bury and the procession would been filled with crying and wailing and probably some flute players playing mournful music. The mother of this young man was not brand new to funeral processions. She was a widow and so she had already buried someone that she loved very much. This procession was sad for the obvious reasons: this boy was her only son. Mothers arenrsquo;t supposed to have to bury their children. It was sad for other reasons as well. Who was left to take care of this woman? She had no husband. She had no son. There was no welfare for social security or life insurance. Much of her joy and happiness, most of her income and survival was wrapped up in her son. The son now being carried out of town to buried. There was a great deal of heartache and sadness traveling out of Nain on that day. nbsp; But what about the group of people he... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/02/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-why-is-life-so-unfair/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/02/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-why-is-life-so-unfair/#comments Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:57:40 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1057 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/08/02/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-why-is-life-so-unfair/feed/ 0 00:01:01 August 2, 2009 Luke 13:1-5 Pastor Ben "Why is life so unfair?" To view the sermon outline, click here. Besides being Saturday, did anyone catch the significance of yesterday? ... August 2, 2009 Luke 13:1-5 Pastor Ben "Why is life so unfair?" To view the sermon outline, click here. Besides being Saturday, did anyone catch the significance of yesterday? It was two years ago that we were first introduced to these harrowing images. Yesterday was the two year anniversary of the I-35 bridge collapse. This man, Gary Babineau happened to be one of the drivers on the bridge that day. He recalls his experience, ldquo;The whole bridge from one side of the Mississippi to the other just completely gave way. I probably had a 30-35 foot free fall. There are cars in the water. There are cars on fire. The whole bridge is down. It was just like in the movies.rdquo; Gary went on to explain how the rear of his truck was actually dangling off the end of a broken part of the bridge. And as he sat in his truck for a few seconds trying to regain his senses, several vehicles slid right past him falling tragically into the water below. nbsp; Can you imagine? Can you imagine sitting in your truck wondering if yoursquo;ll be the next one to slide to your death? When things like this happen, the question that people often ask is, ldquo;Why?rdquo; Why did the bridge collapse for the people driving over it at 6:00pm and not the people at 5:45? As Gary Babineau sits in his truck, watching people in cars slide right past him, ldquo;Why them and not me?rdquo; Of all the questions that wersquo;re looking at in this series, todayrsquo;s is probably the one that people ask the most. Why? nbsp; We ask it during national tragedies like when a bridge collapses, a hurricane strikes, or terrorists cause two skyscrapers to fall to the ground. We ask it when difficulty hits a little bit closer to home. When a loved one dies too soon or someone gets seriously ill. When therersquo;s difficulty in having children or someonersquo;s in an accident. When a job is lost or when things arenrsquo;t going very well on the sports team. We even ask ldquo;why?rdquo; in the very small things of life like when wersquo;re running late and then get stuck in traffic or when we bring home a watermelon only to find that itrsquo;s rotten inside. ldquo;Why?rdquo; we ask. Why is Life so Unfair? And because these things are out of our hands, because they are things that we canrsquo;t control, very quickly that question gets directed towards the One that is in controlhellip;Why God? nbsp; Things were really no different in Jesusrsquo; day. As you might have expected, earthly tragedies and hardships happened back then too. And people directed their ldquo;whyrsquo;srdquo; towards God. We have an example of that in our lesson today. A group of people brought a tragedy to Jesusrsquo; attention looking for some answers. Read vs. 1. This is all that we know about the incident. There were some worshippers from Galilee who had come to offer sacrifices at the temple. For some reason, Pontius Pilate (the same Pontius Pilate who would sentence Jesus to death) had his solders attack the people right in the temple. In fact, these Galileans were executed right at the altar so that their blood actually got mixed with the blood of their sacrifices. Now thatrsquo;s a tragic, horrible event for so many different reasons! You can imagine the people asking, ldquo;Why?rdquo; Why these Galileans? What did they do to deserve it? Maybe they had it coming? Maybe they were bad people and God was punishing their sin?rdquo; Jesus knew what they were thinking. nbsp; Read vs. 2-3. And then Jesus continues by bringing up a second example of tragedy from that time. It wasnrsquo;t a bridge collapsing and killing 13. It was a tower near Jerusalem collapsing and killing 18. And Jesus addresses that tragedy before they even bring it up. Read vs. 4-5. Jesus knew what they were thinking about the people who were killed in these tragedies. And to be quite honest, itrsquo;s the same thing that we can find ourselves thinking when bad things happen to people... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/26/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-am-i-unique/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/26/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-am-i-unique/#comments Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:01:44 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1040 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/26/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-am-i-unique/feed/ 0 00:01:01 July 26, 2009 Psalm 139:13-16 Pastor Steve "Am I Unique?" To view the sermon outline, click here. July 26, 2009 Psalm 139:13-16 Pastor Steve "Am I Unique?" To view the sermon outline, click here. Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/19/is-there-more-to-life-than-this/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/19/is-there-more-to-life-than-this/#comments Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:48:33 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1031 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/19/is-there-more-to-life-than-this/feed/ 0 00:01:01 July 19, 2009 Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 Is there more to life than this? Pastor Ben July 19, 2009 Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 Is there more to life than this? Pastor Ben Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/12/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-what-is-god-really-like/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/12/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-what-is-god-really-like/#comments Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:26:44 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=1024 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/12/seven-wonders-of-the-modern-mind-what-is-god-really-like/feed/ 0 00:01:01 June 12, 2009 Exodus 34:5-9 Pastor Ben "What is God really like?" One of the worldrsquo;s most famous depictions of God is painted on the ceiling of the ... June 12, 2009 Exodus 34:5-9 Pastor Ben "What is God really like?" One of the worldrsquo;s most famous depictions of God is painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Michelangelorsquo;s famous work pictures God as some sort of ancient ldquo;Grandfatherlyrdquo; figure with a long gray beard and a seemingly endless supply of wisdom. Five hundred years later, the 2003 movie ldquo;Bruce Almighty,rdquo; used Morgan Freeman to play the role of God. In the movie God was a man who had the power to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wantedhellip;even sometimes playing tricks on people. A couple of years ago a new little girl in my momrsquo;s Sunday School class confusingly though my mom may be God. She raised her hand to get my momrsquo;s attention and called out, ldquo;God! God!rdquo; So, ldquo;Whatrsquo;s God really like?rdquo; Thatrsquo;s not just a question that modern minds have wrestled with. Itrsquo;s a question that people throughout the centuries have sought an answer to. The answer goes deeper than whether God looks more like Michelangelorsquo;s depiction in the Sistine Chapel or more like Morgan Freeman. In fact, I hope this doesnrsquo;t disappoint you, but wersquo;re not going to talk at all about what God physically looks like. And while this is a question thatrsquo;s often asked by those who are new to God and new to the Bible, itrsquo;s a question that those of whorsquo;ve been Christians for a while should wrestle with too. Why? Because as we grow in our knowledge and understanding of God and who He is, our trust in Him will grow too. As we grow in our understanding of what the Bible says about God, our faith will get stronger too. Now, I suppose one way to answer the question, ldquo;Whatrsquo;s God really like?rdquo; is to list a bunch of characteristics and attributes that the Bible shares about Him. For those of you who are new to church and the Bible, these are words that you may have never heard before. Words like omnipotent (God is all-powerful), omniscient (Hersquo;s all-knowing), omnipresent, (Hersquo;s everywhere), and eternal (He has no beginning and no end). And while all these words shed some light on the essence of God, the truth is that they are characteristics that we canrsquo;t fully explain or comprehend. For instance, how can God be omnipresenethellip;everywhere at the very same time? Or how does the ldquo;trinityrdquo; exactly work? The wonder and amazement of Godrsquo;s attributes led Lutheran theologian August Pieper to write this, ldquo;We cannot comprehend God. We cannot comprehend God beyond the earnestness of his law and faithfulness of his Gospel promise.rdquo; What did He mean? That while we cannot fully comprehend Godrsquo;s essence, while canrsquo;t fully answer the question, ldquo;Whatrsquo;s God really Like?rdquo;, our best understanding of who God is comes when we consider His activity and relationship with the people of this world. Which brings us to our lesson for this morning. 1500 years before Christ, there was a man named Moses whom God appointed as leader over Israel. Being the leader of Godrsquo;s people proved to be a more difficult task than you might expect. Even after God miraculously freed them from slavery in Egypt, over and over and over again Godrsquo;s people would whine and complain, rebel and get angry with God. In fact, just before the section Irsquo;m going to read, the people decided that they had had enough of God. They melted all their gold together and made a golden calf to worship. Upon Mosesrsquo; pleading and the peoplesrsquo; repentance, God forgave Israel. And yet Moses is still left with this very difficult task before him: to be the God-appointed leader of this group nation thatrsquo;s acting like a bunch of bratty children. I kind of know how Moses must have felt. I once coached 4 year old soccer. I had a lot of ideas about how I thought things would go and about how I would teach the k... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/05/our-declaration-of-dependence/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/05/our-declaration-of-dependence/#comments Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:42:16 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=995 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/07/05/our-declaration-of-dependence/feed/ 0 00:01:01 July 5, 2009 Psalm 33:12-22 Pastor Ben Our Declaration of Dependence ldquo;We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed ... July 5, 2009 Psalm 33:12-22 Pastor Ben Our Declaration of Dependence ldquo;We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.rdquo; nbsp; It was July of 1776 that these familiar words were written and finally approved by our ldquo;Founding Fathers.rdquo; The content of the document went on to list numerous ways in which the ldquo;Founding Fathersrdquo; of our country felt that Britain was keeping the colonists from enjoying these unalienable rights. Things like taxation without representation, the lack of do-justice and fair trials. All of these injustices led up to the conclusion of this Declaration of Independence, nbsp; ldquo;We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.rdquo; Now, whether the Colonistsrsquo; reasons for revolting from Britain were God-pleasinghellip;thatrsquo;s a debate and a discussion for a different time. Herersquo;s the simple point that Irsquo;d like to make on this 4th of July weekend: we are a people who value freedom. We celebrate independence every year with fireworks and cookouts and days off of work. And yet, 233 years ago, in the midst of this very critical and formational time in our countryrsquo;s history, itrsquo;s interesting. As our ldquo;Founding Fathersrdquo; boldly wrote this Declaration of Independence, there was another declaration contained in the same documenthellip;a declaration of dependence. Herersquo;s the last line of the document, nbsp; ldquo;And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.rdquo; nbsp; Now, our country was never intended to be a place where a certain faith or religious belief would be forced on the people. Our government was never entrusted with the responsibility of making sure that every person reads the Bible instead of the Koran, worships Jesus Christ instead of Buddha, or prays to the Triune God instead of some other god. Instead, the United States is a place where everyone has the freedom to practice their own faith and religion. And yet, if you look closely at our history, therersquo;s no mistaking that from the very beginning wersquo;ve been a country where the majority of people have been Christians. In general, most Americans over the years have been people whorsquo;ve had faith in the God of the Bible and in Jesus Christ as their Savior. And as our first leaders made this big decision to declare their independence from Britain, they made it clear that they absolutely depended on the triune God. Our country and our people need God. nbsp; Since 1776, there hasnrsquo;t been a country on the face of the planet thatrsquo;s been more blessed or more gifted than the United States of America. If someone gave you the option to be born and grow up in any country in the entire world, would any of us pick a place other than right here in America. Do you understand that this isnrsquo;t the case for everyone in the world? Do you understand that for political, financial and religious reasons there are millions of people who grow up their entire lives wanting to leave the country they were born into? We have so much to be thankful for. And yet, herersquo;s what happens to people on an individual level. Herersquo;s whatrsquo;s happened to America on a national level. In the midst of all the freedoms and affluence, successes and blessings that God has showered upon America, so many people in this co... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/28/rejoicing-in-reality/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/28/rejoicing-in-reality/#comments Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:31:11 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=989 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/28/rejoicing-in-reality/feed/ 0 00:01:01 June 28, 2009 Romans 5:6-11 Rejoicing in Reality Pastor Steve June 28, 2009 Romans 5:6-11 Rejoicing in Reality Pastor Steve Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/21/god-strnghns-u-thrgh-this-txt/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/21/god-strnghns-u-thrgh-this-txt/#comments Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:03:16 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=987 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/21/god-strnghns-u-thrgh-this-txt/feed/ 0 00:01:01 June 21, 2009 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 God strnghns U thrgh this txt Pastor Steve June 21, 2009 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 God strnghns U thrgh this txt Pastor Steve Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/14/we-c-jesus-in-this-txt/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/14/we-c-jesus-in-this-txt/#comments Sun, 14 Jun 2009 19:04:42 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=980 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/14/we-c-jesus-in-this-txt/feed/ 0 00:01:01 June 14, 2009 John 5: 36-40 Pastor Ben we C Jesus in this txt Well, wersquo;re ready to get into the 3rd week of this sermon series and ... June 14, 2009 John 5: 36-40 Pastor Ben we C Jesus in this txt Well, wersquo;re ready to get into the 3rd week of this sermon series and Irsquo;m praying that itrsquo;s been as much of a blessing for you as it has been for me. If yoursquo;re not quite sure about God and about Jesus and about all that the Bibles has to say. Is this just a book? Can it be trusted as something thatrsquo;s a fact? Well, last week we saw that while there are some amazing miracles found in the Bible, one of Godrsquo;s greatest miracles in fact IS the Bible. God took normal human beings like you and me and used them to record Godrsquo;s very words and message in a miraculous way. The Holy Spirit was guiding and directing every word that they wrote. This book that wersquo;re gathering around and listening to right now is a miracle. And last week I left you to consider this question, ldquo;Have you been listening to Godrsquo;s voice? Godrsquo;s given us this miracle, have we been opening it up and reading it?rdquo; nbsp; Now, if the answer to that question is ldquo;no,rdquo; there could be a couple of different reasons for it. One of the reasons could be that in the realm of life, where there are so many things to do, and so many things that take our attention, wersquo;ve failed to make it a priority. I pray that this series might help change that. And yet, maybe therersquo;s a different reason. Maybe you feel about the Bible, the way I felt the first time I held a newborn. I knew what I was holding was precious and valuable, but I wasnrsquo;t quite positive that I should be the one holding it. ldquo;What do I do with him? How do I hold him? Am I going to break him and how do I get him to stop crying?rdquo; I felt so under-qualified to be holding that precious life. Oh, I knew it was great. I knew it was wonderful. But that didnrsquo;t mean that I felt comfortable. And maybe at times yoursquo;ve wanted to follow a pastorrsquo;s encouragement to read the Bible more, but you felt uncomfortable, under-qualified, and intimidated by the idea of actually reading it. nbsp; Well, this morning Irsquo;d like to help you get rid of that apprehension. There are some books in the Bible that might be more difficult to read and understand than othershellip;you probably wouldnrsquo;t want to start with Revelation. And yet, throughout all 66 books there is one story, one message. God has given us all 66 books of the Bible for one main purpose. And herersquo;s the thinghellip;a realization of the Biblersquo;s main message and purpose, will help you not to feel so intimidated. Understanding the main message will make you better equipped and more comfortable to open it up and read. So thatrsquo;s what wersquo;re going to look at today. nbsp; Over the years there have been many people whorsquo;ve searched and read the Bible, whorsquo;ve studied it, but who have been confused about its message. They read it with the wrong idea in mind. For instance, Thomas Jefferson was so enthralled with the moral teachings and ethics of the Bible that he put together his own version of the New Testament. Herersquo;s what he did. He got rid of everything in Jesusrsquo; life that was miraculous or supernatural. No angels at Jesusrsquo; birth. No changing water into wine. No healing the blind man. No references to the Trinity. And absolutely worst of all, no Easter. Can you imagine? Jeffersonrsquo;s revision ended with Jesusrsquo; death. The resurrection didnrsquo;t make the revision. Was Jesus a great teacher? Do His teachings found in the Bible give us great direction on how to live our lives? Of course. Are we properly understanding the Bible if we throw out all the supernatural and view it only as a guide for how to live? Not even close. nbsp; During Jesusrsquo; ministry, He ran into a whole group of people like this. The Pharisees were a group of people who studied the Bible a lot. At this time they would have only had the Old Testame... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/07/gods-inspired-words-4u/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/07/gods-inspired-words-4u/#comments Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:40:24 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=957 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/07/gods-inspired-words-4u/feed/ 0 00:01:01 June 7, 2009 2 Peter 1:19-20 Pastor Ben Gods inspired words 4U Last week we began this series called ldquo;textrdquo; and if you didnrsquo;t have a chance ... June 7, 2009 2 Peter 1:19-20 Pastor Ben Gods inspired words 4U Last week we began this series called ldquo;textrdquo; and if you didnrsquo;t have a chance to worship with us last week, Irsquo;d invite you to listen to the message on line because it was really foundational to the rest of the series. In a nutshell, herersquo;s what we leaned. In a world thatrsquo;s filled with communication like cell phones and emails and Facebook and text messages, God also has decided to communicate with us. He communicates with us in a couple of very natural ways. When we look at the complex and beautiful world around, itrsquo;s Godrsquo;s megaphone telling the world, ldquo;Hey, wake up! This didnrsquo;t happen by accident. There is a god.rdquo; And then that little voice inside of us that tells us when wersquo;re doing wrong is God telling us that Hersquo;s just and that therersquo;s a standard of right and wrong. But therersquo;s another way that God communicates with the world. The other way is the Bible and itrsquo;s the way that the world learns about who the true God is and what Hersquo;s done for our forgiveness and salvation. This morning wersquo;re going to take a closer look at how the Bible came to be. nbsp; When my son Ezra was 4 and 5 years old he went through this stage where he really enjoyed writing books. Now, this was before the time he knew how to write. So hersquo;d draw pictures and then Irsquo;d write down on each page whatever he told me. He had books about Star Wars and Spiderman and one about pigs and foxes. But my favorite one was this one, itrsquo;s called, ldquo;A Day at the Basketball Game.rdquo; Irsquo;m not going to read the entire book. Irsquo;ll just skip ahead to my favorite part. ldquo;Daddy dribbled the ball. He was trying to score a basket. The other team tried to steal the ball, but they couldnrsquo;t. Daddy dribbled quickly to the hoop and went in for a slam dunk! 2 points! Daddy could hear all the people cheer loudly ndash; especially his favorite fans: mommy, Ezra and Chloe.rdquo; Now that yoursquo;ve heard the story, do you believe the author? Do you believe what Ezra wrote? Do you believe that things really happened just like it says? I mean clearly the idea of me slam dunking a basketball is very believable. Or would you clearly put, ldquo;A Day at the Basketball Gamerdquo; on the shelf with other fictitious classics? You might answer that question in a lot of different ways, but one of the things that Irsquo;m sure yoursquo;d be thinking about is this, ldquo;Whorsquo;s the author?rdquo; In this case: a 4 year old with a big imagination. nbsp; This past week I challenged you to open up your Bibles and to read part of John 19. And one of the things that you read in that section is that Jesus died on a cross and then physically rose from the dead three days later. Something thatrsquo;s infinitely more amazing and more important than a 31 year old white guy dunking a basketball. And the truth is that there are many other places in the Bible where things are described that yoursquo;ve never seen or heard before. A huge sea, the Red Sea, being divided so that the Israelites could walk right down the middle. That Moses would tap a rock a few times and water would come out of it to quench the thirst of an entire nation. A man named Jonah being swallowed by a big fish, only later to be spit out alive. Jesus walking on water, calming a sea, feeding 5000 people with a little bit of food, healing the sick and raising the dead. And because the writings in this book are really old, and because wersquo;ve never seen these types of things happen before in our lives, many in the world have become very skeptical as to whether they can really trust this book. Many ldquo;Bible scholarsrdquo; today try to explain things this way, ldquo;There might be some Godly truth hidden in there, but you canrsquo;t take every story, every detail, every word as true.rdquo; And if we were to b... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/02/god-speaks-2-us/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/02/god-speaks-2-us/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:18:48 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=950 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/06/02/god-speaks-2-us/feed/ 0 00:01:01 May 31, 2009 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 God speaks 2 us Pastor Ben (text message sound) No need to reach for your cell phone. This morning that was just ... May 31, 2009 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 God speaks 2 us Pastor Ben (text message sound) No need to reach for your cell phone. This morning that was just me. Isnrsquo;t it amazing that we live in a day and age where no matter where we are or what wersquo;re doing, someone from across town or even across the country can communicate with us in a matter of seconds? For those of you who are old like me, you might remember what life was like before cell phones? Loved ones would be traveling to visit you and remember what it was like having no real way to communicate with them. How far are they? When are they going to get here? Who knows? Letrsquo;s just keep looking out the window. Theyrsquo;ll show up some time. Remember what it was like standing in line at the gas station with a quarter in hand waiting to use that antique machine called a pay phone. Advances in communication have totally changed our lives at home and at work. In fact, wersquo;ve become so obsessed with instant communication that they came up with a way to speak to the outside world right in the middle of a meeting, right in the middle of a classhellip; never in the middle of church. (text message sound) Itrsquo;s called ldquo;texting.rdquo; And when you hear that sound, no matter what yoursquo;re in the middle of, no matter where you are, yoursquo;re able to look at your phone and communicate. Text messages. Cell phones. Fax machines. Emails. Blogs. My Space. Facebook. Twitter. There are more ways to communicate today than ever before. And while at times we may get tired of the constant barrage of communication and wish that cell phones and the internet were never invented, in general we are a people who enjoy communication and want to communicate with others. We love keeping track of junior as he is driving to school. We enjoy communication and reconnecting with friends from 20 years ago on Facebook. (text message sound) Did you know that God wants to communicate with you? In fact, not only does God want to communicate and speak to you, Hersquo;s given us a means through which He does just that. And if you think about it for a moment, I know that there are important people that text you. I know that the people in your Fab 5 are very important people to you, but is there really any communication that could be more important than God communicating with us? Than God speaking to us? And so thatrsquo;s the reason for this 4 week sermon series called text. Our awesome God has an important message that He wants to speak to us and wersquo;re going to take an up-close look at this means through which Hersquo;s chosen to do that. So, how does God speak to us? When talking about Godrsquo;s communication with the world, we have to start with a couple very natural ways that God speaks to the world. Many times in church circles this is called the Natural Knowledge of God. Listen to Psalm 19, ldquo;The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledgerdquo; (vs. 1-2). Herersquo;s what these verses are saying. When people look at the world, when they see how beautifully and majestically God created the skies and the heavens, the earth and the mountains and the sunsets, when we think about how the Lord made the seasons and the sun and the rain to produce food. When we look at how God created our bodies and how all of our muscles and bones and organs work together, and when we realize that therersquo;s this amazingly complex computer called a brain that helps it all run. These things are like a megaphone through which God says to the world, ldquo;Hey, wake up. None of this happened by accident. There is a God who created it.rdquo; Imagine that yoursquo;re walking through the middle of the woods in northern Minnesota. And as yoursquo;re walking, there on the ground lays a cell phone. Would you be thinking, wow I wonder how ma... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/24/walking-together/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/24/walking-together/#comments Sun, 24 May 2009 15:49:56 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=941 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/24/walking-together/feed/ 0 00:01:01 May 24, 2009 Matthew 28: 16-20 #38; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 Pastor Steve Walking Together May 24, 2009 Matthew 28: 16-20 #38; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 Pastor Steve Walking Together Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/17/gods-expectation/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/17/gods-expectation/#comments Sun, 17 May 2009 20:08:18 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=920 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/17/gods-expectation/feed/ 0 00:01:01 May 17, 2009 1 John 3:1-1 God's Expectation May 17, 2009 1 John 3:1-1 God's Expectation Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/10/the-portrait-of-a-praiseworthy-mother/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/10/the-portrait-of-a-praiseworthy-mother/#comments Sun, 10 May 2009 18:47:46 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=904 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/10/the-portrait-of-a-praiseworthy-mother/feed/ 0 00:01:01 May 10, 2009 Proverbs 31:10, 26-30 Pastor Ben The Portrait of a Praiseworthy Mother Well, Irsquo;m sure yoursquo;ve noticed the table up here. Let me explain a little ... May 10, 2009 Proverbs 31:10, 26-30 Pastor Ben The Portrait of a Praiseworthy Mother Well, Irsquo;m sure yoursquo;ve noticed the table up here. Let me explain a little bit. Itrsquo;s filled with picture frames and inside each of the frames are different women and moms connected to my life in one way or another. Most of these women are still alive. Some of them have gone home to heaven. As you look at these pictures, as you think about the special moms and women in your own life, there are probably a million different things that make these women special to you. On the other hand, moms arenrsquo;t perfect. And for some of us the thought of mom may bring about some real difficult memories and hurtful feelings. So the question thatrsquo;s before us this morning is simplehellip;what does a praiseworthy mother look like? And the reason that this question can be difficult is that the answer requires us to tune out and ignore what the world finds to be important and praiseworthy. You see, society and culture doesnrsquo;t always get things right. Where does society usually find value? nbsp; Some of you might recognize this woman. Her name is Susan Boyle and shersquo;s become an overnight celebrity. About a month ago this 47 year old entered Great Britainrsquo;s version of ldquo;Americarsquo;s Got Talent.rdquo; Susan lives with her cat, Pebbles, in a small town in England and says that shersquo;s never been kissed. When asked about her life aspirations, she says that shersquo;d like to be a professional singer. At this point based only upon her age, dress and looks, because thatrsquo;s all they knew about her, the crowd begins to laugh. They think they know how her audition is going to gohellip;as if beautiful-sounding voices only come out of beautiful-looking people. And thenhellip;and then she begins to sing. And at the first sound of her voice people were taken aback. The judges looked shocked. A hush fell over the crowd as they listened intently to this woman do what they felt was impossible. They wrote her off based solely on how she looked and she sang better than they could have ever imagined. nbsp; You see my friends, this one example of how the world doesnrsquo;t always get it right. The world doesnrsquo;t always get it right. And this idea, and itrsquo;s especially the case for girls and women, this idea that your value and worth and praiseworthiness is based upon how you look and what you wear and what the scale says, this idea is everywhere. To the point that the Susan Boylersquo;s of the world have been cast aside before they even have a chance to open their mouths to sing a note. To the point that girls get shunned and made fun of for something as frivolous as what kind of jeans theyrsquo;re wearing. To the point that girls and women alike have allowed the ever-changing styles and fads in magazines like Vogue, Seventeen, People #38; Glamour to affect their feelings of value and praiseworthiness even more than the never-changing truth of Godrsquo;s Word. In fact some of you girls, women or moms may be living with a great burden on your heart not ever feeling like you truly live up to the standards the world has set for you. nbsp; Now, this is not to say that therersquo;s something wrong or shameful with physical beauty. God made you the way you are. This is not to say that staying physically fit is a waste of time. God wants us to take care of ourselves. This is not to say that those whorsquo;ve been given the gift of fashion should feel they have to wear sackcloth everyday and go without makeup. Itrsquo;s ok to be fashionable. But herersquo;s what God does challenge us with on Motherrsquo;s Day. He challenges us to put worldly ideas about beauty and worth into perspective and to dig deeper. He directs us to go deeper than the superficial, deeper than the skin. And as we do, as we dig into Godrsquo;s Word, wersquo;ll find what Godrsquo;s ideas of a praiseworthy Mother is really ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/03/follow-the-shepherd/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/03/follow-the-shepherd/#comments Sun, 03 May 2009 15:09:39 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=896 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/05/03/follow-the-shepherd/feed/ 0 00:01:01 May 3, 2009 John 10:11-18 Pastor Ben Follow the Shepherd ldquo;Are you a leader?rdquo; I want you to wrestle with that question for a moment as I share ... May 3, 2009 John 10:11-18 Pastor Ben Follow the Shepherd ldquo;Are you a leader?rdquo; I want you to wrestle with that question for a moment as I share a short story. ldquo;Are you a leader?rdquo; happened to be a question that a high school senior was asked as she was filling out a college application form. This girl, being both honest and comfortable in who she was, wrote, ldquo;Nordquo; to the question of whether she was a leader. Weeks later as she opened up a return letter, she expected the worst. Herersquo;s what the letter said, ldquo;Dear applicant: This yearrsquo;s application process has revealed that our college will be enrolling 1,452 new leaders this year. We feel itrsquo;s imperative to have at least one follower and so we accept your application." nbsp; ldquo;Are you a leader?rdquo; Keep wrestling with that question as I give you something else to think about. What would you suppose would happen if the next time you went to Barnes #38; Noble, you asked someone to take you to the section of the store where they have books on leadership and how to become a better leader? Irsquo;m guessing theyrsquo;d know exactly what section of the store to take you to. There are probably a couple shelves or an entire section devoted to leadership. Now, what would happen if you asked the same guy to take you to the section of the store that had books devoted to following and how to become a better follower? Irsquo;m guessing he wouldnrsquo;t take you anywhere. Hersquo;d probably give a blank store followed by something like this, ldquo;Irsquo;m sorry. We donrsquo;t have a section of books like that.rdquo; nbsp; Now, why is that? Our world has so encouraged and exalted and idolized the importance and strength of leadership, that wersquo;ve almost totally minimized or forgotten about the importance and virtue of following. I mean, when I asked the question, ldquo;Are you a leader?rdquo; Irsquo;m guessing that well over half of you answered ldquo;yesrdquo; to that question. And that most of the others were kind of feeling bad about answering ldquo;nordquo; because they really would rather answer ldquo;yes.rdquo; My friends, this morning what the Lord wants to teach us is that therersquo;s nothing embarrassing about being a ldquo;follower.rdquo; And for those of us so consumed and maybe even overwhelmed by being a leader, maybe even overwhelmed to the point of being stressed out, the Lord teaches us all of us to remember that at the heart and core of what it means to be a Christian is to be a follower. Christians are followers. nbsp; Now, at this point I think itrsquo;s important for me to clarify a couple of things. The Lordrsquo;s direction for being a ldquo;follower,rdquo; doesnrsquo;t exclude the trait of leadership entirely. Almost every single of one of us have certain areas of life where wersquo;ve been entrusted with a certain amount of authority by God. In those areas, as a parent, a boss, a teacher, a team captain, a class president, a church councilman, a pastor God wants us to lead. He wants us to show Christ-like, loving leadership. In fact, the Bible lists leadership as a spiritual gift. The second thing to remember before we begin is that Godrsquo;s encouragement ldquo;to followrdquo; is not an encouragement to follow anyone or anything that comes along. Wersquo;ve all been asked this question by some well-meaning parents, ldquo;If your friends all jumped off a bridge, would you do it too.rdquo; Godrsquo;s encouragement to be a ldquo;followerrdquo; doesnrsquo;t mean that now we should answer ldquo;yesrdquo; to that question. Because again, being a ldquo;followerrdquo; doesnrsquo;t mean we just follow anyone or anything that comes along. We are encouraged to follow the right one. Like who? Well, in a world and a time where there were lots of different leaders and ldquo;waysrdquo; to follow, Jesus makes clear who they should be following. nbsp; Listen to the first verse of ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/04/19/life-goes-onbut-its-still-all-about-jesus/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/04/19/life-goes-onbut-its-still-all-about-jesus/#comments Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:41:46 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=869 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/04/19/life-goes-onbut-its-still-all-about-jesus/feed/ 0 00:01:01 April 19, 2009 Acts 3:12-20 Pastor Steve April 19, 2009 Acts 3:12-20 Pastor Steve Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/04/12/easter-is-the-end-to-what-if/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/04/12/easter-is-the-end-to-what-if/#comments Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:34:47 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=852 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/04/12/easter-is-the-end-to-what-if/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009 1 Corinthians 15:17-20 Pastor Ben Easter is the End to "What if" Have you ever found yourself thinking about the question ldquo;what if?rdquo; ... Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009 1 Corinthians 15:17-20 Pastor Ben Easter is the End to "What if" Have you ever found yourself thinking about the question ldquo;what if?rdquo; ldquo;What ifrdquo; a specific moment or event in your life never happened? Or what if things happened in a totally different way? How would life be different? When I graduated from high school I wasnrsquo;t quite sure what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go to college. I had been accepted at a number of schools and was settling on going to the UW Oshkosh for a business degree. I took all the entrance exams and at the time of my high school graduation I was all ready to go. But just a few weeks before September, I did a 180 and ended up enrolling at Martin Luther College to study for the ministry. nbsp; Irsquo;ve sometimes thought about the question, ldquo;What if?rdquo; What if I had gone to Oshkosh? My life would be significantly different. I wouldnrsquo;t be a pastor. I probably wouldnrsquo;t be living in Lakeville. I probably wouldnrsquo;t know any of youhellip;some of you are probably thinking, that doesnrsquo;t sound all bad. Whatrsquo;s more, I probably wouldnrsquo;t be married to Carrie because I met her at MLC which means no Ezra, Chloe, Elias and Addie either. ldquo;What if?rdquo; Every single one of us could do that with a moment or event in life. What if? nbsp; Herersquo;s another one to think about. What if there was no Easter? Hmm. Well, I suppose if there was no Easter yoursquo;d be on your own for breakfast this morninghellip;no eggs and French toast for you. There wouldnrsquo;t be quite as many pastel-colored shirts and dresses in the stores. Therersquo;d be no egg hunts, no baskets, no plastic grass, no chocolate bunnies. If there was no Easter today, therersquo;d be no trumpets, no lilies, no festive banners. But is that it? Are those things as far-reaching as the significance of Easter goes? And if itrsquo;s more than a basket full of candy, a new outfit and a free breakfast, what is the significance of this day? nbsp; The good news is that we donrsquo;t need to wonder about the answer to that question. We donrsquo;t need to wonder whether all this celebrating is really worth it. You see, by Godrsquo;s direction an ancient Christian named Paul wrote all about Easter. The idea that death is not the end, the idea that someone whorsquo;s dead could come out of the grave to live again was just as unusual an idea back then as it today. In fact, there were some who liked what Jesus taught about life and about morality. They liked what the disciples taught about being forgiven and getting to heaven. But that He lived after His crucifixion? Crsquo;mon, canrsquo;t I follow all the other stuff without believing something as unlikely as a dead man coming back to life? The answerrsquo;s ldquo;no.rdquo; Not if you want to be a Christian. Easterrsquo;s too important. And so herersquo;s what Paul does. T to get his point across about the importance of Jesusrsquo; resurrection, he asks us to think about this question, ldquo;What if?rdquo; What if there was no Easter? nbsp; Read vs. 17-18. ldquo;Futile.rdquo; It means pointless or a waste of time. Kind of like I felt in that Shakespeare class I was required to take in college. I mean Shakespeare was a gifted writer, but what language was he writing in. Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him; As if increase of appetite had grown. By what it fed on, and yet, within a monthmdash; Let me not think on'tmdash;Frailty, thy name is woman!mdash;What? I know. Everyday thatrsquo;s how I felt as I attended that class. It felt like a waste of time. My friends, herersquo;s what Paulrsquo;s saying, What if there was no Easter? Then faith in Jesus, then being a Christian would be a practice in futility. Itrsquo;d be nothing more than a useless class. Coming to church every week, going to Sunday School, singing hymns, volunteering at church, telling... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/04/05/god-knows-exactly-what-we-need/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/04/05/god-knows-exactly-what-we-need/#comments Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:49:55 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=840 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/04/05/god-knows-exactly-what-we-need/feed/ 0 00:01:01 April 5, 2009 Mark 11:1-10 Pastor Ben God Knows Exactly What We Need A couple of weeks ago, an 8 year old autistic boy in Thailand was in his ... April 5, 2009 Mark 11:1-10 Pastor Ben God Knows Exactly What We Need A couple of weeks ago, an 8 year old autistic boy in Thailand was in his first day at a new school. And things werenrsquo;t going very well. He was overwhelmed with the fears that accompany the first day of anything. In fact, the boyrsquo;s discomfort became so great that he ended up leaving the room. Not the worst thing I suppose. But the classroom is on the 3rd floor and he left through the window, dangerously walking out onto the ledge. He then sat down on ledge allowing his legs to dangle over the side. He was far enough away from the window where no one could reach him, Hiis teachers, his mom, and eventually the Bangkok fire department tried everything they could think of to convince him to come inside. The boy wouldnrsquo;t budge, and they really couldnrsquo;t go out to get him fearful that he might fall in a struggle. He may not have realized it, but this boy needed to be saved. What would you do? I know that for my 3 year old, a trail of Sunday morning doughnuts leading towards the window would have probably gotten him off the ledge. Not so helpful in this case. Well, herersquo;s what one of the firemen did. He overheard the boyrsquo;s mom talk about his love of superheroes and especially ldquo;Spiderman.rdquo; And guess what? The fire department happened to own a Spiderman costume. They used for entertainment at grade school presentations. The fireman rushed back to the station, changed into the costume and then returned to the boy. In his best Thai superhero Spiderman voice, the fireman turned Spiderman said, ldquo;Spiderman is here to save you. No monster will hurt you now.rdquo; And guess what? This out of the ordinary plan worked. Almost immediately the boy got up and walked into Spidermanrsquo;s arms. He was saved. Itrsquo;s neat hearing stories like that. Stories with happy endings. Stories where someone sees a situation and knows exactly how to react, exactly what is needed, exactly what to do. But even more than hearing stories like that, we get really fired up when the happy ending happens to us. Wersquo;re really filled with joy when the happy conclusion is mine, when Irsquo;m the one being saved. In fact, there was a time in the city of Jerusalem where the mere hope of being saved moved an entire city to throw a parade for the one who might save them. It moved people to lay down their coats and palm branches and shout at the top of their lungs, ldquo;Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!rdquo; Therersquo;s no doubt about it. Itrsquo;s absolutely wonderful to be saved! That day was this day: Palm Sunday. As Jesus came into Jerusalem, the people were yelling at Him, ldquo;Hosanna!rdquo; It means, ldquo;Save us now!rdquo; Hosannarsquo;s a word thatrsquo;s expecting an immediate result. Itrsquo;s a word thatrsquo;s asking to be saved from the dangerous 3rd floor ledge not in a year, not in a month, but now. And I would guess that when difficult times come, itrsquo;s a prayer that every single one of us has raised to the Lord. Or maybe sometimes itrsquo;s the only kind of prayer that we have for the Lord. When life seems to be difficult, when things seem to be a mess, itrsquo;s ldquo;Save me Lord! And save me now!rdquo; So, herersquo;s what Irsquo;d like you to do. On this day of the year where wersquo;re singing and shouting our ldquo;Hosannas,rdquo; from what in your life would you like the Lord to ldquo;save you now?rdquo; What burden, what stress is deeply rooted in your heart or mind and bothering you greatly? Whatrsquo;s your third floor ledge that yoursquo;d really liked to be saved from? Maybe itrsquo;s a backache. Maybe itrsquo;s a full body ache. Maybe itrsquo;s loneliness. Maybe itrsquo;s a perceived lack of purpose. Maybe itrsquo;s losing a job, maybe itrsquo;s a disease, maybe itrsquo;s the death of a loved one, maybe itrsquo;s not feeling accepted by your peers at school. Irsquo;m... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/29/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-moves-us-to-forgive-others/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/29/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-moves-us-to-forgive-others/#comments Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:13:02 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=830 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/29/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-moves-us-to-forgive-others/feed/ 0 00:01:01 March 29, 2009 Matthew 18:21-35 Pastor Steve What's So Amazing about Grace?nbsp; It Moves Us to Forgive Others March 29, 2009 Matthew 18:21-35 Pastor Steve What's So Amazing about Grace?nbsp; It Moves Us to Forgive Others Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/22/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-compels-us-to-share-grace-with-others/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/22/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-compels-us-to-share-grace-with-others/#comments Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:46:14 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=801 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/22/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-compels-us-to-share-grace-with-others/feed/ 0 00:01:01 March 22,2009 2 Corinthians 5:13-21 Pastor Ben What's So Amazing About Grace? It Compels us to Share Grace with Others Have you experienced ldquo;March Madnessrdquo; yet? Over the last ... March 22,2009 2 Corinthians 5:13-21 Pastor Ben What's So Amazing About Grace? It Compels us to Share Grace with Others Have you experienced ldquo;March Madnessrdquo; yet? Over the last decade or so the word ldquo;madnessrdquo; has been attached to March because of the crazy, ldquo;out of their mindrdquo; behavior of college basketball fans during this time of year. You see people cover their bodies with paint like warriors preparing for battle and write letters on themselves. Some wear funny hats and do choreographed cheers in unison. Still others, college students and grown adults alike dance around and cheer like little kids and lift people up on their shoulders. In fact, because of their over-the-top exuberance and dedication, Duke Universityrsquo;s basketball fans are even nicknamed the ldquo;Crazies.rdquo; Herersquo;s one way that they live up to their nickname. In an attempt to get the very best seats at the game, these ldquo;Craziesrdquo; will begin camping out near the gym entrance up to 2 months before the big game. For two months these tents have to be constantly occupied by someone from their group or they lose their spot in line. For two months they live in a makeshift tent village just next door to their warm, dry, comfortable dorm rooms. Do you get it? Do you understand the ldquo;Crazies?rdquo; Do you understand ldquo;March Madness?rdquo; Most people donrsquo;t. What would compel bright young people with high IQrsquo;s and excellent SAT scores to spend countless hours braving the elements for a basketball game? The dictionary defines ldquo;crazyrdquo; as ldquo;being out of the ordinary, askew or passionately preoccupied.rdquo; And herersquo;s where ldquo;crazyrdquo; intersects with out spiritual lives today. This week God is telling us that as Christians we should be a little bit ldquo;out of our minds.rdquo; Or to put it another way, ldquo;when the world looks at us, sometimes they might think that wersquo;re a little bit ldquo;crazy.rdquo; Now, this doesnrsquo;t mean that we all need to put on body paint and jump around. This doesnrsquo;t mean that we need to camp out in front of the church doors on Saturday for the best seats on Sunday hellip;which obviously would be in the back. But it does mean that therersquo;s a Godly kind, a good kind of Madness going on in our lives and in our church during March and every month of the year. It does mean that from the perspective of the outside world, Christians are compelled to act ldquo;out of the ordinary,rdquo; or ldquo;out of our mindsrdquo; The words wersquo;ll look at were written by a Christian pastor and missionary named Paul to Christians in a Greek city called Corinth. Itrsquo;s important for us to again recall Paulrsquo;s background. As a young adult he was one of the worldrsquo;s most vicious opponents of Christ and Christ-followers. But all of this would change. Later in life Paul became one of Christrsquo;s greatest missionaries. He was committed to following the Lord in spite of the many hardships it would bring. Listen to Paul detail some of his trials for the sake of Christ, ldquo;Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and nakedrdquo; (11:24-27). How do you explain this absolute 180 degree change in Paulrsquo;s life? In fact, the extremes to which Paul went makes camping out for 2 months to go to a basketball game look pretty ordinary. And so, as you can imagine, w... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/15/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-disregards-the-cost/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/15/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-disregards-the-cost/#comments Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:09:00 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=797 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/15/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-disregards-the-cost/feed/ 0 00:01:01 March 15, 2009 Mark 10:32-34 Pastor Ben What's So Amazing About Grace?nbsp; It Disregards the Cost Has love ever moved you to do something a little bit crazy? Todd ... March 15, 2009 Mark 10:32-34 Pastor Ben What's So Amazing About Grace?nbsp; It Disregards the Cost Has love ever moved you to do something a little bit crazy? Todd Grannis knew that he wanted to marry his girlfriend Malissa. And as he thought about how he was going to propose, he wanted the proposal to show the extent of his love for her. And so he devised a plan and chose a 4th of July party to carry it out. There was a pool at the place that they were gathering and Todd built a 10 ft. platform right next to it. As the sun was going down on the 4th, Todd climbed that 10 foot platform in a hooded, water-soaked fire suit. And with the help of his friend, who happens to be a stuntman, Toddrsquo;s plan was to show His love by becoming a human firework on the 4th of July. As 75-100 friends and family including Malissa watched, Toddrsquo;s suit was set on fire. The scene was pretty spectacular as this glowing, orange ball of fire jumped off the platform into the pool below. As Todd got out of the pool, Malissa ran over to him shocked, worried and amazed. And then Todd got down on one knee and asked Malissa to marry him. She said, ldquo;No way. Yoursquo;re way too crazy for me to marry.rdquo; Irsquo;m just kidding. That would have been disappointing, wouldnrsquo;t it? Malissa said ldquo;yesrdquo; and she now has a proposal story that will be impossible to forget. What would move Todd Grannis to do something like that? Well, with all that could go wrong between the blazing fire and the 10 ft jump, Irsquo;m guessing that Todd wouldnrsquo;t have performed this stunt for just anyone. But as he thought about the potential complications and physical cost, for Malissa he was willing to disregard those things. Now, personally I think Todd setting himself on fire is a little bit crazy. And yet sometimes love moves people to do the absurd and disregard the cost. Maybe itrsquo;s a love-crazed couple who are willing to travel for hours in order to see each other for half an hour. Maybe itrsquo;s a mother or father whorsquo;s willing to go an entire evening without sleep because their new ldquo;bundle of joyrdquo; needs their attention. Sometimes love moves people to disregard the cost. This week wersquo;re continuing our look at the question, ldquo;Whatrsquo;s so Amazing about Godrsquo;s Grace?rdquo; And what wersquo;ve learned so far is that grace is truly amazing because itrsquo;s love thatrsquo;s shown to those who are otherwise unlovable. That we often act like the bully from the Christmas Story towards. And yet God chooses to love us in spite of our daily sins and disobedience. Last week we saw that grace is amazing because even in the uncertainties of life, Godrsquo;s love and care is something that we can always count on. This week wersquo;re going to see that grace is amazing because of the deep and costly sacrifices that itrsquo;s willing to make. Todd Grannis went to great lengths to show Malissa his love, but there are a couple things worth remembering and understanding. While his stunt could have been costly, the reality is that it wasnrsquo;t. Everything went as planned and Todd wasnrsquo;t hurthellip;not even a little. While Todd chose a dangerous way to propose, it wasnrsquo;t like he had to. There were plenty of other ways that Todd could have asked Malissa to marry him. But when it comes to our forgiveness, when it comes to our salvation in heaven, there was only one way. Psalm 49:7says, ldquo;No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him.rdquo; Our forgiveness and payment for sin had to come through someone who was more than just a man. It had to come through the suffering and death of Godrsquo;s perfect Son: Jesus Christ. There was no other way, no other option, no other solution. Jesus understood that too. Letrsquo;s take a look at what Jesus was willing to disregard as we turn to Mark 10:32-34. We are just a couple of weeks away from Jesusrs... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/08/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-never-fails/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/08/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-never-fails/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:20:04 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=794 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/08/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-never-fails/feed/ 0 00:01:01 March 8, 2009 Psalm 121 Pastor Steve March 8, 2009 Psalm 121 Pastor Steve Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/01/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-loves-the-unlovable/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/01/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-loves-the-unlovable/#comments Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:49:26 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=783 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/03/01/whats-so-amazing-about-grace-it-loves-the-unlovable/feed/ 0 00:01:01 March 1, 2009 1 Timothy 1: 12-17 What's So Amazing about Grace?nbsp; It Loves the Unlovable A quick internet search on the key words ldquo;love storyrdquo; will bring ... March 1, 2009 1 Timothy 1: 12-17 What's So Amazing about Grace?nbsp; It Loves the Unlovable A quick internet search on the key words ldquo;love storyrdquo; will bring 116 million hits. Herersquo;s one that I thought was amazing. Sixty years ago a young Russian man named Boris married a young Russian woman named Anna. Three days after their wedding, Boris went off to fight in World War II. While he was gone, Anna and her family were accused of being enemies to the state and were exiled to Siberia. When Boris returned home from the war, he found the house where Annarsquo;s family lived completely empty and abandoned. No one in the neighborhood knew where the government had taken them. Boris did everything he could to find Anna, but it proved to be an impossible task. Years went by and eventually Anna was persuaded by her parents to remarry. Boris did too. In January of 2008, Anna, now a widow in her 80rsquo;s, decided to finally go back and visit the home where her family used to live. Coincidentally, an 80 year old widower named Boris was in town that very same day putting flowers on the grave of his parents. ldquo;I thought my eyes were playing games with me,rdquo; Anna said. ldquo;I saw this familiar looking man approaching me. My heart jumped. I knew it was him. I was crying with joy.rdquo; Boris also recalls that day, ldquo;I ran up to her and said, ldquo;My darling, Irsquo;ve been waiting for you for so long. My wife. My life.rdquo; After 60 years of waiting. After 60 years of hoping. Finally, Boris and Anna are together again. In fact, they got remarried and are 80 year old newlyweds. Thatrsquo;s the kind of story about enduring love that can bring a smile to your face and joy to the heart. And you know what? Itrsquo;s a story that doesnrsquo;t involve us. So permit me to share with you a real life love story that involves every single one of the people in this room. Thatrsquo;s what wersquo;re going to be doing over the next 5 weeks. Wersquo;re going to be recalling an amazing love that endured much more than Boris and Anna did over 60 years. In fact, itrsquo;s the greatest love that the world has ever seen. Wersquo;ve all sung the hymn, ldquo;Amazing Grace.rdquo; But let me ask, What Makes Grace so Amazing? What makes Godrsquo;s undeserved love for us unlike any other love yoursquo;ve ever experienced? As we begin the season of Lent, itrsquo;s the perfect time for us to consider Godrsquo;s love and grace. Itrsquo;s the perfect time to mine its depths and recall what it means for us. Why? Because itrsquo;s during Lent that the greatest love the world has ever known culminated in action on a wooden cross in Jerusalem. So, as we begin our study of Godrsquo;s grace, herersquo;s a true statement that Irsquo;d like you to think about and consider, ldquo;In order to truly understand Godrsquo;s grace, itrsquo;s important to truly understand ourselves.rdquo; Let me say that again, ldquo;In order to truly understand Godrsquo;s grace, itrsquo;s important to truly understand ourselves.rdquo; What do I mean? Well letrsquo;s turn to the Bible and see how the Apostle Paul views himself. Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17. These words were written by a man whom God used to write much of the New Testament. A man whom God used to begin mission churches across Asia and Europe. A man who was beaten and imprisoned and placed into life-threatening situations for the sake of Jesus and the message that He is the Savior. And yet, as Paul looks back on his life this is what he understands about himself, ldquo;I was once a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent manrdquo; (vs. 13). Thatrsquo;s no exaggeration. There was a time in Paulrsquo;s life where he hated Jesus and His followers. Paul once took care of his buddiesrsquo; coats so that they could throw stones harder and more accurately at the first Christian martyr named Stephen. Paul once volunteered to make a 10 day, 150 mile trip from Jerusalem to Damasc... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/22/a-defining-moment/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/22/a-defining-moment/#comments Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:20:51 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=774 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/22/a-defining-moment/feed/ 0 00:01:01 February 22, 2009 Mark 9:2-9 A Defining Moment Pastor Ben Back in November, a golfer name JP Hayes was playing in a tournament in Texas. He was playing in ... February 22, 2009 Mark 9:2-9 A Defining Moment Pastor Ben Back in November, a golfer name JP Hayes was playing in a tournament in Texas. He was playing in this tournament in hopes of making the 2009 PGA tour. And in fact, things were going quite well for him. As he got ready to tee off on the 12th hole, his caddy threw him a ball from the bag. JP put the ball down. He teed off and then chipped it onto the green before noticing that it wasnrsquo;t the same kind of ball that he had used at the beginning of the round. Thatrsquo;s a 2 stroke penalty and so he reported it to the official. JP finished up the round and even with the penalty, was in great position to win a spot on tour. That night JP was in his room at the hotel when something dawned on him. The ball he had mistakenly used for those 2 shots was a type of ball not approved for tournament use. And herersquo;s the thinghellip;using an illegal ball for even one shot means automatic disqualification. And for JP Hayeshellip; that meant not making the tour. As he came to this realization late at night in his hotel room JP really had two options. He could say nothing about the ball and keep playing in the tournament. No one would ever know except for him. Or he could do something else. He could be honest thing and turn himself in. The mistake would cost him a spot on the tour. What did he do? He called up an official the next morning and told him what had happened. JP was disqualified from the tournament and is not a member of this yearrsquo;s PGA tour. Pretty amazing, huh? Thatrsquo;s an example of what a person might call A Defining Moment in a personrsquo;s life. Itrsquo;s a moment, a situation, a set of circumstances where you get a glimpse of who someone really is and what theyrsquo;re all about. And defining moments can be helpful because knowing and understanding who a person really is affects how you feel about them. For instance, as this story came out JP has been hailed as a man of integrity and honesty. Hersquo;s been interviewed and praised by multiple radio and TV shows. In this era of steroids and cheating in sports, hersquo;s kind of become a symbol of true sportsmanship and integrity. That golf ball and the decision surrounding it was A Defining Moment for JP Hayes. It says a lot about who he is, and what hersquo;s all about. This morning wersquo;re going to take a look at A Defining Moment in Jesusrsquo; life. It was an event on the top of a mountain where Jesus gave three of His disciples a fuller glimpse of who He was and what He was all about. This mountain top event would turn out to be a very important encouragement for Peter, James and John. And herersquo;s the thing, my friends. Their mountain top event is also a very important and encouraging event for us to. Daily remembering who Jesus is makes a huge, huge difference for our lives on earth and for our eternities. So letrsquo;s read about this Defining Moment from Jesusrsquo; life in Mark 9. Read Mark 9:2-9. So Peter, James and John get done walking with Jesus to the top of this mountain. And as they get done with their hike something happened that they had never seen before. Jesus began to glow. Mark writes that ldquo;His clothes became whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.rdquo; Luke writes that ldquo;His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.rdquo; Matthew writes that ldquo;His face shone like the sun.rdquo; What they saw was unlike anything they had ever experienced in their lives. What was it? Well, let me tell you something about Jesus. Colossians 2:9 says, ldquo;In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.rdquo; When Jesus, Godrsquo;s Son, came to this earth to accomplish the work of our salvation, He made the decision that He would cover up much of His glory and power as God. Hersquo;d cover it up with skin and bone and humanity. But on this particular day, on this mountain, at this time Jesus deci... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/15/god-made-you-a-missionary/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/15/god-made-you-a-missionary/#comments Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:23:33 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=753 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/15/god-made-you-a-missionary/feed/ 0 00:01:01 February 15, 2009 2 Kings 5:1-3 God Made You a Missionary February 15, 2009 2 Kings 5:1-3 God Made You a Missionary Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/08/gods-callits-for-you-when-your-life-is-on-the-line/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/08/gods-callits-for-you-when-your-life-is-on-the-line/#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:45:20 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=747 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/08/gods-callits-for-you-when-your-life-is-on-the-line/feed/ 0 00:01:01 February 8, 2009 Job 7:1-7 God's Call...It's For You: When your life is on the line Pastor Steve February 8, 2009 Job 7:1-7 God's Call...It's For You: When your life is on the line Pastor Steve Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/01/gods-callits-for-you-his-is-a-priority-call/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/01/gods-callits-for-you-his-is-a-priority-call/#comments Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:30:23 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=723 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/02/01/gods-callits-for-you-his-is-a-priority-call/feed/ 0 00:01:01 February 1, 2009 Deuteronomy 18:15-20 God's Call...It's For You: "His" is a Priority Call Pastor Ben In the 1960rsquo;s, a high school kid was busy trying to master the ... February 1, 2009 Deuteronomy 18:15-20 God's Call...It's For You: "His" is a Priority Call Pastor Ben In the 1960rsquo;s, a high school kid was busy trying to master the high jump for his schoolrsquo;s track team. At the time there were a bunch of different techniques that high jumpers would use to get over the bar. This kid was taught to jump with his stomach towards the bar and in a scissors motion to lead with one arm and one leg and then follow with the other arm and leg. Well, he thought that there had to be a better, more efficient way. He began experimenting by jumping with his back towards the bar and then kind of flopping his body over. As he continued working on this new way to jump, he found that he could jump higher and clear the bar more consistently than before. He tried sharing his new technique with others, but with all the different methods out there, it was just one technique among many and no one listened. There were too many different opinions. Too many different voices saying that their way was the right way. Their way was the best way to high jump. In fact, people laughed at him. He was an ordinary high school kid. Whorsquo;s going listen to him go on and on about this new ldquo;floppingrdquo; technique? And thenhellip;and then that kid, Dick Fosbury, used his ldquo;Fosbury Floprdquo; to set an Olympic record and win the gold medal at the 1968 Olympics. And nowhellip;everyonersquo;s listening. In fact, the ldquo;Fosbury Floprdquo; is pretty much the only way that high jumper jump. There are still lots of different ways that a person could get over a the bar, but high jumpers have tuned those other ldquo;voicesrdquo; and ldquo;strategiesrdquo; out. And instead, they listen to Dick Fosburyrsquo;s voice. Why? Well, hersquo;s got some authority now. Hersquo;s not just some high school kid, hersquo;s an Olympic gold medalist and knows what hersquo;s talking about. While there probably arenrsquo;t too many high-jumpers in our midst this morning, we all have been in life situations where there have been differing opinions, differing philosophies, differing ldquo;voicesrdquo; vying for our attention and acceptance. What do I mean? Take the area of ldquo;happinessrdquo; as an example. There are so many voices that try to convince us that the way to clear that bar and find happiness and joy is to fill our lives with stuffhellip;money, awards, toys, a big house, vacations. And yet therersquo;s another message out there. The Bible speaks of happiness and says, ldquo;Donrsquo;t put your hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but put your hope in God who richly provides everything for your enjoymentrdquo; (1 Timothy 6:17). How about attitude? Wersquo;ve all heard the worldly ldquo;voicesrdquo; that tell us that itrsquo;s important to give off the impression that we have everything under control and are absolutely confident and self-sufficient. Arrogance and pride will help you climb the corporate latter. The Bible says that humility, kindness and gentleness are characteristics to be praised (Colossians 3:12). Or how about the area of sexuality? Lot of different ldquo;voicesrdquo; vie for our attention. And most of the voices give this basic encouragement, ldquo;Itrsquo;s your body and itrsquo;s your decision about what you do with it. There are no rules. There are no boundaries. Do whatever makes you happy.rdquo; I guess thatrsquo;s one way to think about it. But herersquo;s another one, ldquo;Yoursquo;re not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodyrdquo; (1 Corinthians 6:20). So, what are we to do? Which voice are we going to listen to? Maybe we can just mix all the voices and philosophies together like big stew and pick out of the pot whatever feels best at the moment, whatever I feel is good, whatever is right for me. Or maybe therersquo;s another way? Maybe therersquo;s one voice, one speaker who knows things much better t... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/25/gods-callits-for-you-ive-got-a-job-for-you/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/25/gods-callits-for-you-ive-got-a-job-for-you/#comments Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:09:53 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=720 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/25/gods-callits-for-you-ive-got-a-job-for-you/feed/ 0 00:01:01 January 25, 2009 1 Kings 19:19-21 God's Call...It'snbsp; For You: "I've Got a Job for You" Pastor Steve January 25, 2009 1 Kings 19:19-21 God's Call...It'snbsp; For You: "I've Got a Job for You" Pastor Steve Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/19/gods-callits-for-you-make-sure-youre-listening/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/19/gods-callits-for-you-make-sure-youre-listening/#comments Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:30:29 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=666 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/19/gods-callits-for-you-make-sure-youre-listening/feed/ 0 00:01:01 January 18, 2009 1 Samuel 3:1-10 God's Call...It's for You: Make Sure You're Listening Pastor Ben A pastor shared the following true story in the Forward in Christ magazine. ... January 18, 2009 1 Samuel 3:1-10 God's Call...It's for You: Make Sure You're Listening Pastor Ben A pastor shared the following true story in the Forward in Christ magazine. He had joined a tennis league in town and his first opponent was a man named Art. The pastor needed to set up a time to play so he called Art from his office at Christ the Lord Lutheran Church. No one answered the phone so he left a message. Eventually Art got back to him and after their match they spent some time talking. Art confessed that he had fallen away from Jesus and the church. In fact, Art said, ldquo;thatrsquo;s the reason I let the answering machine pick up your call.rdquo; The pastor was calling from Christ the Lord Church and Artrsquo;s caller ID read the phone call was from ldquo;Christ the Lord.rdquo; Art explained, ldquo;I didnrsquo;t think it really was Christ, but I didnrsquo;t want to take any chances either.rdquo; This morning wersquo;re starting a sermon series called, ldquo;Godrsquo;s callhellip;Itrsquo;s for You.rdquo; Have you ever received a phone call from God? Have you ever heard Godrsquo;s voice speaking in your ear? Sometimes that would be kind of nice, wouldnrsquo;t it? If God was like that ldquo;Dexrdquo; guy from the TV commercials. He always there ready to answer each and every one of our questions. ldquo;Where should I go to college?rdquo; ldquo;What should I do with my life?rdquo; ldquo;Whatrsquo;s the best way to discipline my difficult child?rdquo; ldquo;What do I say or do to make things better in the relationship with my spouse or with a friend?rdquo; And yet, the way God has chosen to do things is a little bit different. While Godrsquo;s all-powerful and could call us on the phone. While God can do anything and could speak in our ear from heaven, thatrsquo;s not the usual way He does it. The way that God called us to be Christians, the way that God continues to communicate with us is through the words that He left for us in the Bible. Which brings us to a question, ldquo;Have we been listening to Godrsquo;s voice?rdquo; Truthfully, ldquo;listeningrdquo; isnrsquo;t an activity that most people are very good at. It really shouldnrsquo;t be that hard. I mean, listening involves keeping our ears open and our mouths closed. And yet, how difficult it can be sometimes. We get distracted. We think about other things. We are so quick to interrupt someone elsersquo;s words with our thoughts and our ideas. Even during a sermon we find that listening can be hard. And so, this sermon series about Godrsquo;s call to you begins with a very basic, very simple encouragement that has tremendous blessings attached to it. When it comes to Godrsquo;s call, when it comes to the Bible, when it comes to this sermon, Make Sure Yoursquo;re Listening. Our lesson takes place about 1000 years before the time of Christ. Wersquo;re going to meet a young boy named Samuel. He had been taken care of by the high priest named Eli since he was 3. Now Samuelrsquo;s about 12 years old and is busy helping Eli with work around the temple. You can imagine Samuel helping to clean and straighten up. Sweeping the floor, opening the doors, trimming the candles, adding oil to the lamps. Listen to verse 1. In the Old Testament God occasionally chose to speak to his people, especially prophets, through visions and audibly in peoplersquo;s ears. At this time though, God had chosen to stop speaking to His people through visions. The question that a person might ask is, ldquo;Why?rdquo; ldquo;Why would God stop communicating in this special way?rdquo; Well, we donrsquo;t have a specific answer, but when we look at the history of the nation of Israel at the time, we see that the people didnrsquo;t stay very close to God. Not many were interested in listening or hearing His Word. They went through long periods of time where the Bible was neglected. They were too busy with their own lives and too busy breaking Godrsquo;s c... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/11/the-answer-is-jesus/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/11/the-answer-is-jesus/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:42:20 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=659 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/11/the-answer-is-jesus/feed/ 0 00:01:01 January 11, 2009 Acts 16:25-34 "The Answer is Jesus" Pastor Ben On December 16th, Terry Kniess was shown a brand new stereo, a pool table and a 17ft pop-up ... January 11, 2009 Acts 16:25-34 "The Answer is Jesus" Pastor Ben On December 16th, Terry Kniess was shown a brand new stereo, a pool table and a 17ft pop-up camper. And then, the ldquo;Price is Rightrdquo; studio announcer continued, ldquo;And all these things can be yours if the price is right!rdquo; And so Terry was left to answer the same question that 1000rsquo;s of contestants before him have been asked during the Showdown at the end of the show. ldquo;How much do you think these items cost?rdquo; After pausing for about 5 seconds Terry gave his answer, ldquo;$27,743,rdquo; he said. Drew Carey, the host, responded, ldquo;Wow! Thatrsquo;s a pretty exact bid. Good Luck!rdquo; Guess what? Not only was Terryrsquo;s bid exact, it was exactly right. $27,743 was right down to the dollar. This was only the 2nd time this had ever happened on the Price is Right. Because of how quickly Terry gave his amazing answer and how unlikely it was to get it exactly right, therersquo;s been a lot of controversy around the whole situation. Some have said that the show manipulated the final price to match Terryrsquo;s in an attempt to boost sagging ratings. Others say that Terry had an informant in the crowd who had ldquo;insiderdquo; knowledge of the right answer. Terry answer is much simpler. He just says that he watches a lot of ldquo;Price is Rightrdquo; and had seen all the products before on the show. However it happened, the reality is that Terry Kniess gave an amazing answer that seemed to be too good to be true, too amazing to be real. You know, there are times in lifewhen itrsquo;s critical to have the right answer: when yoursquo;re on the Price is Right, when yoursquo;re taking a college entrance exam, at a job interview. But there will never be a question for which itrsquo;s more important to have the right answer, than the question that wersquo;re going to hear this morning. Irsquo;m not Drew Carey, but I am going to ask you a question. Itrsquo;s a question that comes from our lesson, ldquo;What must I do to be saved?rdquo; Now let me tell you, the answer to that question isnrsquo;t complicated. Itrsquo;s not difficult to remember. Itrsquo;s not some tricky test question or a bid that yoursquo;ll need some luck to get exactly right. In fact, yoursquo;ve been looking at the answer all morning. The Answer is Jesus. For many of you, you know exactly how Jesus is the perfect answer to the question, ldquo;What must I do to be saved?rdquo; For others, you may be searching for an answer to that important question. If so, what a perfect day it is for you to be here. But no matter who you are, every single one of us have times in our lives, moments of weakness, periods of stress where we forget what an absolutely amazing answer Jesus is for our lives and for our eternities. And so we all are going to benefit from the lesson before us this morning. But before I read the words, let me give you some background. Itrsquo;s about 50AD and two Christian missionaries named Paul and Silas are a long way from home in Israel. Theyrsquo;re foreigners visiting a Roman colony in present day Greece called Philippi. While there, a slave girl begins following them around town and shouting, ldquo;These men are servants of the most High God.rdquo; (vs. 17). It sounds like that would be a good thing, but the problem is that this girl was possessed by a demon. This was not the kind of endorsement that Paul and Silas were looking for. And so, after a few days of this, Paul called on Godrsquo;s power and got rid of the girlsrsquo; demon. A good thing, an awesome blessing, right? Yoursquo;d think so, but herersquo;s the thing. While the slave girl was suffering because of the demon, her owners were making a lot of money off of her. Supposedly the girl had the ability to predict the future. With the demon gone, so was their ability to make money. The owners become furious with Paul and Silas. They made up so... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/04/we-belong/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/04/we-belong/#comments Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:52:27 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=601 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2009/01/04/we-belong/feed/ 0 00:01:01 January 4, 2009 Ephesians 3:2-12 We Belong! Pastor Steve As I mentioned at the beginning of the service, today weacirc;euro;trade;re at the Festival of Epiphany. Epiphany is not a ... January 4, 2009 Ephesians 3:2-12 We Belong! Pastor Steve As I mentioned at the beginning of the service, today weacirc;euro;trade;re at the Festival of Epiphany. Epiphany is not a major Christian festival. Itacirc;euro;trade;s not one of the big ones like Christmas or Easter. I highly doubt that anyone here today is going to get off on Tuesday for the celebration of Epiphany. The kids will be back in school. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s no pre-Epiphany sales going on. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s not going to be any after-Epiphany sales. Epiphany is not on the radars are most people. But this festival falls on every January 6th. So, this year, itacirc;euro;trade;s Tuesday. And every January 6th is the celebration of Epiphany. Now whether you realize it or not, Epiphany is the famed 12th day of Christmas. Epiphany is the 12 drummers drumming day of Christmas. We often think that Christmas is the 12th day of Christmas. But in fact, Christmas is the first day of Christmas according o the song. The early Christians looked at Christmas and Epiphany in a very different way. They built up to Epiphany. Christmas was the first day and they kept building up to the big day, the 12th day, the day of Epiphany. So, the celebration of Epiphany used to be higher up than the celebration of Christmas. Now today, the celebration of Epiphany is somewhere at the bottom of Christian holidays. Christmas is the big deal. By the time you get to Christmas and December 26th, you are tired and done with Christmas. After December 25th, everyoneacirc;euro;trade;s anxious for things to start getting back to normal. Weacirc;euro;trade;ve had all of this celebration of Christmas beforehand, and we get to Christmas Eve, big, high event. We have Christmas Day, the big family get-to-togethers, and then, after that, weacirc;euro;trade;re on the down hill slide. But really, when we included the celebration of Epiphany, Christmas is just the beginning; itacirc;euro;trade;s just the launching point. Now, we donacirc;euro;trade;t think that way. We take down the Christmas decoration before the 12th day of Christmas. Weacirc;euro;trade;ve got the 12 drummers packed away before itacirc;euro;trade;s even their big day. The celebration of Epiphany is very backwards to the way we think and do things. And so, what is this celebration of Epiphany? What is the big deal about this Gentilesacirc;euro;trade; Christmas? Thatacirc;euro;trade;s what weacirc;euro;trade;re going to look at today, specifically from the lesson from Ephesians 3. In order to do that, turn back to Matthew 2 and weacirc;euro;trade;re going to look at a couple of verses there. As we think about these verses, whether we realize it or not, these verses from Matthew 2 are very backwards to our way of thinking about Christmas. There are some major things acirc;euro;oelig;wrongacirc;euro; in these verse. When we think about Christmas, everything about the first Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was Jewish. Everything about the first Christmas is a Jewish celebration. It happened in a Jewish city, in a Jewish country. There were Jewish parents acirc;euro;ldquo; a Jewish man descended from the greatest Jewish king, and humble Jewish girl. There was a 100% Jewish baby boy. The shepherds were Jews. And there go back to the Jewish community and share the news of the Jewish baby boy to the Jews living in the Jewish city. Then, according the Jewish custom, the Jewish parents had their Jewish baby boy circumcised on the 8th day. And also, according to the Jewish custom, the Jewish parents had their Jewish baby boy brought to the Temple, the Jewish temple, on the 40th day. Everything about the first Christmas was Jewish. And so much in Jesus life is Jewish. When Jesus died, they put a sign above his head that read, acirc;euro;oelig;the King of the Jews.acirc;euro; Thatacirc;euro;trade;s what makes this lesson from Matthew 2 so backwards when you really think about it. Weacirc;euro;trade;re so familiar with t... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/28/our-savior-is-our-brother/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/28/our-savior-is-our-brother/#comments Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:29:49 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=551 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/28/our-savior-is-our-brother/feed/ 0 00:01:01 December 28, 2008 Hebrews 2:14-18 Our Savior is our Brother Pastor Ben Although we actually experienced some melting snow on Friday, overall December has been a miserably cold and ... December 28, 2008 Hebrews 2:14-18 Our Savior is our Brother Pastor Ben Although we actually experienced some melting snow on Friday, overall December has been a miserably cold and overcast month hasnacirc;euro;trade;t it? I donacirc;euro;trade;t mean to depress you this morning but our average temperature has been 12 degrees with a low of -18. Itacirc;euro;trade;s been the kind of weather where you clear just enough snow off your car so that you can see out the window and then hurry as fast as you can to get in the car and out of the elements. Which really doesnacirc;euro;trade;t help that much, because unless the trip is over 10 minutes long the car doesnacirc;euro;trade;t really warm up and so your hands are shaking as you try to drive looking out of a small little portion of the window that you cleared off. Does any of this sound familiar? Well, during one of those nights where the temperature was well below zero I was pulling into the parking lot here at church. And all of a sudden I see a bushy-tailed rabbit scamper across the lot in front of my car. And as Iacirc;euro;trade;m shivering inside my car with the heat at full-blast, Iacirc;euro;trade;m thinking, acirc;euro;oelig;Man, being a rabbitacirc;euro;brvbar;would be horrible.acirc;euro; I mean, geese migrate south for the winter. Where do rabbits go? How do they stay warm in -18 degree weatheracirc;euro;brvbar;their fur isnacirc;euro;trade;t that thick? I guess things arenacirc;euro;trade;t so bad when compared to being a rabbit. Iacirc;euro;trade;ll take my heated car, and coat and hat and gloves and a toasty warm home. The thought of having floppy ears, a bushy tail, two buck teeth and not having heat doesnacirc;euro;trade;t interest me. The thought of eating only vegetables and dodging cars and lawn mowers as I hop around doesnacirc;euro;trade;t interest me either When it comes to being a part of the rabbit world, Count me out! I would guess that most of you agree with my conclusion. You know, believe it or not that example goes to the very heart of what makes Christmas and Jesusacirc;euro;trade; birth in Bethlehem such an awesome gift. If you think there could be some lifestyle changes if you chose to become a rabbit, thatacirc;euro;trade;s nothing compared to an all-glorious, all-powerful God choosing to become a human being. Godacirc;euro;trade;s Son, who had never been confined to anything would now be confined to this tent that we call a body. The One who created the laws of nature, would now be subject to obeying the family rules of Mary and Jospeh. Godacirc;euro;trade;s Son who never had a need or never experienced pain would now get hungry, cold, hot, tired and hurt. And yet, in spite of all those things and many more, in spite of the unfathomable difference between being God and becoming man, in spite of the fact that we most likely would have said, acirc;euro;oelig;When it comes to being a human being, count me out! At Christmas Jesus said, acirc;euro;oelig;Count me in!acirc;euro; And so, although we canacirc;euro;trade;t fully understand it, Jesus came to this world and was 100% divine. He was God. And yet, at the same time Our Savior chose to become our Brother. Jesus was also 100% human. Just like us, except without sin. Listen to verse 17 of our section for this morning, acirc;euro;oelig;He had to be made like his brothers in every way.acirc;euro; And for 33 years, as Jesus lived and walked on this earth, He set aside some of His power as God. And so Jesus was able to grow and learn and get cold and tired and hot and hungry and hurt. Godacirc;euro;trade;s Son is a human being and the Bible calls Him our brother. What amazing love and sacrifice! And you know, my friends, there was really no other way. Listen to Hebrews 2:14-15. Notice that this verse says that the Devil holds the power of death. You might be wondering about that. acirc;euro;oelig;I thought that God is the one who is in absolute ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/25/go-to-bethlehemsee-your-king/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/25/go-to-bethlehemsee-your-king/#comments Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:53:20 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=555 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/25/go-to-bethlehemsee-your-king/feed/ 0 00:01:01 December 25, 2008 Isaiah 9:6,7 Go to Bethlehem...See your King Pastor Steve December 25, 2008 Isaiah 9:6,7 Go to Bethlehem...See your King Pastor Steve Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/21/childrens-christmas-service-2/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/21/childrens-christmas-service-2/#comments Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:26:27 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=549 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/21/childrens-christmas-service-2/feed/ 0 39:58 Children's Christmas Service "To Us a Child is Born" December 21, 2008 Children's Christmas Service "To Us a Child is Born" December 21, 2008 Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/21/preparing-for-christmas-focus/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/21/preparing-for-christmas-focus/#comments Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:23:11 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=544 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/21/preparing-for-christmas-focus/feed/ 0 00:01:01 December 21, 2008 John 1:19-29 Preparing for Christmas: Focus Pastor Ben Do you ever find yourself getting distracted? Do you ever have so many things on your mind during ... December 21, 2008 John 1:19-29 Preparing for Christmas: Focus Pastor Ben Do you ever find yourself getting distracted? Do you ever have so many things on your mind during the busy Christmas season that you find yourself losing focus on something? That happened to me this past week. This year, as in past years, local TV stations are showing those classic Christmas specials like Charlie Brown, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer and others. My kids have been excited to sit down and watch them each night. But thereacirc;euro;trade;s been a small problem. Most of the time they need to go to bed before the showacirc;euro;trade;s over. Now, we donacirc;euro;trade;t have TiVo, so Iacirc;euro;trade;ve resorted to using an ancient contraption that some of you may have heard about. Itacirc;euro;trade;s an antique called the VCR. And over the last couple of weeks, Iacirc;euro;trade;ve recorded a number of these Christmas specials for the kids to watch later. And so, this tape was filled with about two hours worth of recorded Christmas shows. The entire tape was filled, except for about an hours worth of space at the beginning of the tape. It was plenty of room to tape one more half hour show. And so, I put the tape in and pressed record. It was time to put the kids to bed, so I turned my focus from the VCR towards tucking them in. Then my focus turned towards helping to clean up the kitchen. Then my focus turned towards checking my email, then doing a little bit of church work. It was well over 2 hours later when I finally remembered to refocus on the VCR which was still recordingacirc;euro;brvbar;only now it was recording the 10:00 news. Guess what happened to all the shows on the rest of the tape? At this point theyacirc;euro;trade;re just distant memories. Has this ever happened to you? You have so many things on your mind, so many things on your plate, so many things to get done that you canacirc;euro;trade;t focus on anything? Maybe you lost focus while baking and the Christmas cookies stayed in the oven way too long. You now will be serving Christmas cookies that are heavy on the acirc;euro;oelig;crispy.acirc;euro; Maybe you lost focus while shopping and totally forgot about someone on your list. You now have to put all the winter clothes back on and trudge out again to that Christmas circus known as the mall. Maybe you lost focus on the schedule and totally forgot about a family get together or some other Christmas party. This time of year we find ourselves juggling so many different things that it becomes easy to get distracted and lose focus. So is that why weacirc;euro;trade;ve gathered this morning? Have we gathered so that we might better remember to focus on tapes in the VCR, cookies in the oven and Christmas parties on the schedule? My friends, as Christmas is just 4 days away, I pray that your celebration isnacirc;euro;trade;t clinging to something as flimsy as how the cookies turn out. Today I want us all to learn how to be guaranteed a joy-filled celebration on Thursday. It has everything to do with not being distracted. It has everything to do about focus. But what kind of focus? Well, for one final time this Advent, a man named John the Baptist is going to teach us how to Prepare for Christmas. As weacirc;euro;trade;ve heard over the last couple of weeks, John the Baptist was preaching and preparing people out in the desert near the Jordan River. As you might expect, being a desert and all, there werenacirc;euro;trade;t a lot people who actually lived where John was preaching. So, were there anyone hearing his message of repentance, or was it just John, the locusts and a bunch sand? Listen to how Matthew records things, acirc;euro;oelig;People went out to him (John the Baptist) from Jerusalem (about 30 miles away) and all Judea, and the whole region of the Jordanacirc;euro; (3:5). Even though he was in the desert, people flocked from all over to see and to he... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/14/preparing-for-christmas-watch/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/14/preparing-for-christmas-watch/#comments Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:48:05 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=500 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/14/preparing-for-christmas-watch/feed/ 0 00:01:01 December 14, 2008 Luke 3:7-15 Preparing for Christmas: Watch Pastor Steve Weacirc;euro;trade;re in the third part of this series on Preparing for Christmas and today weacirc;euro;trade;re talking about the ... December 14, 2008 Luke 3:7-15 Preparing for Christmas: Watch Pastor Steve Weacirc;euro;trade;re in the third part of this series on Preparing for Christmas and today weacirc;euro;trade;re talking about the word Watch. Not a wristwatch and not like, watch out! The Christmas treeacirc;euro;trade;s falling! No, weacirc;euro;trade;re talking about watch in the sense of paying attention, of being observant or mindful of something. And specifically, what weacirc;euro;trade;re going to be talking about this morning is watching for opportunities to serve; watching for opportunities to make a difference and change things for the better. Change is an extremely trendy word in America right now. President-elect Obama has championed the word change. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s all the slogans about change. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s acirc;euro;oelig;Change we can count on,acirc;euro; and acirc;euro;oelig;Vote for change,acirc;euro; and Our time for change,acirc;euro; and acirc;euro;oelig;Itacirc;euro;trade;s about time. Itacirc;euro;trade;s about change,acirc;euro; and acirc;euro;oelig;Stand for Change,acirc;euro; and acirc;euro;oelig;Organize for change,acirc;euro; and now, itacirc;euro;trade;s acirc;euro;oelig;Change is coming.acirc;euro; Itacirc;euro;trade;s all about change. Obama ran an entire presidential election on the basis of change: Change Washington, Change Government, Change America. And the numbers prove that right now, change resonates with people. People are watching for change. People are excited about the possibilities that come along with change. Change is also a trendy word now because itacirc;euro;trade;s Christmas time. For any number of reasons, Christmas time tends to be when people get excited about change, and the possibility of making a difference in the world seems to be on the radar of a lot of people. Theyacirc;euro;trade;re watching for opportunities. Every year in December thereacirc;euro;trade;s an intensified effort to bring about world peace, and to end world hunger and an end to world poverty. And there is nothing wrong with wanting to change the world and wanting to make the world a better place. Now let me ask you, fellow Americanacirc;euro;trade;s, living in this time of change. When you think about the possibilities of making the world a better place, do those possibilities focus on changing humanity, or changing you? Or to ask the question another way, when you think about making the world a better place, does it start out there with everybody else, or does it start in here? Thatacirc;euro;trade;s a very important question and the answer is vital to understanding Christianity. In our lesson, John the Baptist, whose life and ministry weacirc;euro;trade;ve been looking at in this series, is going to encourage each of us as individuals to watch for opportunities to make a difference, but first, something has to change in here. Weacirc;euro;trade;re going to start by looking at Luke chapter 3, beginning at verse 7. These verses are printed in your bulletin and as well as up on the screen. But before we dive in here, thereacirc;euro;trade;re a couple of important pieces of background information I should mention. The first piece is that this dialogue weacirc;euro;trade;re going to look at comes right after Johnacirc;euro;trade;s words that we looked at last week. Last week we were looking at Markacirc;euro;trade;s account of Johnacirc;euro;trade;s ministry, when the people came out to John in the wilderness be baptized. Today weacirc;euro;trade;re going to look at Lukeacirc;euro;trade;s sequel. The key word Pastor Ben talked about last week was Repent. As we just continue on in this story, repent is really where we pick it up. Repent is really the launch pad into watch. But thereacirc;euro;trade;s a shift in the focus of todayacirc;euro;trade;s lesson. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s a change in intensity. Johnacirc;euro;trade;s on the attack. I m... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/07/preparing-for-christmas-repent/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/07/preparing-for-christmas-repent/#comments Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:30:19 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=496 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/12/07/preparing-for-christmas-repent/feed/ 0 00:01:01 December 7, 2008 Mark 1:1-7 Preparing for Christmas: Repent Pastor Ben About 120 miles south of Jerusalem, nestled in the midst of some tall Jordanian cliffs, lies the ruins ... December 7, 2008 Mark 1:1-7 Preparing for Christmas: Repent Pastor Ben About 120 miles south of Jerusalem, nestled in the midst of some tall Jordanian cliffs, lies the ruins of an ancient city called Petra. Petra was a city of caves inhabited by a group of people called the Nabataeans. While most of these cave-dwellings look quite ordinary, there are others that are simply amazing in their beauty and artistry. Hereacirc;euro;trade;s an example of what I mean. This is one of their cave-dwellings called the acirc;euro;oelig;Treasury.acirc;euro; More than likely the Nabataeans used it as a pagan temple. The acirc;euro;oelig;Treasuryacirc;euro; is a breath-taking sight that becomes even more amazing when you consider that it was carved over 2000 years ago with chisels and hammers. Soacirc;euro;brvbar;for a couple hundred years, Nabataean workers chipped, chipped, chipped away at the sandstone. This was a truly amazing feat. Well, I visited Petra last summer. And as I stood there in amazement, I couldnacirc;euro;trade;t wait to check out the inside of this cave. I figured that the inside had to be just as spectacular as the outside. Well, as I climbed those steps and looked inside, hereacirc;euro;trade;s what I found. Noticeacirc;euro;brvbar;no ornate, artistic carvings like on the outside. No towering ceiling like the outside seems to insinuate. No fancy walk-ways or countless rooms. The acirc;euro;oelig;Treasuryacirc;euro; on the inside is just a medium-sized, ordinary cave. And truth be told, as awestruck as I was by the outside, the inside disappointed me. Now, why do suppose the Nabataeans did things this way? Well, probably because they were no different than you and me. You see, we have this tendency to concentrate on the things that are most visible to others, the things that others see the most. We like to impress people, to acirc;euro;oelig;wowacirc;euro; them, to receive their praise. The Nabataeans were all about the acirc;euro;oelig;WOWacirc;euro; factor and so they spent a couple hundred years hammering and chiseling on the part that everyone would see. In the process, almost nothing was done on the inside. The outside is just a big faAtilde;sect;ade because the inside counts. Now, I said that we also have the tendency to focus too much on outside things. And Christmas is a time when that happens a lot. Think about how much time and energy is spent at Christmas making things look good on the outside. Christmas gifts have to be wrapped impeccably. In fact, some of us who are all thumbs, might even pay the store to do it for us. Family Christmas pictures attempt to portray the family as cute and cuddly as possible on the outside. The perfect picture doesnacirc;euro;trade;t take a hundred years of chiseling, but it may take well over an hour of manipulation and bribery to find just one picture where everyoneacirc;euro;trade;s looking in the same direction and no one is crying. Decorations are a huge part of Christmas and they all need to be just right too. In fact, some are crazy enough to spend two hours in 20 degree weather putting lights on the house. We even apply the acirc;euro;oelig;WOWacirc;euro; factor to our own personal wrapping. Hours are spent trying to find the perfect Christmas outfit or fuzzy sweater with snowflakes and reindeer. Now, before you cancel your acirc;euro;oelig;enjoyableacirc;euro; family picture appointment and take all the lights off your house, understand that none of these acirc;euro;oelig;outsideacirc;euro; things are necessarily wrong. So hereacirc;euro;trade;s my point. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s so much emphasis put on the outer trappings of Christmas, the WOW factor, that itacirc;euro;trade;s easy to forget this: the most important Christmas preparation happens on the inside. To say it another way, all the Christmas preparations I just mentioned are nothing but a hollow faAtilde;sect;ade, if we ignore the inside and forget to... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/30/preparing-for-christmas-rejoice/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/30/preparing-for-christmas-rejoice/#comments Sun, 30 Nov 2008 08:00:53 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=465 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/30/preparing-for-christmas-rejoice/feed/ 0 00:01:01 November 30, 2008 Luke 1:39-44 Preparing for Christmas: Rejoice! Pastor Steve Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and everybody knows what that means. We have official begun the Christmas ... November 30, 2008 Luke 1:39-44 Preparing for Christmas: Rejoice! Pastor Steve Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and everybody knows what that means. We have official begun the Christmas season. Radio stations can now, at least by my book, "legally" start playing Christmas music 24/7. I know it doesn't quite look like Christmas in here yet. We haven't put up the trees and the garland and the lights yet, but I'd guess that a fair number of you have at home already. Yesterday would have been a perfect day to put the lights and decorations up outside. I'm sure some gifts have been bought already. I know I've heard at least one of you talk about having done some baking already. Our kids have started preparing for the Children's Service on the 21st. You know, it's no wonder we need at least a whole month to get ready. There are just so many ways in which we need to prepare for Christmas. Today and for the next 3 weeks here at Bethlehem, we're going to work on preparing our hearts for Christmas, too. That's really the idea behind this sermon series we're starting today, very appropriately entitled, Preparing For Christmas. And we're going to prepare our hearts for Christmas this year by taking a look at the life of a man named, John the Baptist. Many of you probably know a few things about John the Baptist, but, just as a quick review for all of us, Iacirc;euro;trade;ll mention a few highlights about John. John was a relative of Jesus. Possibly they were cousins, we're not sure. What we do know is that their mothers were somehow related. We also know that John was a few months older than Jesus. And John's the guy who went out and lived in the wilderness, living of off of honey and locusts, which are basically giant grasshoppers. He's the guy who wore clothes made from camel's hair and had a big leather belt around his waist. Thatacirc;euro;trade;s John the Baptist. Now, in order to understand how John the Baptist fits in with preparing our hearts for Christmas, in order to grasp what role John has in Christmas, I want to take a few moments to examine the dynamics of a current story in the news. How many of you have heard the news that President-elect Obama plans to nominate Senator Clinton as his Secretary of State. Acirc;nbsp;The official announcement still hasn't been made, but it's been in the news for 2 weeks now. And, as is to be expects in our society, some news reports praise the possible nomination of Senator Clinton, some reports criticize it, and some question it. There's a certain reason for questioning the possibly of a Secretary of State Clinton that I find particularly interesting and fitting with our series on Preparing for Christmas. And the particular reason for questioning is this: will Hilary Clinton be a loyal ambassador of President Obama. You see, whoever serves as the Secretary of State is really the president's ambassador to the world. That's an important and meaningful position to hold, but it's also kind of a humbling position. The Secretary of State's job is to proclaim and promote the policies of the president. That's what an ambassador does. An ambassador's role is not to make a name for him or herself by promoting their own ideas or their own agendas. An ambassador's job isn't to become the star of the show. And so I'm curious to see if our new president will be fully supported by his ambassador to the world, the Secretary of State, or if there will be some friction between the two. Because, when an ambassador doesnacirc;euro;trade;t want to do the work of an ambassador, the message that they were sent to proclaim gets pushed aside and lost in the shuffle. A good ambassador accepts that fact that he or she is not the star, but instead, promotes the one who sent them. That's John the Baptist. If you want an excellent example of a great ambassador from Scripture, you'd be hard pressed to find a better example than John the Baptist. John was God's ambass... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/16/a-time-for-jubilee/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/16/a-time-for-jubilee/#comments Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:00:40 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=355 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/16/a-time-for-jubilee/feed/ 0 00:01:01 November 16, 2008 Leviticus 25:8-10 A Time for Jubilee Pastor Ben Youacirc;euro;trade;ve seen the theme of our message for this morning, This is a Time for Jubilee, in other ... November 16, 2008 Leviticus 25:8-10 A Time for Jubilee Pastor Ben Youacirc;euro;trade;ve seen the theme of our message for this morning, This is a Time for Jubilee, in other words, This is a time for happiness and celebration. Iacirc;euro;trade;d like to begin by having you say that phrase with me with real conviction and meaning. But before we do that, Did you hear that Circuit City, one of the largest electronic retailers in the country is more than likely going to have to file for bankruptcy. Alright, say it with me. Just a second, Did you read that GM lost $4.3 billion this quarter alone and is in danger of shutting its doors? GM talking about shutting its doors, can you believe that? But Iacirc;euro;trade;m getting off track, weacirc;euro;trade;re talking about Jubilees and celebrations. Ready? Say it with meacirc;euro;brvbar; wait one more second. Have you thought about this? Northwest Airlines merging with Delta is probably going to lead to Northwest leaving the Twin Cities and taking with it hundreds of jobs. Retirement monies have been disappearing from savings accounts. Mortgage foreclosures continue to rise. And jobs are hard to fine. Alright, Iacirc;euro;trade;m really done now. Say it with me, acirc;euro;oelig;This is a Time for Jubilee.acirc;euro; Well, that didnacirc;euro;trade;t sound very believable, very happy, very jubilee-y. This is a Time for Jubilee! And maybe youacirc;euro;trade;re thinking, acirc;euro;oelig;Benacirc;euro;trade;s kind of crazy. I mean, cacirc;euro;trade;monacirc;euro;brvbar;A Time for Jubilee? This must be some kind of church thing where you just kind of ignore reality and put on a happy face.acirc;euro; Maybe itacirc;euro;trade;s like when youacirc;euro;trade;re supposed to go to your wifeacirc;euro;trade;s Aunt Margaretacirc;euro;trade;s house for Thanksgiving, but you donacirc;euro;trade;t really want to go to Aunt Margaretacirc;euro;trade;s. And so youacirc;euro;trade;re whining and complaining in the car all the way over to her house. Youacirc;euro;trade;re still griping as you walk up the sidewalk and complaining as you knock on the door. And then the door opens, what happens? You put on the happy face. acirc;euro;oelig;Aunt Margaret! Itacirc;euro;trade;s great to see you. Happy Thanksgiving!acirc;euro; If thatacirc;euro;trade;s what this jubilee thing is all about, I can do that. I did that at Aunt Margaretacirc;euro;trade;s. I can put on the happy face and say the happy words. I can even do a happy dance if you want me too. But to be honestacirc;euro;brvbar;my heart doesnacirc;euro;trade;t really feel like having a happy Jubilee right now. My friends, I donacirc;euro;trade;t want you to feel this morning like you have to fake some happy words because some acirc;euro;oelig;churchacirc;euro; guy asked you to say them. As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, I donacirc;euro;trade;t want you to feel like youacirc;euro;trade;re just putting on a thankful face this year as you eat Turkey. Like youacirc;euro;trade;re just covering up how you really feel. And to be honest with you, God doesnacirc;euro;trade;t want that kind of lip-service either. Unlike Aunt Margaret, God can see right through our fake praise and dishonest thankfulness. And what He sees when weacirc;euro;trade;re dissatisfied and upset with Him is sin. On November 16, 2008, you might think itacirc;euro;trade;s impossible to say, This is a Time for Jubilee, and really mean it. But my friends, God wants to change your thinking. Let me give you some background to our lesson for this morning. The pages of the Old Testament are filled with certain laws and celebrations that we donacirc;euro;trade;t follow anymore. Some of you may wonder why. Are we just ignoring parts of Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word? Hereacirc;euro;trade;s what happened. Many of the Old Testament laws and celebrations were given to focus people on the coming of the Savior. When Jesus finally did come, all the Old Test... Default,,Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/11/connection-is-important/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/11/connection-is-important/#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:52:22 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=344 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/11/connection-is-important/feed/ 0 00:01:01 November 9, 2008 John 15:5-8 "Connection" is Important Pastor Ben The entire community of Fernley, Nevada had gathered. The high school gym was packed with students, parents, teachers, ... November 9, 2008 John 15:5-8 "Connection" is Important Pastor Ben The entire community of Fernley, Nevada had gathered. The high school gym was packed with students, parents, teachers, family and new reporters from across the state. Kevin Hart was a 6acirc;euro;trade;5acirc;euro;, 290lb. lineman for the Fernley football team and the community had gathered for his announcement as to which university he would play football for. Kevin was the pride of Fernleyacirc;euro;brvbar;the first player to receive a Division I football scholarship. He sat a table in the gym. There were two hats sitting in front of him. With cameras recording his every move, he paused for a moment and then put on the hat that said Cal University. The gym erupted in applause. acirc;euro;oelig;Cal really won me over,acirc;euro; Kevin said. acirc;euro;oelig;Coach Jeff Tedford and I talked a lot. He did most of the recruiting and gave me lots of personal attention.acirc;euro; It all sounds so nice! The small town boy done good! But there was one little problem with it all. Kevin Hart had made the entire thing up. He had no connection to Coach Tedford. In fact, the coach had never even talked to him. He had no connection to Cal University. They had never even sent him a letter. But you see, Kevin had wanted to play college football more than anything in his life. The connection that mattered most to him was connection to a D-I football coach and football program. And so, as he began to find out that he wasnacirc;euro;trade;t quite good enough for a scholarship, when he began to discover that the connection he wanted most wasnacirc;euro;trade;t going to happen, reality was too hard to swallow. So instead, he made it up. He put together an elaborate lie about how he wanted his life to be. Now Kevin Hart is old enough to know better. And he certainly deserves to get disciplined for his actions. And yet, doesnacirc;euro;trade;t part of your heart feel sorry for Kevin? Doesnacirc;euro;trade;t part of your heart understand just a little bit where heacirc;euro;trade;s coming from? Did you ever have a dream for your life that just never came true? Did you ever have a relationship that just never worked out? Did you ever work and work and work to be accepted at a certain school or for a certain position at work, but everything just kind of fell through? Just like Kevin, sometimes it might seem like weacirc;euro;trade;re not quite good enough, not quite gifted enough, not quite lucky enough to enjoy the blessings that we want. There are certain dreams, certain hopes, certain connections that just donacirc;euro;trade;t work out. Well, to people whoacirc;euro;trade;ve been disappointed at one time or another, I have some great news of encouragement that Iacirc;euro;trade;d like to share a connection with you. This connection beats a connection to a football coach, a school, a job or anything else. Itacirc;euro;trade;s a connection that absolutely makes the difference between life and between death. And hereacirc;euro;trade;s the greatest part, unlike a college football scholarship or a job opening, this connection is meant for every single one of us. Listen as I read John 15:5-8. This section of Scripture takes place on the night before Jesus died on the cross. Jesus was with 11 disciples (followers) who had dedicated their lives to following Him. Jesus knew that his time on earth was short. The disciples were also beginning to understand that Jesus time on earth was short. And truth be told, the disciples were a little bit scared about what life would be like with Jesus no longer alive. They were a little bit disappointed that things were going to change. They would no longer be able to see and touch Jesusacirc;euro;brvbar;kind of like us. And yet, although He would be leaving, Jesus tells them to remain connected to Him. How? Does Jesus want them to die on the cross with Him? What did Jesus mean? If Jesus was going ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/02/taken-care-of-business/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/02/taken-care-of-business/#comments Sun, 02 Nov 2008 15:53:25 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=335 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/11/02/taken-care-of-business/feed/ 0 00:01:01 November 2, 2008 Romans 10:8-15 Taken Care of Business Pastor Steve In 1982, one year before the 500th anniversary of Martin Lutheracirc;euro;trade;s birth, a Roman Catholic author and ... November 2, 2008 Romans 10:8-15 Taken Care of Business Pastor Steve In 1982, one year before the 500th anniversary of Martin Lutheracirc;euro;trade;s birth, a Roman Catholic author and scholar by the name of John Todd made an interesting observation. Todd wrote, acirc;euro;oelig;In most big libraries, books by and about Martin Luther occupy more shelf room than those concerned with any other human being except Jesus of Nazareth.acirc;euro; That, to me, is an astonishing observation. Between what Luther himself wrote and what others have written about him, there are more sheets of paper than any other individual except Jesus. Now, the reason for that massive amount of material is twofold. The first reason is that Martin Luther was a prolific writer. He penned volumes and volumes of religious commentaries. For over 40 years, he was regularly working on books, sermons, hymns, letters and essays. In fact, after Luther died, his friends made casts of his hands. And as you can see, Luther spent so much time writing that his right hand curled up like he was holding a pen. He wrote that much. The second reason there is such a massive amount of material when it comes to Luther is because he is considered one of the most influential people of the past millennia. Thatacirc;euro;trade;s right. When historians look back over the span of 1000 years, they consistently rank Luther as one of the most influential individuals. And the reason they do is because they credit Luther, the German monk, with changing both the course of Christianity and the course of Western history. No small claim to fame. Itacirc;euro;trade;s no wonder that such a mountain of material has been written about Luther. Most historians tend to agree that October 31, 1517, was the defining day in Lutheracirc;euro;trade;s life and in the life of the Reformation. And it would be easy to assume that on that Saturday morning in 1517 Luther went to post the 95 theses as his campaign launch, so to speak, to be the Reformer of Christianity and Western history. It would be easy to assume that in 1517, that Luther was this theological giant; this religious guru, who had all the answers to lifeacirc;euro;trade;s toughest questions figured out. But Iacirc;euro;trade;ll tell you what. That is not who posted the 95 theses. That man who went with hammer and nail in hand was terrified by one of lifeacirc;euro;trade;s most anguishing realities. And that is this: Luther understood that when it came to his relationship with God, he was not what he was supposed to be. He knew that there was something wrong with him and that he was not acceptable to God. And that knowledge hurt. A hint of that acirc;euro;oelig;something wrongacirc;euro; with mankind is evident already back in the Garden of Eden. Just try to wrap your mind around this. Apparently, before sin, Adam didnacirc;euro;trade;t realize that he was naked. There was no shame. No embarrassment. No feelings of acirc;euro;oelig;thereacirc;euro;trade;s something wrong here,acirc;euro; as Adam strolled through the garden. Those thoughts simply didnacirc;euro;trade;t exist. And yet, immediately after the fall, the very first thing Adam realized was that he was naked. He was embarrassed and ashamed. He ran to hid from God, not simply because he feel like he was unacceptable to God. He actually was. And from that moment on, Adam, and all mankind, would have reasons to be sorry for who we really are. Let me give you another example of this. Itacirc;euro;trade;s very late on Maundy Thursday. Just a little while ago, Jesus had been arrested, and all of his closest friends had abandoned him. Now Jesus stands just outside the house of the high priest. And in the outer courtyard are two of his disciples. Peter, who just earlier that night had boldly claimed that he was ready to die with Jesus, is one of them. When those standing with Peter by the fire accuse him of being a follower of Jesus, he denies it, not once... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/26/worship-all-the-time/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/26/worship-all-the-time/#comments Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:47:06 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=305 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/26/worship-all-the-time/feed/ 0 00:01:01 October 26, 2008 Romans 12:1-2 Worship All the Time Pastor Ben One of the most enjoyable things students get to do while at Seminary is to guest preach at ... October 26, 2008 Romans 12:1-2 Worship All the Time Pastor Ben One of the most enjoyable things students get to do while at Seminary is to guest preach at area churches when the pastoracirc;euro;trade;s gone. I remember one such guest preaching date while I was in my first year at the Sem. It was at a small country church in rural Wisconsin. It was only my 3rd time preaching in front of acirc;euro;oelig;realacirc;euro; peopleacirc;euro;brvbar;not just in class in front of students and professors. When I got there, one of the members greeted me with a handshake. I said, acirc;euro;oelig;Good morning.acirc;euro; He said, acirc;euro;oelig;Our pastor has 10 minutes sermons. We like that. We expect yours to be 10 minutes too.acirc;euro; I began to laugh thinking that he saw the nervousness on my face and was just trying to loosen me up. I quickly stopped laughing as I noticed he wasnacirc;euro;trade;t joining with me. So now, throughout the entire time leading up to the sermon all I can think about is which half of my 20 minute sermon to cut out. Maybe I could tell them itacirc;euro;trade;s a two-parter and I could come back the next week to finish up. Well, as the sermon hymn came to a close, I finally just resigned myself to the fact that Iacirc;euro;trade;m a Seminary student without much experience in improvisation. The people will just have to endure a 20 minutes sermon. And guess what? Everyone survived. Now, more than likely none of us have tried to hold a pastor to a 10 minute sermon. On the other hand, weacirc;euro;trade;ve probably gotten restless or fidgety or even frustrated if the service goes much longer than an hour. You know, sometimes we have this tendency to view worship as something to endure, something we need to get through. And so, the theme, Worship All the Time, might sound unenjoyable. It might even sound like a burden to some of us. And yet, itacirc;euro;trade;s absolutely the encouragement that God gives in Romans 12. So this morning weacirc;euro;trade;re going to grow in our understanding of worship as we study this section together. So, I guess the first question that we need to answer is this, acirc;euro;oelig;What is worship?acirc;euro; I think for the vast majority of people when they think about worship, they think about Sunday morning. They think about chairs and rows and sermons and music. They think 8 or 10:30? And yet, worship at itacirc;euro;trade;s very heart and core means, acirc;euro;oelig;service or praise to God.acirc;euro; You see, worship isnacirc;euro;trade;t something you go to, worship is something you do with your life. This is very important because the way you think about worship makes a big difference in how you view your life as a Christian. You see, when people get caught up in worship as only being an event on Sunday morning, it becomes easy to acirc;euro;oelig;Sunday-izeacirc;euro; faith. God and real life become easily disconnected. When people have the wrong idea about worship, they tend to discuss and argue about the wrong things. The discussion turns toward style of music. acirc;euro;oelig;I like traditional.acirc;euro; acirc;euro;oelig;I like contemporary.acirc;euro; And the devil says acirc;euro;oelig;Good! Iacirc;euro;trade;ve gotten them off track. Theyacirc;euro;trade;re busy arguing about music. Theyacirc;euro;trade;ve forgotten about worship.acirc;euro; Paul encourages us to worship all the time and it has nothing to do with a style of music or sitting in this room. Our lives are our liturgy. Our entire lives, not just one morning a week, are to be used for worship and service to God. Worship is not about me and my tastes and my likes. Itacirc;euro;trade;s about God and the great things he has done for us through Jesus. So, if worship isnacirc;euro;trade;t just sitting in rows, singing songs and listening to sermons, what does worshipping all the time look like? Iacirc;euro;trade;m glad you ask because Paul uses two dif... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/19/walking-in-love/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/19/walking-in-love/#comments Sun, 19 Oct 2008 14:49:21 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=304 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/19/walking-in-love/feed/ 0 00:01:01 October 19, 2008 2 John 1:1-6 Walking in Love Pastor Ben Do you know any acirc;euro;oelig;walkers?acirc;euro; A acirc;euro;oelig;walkeracirc;euro; is someone who has this deep burning desire to go on ... October 19, 2008 2 John 1:1-6 Walking in Love Pastor Ben Do you know any acirc;euro;oelig;walkers?acirc;euro; A acirc;euro;oelig;walkeracirc;euro; is someone who has this deep burning desire to go on a walk every single day. In fact, if they donacirc;euro;trade;t go on a walk for some reason, their day doesnacirc;euro;trade;t feel quite right. It doesnacirc;euro;trade;t feel complete. Do you know any acirc;euro;oelig;walkers?acirc;euro; I know that some of you at Bethlehem are acirc;euro;oelig;walkers.acirc;euro; As we begin to transition into fall and then winter (sorry, winter is inevitable), being a acirc;euro;oelig;walkeracirc;euro; becomes more and more difficult. And yet, acirc;euro;oelig;walkersacirc;euro; walk no matter the season. They donacirc;euro;trade;t let little things like snow and ice stop them. You just need to be a little more creative in Minnesota. Some acirc;euro;oelig;walkersacirc;euro; put on 2 pairs of long underwear, 2 sweatshirts, a winter jacket, boots, a hat and something over their face so it doesnacirc;euro;trade;t get wind-burned. They call it acirc;euro;oelig;layering.acirc;euro; You might walk like the abominable snowman, but at least, at least youacirc;euro;trade;re walking. Other acirc;euro;oelig;walkersacirc;euro; take a little bit of an easier approach: they walk inside for the winter. They go to the health club, Burnsville Center, or to a treadmill in the basement. The point is that acirc;euro;oelig;walkersacirc;euro; arenacirc;euro;trade;t going to let anything stop them from walking. Itacirc;euro;trade;s a lifestyle. Itacirc;euro;trade;s something you do every single day. Our verses for this morning were written by one of Jesusacirc;euro;trade; 12 disciples, a former fisherman named John. 2 John is the shortest book in the entire Bible (only 13 verses long). Itacirc;euro;trade;s one of 3 letters that John wrote to encourage Christians to put faith into action in their lives. And so, as Johnacirc;euro;trade;s writes thereacirc;euro;trade;s a picture that he uses over and over again these 3 letters to describe what the Christian life is like. Guess what picture he uses? Itacirc;euro;trade;s the picture of acirc;euro;oelig;walking.acirc;euro; Being a Christian is a daily, ongoing, continual walk with Jesus. Now, I think that this is a really important point to remember. I mean, we have this temptation to designate our life with Jesus to certain life events, certain days of the weeks. For instance, most us have no problem remembering to bring Jesus into the picture for things like baptisms or confirmations, weddings or funerals, Christmas or Easter. We have no problem remembering to spend time with Jesus on Sunday morning or as we pray before we eat. But we may have a tendency to forget about Jesus during other times of the week. We may leave Jesus behind when we go on a vacation, or to a party, or as soon as we step foot out of church on Sunday morning. Johnacirc;euro;trade;s point is that we shouldnacirc;euro;trade;t relegate Jesus to certain times of life. The Christian life is a daily, continual, on-going walk. Itacirc;euro;trade;s a walk with Jesus. You see, if youacirc;euro;trade;re a Christian, youacirc;euro;trade;re a acirc;euro;oelig;walker.acirc;euro; In our verses for this morning, John goes on to explain what that daily walk with Jesus looks like. Letacirc;euro;trade;s read 2 John 1-3. acirc;euro;oelig;The elderacirc;euro; was Johnacirc;euro;trade;s title. In his later years he served as a spiritual elder for the church in Ephesus. Vs. 1b - John might have been writing to a specific lady or woman, but more than likely acirc;euro;oelig;chosen ladyacirc;euro; is referring to a congregation of Christians. In that sense, acirc;euro;oelig;her childrenacirc;euro; would be referring to the members of that Christian church. Vs. 1c-2 - Notice what binds them all together: the truth of Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word. The truth about Jesus Ch... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/12/god-works-through-authority/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/12/god-works-through-authority/#comments Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:26:21 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=301 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/12/god-works-through-authority/feed/ 0 00:01:01 October 12, 2008 Romans 13:1-7 God Works through Authority Pastor Steve The meaning of Scripture doesnacirc;euro;trade;t change. But the ways in which it impacts our lives does. I really ... October 12, 2008 Romans 13:1-7 God Works through Authority Pastor Steve The meaning of Scripture doesnacirc;euro;trade;t change. But the ways in which it impacts our lives does. I really believe that one of the most profound insights gained from a prolonged study of Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word over years and years is this: as an individualacirc;euro;trade;s life circumstances change, as things in your life change and change the way you think about things, different parts of Scripture resonate with you in a way they hadnacirc;euro;trade;t before. For example, this is one all of you parents can relate to. Think back to those first moments, those first hours when you held your child for the very first time. In your arms, you held this precious life; this fragile new person that was your very own child. And as you just stare at your child, you say to yourself, I love this child. I would do anything in my power to keep my daughter safe. I would never want anything bad to happen to my son. That love of parents for their children unique and extraordinary. And then the next time that youacirc;euro;trade;re reading along in Scripture and you come across a section where God says that heacirc;euro;trade;s your Father, and that he loves you because youacirc;euro;trade;re his dearly loved child, that language resonates with you in a very different way. You see, depending on whatacirc;euro;trade;s going on in our lives, what events weacirc;euro;trade;re going through, we grasp or relate to certain parts of Scripture in a much more personal way. Well today, itacirc;euro;trade;s really kind of neat how the Lord kind of scheduled us to study Romans 13. This portion of Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word that weacirc;euro;trade;re going to take a look at in just a moment is just so timely and relevant for each of us. Itacirc;euro;trade;s my prayer that as we dig into Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word here this morning, that it resonates with you and relates to you in a personal way. So here we go. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s a question that we need to wrestle with this morning. I use that word acirc;euro;tilde;wrestleacirc;euro;trade; intentionally here, not because the language of this section is confusing. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s no big church words that we need to define. The reason we need to wrestle and struggle with this section of Scripture is because it is difficult to apply it to our lives. So, are you ready? Hereacirc;euro;trade;s the question. What are we, as Christians, to do when weacirc;euro;trade;re smarter and wiser than the authorities over us? I mean, how many times in these last few uncertain, unsettling weeks have you thought to yourself, what, in all the world, is congress doing? Where in the world is Obama or McCain getting these ideas? I mean, is the entire government just totally out of touch and clueless as to whatacirc;euro;trade;s really going on? Perhaps youacirc;euro;trade;ve even said to yourself, if I was in charge things would not only be different, what? Theyacirc;euro;trade;d be better, right? If I was in charge, Iacirc;euro;trade;d have this whole financial mess cleaned up already. This question that weacirc;euro;trade;re wrestling with, what do we do when weacirc;euro;trade;re smarter than the authorities over us, applies to many areas in our lives. What are you supposed to do when youacirc;euro;trade;re smarter than your boss acirc;euro;ldquo; your supervisor, your manager, the company president, the board, whoever it is? What happens when you just donacirc;euro;trade;t get what theyacirc;euro;trade;re asking you to do? Itacirc;euro;trade;s just a dumb idea or a pointless policy. Then what? And for you teens living at home, what happens when youacirc;euro;trade;re smarter and wiser than youacirc;euro;trade;re parents? What do you do when they just donacirc;euro;trade;t get it? Or how about this one. What are you supposed to do when you are smarter and wiser than the authorities here at church, whether that aut... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/05/dont-be-anxious-about-anything/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/05/dont-be-anxious-about-anything/#comments Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:42:58 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=299 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/10/05/dont-be-anxious-about-anything/feed/ 0 00:01:01 October 5, 2008 Philippians 4:4-9 Don't Be Anxious about Anything Pastor Ben In 1983, Time Magazine had a cover article focused on seeking a cure for stress. The ... October 5, 2008 Philippians 4:4-9 Don't Be Anxious about Anything Pastor Ben In 1983, Time Magazine had a cover article focused on seeking a cure for stress. The article made this observation, acirc;euro;oelig;Stress is the epidemic of the 1980acirc;euro;trade;sacirc;euro; Well, isnacirc;euro;trade;t it wonderful that that the 80acirc;euro;trade;s are over and that stress is no longer an epidemic. Itacirc;euro;trade;s so nice that over the past 2 decades Americans have been able to get anxiety and stress under control. And youacirc;euro;trade;re wondering, acirc;euro;oelig;What America have I been living in?acirc;euro; What the writers of that 1983 article didnacirc;euro;trade;t realize, what they couldnacirc;euro;trade;t fathom in 1983 was that the stress level of Americans was actually going to get worse. In fact, that stress is the #1 cause of health problems in America health problem. It contributes to high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, headaches and even heart disease. Stress and anxiety are such big problems that one recent study showed that 75% of all doctor visits in America are for things caused or made worse by stress. So, what is there to do about it? Well, there are lots of different ideas out there. For instance, to help relieve stress at work, you could buy the acirc;euro;oelig;Boss Toss.acirc;euro; Listen to its description. acirc;euro;oelig;Work got you down? Boss driving you crazy? Relieve a bit of corporate stress by sending small supervisors skyward with the Boss Toss! Just load one of the plastic executives into the plastic shooting device and pull the trigger! Especially good for launching over cubicle walls at coworkers. The Boss Toss includes four different figures.acirc;euro; Or if your stress is caused because youacirc;euro;trade;re unsure of yourself and not confident about the future, this Trophy toy might be the pick-me-up that you need. Hereacirc;euro;trade;s itacirc;euro;trade;s description. acirc;euro;oelig;A cool squishy foam stress reliever that's fun for the office or at home-- you can make up reasons to present it to yourself over and over again. Treat yourself to a little ceremony for your achievements no matter how trivial they are, like arriving to work on time, eating lunch without spilling on yourself, not burning supper.acirc;euro; If those things arenacirc;euro;trade;t up your alley, this same company also sells inflatable hammers to bang away at your computer and punching bags for your desk. People are turning to all sorts of places to find peace in the midst of stress and anxiety: toys, exercises, diet plans, aromatherapy, hypnosis and on and on and on. Well my friends, during a time when the stress level of Americans is probably at an all time high, I have some help to share with you this morning. No, I didnacirc;euro;trade;t buy everyone a acirc;euro;oelig;Boss Tossacirc;euro; to take home. The help that Iacirc;euro;trade;m going to share comes from God and His Word. Now, before we read these words, I think itacirc;euro;trade;s important to understand what worry and anxiety really are. Sure, theyacirc;euro;trade;re feelings that affect physical health and happiness, but thereacirc;euro;trade;s more to it than that. At theyacirc;euro;trade;re heart and core, constant anxiety and hopeless worry is sin. And while being healthier and happier is nice, the most important reason to talk about stress and worry and anxiety is that itacirc;euro;trade;s a sin problem. Now, let me explain. When I say that worry and anxiety are sins, Iacirc;euro;trade;m not talking about a healthy concern that leads a person to plan for the future. Itacirc;euro;trade;s good to be concerned about your healthacirc;euro;brvbar;then weacirc;euro;trade;ll make sure to take of ourselves. Itacirc;euro;trade;s important to be concerned about an upcoming testacirc;euro;brvbar;then youacirc;euro;trade;ll make sure to study. Itacirc;euro;trade;s good to be concerned about the k... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/28/live-in-the-joy-of-gods-grace/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/28/live-in-the-joy-of-gods-grace/#comments Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:49:06 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=279 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/28/live-in-the-joy-of-gods-grace/feed/ 0 00:01:01 September 28, 2008 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 Live in the Joy of God's Grace Pastor Ben A couple months ago a new Staples store opened up in Apple Valley. In ... September 28, 2008 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 Live in the Joy of God's Grace Pastor Ben A couple months ago a new Staples store opened up in Apple Valley. In an obvious attempt to get people to try out the new office supply store, they mailed out special coupon cards. Here was the deal contained on the card: if you used the card by September 1st, youacirc;euro;trade;d receive $40 off your purchase. So, letacirc;euro;trade;s say you bought $40 worth of stuff. It all would be free. Pretty sweet deal, huh? I thought so too. So, although we usually get supplies at Office Max here in Lakeville, Shelly and I felt this would be worth the special trip to Apply Valley. And since I live closer to the new store, I volunteered to be the one to use it. So, what do you think I did with the card? Well, I didnacirc;euro;trade;t throw it away. I didnacirc;euro;trade;t lose it. I mean itacirc;euro;trade;s worth $40. I took good care of it and put it in a drawer for safe keeping. Well, days went by and I didnacirc;euro;trade;t get around to using the card. In fact, to be totally honest with you, I kind of forgot about it at times. Shelly would go to Office Max to buy supplies, but the card remained stuck away in that drawer, untouched and unused. September 1st came and went and I never did use that card. I mean, this was an awesome dealacirc;euro;brvbar;40 free dollars. I knew it was great, thatacirc;euro;trade;s why I put it in the drawer. But I got so busy with the details and busyness of life that I totally forgot about its value. In the long run, I guess I received the card acirc;euro;oelig;in vain.acirc;euro; Now, Iacirc;euro;trade;m sure that Iacirc;euro;trade;m not the only that this has ever happened to. Ever wait to long to use a gift card from your birthday and it expired? Ever go to the refrigerator for your favorite leftovers, only to find that the food went bad. Itacirc;euro;trade;s not that these things didnacirc;euro;trade;t have blessings attached to them. It was our fault. They were acirc;euro;oelig;in vainacirc;euro; because we never used the blessings they gave. Now $40 is a lot of money and Iacirc;euro;trade;m still kicking myself for not using that card, but $40 of office supplies is nothing compared to the blessing Iacirc;euro;trade;m going to talk to you about this morning. The blessing that Iacirc;euro;trade;d like to talk about is grace. acirc;euro;oelig;Whatacirc;euro;trade;s grace?acirc;euro; you ask. Well, the basic definition is acirc;euro;oelig;love that a person receives but doesnacirc;euro;trade;t deserve.acirc;euro; And yet, graceacirc;euro;trade;s meaning is probably best understood when itacirc;euro;trade;s seen in action. So, what does grace look like? $700 billion is an outrageous amount of money that youacirc;euro;trade;ve heard thrown around this week. Can your mind even begin to comprehend $700 billion? Thatacirc;euro;trade;s how much itacirc;euro;trade;s going to cost to bail out some of Americaacirc;euro;trade;s largest financial institutions. $700 billion! And while the government says that this is going to keep our economy from collapsing, Iacirc;euro;trade;m sure many of us look at this situation and feel that itacirc;euro;trade;s unfair. These companies got themselves into this mess. They need to get themselves out of it. My friends, whether you agree with the governmentacirc;euro;trade;s rescue plan or not, thereacirc;euro;trade;s a point here that Iacirc;euro;trade;d like to make about the situation. These companies with very bleak, hopeless futures would be receiving a $700 billion bail out. That would be a gift that they donacirc;euro;trade;t deserve. It would be an undeserved gift of huge proportions. My friends, thatacirc;euro;trade;s grace. Do you realize that youacirc;euro;trade;ve received a gift from God thatacirc;euro;trade;s far more valuable than $700 billion? Because of our sin, we were destined to spend eternity in hell. God could have rightfully said, acirc;euro;oe... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/21/is-christ-living-in-us/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/21/is-christ-living-in-us/#comments Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:50:59 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=278 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/21/is-christ-living-in-us/feed/ 0 00:01:01 September 21, 2008 2 Corinthians 13:5-6 Is Christ Living in Us? Pastor Steve Since October, 2001, so over the span of the last 7 years, the US Navy Seals ... September 21, 2008 2 Corinthians 13:5-6 Is Christ Living in Us? Pastor Steve Since October, 2001, so over the span of the last 7 years, the US Navy Seals have conducted thousands of combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraqi and elsewhere. Most of their missions are covert in nature, top secret, theyacirc;euro;trade;re planned with excruciating detail and executed with the highest precision and swiftness. And they are extremely successful. Navy Seals are among the best special forces in the world. And thereacirc;euro;trade;s a reason for that. Their training standards are grueling. In fact, Iacirc;euro;trade;d say theyacirc;euro;trade;re downright fearsome. The dedication required of them is incredible. With such high expectations, it really should come as no surprise to learn that 60% of the recruits to drop out before the end of the 26 week long training program. And thatacirc;euro;trade;s after staring with an elite group of some of the most physically fit and mentally tough American soldiers. I think it goes with out saying that the men, who actually complete the program have earned the title of US Navy Seal. Theyacirc;euro;trade;ve passed the test. Without a doubt, physically strength and metal capabilities play a huge part in passing that test. But, according to a former Navy Sealacirc;euro;trade;s commander, he said itacirc;euro;trade;s not so much the strength or intelligence of a recruit. No, itacirc;euro;trade;s that heacirc;euro;trade;s got heart. What the commander meant was that recruitacirc;euro;trade;s passion, his determination, his resolve is what gets him past the test. What matters most is who he is. Itacirc;euro;trade;s all about whatacirc;euro;trade;s in here. And isnacirc;euro;trade;t that the way it is a lot of times in life? You have to put in the time, put in the effort, put in the sweat or the tears or the agony to pass those acirc;euro;oelig;testsacirc;euro; in life acirc;euro;ldquo; tests like making the football team or passing a math test; or tests like finding a job or retiring with a large enough nest egg; or tests like making a marriage work or helping you kids understand that you love them and all you want is whatacirc;euro;trade;s best of them. Life takes work. I donacirc;euro;trade;t think I have to convince anyone here that life isnacirc;euro;trade;t just a stroll through the park, where everythingacirc;euro;trade;s beautifully laid out before you and thereacirc;euro;trade;s not a care in the world. Sure, there are good times. Yes, there are great times. But often times, life is a challenge; life tests us. Well, guess what? This morning, the Apostle Paul, and God, wants us to take another test. Now, Iacirc;euro;trade;m going to warn you up front: this test is probably going to offend you. Donacirc;euro;trade;t blame me. Iacirc;euro;trade;m just the messenger, and this test offends me just as much as itacirc;euro;trade;ll likely offend you. This test is offensive because it asks us to do something kind of ugly. The test asks us to take a good, hard look at who we really are. Not the person we want to be. Not the person we want others to think we are. But who we really are. This test is found near the end of 2 Corinthians. In chapter 13, verse 5, Paul writes, Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Let me put it another way, howacirc;euro;trade;s your faith life? Or better yet, howacirc;euro;trade;s your relationship with God? Thatacirc;euro;trade;s the test, and I hate to tell you, but this isnacirc;euro;trade;t a group test. This isnacirc;euro;trade;t a test to see how Bethlehem is doing; how Bethlehemacirc;euro;trade;s relationship with God is. No, itacirc;euro;trade;s a personal test. So keep your eyes on your own heart. And since itacirc;euro;trade;s a personal test, I canacirc;euro;trade;t answer it for you. And no one else can either. Everyoneacirc;euro;trade;s answer is completely independent from anyone elseacirc;euro;trade... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/14/being-the-body-of-christ/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/14/being-the-body-of-christ/#comments Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:14:45 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=277 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/14/being-the-body-of-christ/feed/ 0 00:01:01 September 14, 2008 1 Corinthians 12:12-21, 26-27 Being the Body of Christ Pastor Ben On April 27th, the Western Oregon University softball team played against Central Washington in ... September 14, 2008 1 Corinthians 12:12-21, 26-27 Being the Body of Christ Pastor Ben On April 27th, the Western Oregon University softball team played against Central Washington in a game that had definite playoff implications. And yet, with only 100 people in attendance the score of the game is now what people are going to remember the most. In the second inning Sara Tulchosky, a 5acirc;euro;trade;2acirc;euro; senior second baseman came to bat with game scoreless. Sara had never hit a home run in her career. After taking the first pitch for a strike, Sara swung at the second pitch. She connected on a long fly ball that kept traveling until it landed on the other side of the leftfield fence. What an amazing moment for Sara! She had hit her first home run! As she rounded first base in excitement, Sara quickly fell to the ground in a heap. She had torn her ACL and was unable to finish her run around the bases. And here lies the problem. The rulebook reads that if a teammate or coach helped or even touches Sara, she would have to be called out. And her homerunacirc;euro;brvbar;it wouldnacirc;euro;trade;t count. Well, guess what happened? In this important game with a tie score, two players from the other team, asked the ump if they could carry Sara around the bases. acirc;euro;oelig;She hit the ball over the fence. She deserves it,acirc;euro; they said. And so, joined by nothing more than a common love for softball, these three girls from different backgrounds and two totally different teams rounded the bases together. More than cheering and screaming, the stands were filled with tears as they witnessed this amazingly powerful picture of love. And together Sara Tulchoskyacirc;euro;trade;s first and last homerun became official. Today is a special Sunday at Bethlehem. Once a year on we take time to ponder and pray about Godacirc;euro;trade;s direction for our ministry and our church over the next year. Through Godacirc;euro;trade;s guidance and the life-saving Gospel we share, Bethlehem continues to be a relevant and important part of Lakeville and the surrounding communities. With 370 members, with 55 kids in Sunday School last week, the reality is that weacirc;euro;trade;re not a small church anymore. And as Bethlehem has grown, the reality is that weacirc;euro;trade;ve become more and more diverse. Our membership includes many life-long Wisconsin Synod Lutherans. But it has just as many people who are new to the Wisconsin Synod, new to being Lutheran, or even new to calling themselves Christian. What a joy it is that God has used our ministry to reach out with the message of Jesus to so many different people. And yet, with growth and diversity can come challenges. And one of the challenges can be working together and unity. I tend to be quite competitive by nature. And so, when I first read about Sara Tulchoskyacirc;euro;trade;s homerun I was taken aback by this picture of togetherness. I mean, they play for different teams. The score was tied. This was for the playoffs. Itacirc;euro;trade;s a wonderful example of unity because it would seem impossible to get these opposing players to work together. So, what about getting 370 people to work together? It would seem that such a task would be even more remoteacirc;euro;brvbar;nearly impossible. But you see, thereacirc;euro;trade;s something amazing that unites members of this church. And what unites us makes a huge difference in how we feel about each other, how we act towards each other, how we serve with each other. Letacirc;euro;trade;s turn to 1st Corinthians 12 for our strength and encouragement. Read vs. 12-13. These words of Paul could rightly be applied to all Christians. You see, thereacirc;euro;trade;s a unity that we have with all people who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And so what is true for all Christians on earth, is also true for Christians right here at Bethlehem. Todayacirc;euro;trade;s application is going to focus rig... Default,,Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/07/its-all-about-who-you-know/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/07/its-all-about-who-you-know/#comments Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:42:56 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=276 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/09/07/its-all-about-who-you-know/feed/ 0 00:01:01 September 7, 2008 Jeremiah 9:23-24 It's All About, "Who You Know" Pastor Ben Do you personally know anyone famous or really, really important? My college roommateacirc;euro;trade;s dad is Mark ... September 7, 2008 Jeremiah 9:23-24 It's All About, "Who You Know" Pastor Ben Do you personally know anyone famous or really, really important? My college roommateacirc;euro;trade;s dad is Mark Neumann, at the time he was a United States Congressman from Wisconsin. Mr. Neumann spent two terms in office and then narrowly lost to Russ Feingold for a seat in the U.S. Senate. You know, sometimes acirc;euro;oelig;Who you knowacirc;euro; can make a big difference. For instance, while he was in office, Carrie and I took a trip to Washington DC. And the simple fact of knowing Mr. Neumann made a big difference for our visit. He made arrangements so that we could bypass all the crowds at the capitol building and enter through a special entrance. Then, he gave us a private tour where we saw things that most acirc;euro;oelig;regularacirc;euro; visitors donacirc;euro;trade;t see. For instance, we got to sit in on a few minutes of House legislation and conversation (I know that doesnacirc;euro;trade;t sound real exciting, but it was very interesting.). He took us into the Senate room which the public is usually not allowed to enter. We visited Newt Gingrichacirc;euro;trade;s office. I even met Steve Largent, a congressman and Hall of Fame wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. This special tour would have never, ever happened if I didnacirc;euro;trade;t know Mr. Neumann. Sometimes Itacirc;euro;trade;s all about, acirc;euro;oelig;Who You Know.acirc;euro; Maybe youacirc;euro;trade;ve found the same thing to be true in your own life. Knowing the acirc;euro;oelig;rightacirc;euro; person can have its perks. Knowing the CEO may give you the inside track to a new job (just ask Donald Trumpacirc;euro;trade;s kids). Knowing the policeman may allow you to get out of a speeding ticket (that along with same well-timed tears). Knowing the salesman may get you a great deal on a new car. And Iacirc;euro;trade;m sure thereacirc;euro;trade;s been a time or two that you missed out on something not because of you werenacirc;euro;trade;t qualified, but because you didnacirc;euro;trade;t know the acirc;euro;oelig;rightacirc;euro; person. Often itacirc;euro;trade;s all about acirc;euro;oelig;Who You Know.acirc;euro; How do you feel about people getting things based on who they know? Iacirc;euro;trade;m sure thereacirc;euro;trade;s mixed feelings. Outsiders can look at it as being unfair because it has nothing to do with personal talent or merit. As unfair and frustrating as this might be at certain times and in certain situations, did you know that acirc;euro;oelig;who you knowacirc;euro; is exactly the way that people receive the greatest blessings known to the world. In fact, itacirc;euro;trade;s not just a way, itacirc;euro;trade;s the only way to receive them. The greatest blessings God wants to give you have nothing to do with our success, our intelligence, our abilities or our wealth. Instead, as weacirc;euro;trade;ll learn today from the prophet Jeremiah, when it comes to real blessing, Itacirc;euro;trade;s all about Who You Know. Not Mark Neumannacirc;euro;brvbar;someone else. Let me give you a little bit of background to our text. The people of Israel were always clamoring for something. For many years they were complaining for God to give them a king. And if He did, they promised to stop complaining and to follow God with renewed vigor and dedication. Well, God finally gave them a king named Saul. And guess what happened? The Israelitesacirc;euro;trade; spiritual straying and complaining continued. In fact, this whole period of Israel as a kingdom was marked with Godacirc;euro;trade;s people relying and trusting in things other than God. It was still that way at the time of Jeremiah. Powerful King Nebuchadnezzar and the country of Babylon were threatening to capture Israel. Youacirc;euro;trade;d think this would be the acirc;euro;oelig;wake up callacirc;euro; they needed to turn to God in faith and trust. Well, think ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/31/sometimes-tough-love-is-needed/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/31/sometimes-tough-love-is-needed/#comments Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:06:51 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=255 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/31/sometimes-tough-love-is-needed/feed/ 0 00:01:01 August 31, 2008 Matthew 18:15-20 Sometimes "Tough Love" is Needed Deanna Hassell. Sheacirc;euro;trade;s the mother of a 7th grader in Staten Island, New York who has been fighting ... August 31, 2008 Matthew 18:15-20 Sometimes "Tough Love" is Needed Deanna Hassell. Sheacirc;euro;trade;s the mother of a 7th grader in Staten Island, New York who has been fighting with the school board to have her son, Anthony, flunked. You see, Anthony was passed into the 8th grade this year while holding an average grade of 61%. As you can imagine, Anthony was overjoyed that he actually passed while refusing to do much of his homework and often skipping class. His mother wasnacirc;euro;trade;t quite so happy. You see, Deanna knows that sheacirc;euro;trade;s not getting through to her son about the importance of school and hard work. And just allowing life to go on, and Anthony to continue into to the 8th grade, is not going to acirc;euro;oelig;wakeacirc;euro; him up. Something needs to happen or heacirc;euro;trade;s going to continue to be lazy and unmotivated because he can get away with it. And so this summer, Deanna has decided to battle the Staten Island School Board, not to pass her son, but to flunk him. Youacirc;euro;trade;d might say thatacirc;euro;trade;s an example of acirc;euro;oelig;tough love.acirc;euro; Have you ever heard these fateful words, acirc;euro;oelig;This is going to hurt me, much more than itacirc;euro;trade;s going to hurt you.acirc;euro; Believe me from personal experience, if those words are directed at you, itacirc;euro;trade;s never a good sign. Because what usually comes next is some type of discipline that youacirc;euro;trade;re not going to enjoy very much. Whether itacirc;euro;trade;s a grounding, a loss of certain privileges, an early bed time, a spanking or the flunking of 7th grade, a childacirc;euro;trade;s only thought in that situation is, acirc;euro;oelig;How in all the world is this going to hurt you more than it hurts me.acirc;euro; And then, and then I became a parent. And now I understand. Sometimes the most loving thing a parent can do is to fight with school board so that your son retakes the 7th grade. Sometimes the most loving thing a parent can do is something that your child doesnacirc;euro;trade;t like or enjoy. They may get upset with you for a time and thatacirc;euro;trade;s the part that hurts. But parents need to show acirc;euro;oelig;tough love.acirc;euro; They need to discipline because otherwise their child will continue on a course thatacirc;euro;trade;s dangerous and possibly harmful to their future. They need to show acirc;euro;oelig;tough loveacirc;euro; because they realize that their child will be better off when itacirc;euro;trade;s shown. Now let me ask you this. acirc;euro;oelig;If people are willing to do the difficult thing and show tough love when it comes to earthly dangers and problems, would you not agree that itacirc;euro;trade;s even more important to do the difficult thing and show tough love when it comes to dangers and enemies that threaten the soul and eternal life? I mean, letacirc;euro;trade;s put things into perspective for a moment. The Bible talks about our life on this earth as mist. You know how you can see your breath on a cold, wintery, Minnesota day and then itacirc;euro;trade;s gone? Thatacirc;euro;trade;s our earthly lives compared to the length of eternity. Things that threaten that eternal life and a personacirc;euro;trade;s faith relationship with Jesus Christ are going to have much longer lasting consequences than any danger that threatens our earthly lives. So what kinds of enemies threaten our relationship with Jesus? The enemy that weacirc;euro;trade;re going to talk about today is the enemy of sin. And even more specifically, sin thatacirc;euro;trade;s allowed to hang around in a personacirc;euro;trade;s life. Sinful attitudes or actions that are not repented of and changed. We call this acirc;euro;oelig;living in sin.acirc;euro; Maybe itacirc;euro;trade;s hatred for someone at work or in the neighborhood. Youacirc;euro;trade;ve rejected Godacirc;euro;trade;s command to acirc;euro;oelig;love you... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/24/the-parable-of-the-sower-knowing-yourselfsharing-your-savior/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/24/the-parable-of-the-sower-knowing-yourselfsharing-your-savior/#comments Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:55:55 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=253 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/24/the-parable-of-the-sower-knowing-yourselfsharing-your-savior/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Pastor Steve August 24, 2008 Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 The Parable of the Sower: Knowing yourself...sharing your Savior Pastor Steve August 24, 2008 Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 The Parable of the Sower: Knowing yourself...sharing your Savior Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/17/being-the-kind-of-church-jesus-built/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/17/being-the-kind-of-church-jesus-built/#comments Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:09:02 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=252 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/17/being-the-kind-of-church-jesus-built/feed/ 0 00:01:01 August 17, 2008 Matthew 16:13-18 Being the Kind of Church Jesus Built Todayacirc;euro;trade;s a wonderful day. As we get ready to install Steve Abramowski as our 2nd pastor ... August 17, 2008 Matthew 16:13-18 Being the Kind of Church Jesus Built Todayacirc;euro;trade;s a wonderful day. As we get ready to install Steve Abramowski as our 2nd pastor this afternoon, today is a wonderful day. After 8 years of schooling and training and moving, todayacirc;euro;trade;s a wonderful day for Steve and Louise as they finally get settled. After 20+ years of praying that God would guide and direct their children, todayacirc;euro;trade;s a wonderful day for their parents as they will watch Steve enter the public ministry. After more than a year of plans and proposals, todayacirc;euro;trade;s a wonderful day for the people of Bethlehem as we think about more opportunities to share the Gospel. And you know what else? Although many of them donacirc;euro;trade;t even know about Steveacirc;euro;trade;s installation, todayacirc;euro;trade;s a wonderful day for the people of Lakeville. There are over 20 Christian churches in Lakeville, and yet this community absolutely needs a church like Bethlehem to continue to share the Gospel. Which brings us to a good question, acirc;euro;oelig;In a community with over 20 churches, why does Lakeville need this one? How would you answer that question, acirc;euro;oelig;What makes Bethlehem special, unique, different?acirc;euro; Some of you might say that itacirc;euro;trade;s Bethlehemacirc;euro;trade;s friendliness and acirc;euro;oelig;family feelacirc;euro; that makes it different. I would agree that our church is a friendly place and has been blessed with friendly people. And yet, thereacirc;euro;trade;s a lot of friendly churches out there. In fact, more than likely there are churches right here in Lakeville that do acirc;euro;oelig;friendlyacirc;euro; better than we do. Some of you might say that itacirc;euro;trade;s our worship and musical variety that makes us special. I would agree that weacirc;euro;trade;ve been blessed with wonderful musicians. I would agree that our mixture of the old and the new has allowed us to reach out to a wide range of different ages and people. And yet, there are churches in Lakeville that have more resources and more musicians and do music better than we do. Some of you might say that itacirc;euro;trade;s the fact that our church teaches from the Bible that makes us special. And if thatacirc;euro;trade;s your answer, then youacirc;euro;trade;re definitely on the right track. And yet, itacirc;euro;trade;s an answer thatacirc;euro;trade;s not as complete as it could be. I mean, just about all 20 churches in Lakeville would tell you that they acirc;euro;oelig;teach from the Bibleacirc;euro; too. So, why is a church like Bethlehem needed in Lakeville? At this point, maybe you have more questions than when we started. Well, I pray that wonacirc;euro;trade;t be the case at the end of this message. I pray that our time in Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word this morning will give you a clear answer to why this churchacirc;euro;trade;s ministry is important. You see, in our lesson, Christ shares the plan for building His Church, (His body of believers). And as we look at that plan and compare it to this church, weacirc;euro;trade;re going to see that this is a church that follows that plan. So, letacirc;euro;trade;s turn to the appointed Gospel reading for today, Matthew 16. Read vs. 13-14. The difficult time of Jesusacirc;euro;trade; arrest and crucifixion was just weeks away. So Jesus decided to have a little bit of quiet time with His disciples. He took them away from the crowds and went north of the Sea of Galilee, to a place called Caesarea Philippi. With all that would be going on over the next weeks, Jesus wanted to make sure that the disciples understood who He was and why He had come. So He asks them a question to help teach them. Jesus asks, acirc;euro;oelig;Who do people say the Son of Man is?acirc;euro; (vs. 13). Lots of people followed Jesus at the time. Crowds were always surrounding Him. But by the disciplesacirc;euro... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/03/a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-a-lesson-about-love/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/03/a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-a-lesson-about-love/#comments Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:34:21 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=247 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/08/03/a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-a-lesson-about-love/feed/ 0 00:01:01 August 3, 2008 Jonah 4:1-11 A Lesson about Love In 1997, Renaissance Entertainment of Orlando began marketing a new ride in hopes that some large theme park would ... August 3, 2008 Jonah 4:1-11 A Lesson about Love In 1997, Renaissance Entertainment of Orlando began marketing a new ride in hopes that some large theme park would pick up the idea. The ride they invented was called the acirc;euro;oelig;Ego Trip.acirc;euro; Itacirc;euro;trade;s a ride thatacirc;euro;trade;s all about you, the passenger. What do I mean? Well, as you get ready to get on, your name, picture and voice is recorded to make the ride personalized. During the course of your acirc;euro;oelig;Ego Trip,acirc;euro; youacirc;euro;trade;ll walk the red carpet at YOUR own blockbuster movie premiere. Paparazzi snap pictures of YOU and fans call out YOUR name. Youacirc;euro;trade;ll visit an art museum that displays paintings of YOU done by Picasso, van Gogh and da Vinci. Then, itacirc;euro;trade;s off to a political rally where a crowd of supporters holding signs are rooting for YOU to be the next president of the United States. And of course, you havenacirc;euro;trade;t really acirc;euro;oelig;made itacirc;euro; until you have a acirc;euro;oelig;ticker-tapeacirc;euro; parade in New York City thrown in your honor. As the ride comes to an end, your experience does not. You are then directed towards a gift shop where you can purchase a whole host of souvenirs that can be personalized with your name and picture on them. So, what do you think? I donacirc;euro;trade;t have the strongest stomach in the world. There are a bunch of crazy rides that bother my stomach and make me sick. And yet, I have to admit that the acirc;euro;oelig;Ego Tripacirc;euro; sounds like the most nauseating rides ever... but for a totally different reason. You probably wonacirc;euro;trade;t be surprised to hear that no theme park has picked up idea. While the acirc;euro;oelig;Ego Tripacirc;euro; might have been a little bit over the top, thereacirc;euro;trade;s no denying the fact that most of the time our favorite subject to think about or talk about is acirc;euro;oelig;me.acirc;euro; Now, obviously some of that just kind of happens. I mean, youacirc;euro;trade;ve been with acirc;euro;oelig;youacirc;euro; everyday for your entire life. Every time you look in the mirror you see the same person, YOU. And yet, when we spend all our time thinking and dwelling on ourselves to the detriment of those around us, well, then weacirc;euro;trade;ve got things twisted around. When we go on our own personal acirc;euro;oelig;Ego Tripsacirc;euro; and love ourselves and our desires more than God and his desires, well then weacirc;euro;trade;re sinning. And so, this morning God teaches a needed lesson to Jonah, to you, to me. He teaches us A Lesson about Love. Last week as we ended chapter 3, everything seemed absolutely wonderful. To be honest, it would have been nice to tie a little bow on the book of Jonah and end it right there. The prophet, who had been acirc;euro;oelig;runningacirc;euro; from God, was no longer running. Jonah, who had refused to preach in Nineveh, was bravely sharing Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word. And thatacirc;euro;trade;s not even the most wonderful part. Through the Holy Spiritacirc;euro;trade;s power, the greatest rescue miracle in the book of Jonah happened. acirc;euro;oelig;The Ninevites believed Godacirc;euro; (3:5). Not only was the city of Nineveh spared, but through Jonahacirc;euro;trade;s preaching and the power of the Holy Spirit, 200,000 Ninevites are in heaven today. What an awesome day! What an awesome rescue! What a perfect place to end the story. Everyone should be happy. God was happy with Ninevehacirc;euro;trade;s repentance and faith. The Ninevites were happy with Godacirc;euro;trade;s forgiveness. And Jonah was happy withacirc;euro;brvbar; Jonah was happy foracirc;euro;brvbar;As we begin the last chapter of Jonah, thereacirc;euro;trade;s a big surprise. You see, we find out that Jonah wasnacirc;euro;trade;t happy at all. Read vs. 1. Jonah wasnacirc;euro;trade;t just a little bit upset about the ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/27/a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-from-one-miracle-to-another/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/27/a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-from-one-miracle-to-another/#comments Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:19:24 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=243 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/27/a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-from-one-miracle-to-another/feed/ 0 00:01:01 July 27, 2008 Jonah 3:1-10 From One Miracle to Another On July 2nd Ingrid Betancourt, a one time presidential candidate in Colombia, and 11 other hostages were rescued ... July 27, 2008 Jonah 3:1-10 From One Miracle to Another On July 2nd Ingrid Betancourt, a one time presidential candidate in Colombia, and 11 other hostages were rescued from rebels. Maybe some of you have heard details about this acirc;euro;oelig;miraculousacirc;euro; rescue. Betancourt had been kidnapped by Colombian rebels while campaigning for president in 2002. For 6 years she was held hostage in the jungle. During that time, the Colombian and French governments spent much time and money planning a way to rescue her from her captors. In fact, over the last months, military agents began secretly planting themselves within rebel camps by pretending themselves to be rebels. Eventually, these secret agents used their new status to plan a helicopter trip for Betancourt and 11 other hostages. The real rebels thought the helicopter was taking the hostages to meet the rebel leader. The hostages were loaded on the helicopter in hand-cuffs. Little did they know that it was all a trick. The unmarked helicopter was actually being flown by the acirc;euro;oelig;goodacirc;euro; guys, by Colombian security. As the helicopter flew away, and these 12 hand-cuffed hostages were released from their cuffs and informed that they were free, you can just imagine the joy and tears and emotion and relief that filled that helicopter. Now thatacirc;euro;trade;s a pretty amazing rescue story, isnacirc;euro;trade;t it? So amazing, in fact, that some have called it a acirc;euro;oelig;miracle.acirc;euro; So amazing, in fact, that others have called the whole rescue story a lie, hoax. Some have reported that the Colombian government actually paid off the rebels because the story is too unlikely, too amazing to actually be true. Isnacirc;euro;trade;t that the way that it goes with stories like this? People become skeptical of stories that are so amazing. Last week, we read about a acirc;euro;oelig;rescueacirc;euro; story that some people have refused to believe because it sounds too amazing. God rescued Jonah from drowning in the Mediterranean by sending a huge fish to swallow him alive. We learned that Jonahacirc;euro;trade;s 3 days in the fish, were kind of like a acirc;euro;oelig;time outacirc;euro; that God gave disobedient Jonah. Through his prayer in the fish we saw that Jonah used this acirc;euro;oelig;time outacirc;euro; to confess his sin and rejoice in these words from the belly of the fish, acirc;euro;oelig;Salvation comes from the Lord.acirc;euro; Now, while I donacirc;euro;trade;t know whatacirc;euro;trade;s true and whatacirc;euro;trade;s false in the case of Ingrid Betancourtacirc;euro;trade;s rescue, I know without a shadow of a doubt that Jonahacirc;euro;trade;s rescue story is not a hoax. Although it seems unbelievable, it absolutely happened. The reason I know that is because we have an almighty God who can and does do the miraculous all the time. Well, with the fish part of Jonah behind us, you may have thought that the most miraculous and amazing part of Jonahacirc;euro;trade;s life was over. And if thatacirc;euro;trade;s what you thought, youacirc;euro;trade;re going to find out differently today. The truth is that as Jonah gets acirc;euro;oelig;thrown upacirc;euro; onto the shore, as he is called again by God to go to Nineveh, as he uses this acirc;euro;oelig;fresh startacirc;euro; to now go to Nineveh, the most amazing rescue story in the book of Jonah hasnacirc;euro;trade;t happened yet. Something happens in Nineveh that can only be described as a acirc;euro;oelig;miracle.acirc;euro; As Jonah goes From One Miracle to Another listen to what happens in Nineveh. In fact, it still happens today and gives us great direction as Christ-followers in 2008. Read vs. 1-4. Jonah is sent on a rescue mission of sorts. Itacirc;euro;trade;s a mission to rescue the Ninevites from being destroyed. He was asked to do that by sharing Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word with them. Put yourself in Jonahacirc;euro;trade;s ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/20/jonah-a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-time-for-a-time-out/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/20/jonah-a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-time-for-a-time-out/#comments Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:01:37 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=230 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/20/jonah-a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-time-for-a-time-out/feed/ 0 00:01:01 July 20, 2008 Jonah 1:17-2:10 Time for a "Time Out" Discipline can come in many different shapes and sizes. In the mid-80acirc;euro;trade;s I was in 2nd grade and ... July 20, 2008 Jonah 1:17-2:10 Time for a "Time Out" Discipline can come in many different shapes and sizes. In the mid-80acirc;euro;trade;s I was in 2nd grade and I vividly remember how Mrs. Dudley used embarrassment as discipline. If you were caught being a acirc;euro;oelig;tattle tail,acirc;euro; sheacirc;euro;trade;d pin a long tail to the back of your pants. You then had to wear it around school for the rest of the dayacirc;euro;brvbar;including at recess for the entire school to see. Believe me, after one day of wearing a tail, I gave up my acirc;euro;oelig;tattle tailingacirc;euro; days forever. A few years later I went to a Christian elementary school. Our teacher, Mr. Krueger, used the threat of pain as discipline. He had a wooden paddle called, the acirc;euro;oelig;Board of Education.acirc;euro; As you can imagine, it could cause a fair amount of stinging to your backside. While I only remember it coming off of the shelf once, its constant presence kept us students acirc;euro;oelig;in line.acirc;euro; Now, more than likely, neither one of those disciplines would be acceptable in classrooms today. Todayacirc;euro;trade;s most popular discipline method for young children seems to be the acirc;euro;oelig;time out.acirc;euro; Let me explain what it is for those who no longer have young children or donacirc;euro;trade;t know what it is. A acirc;euro;oelig;time outacirc;euro; is when you take a disobedient child out of a disobedient situation and have them sit by themselves for a few minutes. The chosen spot for acirc;euro;oelig;time outacirc;euro; isnacirc;euro;trade;t supposed to be a acirc;euro;oelig;funacirc;euro; place. Itacirc;euro;trade;s supposed to be a place thatacirc;euro;trade;s secluded and away from distractions. The acirc;euro;oelig;time outacirc;euro; chair at the Blumer home is in a corner in the dining room. Some might think that the acirc;euro;oelig;time outacirc;euro; isnacirc;euro;trade;t tough enough. But I have to admit that most of the time itacirc;euro;trade;s worked quite well at our house. Not only does it remove someone from a disobedient situation, it also gives children time to just sit there and think. They can think about what theyacirc;euro;trade;ve done, why it was wrong, and how things are going to be different. And then, when they come off of acirc;euro;oelig;time out,acirc;euro; theyacirc;euro;trade;re ready for a brand new fresh start. Now, most of us probably think that weacirc;euro;trade;re way too old for a acirc;euro;oelig;time out.acirc;euro; And yet, hereacirc;euro;trade;s what weacirc;euro;trade;re going to learn today through Jonah. When it comes to our spiritual lives, when it comes to our faith relationship with Christ, thereacirc;euro;trade;s a certain kind of acirc;euro;oelig;time outacirc;euro; thatacirc;euro;trade;s absolutely appropriate for people of all ages. Taking time to think about what weacirc;euro;trade;ve done and where we go from here, is actually something we need very much. So, letacirc;euro;trade;s quickly review where we are in Jonah. Last week we saw God call the prophet Jonah to the city of Ninevah to preach Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word. For various reasons, Jonah decided not listen to Godacirc;euro;trade;s plan for his life. Instead, Jonah became a acirc;euro;oelig;runner.acirc;euro; He ran from Godacirc;euro;trade;s plan and tried to sail to a city 2500 miles in the opposite direction. Along with Jonah, we learned that we might be able to run from Godacirc;euro;trade;s plan, but we canacirc;euro;trade;t outrun God. And so, God sent a large storm upon Jonahacirc;euro;trade;s ship, not to kill him, but in His grace, to stop Jonah from acirc;euro;oelig;running.acirc;euro; Eventually, the sailors realized that the only way that they could get the Mediterranean Sea calmed down was by throwing Jonah overboard. It worked. They threw Jonah out and the sea became calm. But what happened to Jonah? Thatacirc;euro;trade;... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/13/jonah-a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-gods-grace-for-runners/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/13/jonah-a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-gods-grace-for-runners/#comments Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:51:56 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=228 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/13/jonah-a-fish-tale-worth-hearing-gods-grace-for-runners/feed/ 0 00:01:01 July 13, 2008 Jonah 1:1-16 God's Grace for "Runners" I brought some items along with me this morning to which I was hoping to get your reaction. (running ... July 13, 2008 Jonah 1:1-16 God's Grace for "Runners" I brought some items along with me this morning to which I was hoping to get your reaction. (running shoes, socks, shorts, shirt, water bottle, sweat band) So, what do you think? Iacirc;euro;trade;m sure that the reactions in this room are mixed. For some of you, to see and think about running gets you excited. In fact, at this point as you look outside at the beautiful day, I may have to work hard to regain your attention because your mind has already wandered off. Youacirc;euro;trade;re daydreaming about running in some race, jogging on a quiet country road, or getting some exercise on the treadmill. And thenacirc;euro;brvbar;well then thereacirc;euro;trade;s another whole group of people. You see running equipment and youacirc;euro;trade;d like to change the subject. Now, you may not be opposed to exercise, but when you think about running, you think, acirc;euro;oelig;Sweat. Achy joints. Blisters. Exhaustion.acirc;euro; You think about running and you ask yourself, acirc;euro;oelig;Why?acirc;euro; Hasnacirc;euro;trade;t the wonderful invention of the car kind of eliminated the need for running? So, Iacirc;euro;trade;d like everyone to take a moment to answer this question for yourself? Are you a runner? Today weacirc;euro;trade;re beginning a series on the book of Jonah. Jonah was one of Godacirc;euro;trade;s prophets about 800 years before Christ. Being a prophet meant that God would speak to Jonah and give him special messages to share with the people around him. Now, more than likely Jonah is one the OT prophets that youacirc;euro;trade;ve heard of before. And more than likely, most of what you know about Jonah has to do with a huge fish that swallowed him alive. While that event tends to grab all the headlines, the truth is that itacirc;euro;trade;s only a very, very small part of Jonahacirc;euro;trade;s life and His book. In reality, the book of Jonah is not really about a huge fish. The bookacirc;euro;trade;s really not even so much about Jonah. More than anything, over the next 5 weeks weacirc;euro;trade;ll see that Jonahacirc;euro;trade;s really a book about God. And my prayer is that as we read about Jonahacirc;euro;trade;s life, that we grow in our understanding of God and His patience and forgiveness and grace for undeserving sinners. Which brings me back to this table and to acirc;euro;oelig;running.acirc;euro; Did you know that Jonah was a acirc;euro;oelig;runner?acirc;euro; Now, thereacirc;euro;trade;s the kind of runner who puts on running shoes and acirc;euro;oelig;shortacirc;euro; shorts and runs to get exercise. Thatacirc;euro;trade;s not the kind of running Jonah did (at least, not that Iacirc;euro;trade;m aware of). But thereacirc;euro;trade;s a totally different kind of acirc;euro;oelig;runner.acirc;euro; Thereacirc;euro;trade;s the kind of acirc;euro;oelig;runneracirc;euro; that runs because heacirc;euro;trade;s running away from something, or someone. Thatacirc;euro;trade;s the kind of running that Jonah knew all too well. Listen to vs. 1-2 chapter 1. Godacirc;euro;trade;s plan for Jonah sounded pretty easy. acirc;euro;oelig;Go to Ninevah and preach Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word there.acirc;euro; And yet, to be truthful this plan wasnacirc;euro;trade;t as easy as it sounds. Ninevah was the capital city of Assyria, a very dangerous enemy to Israel and the Jews. For a Jew, like Jonah, going to Ninevah would be quite dangerous. Not only did the Ninevites not like Jonah, but as weacirc;euro;trade;ll see later in this book, Jonah didnacirc;euro;trade;t exactly have a lot of love for the people of Ninevah either. So, with the Lordacirc;euro;trade;s plan clearly laid before him, what did Jonah decide to do? Read vs. 3. Jonah decides to reach for his spiritual acirc;euro;oelig;runningacirc;euro; shoes and run from God and Godacirc;euro;trade;s plan for His life. In fact, he ran in the totally opposite direction. Jona... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/06/dont-tremble-dont-be-afraid/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/06/dont-tremble-dont-be-afraid/#comments Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:35:53 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=227 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/07/06/dont-tremble-dont-be-afraid/feed/ 0 00:01:01 July 6, 2008 Isaiah 44:6-8 Don't Tremble, Don't be Afraid July 6, 2008 Isaiah 44:6-8 Don't Tremble, Don't be Afraid Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/29/let-freedom-reign/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/29/let-freedom-reign/#comments Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:23:31 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=217 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/29/let-freedom-reign/feed/ 0 00:01:01 June 29, 2008 Galatians 5:1, 13-15 Let Freedom Reign In 1920, eight year old Seymour Rechtzeit and his father boarded a ship headed for America. Living conditions in ... June 29, 2008 Galatians 5:1, 13-15 Let Freedom Reign In 1920, eight year old Seymour Rechtzeit and his father boarded a ship headed for America. Living conditions in Poland and throughout Europe were rough following World War I. Seymour and his dad were going to America confident that things would be better there. Because money was short, they went by themselves. The rest of the family would come when they could afford it. Seymour still remembers how horrible that two-week boat ride across the Atlantic really was. They stayed in a room way down in the belly of the boat. Bunks in that room were stacked one on top of the other and it was packed with people like a can of sardines. Large storms along the way left passengers either wet and shivering, seasick or both. And yet, as New York appeared in the horizon, a buzz of excitement permeated throughout the ship. Seymour went down into his room and put on the only dress clothes that he ownedacirc;euro;brvbar;a white suit. When he climbed back up to the deck, he was joined by 100acirc;euro;trade;s of others who also had put on their Sunday best. With nervousness and apprehension, they looked out at the new country that would soon become their home. And as they entered the harbor and sailed towards Ellis Island, this ship filled with immigrants was greeted by the sight of the Statue of Liberty standing tall and proud in the harbor. Although apprehensive about their new home, the ship full of people knew that the United States was a place of freedom and opportunity. And in the wonderful expectation of what freedom could bring, Seymour remembers the well-dressed passengers erupting in loud cheers and applause as they sailed past the Statue of Liberty. Freedom. Itacirc;euro;trade;s a wonderful blessing that we sometimes take for granted. What an amazing blessing it is to live where we want to live, have the job that we really like, go on vacation, say what we want, and worship the Lord. As we get ready to celebrate the 4th of July, I pray that we thank the Lord for the privilege of living in this country. Although it has its problems and imperfections, the United States, like Lady Liberty herself, has stood out for 300 years as a country representing the joy and privilege of freedom. During this week that many of us will enjoy a day off of work and a barbeque with friends, fireworks and sparklers, Iacirc;euro;trade;d like you to think about Seymour Rechtzeitacirc;euro;trade;s experience and thank God for freedom. And yet, I have even more good news for you this morning. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s an even greater freedom that you and I enjoy as Christians. An even greater joy than what Seymour Rechzeit experienced as he sailed to New York. So, as we celebrate freedom this week, Iacirc;euro;trade;d like to recall what it means to be a acirc;euro;oelig;freeacirc;euro; Christian. Whatacirc;euro;trade;s this Christian freedom all about? Well, weacirc;euro;trade;re not talking about freedom from economic restraints like Seymouracirc;euro;trade;s family was seeking. Weacirc;euro;trade;re not talking about freedom from some earthly ruler or oppressive government. The shackles that once bound our hands and feet were chains that did more than take away our earthly joy. They were shackles that took away our future. They took away our hope. They took away our peace. Because one sin, one mess up, one impure thought means eternal punishment in hell, the chains that bound us for eternity was sin. As hard as we try, we were unable to get rid of sin and its consequences. This is the worst sort of imprisonment there could be. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s no hope. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s no making up for our sin. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s no getting out for good behavior. Weacirc;euro;trade;re chained up and shackled. Weacirc;euro;trade;re absolutely stuck. Now listen to verse 1 of Galatians 5. acirc;euro;oelig;Christ has set us free.acirc;euro; When there seemed to be no hope for us, God ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/15/strong-fathers-are-needed/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/15/strong-fathers-are-needed/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:37:27 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=213 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/15/strong-fathers-are-needed/feed/ 0 00:01:01 June 15, 2008 Mark 5:21-24, 35-43 "Strong" Fathers are Needed Let me tell you about a place in Israel called, acirc;euro;oelig;Masada?acirc;euro; Itacirc;euro;trade;s a very unique place with a ... June 15, 2008 Mark 5:21-24, 35-43 "Strong" Fathers are Needed Let me tell you about a place in Israel called, acirc;euro;oelig;Masada?acirc;euro; Itacirc;euro;trade;s a very unique place with a very sad story. Masada was an impenetrable city built by Herod the Great just before the time of Christ. Masadaacirc;euro;trade;s protection comes from the fact that itacirc;euro;trade;s built on a 1300ft high plateau. At a time before airplanes, its location made it nearly impossible to destroy. Well, during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, a group of about 1000 Jews fled to Masada to escape the Romans. But the Romans pursued the Jews and laid siege to Masada for over a year. How do you defeat a fortress built 1300 feet in the air? Well, the Romans decided to use Jewish slaves to build a ramp up to its walls. The plan worked. The Jewish inhabitants of Masada were unwilling to kill the Jewish slaves the Romans were using to build the ramp. It took a year, but it was completed. Now, imagine youacirc;euro;trade;re one of the Jews on the top of that plateau. The Romans are all set to break through the walls and destroy the city. This will mean death for you or even worse. It may mean that your family will be subjected to physical abuse, cruel slavery, or even torture from the Romans. What do you do as you wait for them to break through the walls? You can imagine the feelings of desperation that the people felt. Hereacirc;euro;trade;s what the men and fathers of Masada decided to do. In desperation, they panicked. In desperation, they relied upon their personal strength and took things into their own hands. Rather than allowing their families to be subjected to the abuse of the Romans, these fathers gathered their families together. And they called for the mass suicide of all 1,000 Jews in Masada. Days later, when the Romans finally broke through the wall of the fortress, there was no battle. Masada was absolutely quiet. All of its inhabitants were already dead. What do you think about these fathers? I suppose some in the world would say that this was a very acirc;euro;oelig;strongacirc;euro; thing to do. They saved their families from abuse. What do you think? As difficulty approached, as the enemy came knocking on their door, did they act like acirc;euro;oelig;strongacirc;euro; fathers? Today is Fatheracirc;euro;trade;s Day. Itacirc;euro;trade;s a good day to be reminded of the plan that God has for husbands and fathers. Scripture is very clear that God has given dads the position of leadership in the family. This isnacirc;euro;trade;t a position that a Christian father will arrogantly brag about or use as an excuse to do whatever he wants. Itacirc;euro;trade;s a role that Christian men will accept humbly because they realize the responsibility that goes along with leadership. Itacirc;euro;trade;s a role that Christian men will take seriously as they understand the important role acirc;euro;oelig;dadacirc;euro; plays in the family. Yes, Scripture makes it very clear that families need acirc;euro;oelig;strongacirc;euro; fathers. But what does that exactly mean? acirc;euro;oelig;Strongacirc;euro; and acirc;euro;oelig;Fatheracirc;euro; are two words that seem to go together. Kids seem to have this acirc;euro;oelig;fairytaleacirc;euro; view of how strong their dads are. Just the other day Elias looked at my arms and said, acirc;euro;oelig;Dad, you have such big arms.acirc;euro; Remember I said that itacirc;euro;trade;s a fairytale view. And the truth is that dads tend to enjoy this. We like to be the one called on to open the jar of pickles. We like to be the one to carry the 5 year old on our shoulders when theyacirc;euro;trade;re too tired to walk. But is that the kind of acirc;euro;oelig;strongacirc;euro; father that families need most? If it is, then churches should all have weight rooms where dads can pump some iron. Or is Godacirc;euro;trade;s definition of a acirc;euro;oelig;strongacirc;euro; ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/08/a-believers-good-bye/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/08/a-believers-good-bye/#comments Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:15:41 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=210 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/08/a-believers-good-bye/feed/ 0 00:01:01 June 8, 2008 2 Corinthians 13: 11-14 A Believer's Good-Bye June 8, 2008 2 Corinthians 13: 11-14 A Believer's Good-Bye Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/01/gods-global-war/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/01/gods-global-war/#comments Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:25:32 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=209 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/06/01/gods-global-war/feed/ 0 00:01:01 June 1, 2008 John 14:6, John 12:31-32, Matthew 20:28 God's Global War June 1, 2008 John 14:6, John 12:31-32, Matthew 20:28 God's Global War Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/25/build-your-life-on-the-rock/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/25/build-your-life-on-the-rock/#comments Sun, 25 May 2008 14:47:06 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=192 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/25/build-your-life-on-the-rock/feed/ 0 00:01:01 May 25, 2007 Matthew 7:24-27 Build your Life on the Rock In 1173, Italian architect Bonnano Pisano began work on a bell tower for a local cathedral. The ... May 25, 2007 Matthew 7:24-27 Build your Life on the Rock In 1173, Italian architect Bonnano Pisano began work on a bell tower for a local cathedral. The tower was designed to be 8 stories tall and would become Pisanoacirc;euro;trade;s most famous projectacirc;euro;brvbar;for a very unlikely reason. You see, as builders began construction on the third floor, they found that the soil was way too soft and the foundation was way too shallow. In fact, what happened is that the whole tower began to tilt. It took 177 years to finish the construction of this tilting bell tower that you know asacirc;euro;brvbar;the acirc;euro;oelig;Leaning Tower of Pisa.acirc;euro; During those 177 years, many things were done to try and fix the acirc;euro;oelig;tilting.acirc;euro; In fact, the upper levels were built on an opposite angle in hopes of making it look a little straighter. And yetacirc;euro;brvbar;the tower still leans 18 feet from where it should. Itacirc;euro;trade;s a beautiful structure on the outside. It has beautiful arches, beautiful columns, exquisite carvings, but all those things are kind of irrelevant. Why? Experts say that one day, under adverse conditions, this tower that looks so wonderful on the outside will fall and fall apart. You see, being built on the right foundation is that important. Thatacirc;euro;trade;s just a tower. Do you know any people that are like the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Or for that matter, are there ever times when your life mirrors the tower? What do I mean by that? Iacirc;euro;trade;m not talking about people who walk around slightly tilted to one side. Iacirc;euro;trade;m talking about people whose lives seem a little tilted, a little off kilter. Now, none of us want our lives to mirror a tower thatacirc;euro;trade;s going to fall over. No one wants to live life always feeling like its on the brink of falling apart. But hereacirc;euro;trade;s the problem: in this age of self-help and self-improvement, in this age of acirc;euro;oelig;we can do anything as long as we put our mind to it,acirc;euro; many have tried to get rid of the tilt and bring peace and stability to their lives in entirely the wrong way. So, when a marriage seems to be tilted, a couple might plan an exotic vacation to get rid of the tilt. A husband might buy his wife some expensive jewelry, or they might even make an effort to be better communicators. When parent-child relationships are off-kilter, parents may discover the latest and greatest parenting techniques in some magazine or by watching the acirc;euro;oelig;Super Nanny.acirc;euro; Children might apologize for all the grief they caused their parents when they were younger. When our lives seem to be a Leaning Tower of Pisa, how often donacirc;euro;trade;t we try to solve those issues by working on the externals? People try diets and health club memberships, new cars, new clothes, new jobs, new relationships. Now, none of these things are bad in and of themselves. In fact, some of them can even be helpful. Butacirc;euro;brvbar;none of them by themselves are ever going to make your life stable. In fact, spending all your time on those things is like spending lots of time making the columns and arches look good while the Tower of Pisa is going to fall over. You see, exotic vacations end. Jewelry gets forgotten. The latest and greatest in parenting advice eventually becomes yesterdayacirc;euro;trade;s news. Diets get broken, clothes wear out, new relationship disappoint. Under adverse conditions, a life only built on those types of things is going to crumble and fall. You see, something needs to be done about the foundation. This morning Jesus gives us some direction for building on good, solid foundations. Our lesson comes at the very end of Jesusacirc;euro;trade; Sermon on the Mount. He ends that famous sermon with direction about the right foundation for our lives. Read vs. 24-27. Jesus describes two men. Theyacirc;euro;trade;re both very intere... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/18/be-ready-to-stand-out/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/18/be-ready-to-stand-out/#comments Sun, 18 May 2008 16:01:52 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=187 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/18/be-ready-to-stand-out/feed/ 0 00:01:01 May 18, 2008 Daniel 3:12-18 Be Ready to Stand Out For high schoolers all across the country this time of year happens to be acirc;euro;oelig;Prom season..acirc;euro; Believe ... May 18, 2008 Daniel 3:12-18 Be Ready to Stand Out For high schoolers all across the country this time of year happens to be acirc;euro;oelig;Prom season..acirc;euro; Believe it or not, itacirc;euro;trade;s been a year or two or thirteen since I attended my last prom. To tell you the truth, itacirc;euro;trade;s not something that I miss a whole lot. While enjoyable for some, the prom season can be a very difficult and stressful time for many teens. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s this overwhelming pressure to fit in with everyone else. You donacirc;euro;trade;t want to stand out as being less than acirc;euro;oelig;cool." I was no different. I remember spending way too much time at the tux place deciding what shade of purple tie would best match my dateacirc;euro;trade;s dress and whether my coat should have acirc;euro;oelig;tailsacirc;euro; or not. (By the way, I chose the tailsacirc;euro;brvbar; talk about acirc;euro;oelig;standing out.acirc;euro;) And those arenacirc;euro;trade;t the only pressures. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s the pressure for teens not to acirc;euro;oelig;stand outacirc;euro; as being different as so many go to certain parties and participate in certain activities that arenacirc;euro;trade;t in line with the Christian faith. With that in mind, a church sponsored event in St. Charles, Missouri caught my attention. The event was called acirc;euro;oelig;The Tacky Prom.acirc;euro; It was an event where acirc;euro;oelig;standing outacirc;euro; from the usual pressures and temptations of the normal prom was promoted. There were no dates, no expensive entrance fees, no worries about what to wear, no parties to attend afterwards. Instead, the decorations were plastic and pastel and tacky, the 80acirc;euro;trade;s music played at the dance was appropriate but tacky, and the dress code, whatever clashing ensemble you could find at the local thrift store, was tacky too. One teen commented, acirc;euro;oelig;Here if you look good, you look bad.acirc;euro; Although promoting ideals that are different than the usual, the Tacky Prom ended up being a huge success. Today is Confirmation Day, and we have six 8th graders who are going to be making promises before God. Now, these arenacirc;euro;trade;t promises to be perfect all the time and to never make a mistake. Although we try, thatacirc;euro;trade;s impossible. Theyacirc;euro;trade;re promises to stay close to the One whoacirc;euro;trade;s paid for their sin by staying connected to Godacirc;euro;trade;s Word and their church and the Lordacirc;euro;trade;s Supper. Theyacirc;euro;trade;re promises to endure in the faith even if that means being different and acirc;euro;oelig;standing outacirc;euro; in the midst of a sin-filled society. And just in case we only focus on these six young people, these are promises that all Christians should make. And if youacirc;euro;trade;ve been confirmed, youacirc;euro;trade;ve made these promises to God on your Confirmation Day too. Now, Iacirc;euro;trade;d like nothing more than to stand before you this morning and to tell you that acirc;euro;oelig;standing outacirc;euro; for Christ is always going to be as easy and always as acirc;euro;oelig;coolacirc;euro; as attending that Tacky Prom in Missouri. But that just wouldnacirc;euro;trade;t be true. Listen to what Jesus says about His followers, acirc;euro;oelig;You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates youacirc;euro; (John 15:19). As followers of Christ, weacirc;euro;trade;re going to acirc;euro;oelig;stand out.acirc;euro; Sometimes in fact, Jesus says that people will hate us for being different. So, why sign up for this kind of life? Confirmands, why promise to do something so difficult? Why recommit yourselves to those promises you made in the past? This morning weacirc;euro;trade;ll find the answer to that question through the lives of three young men who were willing to acirc;euro;oelig;stand outaci... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/11/heres-the-plan-the-holy-spirit-gives-power/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/11/heres-the-plan-the-holy-spirit-gives-power/#comments Sun, 11 May 2008 16:34:19 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=186 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/11/heres-the-plan-the-holy-spirit-gives-power/feed/ 0 00:01:01 May 11, 2008 John 16:5-11 The Holy Spirit Gives Power Iacirc;euro;trade;m sure all of you have heard of Thomas Edison. Heacirc;euro;trade;s viewed as one of the most brilliant ... May 11, 2008 John 16:5-11 The Holy Spirit Gives Power Iacirc;euro;trade;m sure all of you have heard of Thomas Edison. Heacirc;euro;trade;s viewed as one of the most brilliant men and inventors in American history. In fact, many of his inventions laid the foundation for things that we still use today such as: record players, movie cameras and the light bulb. With all of these achievements, youacirc;euro;trade;d think that Edison was brilliant from birth. But that really wasnacirc;euro;trade;t the case. As a 7 year old student in Port Huron, Michigan, Edisonacirc;euro;trade;s teacher kicked him out of class in frustration. He said that Edisonacirc;euro;trade;s brain was acirc;euro;oelig;addled,acirc;euro; which means full of confusion. Now, prevailing wisdom would have said that getting kicked out of school meant the end of any future success for Edison. But that wasnacirc;euro;trade;t the case. You see, he had a mom who loved him tremendously and she decided to teach him herself. In fact, his education turned out to be better than any school. Why? Because Thomas was more than a student to his mom. He was her son. Years later Thomas reflected on the importance of his mom, acirc;euro;oelig;My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me, and I felt I had some one to live for, some one I must not disappoint.acirc;euro; While all of you have heard of Thomas Edison, even though she was so important to his future success, most of you never heard of Nancy until today. On this day that we celebrate Godacirc;euro;trade;s gift of mom, we acknowledge all the hours of changing diapers and cleaning spills and teaching children and all the other behind the scenes work that moms do. These things donacirc;euro;trade;t always get a lot of recognition. And yet, like Thomas, we wouldnacirc;euro;trade;t be the people we are without the dedication and love of mom. So moms, thank you for being such blessings in our lives. Thank you for working so hard even if your work sometimes seems to get overlooked. I tell that story for a couple of reasons this morning. The first is because today is Motheracirc;euro;trade;s Day. But the other is because this story fits very well with the other celebration for this morning: Pentecost. You see, thereacirc;euro;trade;s a comparison to be made between moms and the Holy Spirit. The important work of a mom, like Nancy Edison, often gets overlooked. In the same way, people often seem to overlook the work of the Holy Spirit. Although Christ paid for all your sins on the cross, you couldnacirc;euro;trade;t call yourself a acirc;euro;oelig;Christianacirc;euro; today if it wasnacirc;euro;trade;t for the Holy Spirit. And yet, without a lot of recognition, the Holy Spiritacirc;euro;trade;s work in your life doesnacirc;euro;trade;t stop there. Over the last three weeks weacirc;euro;trade;ve been listening to God tell us, acirc;euro;oelig;Hereacirc;euro;trade;s the plan for taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth.acirc;euro; Two weeks ago we were reminded that Christ has called us to be acirc;euro;oelig;witnesses.acirc;euro; We donacirc;euro;trade;t have to know everything about the Bible. We just share what we know and have witnessed about Jesus in our lives. Last week we learned that prayer is a powerful tool to us in mission work and in all things. Today, weacirc;euro;trade;re going to see the absolutely essential part that the Holy Spirit plays in our work of being acirc;euro;oelig;witnesses.acirc;euro; Our lesson takes place on Maundy Thursday. Jesus and the disciples have just celebrated the Passover. Jesus is just a few hours from dying on the cross. Over the last weeks, Jesus has given the disciples a number of hints that Heacirc;euro;trade;d be leaving them very soon. As you might expect, this has been weighing heavily on their hearts. How does He comfort them? With words about the Holy Spirit. Read John 16:5-7. Many of us probably look at the disciples and think a... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/04/heres-the-plan-god-gives-guidance/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/04/heres-the-plan-god-gives-guidance/#comments Sun, 04 May 2008 16:50:51 +0000 secretary http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=185 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/05/04/heres-the-plan-god-gives-guidance/feed/ 0 00:01:01 May 4, 2008 Acts 1: 21-26 God Gives Guidance On your way in this morning you may have noticed the display highlighting Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. If you didnacirc;euro;trade;t ... May 4, 2008 Acts 1: 21-26 God Gives Guidance On your way in this morning you may have noticed the display highlighting Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. If you didnacirc;euro;trade;t see it, make sure to catch it on your way out. This happens to be the only seminary in our church body which means that almost every pastor in the Wisconsin Synod, including myself, was trained and taught there. Hereacirc;euro;trade;s something else about the Seminary: every year at this time thereacirc;euro;trade;s a buzz of excitement that permeates the entire campus. After 8 years of post-high school education, the seniors are just weeks away from finally reaching that elusive light at the end tunnel and being called into the pastoral ministry. Now, one of the things that makes this process extra exciting, or extra nerve-wrecking depending on your perspective, is that these candidates have no idea what church or city theyacirc;euro;trade;re going to. Unlike most jobs, the students donacirc;euro;trade;t send out resumes to churches in their favorite part of the country. They donacirc;euro;trade;t set up interviews with 2 dozen churches. Instead, at the end of May, district leaders meet at the Seminary for a couple of days. They take a look at each candidateacirc;euro;trade;s gifts and talents. They look at the needs of each calling congregation. And then they pray. They pray for the Holy Spiritacirc;euro;trade;s help and presence. And then, by the power of prayer and Godacirc;euro;trade;s guidance, they assign each candidate to a church. And after 8 years of school that candidate just goes. He goes wherever heacirc;euro;trade;s been called. This is how God called me to Lakeville five years ago. This is how our 2nd pastor will be assigned in a couple of weeks. What do you think about that process? As Iacirc;euro;trade;ve described this to people over the years, at times Iacirc;euro;trade;ve gotten funny looks. acirc;euro;oelig;You do what? You just go to a service, listen for your name, and go to whatever city they tell you? Wow! I donacirc;euro;trade;tacirc;euro;trade; know if I could that.acirc;euro; Now, I usually make sure to explain that this isnacirc;euro;trade;t something that they kind of spring on you during the last week of school. You know how things will work. But still, these candidates are putting themselves out there. Theyacirc;euro;trade;re putting a lot of trust in Godacirc;euro;trade;s guidance to know where they can best serve the Lord? Thatacirc;euro;trade;s not always easy, is it? Itacirc;euro;trade;s not always easy to just give things over to Lord. While we often talk about giving our concerns to the Lord, how often donacirc;euro;trade;t anxiety-filled hearts tell a different story? How often donacirc;euro;trade;t we act like the future rests squarely on our own shoulders? That things are up to me. As so, as weacirc;euro;trade;ve been talking about this step of a second pastor, we might feel a great amount of pressure and anxiety thinking that weacirc;euro;trade;re the ones that are ultimately going to decide whether this works out or not. But failing to remember Godacirc;euro;trade;s guidance doesnacirc;euro;trade;t just happen with church things. It also happens in our personal lives. How often havenacirc;euro;trade;t we thought about the future, whether it be our income or occupation or health, and have been filled with worry? The question we end up dwelling on the most is this, acirc;euro;oelig;What am I going to do about this?acirc;euro; Or maybe the kids enter the next stage of life (school, high school, college, the working world) and loving parental concern has turned into an acirc;euro;oelig;upset stomach, canacirc;euro;trade;t sleep at nightacirc;euro; fear for how things will turn out. These are just a few examples, but I think you get the point. We have this sinful propensity to forget about the Lordacirc;euro;trade;s presence and act like everythingacirc;euro;trade;s up to me, like the future to... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/27/heres-the-planjesus-gives-direction/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/27/heres-the-planjesus-gives-direction/#comments Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:23:37 +0000 ben.blumer http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=147 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/27/heres-the-planjesus-gives-direction/feed/ 0 00:01:01 April 27, 2008 Acts 1: 1-9 Jesus Gives Direction In Eden Prairie thereacirc;euro;trade;s a popular restaurant called Lionacirc;euro;trade;s Tap. Have any of you ever been there? I found ... April 27, 2008 Acts 1: 1-9 Jesus Gives Direction In Eden Prairie thereacirc;euro;trade;s a popular restaurant called Lionacirc;euro;trade;s Tap. Have any of you ever been there? I found out that Lionacirc;euro;trade;s Tap has been around for over 30 years and in 13 out of the last 15 years itacirc;euro;trade;s been voted to have the best hamburger in all of the Twin Cities. In fact, in 1995 Lionacirc;euro;trade;s Tap was voted as one of the 500 best restaurants in the entire country. So, whatacirc;euro;trade;s their secret? What allows them to be so good at what they do? Well, let me show you their menu. At Lionacirc;euro;trade;s Tap youacirc;euro;trade;re not going to find sub sandwiches or chicken or onion rings. Even in the midst of this health conscious society, you wonacirc;euro;trade;t even find a side salad on the menu. You see, people at Lionacirc;euro;trade;s Tap have a great understanding of what theyacirc;euro;trade;re all about. From the owners to the dishwashers, from the waitresses to the cooks, they all understand main thing. Lionacirc;euro;trade;s Tap is all about the hamburger. And so, they put all of their time and effort and resources into doing the hamburger better than anyone else. Theyacirc;euro;trade;re so single-minded, in fact, that it took about 10 years of debate before they decided to add the Mushroom Swiss burger to the menu. From on outsider perspective, I donacirc;euro;trade;t think itacirc;euro;trade;s an accident that Lionacirc;euro;trade;s Tap is good at what they do. People can so easily get distracted from whatacirc;euro;trade;s most important, from the main thing. This restaurantacirc;euro;trade;s a perfect example of an organization that hasnacirc;euro;trade;t forgotten what theyacirc;euro;trade;re all about. Theyacirc;euro;trade;ve gotten rid of other distractions, like chicken, steak, fish, and salad, and have pursued the hamburger with acirc;euro;oelig;single-mindedacirc;euro; focus and determination. Today weacirc;euro;trade;re beginning a sermon series entitled acirc;euro;oelig;Hereacirc;euro;trade;s the Planacirc;euro;brvbar;acirc;euro; Over the next three weeks weacirc;euro;trade;re going to take a look at Godacirc;euro;trade;s plan for Christians, for the church and for Bethlehem. There are two reasons why this is a timely study for us right now. One reason is that Ascension and Pentecost are two celebrations that encourage us to think about these things. The second reason is that this summer marks a very important event for Bethlehem. In fact, in just a few weeks, May 22nd, God willing a 2nd full-time pastor will be assigned to our church. And with such a big event, that affects every single one of us, Iacirc;euro;trade;m sure there are many different thoughts and feelings our there. Some of you may be brimming over with excitement at what more staffing can mean for our ministry. Others may be comfortable with how things are right now and are a little apprehensive about how this will affect our ministry and budget. Still others may not exactly be sure what this means for our church. Well, what do we do when there are questions about ministry? The best thing we can do is to be reminded of the main thing. Why are we here? What the church all about? And then, we should pursue that purpose with acirc;euro;oelig;single-mindedacirc;euro; determination and focus. For Lionacirc;euro;trade;s Tap the main this is hamburgers. But what it is it for Christians? What is it for Bethlehem? The answer doesnacirc;euro;trade;t come from a congregational vote. It doesnacirc;euro;trade;t come from a church council. It doesnacirc;euro;trade;t come from a pastor. The answer can only come from one place, our Lord and risen Savior Jesus Christ. And so, over the next 3 weeks Jesus says to us, acirc;euro;oelig;Hereacirc;euro;trade;s the Planacirc;euro;brvbar;acirc;euro; We recall His final words to His followers before ascending into heaven. Read Acts 1:1-9 (especially focu... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/20/the-aftermath-of-easter-jesus-is-our-everyday-savior/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/20/the-aftermath-of-easter-jesus-is-our-everyday-savior/#comments Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:30:57 +0000 ben.blumer http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=139 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/20/the-aftermath-of-easter-jesus-is-our-everyday-savior/feed/ 0 00:01:01 April 20, 2008 John 21:1-14 Jesus is our "Everyday" Savior Whatacirc;euro;trade;s it like not being able to count on something? It doesnacirc;euro;trade;t feel very good, does it? The ... April 20, 2008 John 21:1-14 Jesus is our "Everyday" Savior Whatacirc;euro;trade;s it like not being able to count on something? It doesnacirc;euro;trade;t feel very good, does it? The first car that I can remember as a child was a Chrysler LeBaron. It looked like this except that it was gold, but it had those same pointy hubcaps. Thereacirc;euro;trade;s a couple of things that I remember about that car. One is that the interior was a plastic type of imitation leather. But growing up in Texas, all I remember is that the hot sun would heat those plastic seats up until they were about as hot to sit on as a stovetop. The other thing is that as it got older, the LeBaron became increasingly undependable. You couldnacirc;euro;trade;t count on it. In fact, often times when the car came to a complete stop, the engine would just shut off. Now, as you can imagine, stopping your car is kind of an essential part of driving. So, every trip to the grocery store or to church or to the park or anywhere was a nerve-wrecking adventure. I remember praying that all the intersections would have green lights so that we wouldnacirc;euro;trade;t have to stop. If it happened to be red, my mom would have to carefully slide the car into neutral at just the right moment. My brother and sister and I would let out a cheer when sheacirc;euro;trade;d do it just right. And more than once we had to call my dad to pick us up when she didnacirc;euro;trade;t do it right. A car that you canacirc;euro;trade;t depend on doesnacirc;euro;trade;t do you much good. As you can probably guess, we didnacirc;euro;trade;t have that LeBaron very much longer. It sure is nice to have something that you can count on. Acirc;middot; A car that is very dependable is a car that you donacirc;euro;trade;t even have to think about. You just turn the key and you know that the engine will purr. Acirc;middot; Itacirc;euro;trade;s nice to have a friend that you can depend on. Someone at school that you can really talk to and know that they wonacirc;euro;trade;t judge you or gossip about you to others. Acirc;middot; Family can often be counted upon. Itacirc;euro;trade;s nice to have a spouse or a parent that is always there for you, who will listen even when everyone else seems to be busy. The reality is that in life there are so many things that are up in the air. There are so many things that are uncertain, so many things that disappoint and cause anxiety. Wouldnacirc;euro;trade;t it be nice to find something that we can count on every single day, all of the time forever? Well, in a life filled with stalling LeBarons and fickle friends, in a life which we endure an uncertain economy and sudden health concerns, there is something that we can absolutely count on everyday, all the time. In fact, when we remember the certainty and joy that He brings, weacirc;euro;trade;re actually able to better cope with the things of life that arenacirc;euro;trade;t so certain. More than likely youacirc;euro;trade;ve already guessed that Iacirc;euro;trade;m talking about Jesus. In todayacirc;euro;trade;s post-Easter appearance to seven disciples, weacirc;euro;trade;re going to see exactly what it means that Heacirc;euro;trade;s our acirc;euro;oelig;Everydayacirc;euro; Savior and how that impacts our lives in an uncertain world. Read John 21:1-14 On Easter Sunday, the angel at the tomb had encouraged the disciples to head north to Galilee and Jesus would meet them there (Matthew 20:7). Itacirc;euro;trade;s now a couple of weeks after Easter. The disciples have decided to come out of their locked room and make that trip home to Galilee. I would guess that this was an emotional trip for the disciples. Many of you have lost loved ones. That first year can be particularly difficult as you experience things for the first time without your loved one. The first Christmas. The first anniversary. The first birthday. I would guess that the disciples were going through some of those same ... Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/13/the-aftermath-of-easter-jesus-helps-with-our-doubts/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/13/the-aftermath-of-easter-jesus-helps-with-our-doubts/#comments Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:20:18 +0000 ben.blumer http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=133 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/13/the-aftermath-of-easter-jesus-helps-with-our-doubts/feed/ 0 00:01:01 April 13, 2008 John 20:24-31 Jesus helps with our Doubts "Easter never happened!" That's what a college professor proclaimed to his class around Easter-time one year. "Jesus' resurrection ... April 13, 2008 John 20:24-31 Jesus helps with our Doubts "Easter never happened!" That's what a college professor proclaimed to his class around Easter-time one year. "Jesus' resurrection is just some made up story to help his dejected followers feel better. I mean, c'mon...what God would send His Son to be crucified in the first place." Tentatively, Michael raised his hand from the back of the classroom and said, "Sir, I believe in God. And I believe in Easter." "Michael, you can believe what you want. But I'm going to choose to live in the reality of the real world. Reality says that miracles like the resurrection are impossible. Reality says that the supernatural and miracles are impossible." The teacher wanted to really make an example of Michael and all Christians. He took a raw egg from his refrigerator. "I'm going to drop this egg. And the reality is that gravity is going to pull it toward the floor and cause it to break into pieces. Michael, I want you to pray and ask God to keep this egg from breaking. If he can do it, then I'll admit that there's a God." Michael thought about his professor's challenge for a moment. He decided that he would say a prayer, but it would be a little bit different. He began, "Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that if my professor drops that egg that it does break into lots of pieces. But Lord, you are a God who can do anything. So I pray that you show him your presence and power in a different way. I pray that if my professor challenges you and drops that egg, I pray that you would show Him your power by causing him to lose his job within the next week." Well, that changed things just a little bit, didn't it? The stakes were just a little bit different. The class sat silently wondering what the professor would do. The professor looked at Michael and looked at the egg. He thought about his job and then thought about God. He said, "Class dismissed" and slowly and gently put the egg back in the refrigerator. As sure as he made it seem, this professor wasn't willing to bet his job on the claim that there is no God, that Easter is just a made up story. The Bible defines faith this way, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see." Because God is someone that we can't see with our eyes, because Easter is something that we can't prove like gravity or some other law of nature, there are many who doubt the existence of a God they've never seen. In fact, there are times that we may find ourselves doubting God, doubting His love, doubting His guidance, doubting His promises. The good news today is that God gives us help for our doubts. We're going to see that help as we watch Jesus come to a disciple named Thomas who had doubts. In process Jesus will help us with our doubts too. On the night of Easter Sunday, the disciples had all gathered together and barricaded themselves in a room. By now they all had heard that the tomb was empty and that Jesus' body was gone. Some of the disciples and some of the women had already seen the risen Jesus. And so they were gathered in a room with locked doors because they were afraid of what this might mean for them. What were the Jewish leaders going to do? I mean, they had Jesus crucified. What are they going to do to us? Are we going to be accused of stealing the body? Are we going to be arrested? Are we going to be crucified too? When all of a sudden, Jesus appeared in this room of scared disciples and encouraged them with His presence and with the words, "Peace be with you!" But there was one disciple who wasn't there that night. His name was Thomas. Read vs. 24-25. Thomas has a whole group of people telling him exactly what they saw. A whole group of people he loved and trusted telling him the exact same story...that they had seen the risen Savior. But that wasn't good enough for Thomas. He had conditions. He had some conditions that needed to be fulfilled before he'd believe that Jesus was alive. "What you've Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/06/stripes-heal-stripes/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/06/stripes-heal-stripes/#comments Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:14:01 +0000 ben.blumer http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=132 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/04/06/stripes-heal-stripes/feed/ 0 00:01:01 April 6, 2008 Acts 16:16-32 Stripes Heal Stripes April 6, 2008 Acts 16:16-32 Stripes Heal Stripes Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/03/30/the-aftermath-of-easter-when-heartburn-is-a-good-thing/ http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/03/30/the-aftermath-of-easter-when-heartburn-is-a-good-thing/#comments Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:33:35 +0000 ben.blumer http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/?p=130 http://www.bethlehemlakeville.org/2008/03/30/the-aftermath-of-easter-when-heartburn-is-a-good-thing/feed/ 0 00:01:01 March 30, 2008 Luke 24:13-33 When "Heartburn" is a Good Thing Today we're going to talk about heartburn. How would you describe what it's like to have heartburn? ... March 30, 2008 Luke 24:13-33 When "Heartburn" is a Good Thing Today we're going to talk about heartburn. How would you describe what it's like to have heartburn? How about this? "When something you eat sticks with you long after the meal's over and continues to affect how you feel." Maybe some of you are describing your last bout with heartburn right now. I don't think thus far in my life I've ever had what doctors would define as heartburn, but I've probably come close. I remember a meal that I had with Carrie's parents at a Chinese restaurant. Her dad and I both decided to order a dish that had a little picture of a Chile pepper next to it. That should have been our first clue. When our meals came, they looked good. They smelled good. But man was it spicy! Probably the spiciest thing I've ever tasted. It was one of those meals that you need an entire box of Kleenexes to eat. Our noses started running. Our eyes started watering. Our tongues went numb. We both started sweating as our body temperatures began to rise. In fact, my father-in-law is somewhat "folliclly challenged." And you could actually see beads of sweat forming on his head from this meal. Needless to say, neither one of us felt very good for the rest of the day. It was a meal that affected how we felt long after it was over. Like that example, "heartburn" usually has negative connotations. That lingering "heart on fire" feeling is usually something we want to get rid of, something we'd rather do without. This morning though, we're going to talk about a type of "heartburn" that's a good thing. We're going to talk about a type of "heartburn" that we very much want to stick with us. To help you understand what I mean, let me ask this ask this question, "Do you have Easter heartburn?" Again, I'm not talking about how your Easter brunch affected your afternoon. Instead, I'm wondering if the message and encouragement of Easter has stuck with you and is still affecting your life. Is Easter still affecting the way you feel, the way you live, the way you act, the hope that you have? The message of Easter is the greatest message the world has ever received. As we heard last week, real hope, hope for today, hope for tomorrow is found at the empty tomb. Our entire eternity has been changed because Jesus lives at Easter. Because Jesus' tomb was empty, our graves will someday be empty too. By faith, we will be raised from the dead to live with Jesus forever in heaven. Through that awesome Gospel message the Holy Spirit strengthens our faith and sets our hearts on fire in the joy of the resurrection. He stirs in us a "Holy Heartburn." So, do you still have that Easter heartburn? Like a spicy Chinese dish that you just can't shake, has the message of Easter stuck with you encouraging your heart and life? Or maybe we've allowed the stress of work or school or home to turn the triumphant cries of "Alleluia" and "Christ is Risen! He's risen indeeds" into a distant memory? Or maybe the cries of "Alleluia" aren't gone, but they're just not as loud as they used to be. Maybe you have faith, but it's kind of on autopilot. The flame isn't as big as it used to be. You're kind of just going through the motions. There are plenty of remedies and medicines on the market for getting rid of heartburn. Is there anything out there to keep help our hearts burning? Is there anything out there to help ignite a "flickering" faith or a complacent Christian? This morning Jesus teaches us that there is. After Jesus rose from dead on Easter, He stayed on earth for another 40 days. While we only have a few instances recorded for us in Scripture, Jesus used those 40 days to appear to over 500 people. He taught them and encouraged them in their faith. During this sermon series in which we look at Jesus post-Easter appearances, He will also encourage us. And today, Jesus teaches us about "heartburn" as we see Him appear to two Christians on Easter Sunday afternoon. Read vs. 13-14. Who were th Sermons Bethlehem Lakeville no No