Bethel Baptist Church » Bethel News

Sermon Series on Killing Giants

Brandon — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:23:23 +0000

We’ve been journeying through the Word from Genesis through 1 Samuel. It’s been a two and a half year journey thus far and we’re slowing down just a bit to dwell on one of the greatest and most well-known Bible stories of all time – David and Goliath. We’re going to spend four Sundays (all through March) talking about what it means to kill giants, to take on life’s biggest challenges and pursue the battle till victory for God’s very best. Join us in either of our Sunday morning services to hear the messages.

History is His Story

Brandon — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:14:01 +0000

Two and a half years ago, we began a very exciting journey at Bethel. I began preaching through all of the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation. I did this because of several core beliefs:

The Word of God, in its entirety, is a sufficient guide for the church’s health and growth, teaching and message. It’s God’s whole counsel to us as a community of faith.
The Word of God, in its entirety, is more than sufficient to grow us as God’s people into spiritual maturity.

We’ve dealt with the hard subjects of creation and the fall of humanity into sin and depravity. We’ve watched the formation of God’s chosen nation of Isreal in Abraham and the prophets. We journeyed with Moses and the Israelites through the wilderness and saw Joshua lead them with courage into the possession of the promised land. And we have seen their spiritual roller coaster ride through the book of Judges, paralleling in many respects our own times.

Now, we’ve come to a major transition in the Bible. We’re changing from judges to kings and watching the entire leadership structure shift. We’re going to see how God worked behind the scenes to bring some of history’s greatest leaders to the forefront of His stage.

This is the historical section of the Bible and one of my own beliefs is that history is his story. It’s all of Him, the Author of Creation, time, and eternity. Everything you’ve experienced in your life to this moment is history for you – the story of what God has been doing behind the scenes and what you’ve been doing in cooperation with Him (or in rebellion against Him). What does the next chapter look like for you?

God gave His Son that you might be redeemed from lostness and live a life full of promise and purpose. I want to invite you to join us in our journey through the Word this Sunday, but I also (and more importantly) want to urge you to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ if you don’t have one now. Turn from your sins and trust Him as Savior, and please contact us to let us know how we can help you!

It’s Time to Help in Haiti

Brandon — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:10:39 +0000

Bethel has had to cancel our Sunday services two weeks in a row. As you can imagine, this situation always causes a little bit of financial concern in the sense that we, like any church, depend on weekly offerings for all of our operating needs. But today, that need has become secondary to the much deeper needs of people in a country not that far from our own – Haiti.

This Sunday, we need to give to Haiti in a significant way. I have copied a letter below from Bill Moore, a member of our church who heads a relief organization that has been in Haiti more than a dozen times and is putting a trip together as soon as going there becomes a possibility (as soon as next week). We’re going to do all that we can to send them, and I’d like to challenge all of our people to pray about how much they can give and get involved.

Brandon,

I am sending out a call for help. We are putting a team together to go to Haiti as soon as we can. This event is changing (for the worse) by the hour. Many people are asking me what can be done. So many that I am no longer tracking the number of calls we are handling but it is heavy. What I can tell you now will be different soon. However, we have heard from some of our partners and we have offers of everything from satellite phones to medical clinics. Water and food will be the most important resource that we can provide. Renita, and I should have a team of people put together by Thursday to go to Port Au Prince. The most important resource that we can have now is money. I do not say this to be crass, but we may have to purchase items where we can when needed. We will have to make these decisions on the fly.

From our previous mission trips, we have a lot of friends in country that we will rely upon as we arrive. I have had limited contact, but as they get more communications we will be able to check on our associates. Please be in prayer for Bro. Francois Norcilus, our local missionary. He has not been located yet. (note above) Jean Claude, his family, Emanuell Samuel, Theodore Trusaunt, and many others that we have not heard from. Right now search and rescue is paramount, but we will soon have to deal with the dead and living. PLEASE keep these in your prayers. I will try to keep you informed as often as I can. Please feel free to pass this along to as many people that you know.

May God give strength to those in the field.

Bill Moore, President,
Aid for Developing Countries
A 501 (c) (3) Public Charity
EIN # 26-0483101

Send donations to:
502 Northeast A St
Bentonville, AR 72712

Contact AFDC
Phone:479-426-3029
Fax: 479-927-2459
Email: wdmcel@msn.com or
Bill@afdc-haiti.org

We don’t know exactly how we’re going to meet the needs or what specific actions we’re going to take yet, but it’s a time for action. Pray with me. Give with me. The people of Haiti need us.

On a related note, Pastor Francois Norcilus, whom we support regularly in a variety of ways, was in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake hit, but is now known to be safe for the moment. We have other ministry leaders whom we support there about whom we don’t have that assurance yet, so please pray for them.

photo credit: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz

We’re Celebrating a Wedding

Brandon — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:11:41 +0000

The weather outside has been quite frightful and therefore, Bethel has had to cancel our services two Sundays in a row, which means we didn’t have the opportunity to pass along the church-wide invitation of Matt Powers and Leah Hall to their wedding. So we’re publicizing this special day for them right here.

All of Bethel is invited to celebrate the wedding of Matt Powers and Leah Hall this coming Saturday, January 16 at 2:00 pm at Bethel with a reception following in our Fellowship Hall. We’re proud of Matt and Leah and look forward to the great life they’re going to enjoy together!

God Blesses the Storehouse Through First Baptist, Bentonville Teens

Brandon — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:31:00 +0000

Northwest Arkansas is a region in need, along with many other areas across the United States, so we’ve taken seriously the call to reach out to the particular need of hunger. Tonight, Studio412, the youth ministry of First Baptist Church in Bentonville joined with us and blessed us tremendously!

They had called us last week to ask that we bring our church van to their parking lot this evening to await the delivery of some food items that their teens would be collecting in neighborhoods as part of their DiscipleNow weekend. We were blown away as their 37 teams made drop after drop to bring in a total of at least 11,173 food items!!

We had to call in some reinforcements to meet us at the church to unload everything. You can watch the slideshow to the right to see pictures of the whole event. Our Fellowship Hall is filled!

Thanks so much to Studio412, FBC Bentonville, and especially to our awesome God who has so richly provided for the Storehouse. Know someone in need? Send them our way on any Tuesday, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon.

We’re On the Verge of Revival

Brandon — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:33:21 +0000

Revival is a word that has different meanings to different people, and it gets used in different contexts by churches. I think of “revival” as a time when God takes His people corporately to a new or renewed level of intimacy with Himself, resulting in greater glory for Himself and a greater outreach to a lost world by us. But we also use the word to speak officially of the time many churches set aside to invite in a guest speaker for a series of special worship services.

I believe we’re experiencing both at Bethel right now. In fact, I made a commitment a few years ago not to schedule a revival meeting unless we, as a church, were prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so. That time has come. We’re in a period of watching people grow spiritually, get involved, and giving back like we haven’t seen in some time. Our bond is strong and we seek God’s face each Sunday as we discover truth in His Word.

All of this has prompted us to contact Ben Kingston, Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church (purely coincidence) in Lonedell, Missouri, who will be our guest beginning the Sunday morning of September 27th Ben will preach both of our morning services that day (8:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.), and our evening service at 6:00 p.m. as well. Then we’ll also hear Ben Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m.

I hope you’ll make plans now to be available to be present, and to bring others with you as we seek to draw closer in our walk with Christ. And my our whole community be changed as God works in us.

photo credit: PinkMoose

Men’s Bible Study: No More Excuses

Brandon — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:59:44 +0000

Our Men’s bible study fall semester is going to be launching on Tuesday, September 8 and will begin every Tuesday at 6:15 a.m. until the holidays roll around. It’s open to all men even if you don’t attend Bethel. It’s a relaxed, question-and-answer and discussion format led by Pastor Brandon.

This semester, we’re going to be using as our Bible study curriculum, No More Excuses: Be the Man God Made You To Be. You don’t have to have the book to join the study, but it’s available via the link if you’d like to have one. Just listen to this paragraph from Tony’s introduction:

It’s true that circumstances beyond our control can sometimes make it difficult for us to be all that God wants us to be. But we need to start looking at these things as challenges and opportunities for success rather than as excuses for failure or no doing anything. It’s high time that we stop blaming past circumstances or present pressures and start living as real men.

And our study outline will follow his Table of Contents…

No More Hiding Behind the Past
No More Feeling Worthless
No More Allowing for Immorality
No More Going Through the Motions
No More Dabbling In Defiance
No More Compromising Your Integrity
No More Sifting Through the Rubble
No More Giving In To Temptation
No More Second-rate Marriages
No More Passive Fathering
No More Sissified Males
No More Playing the Lone Ranger
No More Ownership
No More Clock-punching
No More Business as Usual
No More Half-stepping
No More Standing on the Sidelines
No More ‘Loser’s Limp’

Men, come and be challenged!

Awana: A Time for Preparation

David — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:19:38 +0000

It is that time of the year again…Awana time! Our kids are heading back to school, or in some cases just starting for the first time. It is a time of excitement and yet of anxiousness. In other words, many unknowns exist for kids when it comes to starting a new school year, such as: “What teacher will I have?”, “Will I make new friends?”, “How well will I do?”….(Although I believe the latter question applies to parents rather than the kids). It is this time of year and these types of questions that present us with the reality that we do not know what the future holds. Plain and simple, we just don’t know what God has in store for each of us tomorrow or even the next five minutes!

This presents another question: “How do I prepare my child for the unknown?”. Answer: “By presenting them with what is known”. Within a few weeks Awana programs will be starting all across our nation. What is Awana? The word Awana is an acronym that stands for “Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed”. This is taken from 2 Timothy 2:15 in which God’s Word states to “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman needeth no to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth“. The program Awana is a way for a church, such as Bethel Baptist, to help you as a parent present your child with what can be known…And that is God’s Word!

At Awana, your child will learn not only what God’s Word teaches us, but also what He promises to us when we put our trust and faith upon His Son Jesus and the sacrifice that was made for you and me. It is the Gospel…the Good News! Your child will work hard, but not without the element of FUN! Throughout the year, we have fun activities such as: crazy hair night, trunk-or-treat, Awana fair, and even a wooden pine car derby!

So, when does Awana start? Our Awana program will start Wednesday, September 9th, at 6:30 pm and we will dismiss right before 8:00pm. This same schedule will be followed every Wednesday night throughout the school year. We have four possible age groups for your child: Puggles (2 to 3 yr. olds), Cubbies (preschool), Sparks (K to 2nd), T&T (3rd to 6th). If you have any questions regarding your childs involvement in the Awana program at Bethel Baptist or if you would like to be a volunteer, please contact David Stewart @ 479-644-7592 or david@bethelbentonville.com. We are willing and would love to help you prepare your child for the unknowns of life.

Shhh… August: A Month of Quiet

Brandon — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:55:20 +0000

One of the most well-known Psalms is 96:10, “Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Life needs rhythm, and we live in a society that sprints toward the finish line with little downtime. This culture has invaded church life, giving us the mistaken impression that business is next to godliness.

At Bethel, during the month of August, we’re going to combat that trend with a special challenge. We’re not having any major events. Aside from some important outreach activities, we’re not doing any big fellowships or activities. Each area of ministry has been asked to limit special activities as much as possible while our entire church takes a break, slows the pace, and spends more time with God.

The challenge is simple. Instead of racing through the hectic course of normal life, I’m challenging each person and family to spend an extra night of the week at home, and during that night at home, to spend some time in the Word and in prayer together. We’ll be handing out short and simple guides to family prayer the first Sunday in August, and I hope and pray that while our church is growing in numbers, budget, and knowledge of God’s Word, we’ll also grow in our intimacy with God.

So shh, keep August open, it’s a month of quiet. You have my permission.

photo credit: kainet

We’re Giving Away Shoes

Brandon — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:44:10 +0000

Several times per year, Bethel gives away shoes for free. We’ll be doing this in preparation for school’s starting up again on Saturday, August 8 from 9 am until 11 am or until we run out of shoes. Anyone may come and receive a free pair of shoes, but every recipient must be present. If you’d like to give, we could really use kids’ tennis shoes more than anything else. To help in some way, call us at 479-273-2759 or contact us online.