Joseph had been deeply wounded by his brothers. In their collective disdain for this seemingly favored son of their father, they trafficked him to those who would sell him into slavery. It is an awful and ugly story, but one to which the Most High God was attentive. Despite what anyone might have expected, and READ MORE
The Christmas story portrayed in Luke 2:1 and following is well worth the read (or re-read!). It begins, of course, with the famous decree of Caesar Augustus, prompting Joseph and Mary to make their way from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It proceeds to her giving birth to this most unusual child—Jesus—and wrapping him in swaddling cloths READ MORE
Bethel Church is a disciple-making community helping the spiritually hungry experience and proclaim the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. This is what drives everything that we are about as a church family. But what does it mean to be a “disciple-making community,” especially in a world in which the word “disciple” seems so utterly cliché? READ MORE
One of the features of any Christmas celebration is the longing many of us have to carry the spirit of Christmas into the many long days and weeks and months that follow. How often is it that we think to ourselves that we want to experience the meaning of Christmas ten days out, or twenty, READ MORE
Just as Genesis 1 sets the tone for all of the Old Testament, so Matthew 1 sets the tone for the entire new covenant given to mankind. In Matthew 1:1 our Lord Jesus is introduced to us as the God who Saves (that is what “Jesus” means), God’s anointed one (that is what “Christ” means), READ MORE
According to Mark 3:20-21, Jesus’ family was desperate to find Jesus with the hopes of getting him to temper his efforts; it might appear that his popularity was beginning to take a toll on them. “He’s crazy,” was their conclusion. Verse 31 picks this theme back up, with Mary and her sons, and perhaps her daughters, having READ MORE
