“Walk By the Spirit!”

As the Apostle Paul brings closure to his thoughts regarding love being supreme over and above the fleshly extremes of license and law, he raises a tension regarding how to ensure this love will prevail. Galatians 5:16 and following resolve this tension with profound clarity, and the resolution is the antithesis of self-effort. “Walk by READ MORE

Women and the Realm of the Unseen

I personally perceive that one of the greatest fears of a woman is that she might be invisible, hidden, or be found having no inherent beauty. I cannot help but think of the bleeding woman in Luke 8:43 and following, whose diseased body caused her to hemorrhage for twelve years. She had exhausted every possible option for READ MORE

With One Accord

Acts 2:42-47 is the quintessential passage in the Bible on community and fellowship within the church. Consider what it says: And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the READ MORE

Set Upon the Spirit

The Apostle Paul declares in Romans 8:6, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” I very much want that “life” and “peace” of which Paul speaks—that daily calm reflecting a meaningful connection with something bigger than me. Or Someone. Who is READ MORE

How I Go to Worship

I wear on my wrist a little black band that says One With Them. It’s in the shape of barbed wire, and evokes the tragic image of Christians imprisoned the world-over for their faith in Jesus Christ. It reminds me to pray for them. It reminds me to remember them. It reminds me to not READ MORE

Creating Community that Lives Above & Beyond

At Bethel Church we are continuing a very important sermon series entitled “Living Above & Beyond.” The purpose of the whole series, and this season in which we find ourselves, is to equip followers of Jesus to live above and beyond material slavery, spiritual complancency, and small-minded eternal vision. We want God to meet us READ MORE