The Little Brick Church: Recent Episodes
Bethel Lutheran Church - Templeton, California
The weekly message from the Bethel Lutheran Church worship service. For more information: https://www.blctempleton.org
This is a special day, a day when we try to wrap our heads around how one God can be three persons. The good news is that we will never get it exactly right because God is so much bigger than our little brains can comprehend. If we had all knowledge and all wisdom and could explain in detail what God was, then what would we need a God for? I for one am grateful that God knows more, is more, and loves more than I can even comprehend.
Our readings for this Sunday, June 15 are Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Romans 5:1-5; and John 16:12-15.
“O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Paul writes that through Jesus we have peace with God, whose love pours into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, giving us lasting hope. We celebrate the gracious One-in-Three, eternal Three-in-One, as we worship in community; as we share water and word, bread and wine; and as we bring God’s love and hope to our neighbors.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
On Pentecost we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, our second advocate, to people of varied languages, communities, and customs, people outside of the previous scope of the gospel story. This particular reading comes to us from Acts 2:1-21. We also heard Genesis 11:1-9 and our gospel reading was John 14:8-27. This advocate, whom Jesus had promised, now comes to us in wind and fire, water, wine, and bread, the Holy Spirit abiding in and among us. We give thanks that God speaks to each of us, no matter our origins, language, or life path. Filled with the Spirit of truth, we go out from worship to proclaim the saving power of Christ’s love and the freedom of God’s grace with all the world.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings for Sunday, June 1 are: Acts 16:16-34; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26. Today is not a normal day. Five of us are just returned from our Synod Assembly where we gathered with hundreds of Lutherans from across the Southwestern California Synod to sing, pray, discern, vote, listen, and worship. It was a thrilling time! Please ask Julie H., Grace S., Autumn B., Cherie D., or myself about our experience. I'll also try to type up something for the Friday Collective.
That being said, our Bishop, Brenda Bos, provided a sermon for use this Sunday, since most of us preacher types were preparing for and then at the Assembly during our normal sermon prep hours. What a gift! So what you will hear preached on this Simply the Sermon is me, preaching the sermon written and prepared by Bishop Bos.
It is possible to hear in Jesus’ high priestly prayer, a prayer he offered shortly before his death, the petitions of the ascended Christ for his own throughout history—to our day—and beyond. Bishop Bos uses Jesus' words here to remind us of who Jesus is and how we are called to follow his lead in giving and receiving love.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Visions abound in the readings (Acts 16:6-15, Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5, and John 14:23-29) for the sixth Sunday of Easter. Paul has a vision about what to do but keeps hitting roadblocks until finally the way is made clear. John has a vision of what will be. Lydia sees a vision of a future filled with hope and love. Jesus provides visions of peace that surpass all human understanding and power beyond human imagination.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings for Sunday, May 18 are: Acts 11:1-18, Revelation 21:1-6, and John 13:31-35.
The resurrection of Christ at Easter initiates a new day. It anticipates a new heaven and a new earth. The risen Christ is making all things new. In the mystery of holy baptism God has even made new people of us. Today Jesus invites us to see everyone in a new light—through the lens of love, leading us outside of our doors and into the community. Who are we that we could hinder God? Might as well follow him into the world.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings for Sunday May 11, 2025 are Acts 9:36-43, Revelation 7:9-17 and John 10:22-30
What Would Jesus Do/ Let's see what he did on the beach, and let's remember how the followers in Damascus behaved. There are lessons for all of us
Pastor Ellen Ayres
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings for Sunday May 4, 2025 are Acts 9:1-20, Revelations 5:11-14 and John 21:1-19
What Would Jesus Do/ Let's see what he did on the beach, and let's remember how the followers in Damascus behaved. There are lessons for all of us
Pastor Ellen Ayres
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings for Sunday, April 27, 2025 are Acts 5:27-32, Revelations 1:4-8 and John 20:19-30
I admire Thomas for his courage in demanding answers in terrifying times. His willingness to ask is an inspiration to me. See if you agree.
Pastor Ellen Ayres
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death,” Paul writes. Today Christ is risen, and we gather together with astonishment and joy. Christ is risen, and we have been set free from the bonds of death. Christ is risen, and we are forgiven. Christ is risen, and with Mary at the tomb as she meets her Lord, we are honored and overjoyed! Let us rejoice: Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Blessings on this Holy Week,
Pastor Diana
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Today we follow Christ from triumphal entry to the cross, each waypoint of the journey marked by Jesus’ compassion for those who would betray, mock, accuse, or do violence to him. Though persecuted and beaten, Jesus the Son of God is not disgraced; instead, he asks forgiveness for those who put him to death. We have walked the Lenten pathway these forty days, each of us invited through baptism to “let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” We enter this holy week accompanying Jesus to the cross with both grief and thanksgiving in our hearts, trusting in God’s redeeming love.
Our Bible readings for today are Isaiah 50:4-9a, Philippians 2:5-11, and Luke 22:14-23:56. During worship we read short segments of the Gospel and then sang a verse of Were You There before reading the next installment. The verses are:
- Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
- Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
- Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
- Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
- Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Take a moment to reflect on these readings before listening to the sermon. The season of Lent ends on Maundy Thursday. Join us for worship at Bethel Thursday night and at Hope Lutheran, Atascadero on Friday night and then join us for Easter Sunday service this coming Sunday.
Blessings on this Holy Week,
Pastor Diana
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings for Sunday, April 6, 2025 are Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b-14, and John 12:1-8.
Our God makes all things new. In the Psalm, God's people celebrate it. In the gospel Mary anticipates it, intimately anointing Jesus’ feet with costly perfume in preparation for the day of his burial. In the second reading Paul recalls his transformation from the persecutor Saul into an apostle. In baptism, God’s new person (you!) rises daily from the deadly mire of trespasses and sins. Likewise we celebrate, we prepare our hearts, and we rise daily to the joy of experiencing the gifts of a loving God.
Live in love, my siblings in Christ,
Pastor Diana
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our texts for Sunday, March 30, 2025 are Joshua 5:9-12, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, and Luke 15:1-3,11b-32.
As the old hymn says, Our Father, we have wandered and hidden from your face, in foolishness have squandered your legacy of grace. We read today of a prodigal parent, so in love with their child that no matter the situation they wait with baited breath to welcome their child home. This grace seems foolish and extravagant but we so welcome it when we recognize the gifts of God, freely offered.
Live in love, my siblings in Christ,
Pastor Diana
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our Bible texts for Sunday, March 23, 2025 are: Isaiah 55:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, and Luke 13:1-9.
The warnings are plentiful and blunt on the third Sunday in Lent. Cut it out or get cut down! The warnings are accompanied by God’s invitation to attentiveness: “Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.” The landowner’s ultimatum is forestalled by the gardener’s readiness to till the ground one more year. That is good news for all of us. Thanks be to God!
Live in love, my siblings in Christ,
Pastor Diana
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our texts for Sunday, March 16 are Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, Psalm 27, and Luke 13:31-35.
Though we sometimes doubt and often resist God’s desire to protect and save us, our God persists. In holy baptism, God’s people have been called and gathered into a God-initiated relationship that will endure. Lent provides the church with a time and a tradition in which to seek God’s face again. Lent provides another occasion to behold the God of our salvation in the face of the Blessed One who “comes in the name of the Lord.”
Live in love, my siblings in Christ,
Pastor Diana
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings for Sunday, March 9 are from Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Romans 10:8b-13, and Luke 4:1-13. Sundays and Seasons introduces worship with these words:
These forty days called Lent are like no other. It is our opportune time to return to the God who rescues, to receive the gifts of God’s grace, to believe with the heart and confess with the mouth the wonder of God’s love in Jesus, and to resist temptation at every turn. This is no small pilgrimage on which we have just embarked. It is a struggle Jesus knew. It is a struggle Jesus shares. The nearness of the Lord, in bread and wine, water and word, will uphold and sustain us.
Live in love, my siblings in Christ,
Pastor Diana
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings for Ash Wednesday are Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 and Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Live in love, my siblings in Christ,
Pastor Diana
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings for Transfiguration Sunday, March 2, are Exodus 34:29-35, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, and Luke 9:28-43a.
On this Sunday, we remember and experience the liberating power of our Lord and Savior as his kinship with both God's promises of the Hebrew Scriptures and with God's self are revealed. As we revel in this liberation, who will we invite into this incredible relationship?
Live in love, my siblings in Christ,
Pastor Diana
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our Bible texts for this Sunday are Genesis 45:3-15, Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40, and Luke 6:27-38.
Mercy. Mercy. Mercy. Joseph eventually lives it out in Egypt. Jesus preaches it in the gospel. The Spirit guides us into merciful lives with the power of forgiveness to reconcile what is fractured and divided. Such merciful living is the baptismal blessing of having put on Christ. It is the gift of the life-giving Spirit. It is a reflection of God’s glory revealed in Christ.
Live in love, my siblings in Christ,
Pastor Diana
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings for worship today, Feb. 16, 2025 are Jeremiah 17:5-10, Psalm 1, and Luke 6:17-31. We hear today about the sermon on the plain, where Jesus comes to the regular people, both Jewish and non-Jewish. To heal and to strengthen, to teach and to love. And he goes on to teach the disciples how to live among God's beloved people, blessing them and calling them to an awareness of God's plan to upend cultural power dynamics so that everyone is on this level plain.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
The fifth Sunday after Epiphany continues to highlight unlikely people being used and odd circumstances surrounding how God's glory will be revealed. Our texts are Isaiah 6:1-13, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, and Luke 5:1-11.
“Who will go for us?” God asks. The ones who answer God's call are a person of unclean lips, a person who used to threaten and abuse the members of the church of God, and three fishermen who couldn’t catch a thing. More surprising still, perhaps, is that we are also called.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our readings today are from Jeremiah 1:4-10, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, and our gospel is from Luke 4:21-30. But actually we pick up the Lukan story that began last week at 4:14. We talk about the challenges of living up to God’s call to be helpers as God turns the world upside down, granting gifts and favors in unexpected places.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
We were blessed to have our Bishop Brenda Bos preach for Pastor Diana's installation as well as welcoming Pastor and George into membership here at Bethel and, of course, installing Pastor as our minister.
Her sermon takes the three readings selected for the day, Numbers 6:22-27, 1 Cor, 12:12-31a, and John 20:19-23, and weaves them into a beautiful story of God's peace in our lives.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
The sermon today takes the reading from 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a as it's jumping off point. The apostle and pastor Paul uses the metaphor of the human body to describe how intimately connected we are in the church. Unfortunately, we sometimes lose sight of this connectedness, this inter-reliance, and we fail to recognize God in the faces we see around us. God uses prophets and pesterers to bring us back the love of God and gift of our siblings around the world.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
On this Second Sunday of Epiphany Pastor Diana preaches. This weeks reading are Isaiah 62:1-5, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 andJohn 2:1-11. Pastor Diana preaches about Jesus turning water to wine and to keep your eyes open to the signs we have in life!
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
On this Baptism of Our Lord's Day, Pastor Russ shares two stories from the Bible about the Jordan River and how it becomes symbolic of life's challenges and call to commitment. God rarely has us stay in one place for very long...in our personal lives, our relationships, our careers, our congregation. We are "here" and we come to understand God is calling us to be "there"...a new place. How does our baptism into Christ help us with these challenges? Pastor Russ' sermon is entitled "Walk Wet."
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
John 1:1-18 shares the most pivotal event in all of human history...when God became one of us in Jesus. What does that mean for us? How should we respond to such an event? Pastor Russ' last sermon as interim pastor is entitled, "More Than A Visit."
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Luke is the only one of the 4 Gospels to include a story from Jesus' childhood. This insightful story from Luke 2:41-52 tells of the time when Mary and Joseph "lose" Jesus for a few days...but later find him in the temple in Jerusalem. What can we learn about the meaning and purpose of family from this story? Pastor Russ shares his thoughts in his sermon entitled: "It Takes a Family".
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
The familiar Christmas story evokes many wonderful memories for us as we gather with family and friends. This is the story that has changed the world and the lives of millions throughout the ages. And even though the birth of Jesus was over 2,000 years ago, we have to ask the question: had we been there...what would we have done? Pastor Russ shares his Christmas Eve homily entitled: "God's Gift Has Come".
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
After Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel and told she would be the mother to the Son of God, she traveled to Judea to visit with Elizabeth. At Elizabeth's greeting, Mary burst into song known as the Magnificat. God chooses the least likely to do great things. The proud and powerful should not rely on their pride and power, says the song. And we are invited to sing along with Mary.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
At first, John the Baptist's cry for repentance makes one cringe. Is repentance all about making us feel bad about ourselves? And what does this have to do with Christmas anyway? Pastor Russ' message is based on Luke 3:7-18 and is titled: "Repentance is Good News!"
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
What does John the Baptist's message "Prepare the way" mean for us today? What did it mean back then, in Jesus' day? This season of Advent is a blessed time to get our homes ready for Christmas and our hearts as well. How can we be a gift to others and to our world as Christ is for us? Pastor Russ shares his thoughts in this sermon.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
On the first Sunday of Advent, Guest Pastor Richard Rollefson reads from the Gospel Luke 21:25-36
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
In this Sunday's Thanksgiving sermon, Pastor Amy offers an anecdote to anxiety. With Jesus' disciples facing an unknown future, we address our own uncertainties as faithful followers. (We also take a journey to a surprising corner in north LA.) Hear lessons learned from her spiritual care practices on how to respond to chronic worry.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
The Readings from I Kings 17 and Mark 12 each share a story about the faithfulness of a widow. They each had very little to offer and yet, their faithfulness turned into a moving story that still teaches us much, even 2,000 years later! Pastor Russ' sermon is "A Little Goes A Long Way."
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
In the Gospel Reading from Mark 12:28-34, Jesus reminds us of the two greatest commandments: Love for God and love for neighbor. It is almost like they are woven together as one commandment, for Jesus elsewhere reminds us that you cannot do one without the other. Pastor Russ' sermon is entitled "Soli Deo Gloria".
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Why tears? The three Readings for this All Saints Sunday each mention tears...but tears that will be wiped away by God himself as we are invited to a great feast prepared by God. Even Jesus shed tears as he stood before the grave of his friend Lazarus. But God has the last word...and even death is defeated. Pastor Russ' sermon: "Tears in Heaven"
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Knowing our Lutheran history and heritage is important as it reveals our beginnings as well as our current mission and ministry. Pastor Russ shares 6 vignettes on the life of Martin Luther and Katherine Von Bora, central figures in the Reformation movement of the 1500's.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
This seemingly simple healing story of a blind man contains several life lessons for us...to help us with better insight when obstacles are in life's way, when we may not think too well of ourselves, and when our worries and stresses overwhelm us. Pastor Russ' sermon from Mark 10:46-52 is entitled "What Would You Have Me Do For You?"
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Do you think Jesus was a little harsh on the rich man? Telling him to sell all he had and give it to the poor? Are we supposed to do the same thing? Jesus actually offers 3 priceless gifts to the rich man even before asking him to do the 'the impossible.'
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
As common as it is these days, divorce is still a very emotional and difficult reality for many people. And what Jesus seems to say doesn't, at first, appear to make things any easier. What does Jesus say about divorce? And how are we, as a Christian community, to respond to those who are going through such painful times? Pastor Russ discusses these questions in his message.
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All three scripture readings have a common theme which helps us to know what the people of God are called to do and to be. Pastor Russ finds in these readings three qualities of Bethel Lutheran in his sermon entitled "We Are Not Meant to Go It Alone."
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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Sometimes, we might feel overwhelmed by all that is going on in our lives and/or in the world. Oh, to be young and innocent once again. Jesus reminded us to welcome the child when he took children into his arms to bless them. We are called to have the faith of a child.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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"Ode to the Tongue" is the title of Pastor Russ' message as he explores James 3:1-12 which reminds us how our words can be like a devastating fire or can be used for good. How can we keep better control over what we say? Listen and learn. A helpful outline accompanies the sermon. Contact the office if you would like one.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
"Love your neighbor as yourself" is the golden rule, the Letter of James reminds us. Some 'neighbors' are easier to love than others. And yet, because God shows no partiality and loves everyone, no matter who they are, we are to do the same. Jesus is the supreme example traveling all the way to Tyre to heal a Gentile woman's sick daughter, dispelling the prejudicial beliefs of his day.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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At first, in the Gospel story from Mark 7, it appears Jesus is against washing hands before one eats. Not so. What Jesus was saying to the leaders of his day was sometimes we can place religious habits and rituals ahead of what is in a person's heart.
Is our life of faith only about trying to always do the right thing? Or is it more than that? Listen to Pastor Russ' sermon entitled "Creeds or Deeds?"
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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"Be Strong in the Lord" is the title of Pastor Russ' message, taken from the reading from Ephesians 6:10-20 where St. Paul compares the Christian stance to the uniform a typical Roman soldier would wear. We do battle too, St. Paul reminds us, with powers and principalities, with evil and darkness. And we combat these with respect, honor, kindness and love.
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We continue with our readings from John 6 with Pastor Russ' sermon entitled: "The Eternal Food." What is eternal except love and hope and mercy. Pastor Russ shares the meaning of Holy Communion as the strength for our journey in life.
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In John 6, we hear Jesus' intriguing words about being "manna from heaven". In our life, especially during challenging times, do we not need God's guidance and help? Pastor Russ' sermon is entitled: "Food for the Journey".
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Guest Pastor Richard Rollefson preaches from the Gospel of John, chapter 6.
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On the 137th anniversary of Bethel's founding, hear Pastor Amy describe the features of faith in the American West. All those cowboys and renegades and explorers left their mark on churches like ours.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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Just like our very busy lives at times, the disciples were no doubt overwhelmed with the demands of the crowds who flocked to Jesus. We can read into Jesus' invitation to the disciples to "get away", our need for rest as well. But Jesus also didn't turn his back on the needs of the crowds. Even though exhausted, Jesus continued to heal and teach. And so, we too are called to focus on the needs of our neighbors.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church: • To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org. • Donate for ministry. • Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California. • Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Are we willing to stand up for the truth and for what is right even if it comes at a cost? Where do we find the courage to do so? John the Baptist and many others throughout history have provided examples for us of being faithful in the face of injustice. Pastor Russ' sermon is based on the rather gruesome story of John's beheading by King Herod in Mark 6:14-29 and is entitled "If Truth Be Told..."
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church: • To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org. • Donate for ministry. • Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California. • Web site: www.blctempleton.org
We may think of our weaknesses as just that...deficiencies, burdens, hinderances, embarrassments. St. Paul certainly could have thought that with his "thorn in the flesh." But instead, he realized that God could, by God's grace, turn his weaknesses into strengths...for the sake of the Gospel. Read II Corinthians 12:2-10 and then listen to Pastor Russ' sermon entitled, "Olympic Weakness; Sufficient Grace."
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church: • To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org. • Donate for ministry. • Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California. • Web site: www.blctempleton.org
The Gospel Reading for June 30th (The 6th Sunday after Pentecost) from Mark 5:21-43 tells of two healing miracles in one story...healing of two people of vastly different social strata. Jesus is displaying what a new caring community of faith is to look like by breaking societal prejudices and barriers.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church: • To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org. • Donate for ministry. • Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California. • Web site: www.blctempleton.org
From Mark 4:35-41, we read the familiar story of Jesus calming the storm. Many "storms" can arise in our life...suddenly and some with great fury. What does it mean to have Jesus in our boat? Pastor Russ offers insights to this story that may help us in our life today.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church: • To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org. • Donate for ministry. • Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California. • Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Sometimes we may wonder "what good can I do?" "I really don't have much influence". Well, maybe many of us think that we are "small potatoes"...but even small acts of kindness and charity can make a huge difference in someone's life. Pastor Russ reviews two parables where Jesus reminds us that with God's blessing, small things can have a large impact in his sermon "We Walk By Faith."
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One of the most skillfully crafted stories in all the Bible is found in chapter 3 of Genesis, when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree in the Garden of Eden, symbolizing "The Fall" of humankind. Does this old story still hold meaning for us today in this modern world? Or is God still speaking to us...and searching for us? The title of Pastor Russ' sermon is: "Where Are You?"
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church: • To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org. • Donate for ministry. • Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California. • Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Do you have a busy life? Do you feel that expectations of you are growing and growing? Do you feel some pressure to be more, to do more, to have more? Well, perhaps the 3rd Commandment, "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy" is meant for you. God ordained for us to rest. "Keeping the Sabbath" is the title of Pastor Russ' sermon for Sunday, June 2, 2024.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church: • To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org. • Donate for ministry. • Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California. • Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Talking about the Holy Trinity doesn't sound too exciting...but this doctrine has been a critical teaching in the church practically from the beginning. Pastor Russ shares insights from the Nicodemus story in John 3 to highlight each 'person' of the Trinity.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church: • To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org. • Donate for ministry. • Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California. • Web site: www.blctempleton.org
It’s Pentecost celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus, transforming them into bold apostles proclaiming the love of God for all. Pastor Russ’ message is “Many Languages…One Mission” as we reclaim our Pentecost purpose.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church: • To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org. • Donate for ministry. • Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California. • Web site: www.blctempleton.org
After Jesus shares his last meal with his disciples, he prays to God. An amazing part of the prayer is that he thanks God for giving the disciples to him. They were a gift, a gift to Jesus. It is true that our companionship with Jesus is also a gift to him!
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church: • To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org. • Donate for ministry. • Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California. • Web site: www.blctempleton.org
On the night before his death, as Jesus teaches his disciples to "love one another, as I have loved you," he goes on to say: "I call you friends." Together, these two teachings suggest a foundation for Christian ethics not grounded in fear of punishment or following rules, but in the ways of gratitude and friendship.
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Guest Pastor Richard Rollefson teaches from Acts 8:26-40. A reflection on the significance of the early church reaching out beyond established boundaries by reinterpreting scripture and their inherited religious tradition in light of the revelation of God's love in Jesus that reaches out to all people.
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Even when it is dark God is with us. The Good Shepherd calls us by name.
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What will heaven be like? What will we be like when we go to heaven? Pastor Russ shares his thoughts based on the Readings for 3 Easter from I John 3:1-7 and Luke 24:36b-48.
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Perhaps we should rename "Doubting Thomas", "Courageous Thomas" for questioning the other disciples when they attested to have seen Jesus alive. But Thomas has a chance to see Jesus alive for himself. So, too, do we not exclude those who may bring questions to the faith as Pastor Russ shares in his message: "Fear...Doubt...Faith" from John 20:19-21.
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"Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!" is the refrain on Easter Sunday and throughout the 7 week Easter Season. Pastor Russ' sermon is "God's Cosmic Joke" from John 20:1-18 reminding us that the raising of Jesus was the banishment of death. "Death has lost its sting" St. Paul tells us. When we peer into Jesus' tomb, we are looking into our own empty tomb.
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There are two names for this impactful Sunday: Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday - when we recall the events of the last week of Jesus' life beginning with Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem when the crowds waved palm branches and shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David" (Read Mark 11:1-11). We then follow the events of the remainder of Holy Week with the reading of the Passion of Our Lord (Mark 14:1-15:47). Pastor Russ notes a theme running throughout the long readings..."God Uses Broken Things" to do God's amazing work of redemption.
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What is God's will for my life? Especially when difficulties and challenges arise. How do we know what path to take? Pastor Russ explores three steps on our faith journey that help us to "Make God's Will Our Own." Based on John 12:20-33
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In the Ephesians Reading for the 4th Sunday in Lent is the core and foundation of our Christian faith...that you and I are saved by Grace through Faith. Pastor Russ focuses on this incredible mercy of God and how it makes us to be like a cup overflowing with love into the lives of others with his sermon entitled, "Amazing Grace."
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The story of Jesus clearing of the Temple in John 2:13-22 gives us a chance to talk about a topic not normally broached from the pulpit with Pastor Russ' message "Even Jesus Got Angry." Anger can be destructive or constructive. Anger can be a sign that something isn't right. Jesus' actions show that perhaps there is some house cleaning we need to do as well.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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It’s Monica’s final sermon as Bethel’s intern, and she reflects on Jesus’s description of discipleship in Mark 8 in light of the end of her time with you all. It has been a crazy, wonderful, blessed year and a half here at Bethel, and she wouldn’t have had it any other way! The readings are Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 and Mark 8:31-38. The prayer at the end is from This Grateful Heart by Alden Solovny.
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Pastor Russ' message is "Water, Wilderness, Wild Beasts and Waiting Angels" as he weaves together the stories of Noah and the Ark with Jesus' baptism and temptation in the wilderness at the onset of his ministry. Animals play a role in each of the stories as we begin our Lenten journey together.
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February 11th was Transfiguration Sunday when we remembered Jesus' clothes becoming dazzling white on the top of a mountain found in Mark 9:2-9. Pastor Russ' message is "Five Mountaintops and a Valley" as he takes us up vital mountains well known in the Bible. There are life lessons to learn atop these hills. Listen as we close out this Epiphany season and begin our journey of Lent.
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We’re over a month into 2024, and we’re still in the first chapter of Mark! This gospel packs a whole lot of action into very few verses and shows us that Jesus was a very, very busy man. So what did Jesus do when things got overwhelming? Something that Intern Monica knows that she – and probably all of us – need to remember to do from time to time. The readings are Isaiah 40:21-31 and Mark 1:29-39.
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When it comes to our faith lives, there are an awful lot of different voices out there! This is nothing new – even Moses had to warn his people about following false prophets. Intern Monica talks today about how the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer help her discern how to follow Jesus as the ultimate authority. The readings are Deuteronomy 18:15-20 and Mark 1:21-28.
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Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John out of their fishing boats and into a completely new and different life....of service and love. In our following of Jesus, how are we "called out"? How can we be fisherfolk for the reign of God? Pastor Russ takes a look at the Gospel reading from Mark 1:14-20.
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This interim time for Bethel Lutheran is a good time to be asking ourselves, "What is God calling us to do over the next months and years?" "How do we listen to the voice of God in directing our future?" We have two readings to guide us..I Samuel 3:1-20, the wonderful story of God calling the young boy in the middle of the night; and John 1:43-51, Jesus calling his first disciples by the Sea of Galilee.
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We’re coming out of the season of Christmas and kicking off the season of Epiphany with Baptism of Our Lord Sunday, which is just as exciting as it sounds, depending on your feelings about baptism! Intern Monica talks about how it can be difficult to talk about baptism, but why we do it anyway. The readings are Acts 19:1-7 and Mark 1:4-11.
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"The Holiness of Time" is the title of Pastor Russ' message for this 1st Sunday of Christmas and as we begin a brand new year. As time "marches on", how can we view time more as a friend than as something to be feared and anxious about? How can we see time as sacramental and divine? Listen as Pastor Russ shares insights into making 2024 a meaningful year for you.
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For this Christmas Eve Simply the Sermon, Intern Monica discusses why we still tell this old, old story two thousand years after it happened. Listen along, and maybe you’ll even hear something new! The readings are Luke 2:1-20, John 1:1-5,14,16. Merry Christmas, Bethel family!
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We have a special podcast for the fourth Sunday in Advent! Instead of just a sermon, we have two readings from Luke 1:46-55 and Luke 1:67-80, interspersed with two poems and a special guest. The poems Monica reads are “The Sound of Hope” by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed) and the lyrics of the song “Zechariah and the Least Expected Places” by Ben Thomas. Many thanks to Wendy Hirschman!
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Advent tends to bring with it all sorts of expectations. In our readings for today, Intern Monica points out that expectations can be misleading, and that God calls us to be dreamers open to amazement.Today’s readings are Psalm 126 and Luke 1:57-66.
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The Christmas season is about a lot of things....gift giving, decorations, sumptuous food, overly crowded airports and highways. The Gospel Reading from Luke 1:24-45 is the well-known Annunciation when the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would be the mother of the Son of God. What does Mary do right away after this amazing news? "Mary runs with haste to Elizabeth," no doubt for comfort and encouragement. We find joy in connections. Above all this season, celebrate the connections you have with family and friends.
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The weeks before Christmas can be a busy and boisterous time for us. "Quiet" and "stillness" are not words that usually apply to these weeks. The beautiful Advent Season invites us to reflect on the coming of Jesus. Pastor Russ' message on the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth (Read Luke 1:5-23) reminds us that silence has a valued place in our lives.
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At the end of Matthew 25, Jesus gives his famous teaching about sheep and goats, which also has elements of an “apocalyptic” story that deals with the revealing of God’s kingdom. You might not think that has anything to do with shopping carts, but Intern Monica does! Take a listen and find out how. Today’s reading is Matthew 25:31-46. You can also read the history of Christ the King Sunday here, or the article that Monica mentions.
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Pastor Russ shares the "3 R's" in his sermon entitled "Bound Together...in Thankfulness on this Thanksgiving Sunday. He uses portions of all three Readings including the well-known story of the healing of the 10 lepers. Practical ideas are included with each of the 3 R's.
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In Matthew 25, Jesus talks to his disciples about what life will be like while he isn’t with them. His Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids is a lesson in preparing for a long wait, and Intern Monica discusses how it is still a good reminder for us about why we do what we do, and how to make sure we’re able to keep going through the night. Today’s reading is Matthew 25:1-13.
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We don't normally think of ourselves as 'saints'. We usually give that title to those people who performed unique and special ministry for the church long ago. It is our baptism into Christ that indeed allows us to be called saints. Pastor Russ shares stories of some unusual saints as well as insights into the Readings from Revelation 7 and I John 3 in his sermon: "Who Is This Host?"
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For this Reformation season, Pastor Russ offers 6 vignettes on the life of Martin and Katie Luther. Martin as Believer, Reformer, Musician, and Husband & Father; Katherine Von Bora as Wife & Mother, and Homemaker & Businesswoman. Learning more about these two remarkable people helps us to appreciate the beginning of our Lutheran history and heritage.
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Whose side are you on? Sometimes it seems like we’re constantly having to declare what we are for and what we are against. Intern Monica reminds us that when others confront us with fear and division, it’s ok to just let them have it! Today’s readings are Isaiah 45:1-7 and Matthew 22:15-22.
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You may want to relax with Psalm 23 or Philippians 4 rather than hear the violent and challenging images Jesus relays in the parable of the Marriage Feast that almost wasn't in Matthew 22:1-14. What is the meaning of this rather strange story? And what does it have to do with the issues of today? Be brave and listen....
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Many of us face discouraging moments in our life at some time. St. Paul was in prison when he wrote his most personal letter to the church at Philippi. Paul's faith in overcoming discouragement is found in chapter 3:4b-14 and can be a prescription when facing our own life's challenges. Today’s reading isMatthew 21:33-46.
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Two vital characteristics of those who follow Jesus are integrity and humility. In the Matthew reading, Jesus' authority was challenged by the religious leaders. Jesus teaches them a lesson in integrity. St. Paul shares in the Philippians 2 reading that Jesus, by becoming one of us and one with us all the way to the cross, led the way of humility and love. For those of us who have any authority at home or in the community, humility and integrity are vital. Today’s reading is Philippians 2:1-13 and Matthew 21:23-32.
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The parable of the laborers in the vineyard has been described as a conflict between what is “fair” and what is “right.” But what do those two things mean in the kingdom of God? Intern Monica talks about how this might look to the workers hired early, to those hired later, and to the landowner in the parable. Today’s reading is Matthew 20:1-16.
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A topic as important as forgiveness can be difficult to talk about and even harder to explain. Maybe that’s why Jesus told a parable when Peter asked him about it. But why such a harsh and confusing parable? Intern Monica decided that in response, she would tell a story of her own and talk about what forgiveness has looked like to her. Today’s reading is Matthew 18:21-35.
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The passage we’re reading today from Matthew is commonly framed as a “model for church discipline.” But should it? And if so, what does that look like? Intern Monica talks about the danger of removing these verses from the rest of Jesus’s lessons to his disciples in Matthew 18. Today’s readings are Psalm 119:33-40, Romans 13:8-14, and Matthew 18:15-20.
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Every person is called by God for some reason, some purpose. The great story of Moses and the Burning Bush demonstrates that we too can be apprehensive about what God is asking of us and have the same resistance as Moses. Who is God calling you to talk to? Or what cause is God calling you to? The sub-title to Pastor Russ' message is: "When God Speaks, There Are No Excuses!" Today’s reading is Exodus 3-4.
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What do you picture when you think of the people or “heroes” of the Bible? Intern Monica sums up her take on this summer’s sermon series with a look at some of the women mentioned by the Apostle Paul. Today’s readings are Acts 18:1-3, 24-28 and Romans 16:1-16.
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Pastor Russ introduces us to "Susanna: A Courageous Woman of Faith Confronts Her Assaulters" in this next of the special Summer Sermons Series "Heroes of The Bible." In this Intertestamental Literature, Susanna bravely refuses to consent to the threats of two officials at the risk of her own life. 2200 years later, violence to women is still prevalent and the church is called to not be silent but to be a place of safety and voices of advocacy. Today’s reading is Susanna.
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The Canaanite who Jesus encounters in today’s reading doesn’t seem like a likely choice as a “Hero of the Bible.” Yet as Intern Monica reminds us, this mother advocated for her daughter against perhaps the most daunting obstacle possible: Jesus himself. Today’s readings are Genesis 18:22-32 and Matthew 15:21-28.
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Pastor Russ continues with the "Heroes of the Bible" summer Sermon Series and "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego" from Daniel chapter 3. These three faced a fiery furnace rather than compromise their beliefs. What "furnaces" might we face in our life? When we face challenging times, can we trust that we have a fourth person in our furnace. Today’s reading is Daniel 3:13-30.
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Let’s take a journey today into one of the very oldest (and most memorable) passages in the Bible: the Song of Deborah with the story of Deborah and Jael. What do we do with these seemingly weird and violent stories in the Old Testament? Intern Monica shows us that these ancient texts still tell us a lot about God and a little about ourselves, too. Today’s reading is Judges 4-5.
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Continuing with the “Heroes of the Bible” sermon series, Intern Monica takes us back to the beginning of Exodus. What started as a promising life in Egypt hasn’t turned out that way for the Israelites, and there doesn’t seem to be any help coming on the horizon. What are normal people supposed to do while they’re waiting for God to act? Let’s meet a few people who can give us some ideas. Today’s reading is Exodus 1:8-2:10.
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Pastor Russ continues the Summer Sermon Series “Heroes of the Bible” with Jonathan, David’s good friend. Do you have a “Jonathan” in your life? Are you a Jonathan for someone else? Read I Samuel 18-20 and learn how Jonathan’s friendship was critical to our faith today. Today’s reading is 1 Samuel 18:1-4; 19:1-7; 20:12-42.
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Sometimes when we’re focused on those who loom large, we don’t notice those standing in their shadow. Intern Monica Holman talks today about Hagar, who some see as a side note in the story of Abraham. Luckily for us, God doesn’t see her that way! Today’s reading is Genesis 16:1-15, 21:1-3, 8-21.
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How do we face fearsome giants, you and I? Today Pastor Russ Gordon kicks off a summer series on the heroes of the Bible, beginning with a familiar story that you may have first heard in Sunday School. But make no mistake; there’s a message here for anyone who has ever been afraid. So get comfortable, open your Bible to 1 Samuel 17, and press Play…
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In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus’s disciples are eager to get out and join in the ministry of healing and proclaiming the kingdom of God! But Jesus has a few words of caution for them, and Intern Monica reminds us that his words still hold true for us today as we also embark on Jesus’s irresistible mission. Today’s readings are Jeremiah 20:7-13 and Matthew 10:24-39.
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Pastor Russ' message is entitled "Sent!" as the Gospel reading reminds us of our Christ-given task to be bearers of the Good News. Although we are imperfect human beings, Christ still calls us to go out and tend to those in need. Today’s reading is Matthew 9:35-10:8.
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In his sermon, Pastor Russ reminds us how the Covid pandemic kept us from enjoying one another's presence and touch for a long while as we worked through the fear of the unknown. In the Gospel reading, Jesus shows mercy, and thereby defeats the fears and artificial boundaries we construct that keeps us from being a truly beloved community. This week’s reading is Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26.
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It’s Holy Trinity Sunday, which means we get to talk about the Father, the Son, AND the Holy Spirit! Intern Monica dives into the mystery of who we are as people who worship the Triune God. This week’s readings are Psalm 8, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, and Matthew 28:16-20.
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Happy Pentecost! Intern Pastor Monica takes us back to the arrival of the Holy Spirit during Pentecost, and challenges us to think about what languages we speak. What would it look like today for everyone to hear about God in their own native language? This week’s readings are Numbers 11:24-30 and Acts 2:1-21.
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Guest Pastor Mary Stein-Webber returns to Bethel Lutheran Church with a message about looking to God for guidance. And as we listen for an answer, can we be open to receive the advice when it comes? When the Holy Spirit offers us direction, it’s not always a quiet whisper riding in on a cool breeze. Sometimes it’s a honking goose trampling across the picnic blanket and stepping in the potato salad. Can we be an open handed receiver when the Holy Spirit nudges us in unexpected ways?
The Bible readings for this week are Acts 1:6-14 and Luke 24:44-53 if you’d like to grab a Bible and follow along with Pastor Mary’s reading. (Or click here to read online).
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We live in a world with so many choices...including what religious expression we wish to follow. Pastor Russ asks: What makes the Christian faith so unique? What is our calling in the presence of so many religious options? When Paul was in Athens on his 2nd missionary journey, he acknowledged the many statues to their various gods...and he complimented their religious inquisitiveness to introduce to the Athenians the message of Jesus. So too, the diverse expressions within our world, and even in our church, need not induce fear. Instead, we can grow in our love for one another in seeing God already living, moving and having being in the other.
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We’re still in the season of Easter, celebrating the joy of the resurrection and shouting our alleluias! But Intern Monica Holman reminds us that we can’t celebrate Easter without remembering Stephen, the first Christian martyr, whose story made it clear that the church is not called to stay comfortable.
Our Bible passages today (click to follow along): John 14:1-14 and Acts 7:54-8:1.
Sermon Note: Monica cites a statistic from the 2022 National Survey of LGBTQ Youth Mental Health.
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It’s good to be reminded that God is our shepherd, leading us to still waters and helping us along on our path. Today Pastor Russ Gordon guides us through what it means to be the shepherd, and what it means to be, …well… the sheep. What’s more, when the shoe is on the other foot and God calls on us to be shepherds to a particular flock, can we be ready to answer the call?
Our Bible passages today (click to follow along): Psalm 23 and John 10:1-10.
Sermon Note: The pastor’s sermon refers to the Darien Gap, an inhospitable jungle region along the border of Columbia and Panama. Many migrants travel through this area hoping to reach the United States or Canada. For more information, search for “Darien Gap” on your favorite news site. (Here is a link to many sources on Google News.)
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Pastor Russ Gordon helps us see our way through Luke 24, where two sad disciples walk for miles with a stranger, but but “were kept” from recognizing him as the risen Jesus. (Spoiler: later their “eyes were opened.”) Could this passage be an example for us when we struggle to see God’s presence when we look around today?
The Gospel passage for this week is Luke 24:13-35 if you’d like to grab a Bible and read along. (Or click here to read it online).
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Intern Monica Holman finds the John 20 passage a little weird. Why does Jesus’s resurrected body still have wounds? Turns out that scars (his, mine, and even yours) can bear pretty powerful witness to the risen Lord.
The Gospel passage for this week is John 20:19-31 if you’d like to grab a Bible and read it before listening. (Or click here to read it online). Monica reads the passage in the podcast, along with Psalm 16 and Acts 2:14a, 22-32.
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On Easter we commemorate Jesus rising from the dead to “make good” for the sins of the world. Pastor Russ Gordon reminds us in his Easter Sunday sermon that there is more to celebrate than a miracle that occurred 2000 years ago. It is miraculous right now in our present time and in our future. Today is a time to celebrate what God has in store for everyone.
The Easter Gospel passage is John 20:1-18 if you’d like to grab a Bible and read it before listening. (Or click here to read online).
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On Palm Sunday we celebrate Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Then the day darkens as we listen to the telling of the story of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and death on the cross. (Open your Bible to Matthew 26 if you’d like to follow along.) We remember what Jesus endured to save us from sin; and we anticipate what’s to come when he triumphs once again.
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The raising of Lazarus and the valley of the dry bones in Ezekiel both tell stories of pain and loss. Before we can jump to the joy of resurrection, though, Intern Monica Holman explores God’s promises of hope even within the tomb.
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Last Sunday we heard the well-known story of the woman at the well, and this week Interim Pastor Russ Gordon considers another memorable Bible passage, this time from the ninth chapter of John. Jesus heals a blind man, setting off an investigation seeking answers to many questions. What exactly happened? Who is the person that did it? And perhaps most importantly, does God punish us for our sins?
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The Samaritan woman at the well and her meeting with Jesus in John 4 is one of the best-known stories in the gospel. But how much do you really know about it? Intern Monica Holman takes this old, old story and asks us to think in a new way about what assumptions we bring when we hear it.
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There are all kinds of journeys – outward and inward. The stories of Abram and Sarai venturing out at God’s request, as well as Nicodemus’s nighttime visit to Jesus on his spiritual journey, remind us that faith is trust. We are called in our life’s journey to put our hand in Jesus’ as we go.
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Why do we “celebrate” Lent? Does it have to be so depressing and dark? Intern Monica Holman explores the temptation to either turn Lent into some sort of suffering contest or to avoid the darkness altogether and shape it into something pretty and palatable. Does this ancient tradition serve a purpose? Monica thinks so, especially today!
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At times, there can be a rhythm to church life that can lead to feelings of complacency, as if our walk with God has entered a “same old, same old” pattern of sameness. In this week’s gospel reading (Matthew 17:1-9), Pastor Russ Gordon sees a few disciples of Jesus perhaps slipping into this kind of complacency. They seem to be getting a little bit too accustomed to the wonders occurring around them. What happens next?
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There are a lot of changes happening around us! A lot of uncertainty, a lot of new things, and with that a lot of temptation to worry that we won’t be able to rise to the challenge, and that we just aren’t enough to handle it. Intern Monica Holman describes how God promises us that we are enough with God leading us, and how stepping into the sometimes-scary unknown is a step towards choosing an abundant life with God.
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This week, Pastor Russ urges us to add season and spice to our Christian lives! How do we allow our faith to become diluted, and what can we do about it? Take a listen!
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Reflecting on the prophecy from Micah and the Beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew, Pastor Russ helps us to discern the “what” of following Jesus. While our culture celebrates the strong and the mighty, God leads us to restore justice to the lowly.
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This week Pastor Russ takes us on a fishing trip! Well, really it’s Jesus that calls us out to “fish for people.” Pastor Russ explores how the first disciples knew their trade well, understood how fish live, and were willing to go to any lengths to find them. What does this mean for Jesus’s calling to us today?
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This week we’re returning to the prophet John the Baptist and his introduction of Jesus, the Lamb of God in the gospel of John. What exactly is the role of a prophet, and what does it mean that the Lamb of God “takes away the sin of the world?” Intern Monica Holman discusses how Jesus invites us to follow him and see what vision God has for us and for the world.
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
This week we’re celebrating “Baptism of Our Lord” Sunday, and it’s appropriate that it comes during a week when a river of rain is flowing across our skies. Imagine your baptism as more than a one-time event, but as a perpetual shower of God’s unconditional love. We welcome back Interim Pastor Russ Gordon, an old friend of Bethel Lutheran Church. He reminds us of God’s never-ending and never-changing love.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Happy new year and a continued merry Christmas! As we stand on the doorstep of 2023, Intern Monica Holman walks us through the names that were given to Jesus before, during, and after his earthly ministry, and invites us to ask ourselves what names and labels we carry; which ones were given to us, and which ones fit who God created us to be. As we hear in the story of Simeon and Anna, the church is the perfect place to be welcomed and celebrated for who we are.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
In this shortened Christmas Eve sermon reflection, Intern Monica Holman asks what story you expect to hear on Christmas Eve and invites you to ponder what story you tell about the birth of Jesus Christ.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
For her final sermon at Bethel, Pastor Amy joins in dialogue with Intern Monica Holman about Mary and Elizabeth, what lies at the core of Christian worship, and what she hopes and dreams for Bethel going forward.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Our Advent series From Generation to Generation continues with Pastor Amy's reflection on getting along with family during the holidays. Through the Joseph story, we consider....for better or worse...the things we carry from our families. Plus a short humorous list of the ways Jesus kept his boundaries with family.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Pivotal moments happen in life. Each one is an impactful turning point, signaling big change; you know the future will unfold in an unexpected way. Perhaps no such moment is bigger than the one described in Luke chapter 1, when the angel Gabriel appears before Mary of Nazareth and informs her that she will give birth to a son named Jesus. How does Mary react to this monumental news, and how do we react when God calls on us?
(Our own Mary) Pastor Mary Stein-Webber, guides us through this passage. And afterward, she reads “Gabriel’s Annunciation,” a poem by Jan Richardson that imagines this moment through the hesitant mind of Gabriel, who pauses to reflect before massively altering the course of a young woman’s life.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Advent is here! We begin the journey to Christmas with the theme “From Generation to Generation.” Hear Intern Monica Holman speak on origin stories, starting with the the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter of Matthew. She invites us to look to where we came from to discover where we are going.
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
This week in observance of Christ the King Sunday, we did a special in-person service of singing and prayer that sadly, does not translate well to the online worship experience. In Pastor Amy’s closing weeks, we also had one last confirmation rite to celebrate. So today, instead of a sermon, we offer two brief statements of faith by the high school students we honor and support.
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Join us this week for a classic meditation on the good life. What does that mean in the context of faithfulness? What are the alternatives we often choose instead? What is the work before us in light of all that is God? Warning: This sermon was delivered in the midst of children and babies. To our delight, their little feet and voices herald their presence in our midst.
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
This All Saints Day in our scriptures, Jesus takes on an absurd question about resurrection and heaven. His answer demands we contend with the God of the Living. Pastoral Intern, Monica Holman, delivers the message this week inviting us to see ourselves, even in our deaths, as part of God’s unfinished story.
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
This Reformation Sunday, we reach the end of our four month series on Acts. Today, the epilogue to the tremendous shipwreck. What happened to Paul once he reached safety? The same things that always happened and why this is liberating rather than stifling. Just a short reflection this week on a day when baptisms and first communions carried us through worship.
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Are you in a purple congregation living the political tension? As Pastor Amy prepares to depart, she reflects on what can soothe our red and blue anxieties. Our inspiration again is Paul and his fellow prisoners. At long last, they set out for Rome escorted by centurions and soldiers. When the winter storms rise, he gives the guidance we all need right now: stick together and we’ll get safely to shore.
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
After sifting through Paul’s trials upon his return to Jerusalem (Acts 20-27), Pastor Amy tackles a core question of faith: is God just? Reflect on the barriers Christians tend to raise to an accurate answer. What distorts how we see God’s justice? Is there another way to imagine God’s courtroom?
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Strange things happen when Jesus is around. Even stranger when he leaves the Holy Spirit in charge. Pastor Amy mines the story of Eutychus who literally died of boredom. Or did he? Find out just how wild breaking bread over an intense Bible discussion can be.
Place Finders: Word 9:42 Sermon 15:05 Prayers 26:05
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Journey with Pr. Mary Stein-Webber to Athens. Here she lifts up the teaching of Paul who took compassion on a people who did not believe God could be known. Discover with us the grace of the One who wants to know you and throw out a lot of useless worry along the Way.
Place Finders: Word 8:39 Sermon 18:09
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“They are turning the world upside down,” complains the crowd. This week, the holy disruption continues as Paul and friends unintentionally provoke mob violence, flee from cities, and threaten the order of the empire. It wasn’t their goal. But it is what happened as they preached the resurrected Messiah to new audiences.
Place Finders: Word 11:45 Sermon 18:27 Prayers 31:59
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Pastor Mary Stein-Webber leads us through another astonishing passage in Acts. It’s the familiar account of Paul and Silas being thrown in prison by the Romans.
But what may seem like a simple story of God’s power is actually far more curious. God, the great disrupter, has a deeper message to offer about captivity, liberation, and love.
Place Finders: Word 10:25 Sermon 17:52 Prayers 38:53
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Paul is out on his second missionary journey when he arrives in Philippi. Meet Lydia and celebrate the everyday, ordinary people that ground the church and ensure its future.
Place Finders: Word 10:25 Sermon 16:06 Prayer 26:44
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Take a whirlwind tour with Paul on his first missionary journey. Then return home with him where he finds a heated dispute in the church. See how the early followers of Jesus knew how to do some things we are rapidly forgetting as a contemporary culture: interrogating our own beliefs and living with humility in our identities.
Place Finders: Word 12:23 Sermon 24:45 Prayers 37:25
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Luke’s literary genius strikes again in Acts 12. We come to our final scene with Peter. Experience how his jailbreak coheres with promises made across scripture and what it means for the shape of our life in Christ.
Place Finders: Word 10:22 Sermon 19:13 Prayers 28:35
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Who should be baptized? That’s the question of Acts 10. It’s also the core issue organizing the New Testament. Ponder together the power of this question with Pastor Amy’s own reflections on how the early Christian commitment to radical community still influences her travels and encounters today.
Place Finders: Word 14:18 Sermon 22:46 Prayers 38:15
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After a two-week break, Pastor Mary Stein-Webber returns us to our summer study of Acts. Today’s passage is a classic Bible story about a “good guy” and “bad guy.” But God has a different ending in mind than the typical Hollywood blockbuster. The outcome has such a profound effect on the early Christian church that its impact continues to this very day.
Place Finders: Word 13:25 Sermon 20:39 Prayers 44:25
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Today’s worship service offers a message from a special Sunday nearly two years ago. Press play! Pastor Amy will explain…
Place Finders: Word 13:04 Sermon 17:04 Prayers 33:03
Service Notes: The sermon includes a quote and commentary about the heart from Dr. Anathea Portier-Young. You can read her entire commentary at Workingpreacher.org. Also, the prayers of intercession include a quotation from Sister Joan Chittister in Bishop Murrary Fink’s October 23, 2020 weekly letter. Read the letter HERE.
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Today we take a pause in our journey with the Book of Acts. We’ve reached a natural break in the action so let’s take a deep breath and look at what we’ve gathered so far in the first eight chapters. Is there any wisdom for us to apply to our current time? Yes. And the key to unlocking next steps? Start small and don’t over manage the outcomes.
Place Finders: Word 10:51 Sermon 19:22 Prayers 36:09
Sermon Notes: If you hadn’t noticed, I like to listen to podcasts, and long ones that feature deep dives on philosophy and personal narrative. I try to listen to a variety of perspectives. I keep the beat on old school conservatism through Jordan Peterson’s podcast. That’s where I heard the discussion on lying.
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We continue our journey with Acts 8. In the wake of Steven’s death, the Spirit has broken out of Jerusalem and carries Philip into unlikely encounters. Hear Pr. Amy deep dive into these stories and challenge us to join the ongoing mission of Jesus.
Place Finders: Word 14:34 Sermon 25:26 Prayers 37:40
Sermon Notes:Discover an amazing resource for personal and group study and inspiration with Kristi McLelland’s The Gospel on the Ground. She’s the one I quote on the challenge of for and against. We will likely study her work in church this September.
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Our journey through the book of Acts continues. Pastor Amy Beveridge takes us through the brief but remarkable life of Stephen, a disciple charged to feed widows. Instead, he sets fire to the community with his witness and martyrdom. Discover an unexpected redemption through his story.
Place Finders: Word 11:47 Sermon 20:58 Prayers 32:55
Sermon Notes: On the question of balance between hospitality and Word, read this short commentary by Niveen Sarras.
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Our journey through the book of Acts continues. Pastor Mary Stein-Webber marvels at the surprising, spirit-infused community of the early Christian church. But suddenly, the passage takes a dark and terrifying turn. (It’s a matter of life and death.)
Place Finders: Word 10:27 Sermon 18:57 Prayers 38:05
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Continue through our series on Acts. Pastor Amy responds to the healing at the Beautiful Gate, recounting the consequences for those disciples who so boldly acted at the gate to the Temple. The Holy Spirit stirs up trouble for all of us, then and now, insisting we confront the power of God to transcend our worn out expectations.
Place Finders: Word 14:09 Sermon 25:31 Prayers 36:54
Sermon Notes: The background for this series continues to be informed by the work of the The Bible Project. Great conversation about Christians as culture disruptors: Listen HERE.
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Continue through our series on Acts. Pastor Mary Stein-Webber explores the miraculous healing of a lame man just outside the Temple in Jerusalem. What life is this that has raised up this man? Who did this and by what power? For whom is our faith for? All these reflective questions and more as the Holy Spirit moves from the upper room of a house out into the public squares of the ancient world.
Place Finders: Word 14:59 Sermon 21:25 Prayers 39:20
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Due to the marvelous demands of Vacation Bible Camp, we are reposting a worship service from a year ago for this weekend. It was one of the first Sundays together after Pastor Amy returned from sabbatical. We appreciate how far we have come as a church. Enjoy this revisit of one of her favorite sermons!
Place Finders: Word 10:48 Sermon 16:46 Prayers 31:51
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Who is the church in times of immense disruption? We begin a summer series on the Book of Acts, hoping we get to know our ancestors better. And all the more, we hope to find ourselves in their struggles and triumphs. The day of Pentecost is here. Holy Spirit, rain down!
Place Finders: Word 12:17 Sermon 25:22 Prayers 38:27
The following two podcasts are immensely informative and give us a great groundwork to begin our journey through acts. Thank you The Bible Project. They both inform this sermon.
The Startup of Christianity: Episode One
Pentecost and the Expected, Unexpected Spirit: Episode Two
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After a week of national tragedy, Pastor Amy shares a word of hope for this time of despair. And Intern Deacon, Laura Salazar Krueger offers a close reflection on Jesus’ final gift for us before his death: our unity.
Place Finders: Word 10:57 Sermon 16:47 Prayers 30:08
I highly recommend this article featuring an interview with two criminologists discussing the shifts we need to make as a people in order to meaningfully address the gun violence epidemic. The answers they come to are date driven, and may surprise both right and left alike: Two Professors Found What Creates a Mass Shooter. Will Politicians Pay Attention?
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This week, we slow down to savor the dream of unity in Revelation and the departing words of love Jesus left us. With these words, we re-root in our own wholeness and health.
Place Finders: Word 11:18 Sermon 17:49 Prayers 30:45
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We welcome Pastor Mary Stein-Webber this Sunday to explore just how non-partial Jesus’ love truly is. What happens when our rules clash with God’s intentions for us? She names the hardest challenge of the Gospel.
Place Finders: Word 5:45 Sermon 12:38 Prayers 34:54
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On Good Shepherd Sunday, let’s slow down together and reflect deeply on both the threats to our faith and the life of abundance God seeks to work through us. Dwell in the Word richly today as we embrace the call of John 10, Psalm 23, and more.
Place Finders: Word 7:00 Sermon 13:50 Prayers 28:48
TRT 39:34
Sermon Notes:
Sermon Notes: This message was inspired from the Sermon Brainwave podcast and the WorkingPreacher commentary. Check them out HERE. Special thanks to the scholarship of Elizabeth Johnson.
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Pastor Amy ran into a question recently: is following Jesus different after the resurrection from when he first showed up to call those fisherman? For all his shortcomings, Peter could be the key to unlock an answer, an answer we need in a church emerging from pandemic wilderness.
Place Finders: Word 7:25 Sermon 15:21 Prayers 31:41
Sermon Notes: This message was inspired from the Sermon Brainwave podcast and the WorkingPreacher commentary. Check them out HERE. Special thanks to the scholarship of Dr. Karoline Lewis.
To watch the gorgeous video, Your One Wild and Precious Life, visit The Work of the People.
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Every Easter, there is a little something that goes unsaid. Hear Pastor Amy’s confession of the undone work and what makes Christianity a sturdy faith.
Place Finders: Word 10:09 Sermon 16:58 Prayers 26:16
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How did we get here, our gathering of Christians, together today on Easter 2022? We are here because each one of us heard a story, linking us together in a remarkable chain of faith going back 2000 years.
Place Finders: Word: 11:18 Sermon: 18:09 Prayers: 32:35
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Today we walk with Jesus through the gates of Jerusalem waving our palms and welcoming our Servant-King. Gather in this virtual worship space to hear the story of Jesus’ final hours with his disciples, his trial, and ultimately, his suffering and death. Thank you to all the voices who make this story present to us.
Place Finders: Prayer on the Way to Jerusalem: 10:43 Readers' Theatre: 17:53 Final Prayers: 42:02
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Due to illness, we have a special audio presentation from The Bible Project in place of our usual sermon. Hear Dr. Tim Mackie describe the history and practice of sacrifice in Hebrew culture and what it tells us about the meaning of the cross.
Place Finders: Word 12:24 Message 19:23 Prayers 31:19
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When a tragedy occurs, it’s human nature to look for meaning. We ask: “Why? How could such a thing happen?” Our answer comes in an odd parable about a barren fig tree and a hopeful farmer.
Place Finders: Word 10:50 Sermon 18:36 Prayers 41:05
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Jesus took an awful lot of resistance from the people he tried to love. How does God respond? From Abraham to Christ, who carries the burden of the relationship?
Place Finders: Word 9:58 Sermon 21:41 Prayers 33:59
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
In the Rite of Baptism as we practice it today, we declare five intentions of Christian living. What are they? And do they seem different post-2020? Lent is an opportunity to examine those original hopes for our identity in Christ.
Place Finders: Word 10:02 Sermon 16:02 Prayers 26:49
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
The revelation of Jesus’ divinity on the mountaintop is one of the few stories we hear every single year to signal the transition to Lent. Why do we need these mountaintop experiences? And why is the valley just as essential to our faith?
Place Finders: Word 13:00 Sermon 19:58 Prayers 35:53
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
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• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
The revelation of Jesus’ divinity on the mountaintop is one of the few stories we hear every single year to signal the transition to Lent. Why do we need these mountaintop experiences? And why is the valley just as essential to our faith?
Place Finders: Word 13:00 Sermon 19:58 Prayers 35:53
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
The Bible has many words for love. Covenantal love. Family love. Friendship love. And today we talk romantic love…from the perspective of our teens. What does it take to make a marriage? What do we seek when we search for our life companion? Find out what the youth have to say.
Place Finders: Word 10:56 Sermon 17:22 Prayers 32:00
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Guest Pastor Mary Stein-Webber joins us today with a challenging teaching from Jesus, who says, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Is this crazy talk?
Place Finders: Word 9:17 Sermon 15:21 Prayers 35:28
Connect with Bethel Lutheran Church:
• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
• Donate for ministry.
• Come join us on Sunday: 9:30 AM, corner of 3rd Street and Crocker Street in Templeton, California.
• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
When Jesus shows up at the Sea of Galilee to collect for himself some disciples, he’s met with unique a response. What does Simon Peter reveal about the good news? Listen to his special twist on being chosen for a new purpose in God.
Place Finders: Word 9:35 Sermon 15:00 Prayers 25:18
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In Jesus’ first public act of teaching in the Gospel of Luke, he finds himself swept up in controversy and nearly killed. Why did it come to that? What is our resistance to his message really about? What is HE really about? Explore the hometown revolt.
Place Finders: Confession 4:24 The Word 9:01 Sermon 14:55 Prayers 28:03
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What on earth could cause such outrage and uprising in Nazareth? The Book of Isaiah. Really? Yes. Find out why a simple Bible reading turned so controversial, it nearly cost Jesus his life before he even got started.
Place Finders: The Word 9:05 Sermon 15:46 Prayers 29:02
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Pastor Amy explores biblical weddings, in particular, the mysterious Wedding in Cana. Find out how church is and isn’t like the promise of marriage.
Place Finders: The Word 14:13 Sermon 21:04 Prayers 33:17
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• To have Bethel news and updates delivered to your email, sign up by sending an email message to office@blctempleton.org.
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Guest Pastor Mary Stein-Webber leads us in this worship service. We commemorate the baptism of Jesus, remember our own baptisms, and reflect on how transforming baptism can be.
Place Finders: The Word 8:12 Sermon 13:52 Affirmation of Baptism 30:14 Prayers 36:36
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
History tells us of many important journeys, like explorers discovering new lands, scientific breakthroughs, space flights to the moon and other planets, and social movements gradually affirming human rights and freedoms. In this Christmas season, we read Gospel passages recounting Mary and Joseph traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem. But there is one journey that surpasses all others.
Place Finders: The Word 10:47 Sermon 19:19 Prayers 42:01
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We welcome the voices of our young people reading beloved Bible passages with special music from our music team. Listen to a sermon dedicated to everyone who wears themselves out taking care of others. Sometimes we need to let Jesus be for us too.
Place Finders: Sermon 27:03 Prayers 37:57
Sermon Notes from Pastor Amy — The recounting of the funny quirk about humans and medicine comes from 12 rules for life: an antidote to chaos by Jordan B. Peterson. Listen to the Bethel youth and kids blooper reel here.
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• Web site: www.blctempleton.org
Today's worship service looks at an announcement by John the Baptist. "Prepare the way of the Lord," he says. As we anticipate the upcoming celebration of the birth of Jesus, how do we hear and make a place for John's message when the commercial aspects of Christmas compete so fervently for our attention?
• Place finders: Bible readings 6:52, Sermon 17:10, Prayers 32:20
• Click here to open the bulletin for this worship service (a PDF file containing words to the songs, the Bible readings, prayer requests, and announcements).
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• Web site: https://www.blctempleton.org
Photo credit: Mike Petrucci on Unsplash.com
Sermon Notes from Pastor Amy — For more text study on the Luke passage, check out this article by Audrey West from Working Preacher where I took some of my meditations on the nature of time. And the Hope commentary comes from The Bible Project. Watch the film here and experience their fun graphics along with their wise interpretation.
Place Finders: Word: 10:07, Sermon: 20:42, Prayers: 36:25
Links:PDF program/bulletin for this service
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Readings 10:07 Sermon 17:19 Prayers 31:44
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Readings 13:37 Sermon 25:38 Prayers 47:30
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Readings 12:08 Sermon 21:24 Prayers 34:07
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But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ*—by grace you have been saved—
Ephesians 2:4-5
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Opening Prayer 12:48 Readings 13:18 Sermon 27:17 Prayers 53:39
Sermon Notes: In the sermon, Pr. Amy referenced a mentor’s comments about leadership and change. To read Pr. Marj Funk-Phil’s full article, see her blog post: Turns out I only like ‘new’ things when they’re my idea. And thank you to Door of Hope in Portland, Oregon for general inspiration in the study of Ephesians.
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And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he [Jesus] is calling you.” — Mark 10:49
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Readings 13:22 Sermon 22:16 Prayers 39:50
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But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” — Mark 10:38-39
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Readings 17:27 Sermon 27:44 Prayers 42:20
Sermon Notes
My inspiration for this sermon came from Door of Hope in Portland, Oregon and their preacher, Josh White. If you want to hear him, buckle up HERE for all 55 minutes of “He is Able”!
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As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Mark 10:17
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Readings 14:54 Sermon 28:14 Prayers 41:30
Sermon Notes
Commentary on Mark from workingpreacher.org helped with understanding the economic and moral dimensions to this passage. And for an amazing short film on the meaning of justice (mishpat) in the Bible, check this out from The Bible Project.
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Therefore, what God has joined together let no one separate. Mark 10:9
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Readings 16:10 Sermon 30:39 Prayers 42:44
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For everyone will be salted with fire —- Mark 9:49
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Readings 15:26 Sermon 20:41 Prayers 37:31
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When we stray from God’s ways, God is always calling us back.
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Readings 13:08 Sermon 18:20 Prayers 35:24
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Words to Songs and Prayers
Place Finders: Readings 13:38 Pastor Tribute/Sermon 19:38 Prayers 40:07
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God is in the midst of the city…God will help it when the morning dawns. Psalm 46
Photo Credit: Robert Thiemann on Upsplash, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City
For full text of the prayers used, visit: https://engageworship.org/ideas/9-11-memorial-prayer. Thank you to engageworship.org!
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I wish that when it came to our stuck places, we could just say to ourselves: open up, rise, live. But it’s just not that easy. And God seems to know this. God seems to understand that very often it’s an outside force that pries us open to new life.
This week, there is no worship guide available. This feature will return next week.
Place Finders: Readings 10:04 Sermon 15:00 Prayers 30:02
Hymns: 4:02 Be Though My Vision 26:45 Open The Eyes Of My Heart 32:26 Jesus Is A Rock In A Weary Land 34:34 All Who Hunger Gather Gladly
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This is also where we sometimes get stuck: discipleship in the Bible doesn’t look like Jesus’ friends in the classroom achieving and achieving and learning and learning until they are filled up with good grades and ready to graduate. It doesn’t look like a proficiency exam. In the Bible, it actually looks like the opposite: discipleship looks like people unlearning everything and falling apart.
Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 14:28 Sermon 23:16 Prayers 39:24
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What Jesus offers is not the immediate miracles of food and plenty, but a longer path of discipleship. How will we respond?
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Place Finders: Readings 13:46 Sermon 19:58 Prayers 38:06
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…be filled with the Spirit, 19as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.—- From Ephesians 5:19-20
Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 11:35 Sermon 20:13 Prayers 38:00
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Whoever eats of this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. —- From John 6:51
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Place Finders: Readings 7:57 Sermon 18:06 Prayers 34:56
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Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. John 6:24-35
Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 9:19 Sermon 20:08 Prayers 37:28
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This week: the baptism that never happened and other tales of water and washing
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 10:12 Sermon 15:33 Prayers 33:21
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Question: Where is your deserted place, away from the frantic pace?
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Welcome 0:22 Readings 11:17 Sermon 16:41 Prayers 33:07
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‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ Mark 6:31
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Place Finders: Readings 12:33 Sermon Dialogue 18:00 Prayers 46:01
Sermon Notes: For more reading on why multiple moral viewpoints are helpful to absorb Covid, read Fareed Zakaria’s A New Key to Covid Success, Not States but Societies. And for the importance of the exhale, listen to the whole interview of Christine Runyan with Krista Tippett, What’s Happening in our Nervous Systems? Such helpful perspective.
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Jesus left that place, and came to his hometown… Mark 6:1
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Place Finders: Readings 11:22 Sermon 15:15 Prayers 33:23
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…Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live. Mark 5:23
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Place Finders: Readings 13:28 Sermon 20:20 Prayers 37:41
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…And: "I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.
-2 Corinthians 6:18
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There are no printed prayers or song lyrics available this week. They will return next week :) Place Finders: Readings 12:18 Dialogue Sermon 17:14 Prayers 38:06
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…the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how - from Mark 4:27
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 11:58 Sermon 17:59 Prayers 33:07
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For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. -Romans 8:14
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 10:14 Sermon 17:06 Prayers 34:46
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The Holy Spirit = God in the present tense, here and now.
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 11:58 Sermon 20:12 Prayers 36:40
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The forgiven person becomes the forgiving person. The healed person becomes the healing person. And the loved person becomes the loving person.
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Place Finders: Readings 11:40 Sermon 17:39 Prayers 35:47
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“I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” -John 15:11
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Place Finders: Readings 12:35 Sermon 17:28 Prayers 32:13
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“I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit...” -John 15:5
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Place Finders: Readings 9:38 Sermon 17:22 Prayers 34:35
Our guest pastor for today’s service is Wendell Brown, a friendly and frequent presence in the pews and the pulpit of Bethel Lutheran Church.
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Place Finders: Readings 9:50 Sermon 15:41 Prayers 35:29
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Today our guest pastor is Rev Dr. Marjorie Funk-Pihl from the Southwest California Synod. She is the Assistant to the Bishop for Congregational Mission & Director of Evangelical Mission.
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 10:07 Sermon 17:07 Prayers 30:01
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Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with two online worship services: one led by our youth as well as a traditional service.
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Worship Guide (Youth Led Service) -- Print or View
Worship Guide (Traditional Service) -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 10:08 Sermon 15:01 Prayers 32:53
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Good Friday worship includes a dramatic reading from Matthew 26 and 27 recounting the arrest, crucifixion, and burial of Jesus.
Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 7:31 Readers' Theatre 13:05 Prayers 37:28
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 9:56 Sermon 19:33 Prayers 34:10
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 10:22 Sermon 15:03 Prayers 34:05
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 10:31 Sermon 17:04 Prayers 38:58
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 9:19 Sermon 16:11 Prayers 34:12
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Place Finders: Opening Prayer 9:08 Readings 9:35 Teaching 12:36 Sermon 22:05 Closing Prayer 33:09
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 14:03 Sermon 19:36 Prayers 34:04
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Place Finders: Readings 6:53 Sermon 18:28 Invitation to Lent 33:48 Prayers 40:41
Sermon Notes: Brene Brown’s interview with Tim Ferris and Dax Shepherd is a treasure trove for preaching. Check it out here for more on why you shouldn’t trust everything you think.
And for more on eyebrows in America during a pandemic, check this out on the Washington Post.
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders: Readings 9:20 Sermon 15:12 Prayers 29:07
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Greetings, Bethel friends: Every six weeks or so, the worship team takes a Sunday off. So that means, you all are stuck with your dear pastor for Zoom church. Join us live online at 10:30am. Click this link when it’s time: SUNDAY CHURCH ONLINE.
I have prepared some short studies on our readings which include sharing three short films from The Work of the People. Always inspiring. Jim will have his guitar, communion will be ready. So bring your bread and wine and open hearts and we’ll be waiting. In peace, Pr. Amy
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders
Readings 12:06 Sermon 18:45 Prayers 42:06
Bonus Sermon: On Silence
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Worship Guide -- Print or View
Place Finders
Readings 12:21
Sermon 15:46
Prayers 28:16
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Sermon Notes
For best practices, the marriage and family therapists who guide from an IMAGO approach recommend this book:Getting the Love you Want by Harville Hendrix.
Peace is not the absence of conflict is a quote by President Ronald Regan. But I’m pretty sure he must have gotten his idea from Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Bible before him.
The words about the cost of winning first came from Andrea Kamm, MFT, but then I heard them again in this podcast with Brene Brown, Tim Ferriss, and Dax Shepherd. Ferriss is pretty invested in the IMAGO model of dialogue to solve conflict. HERE is the episode. The whole episode is pretty amazing.
I first heard that explanation of Jacob’s Ladder from one of my favorite Jewish preachers, Rabbi David Wolpe. But I don’t have a clue which sermon it was. Sorry, Rabbi!
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Two services to choose from plus some bonus caroling from our singers from years past and present. Traditional worship or a rerun of our popular Children’s Play adapted for tonight. Merry Christmas!
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Song lyrics to Youth Worship
Print or View the words to songs and prayers
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It is not the work of people who have been wronged to learn to communicate in order to be heard; it is the work of those who have power to learn to listen.
Print or View the words to songs and prayers
Place Finders
Readings 15:20
Sermon 23:07
Prayers 42:03
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SERMON WARNING: You might think after the first couple sentences the message is about politics. It is not. It’s about character. It’s about our kids. It’s not about anyone but who we are. I mention a Gavin Newsom bumper-sticker. But he’s a side note to the point of it all. Bethel is not partisan, nor does it endorse politicians. Politics is intruding on our wellbeing. Every so often, we do talk about how we are handling it all. Again, it’s about character and anything in our lives that calls upon us to live differently and more responsibly.
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“I’m lifting up the vital and urgent question we all need to be asking of ourselves many times throughout the day: what kind of person do I want to be as I wait for God? What am I putting into the world as I wait for God? Is this God’s dream?”
Place Finders
Readings 13:06
Sermon 19:19
Prayers 33:03
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“We often think of doubt as doubt that God exists. But actually, there are all kinds of ways to doubt in God: doubt in God’s goodness, doubt in God’s presence in our midst, doubt in human community and its capacity to be redeemed, doubt in the ultimate justice of our cosmos…. This is a season where we can name these…”
Place Finders
Readings 16:06
Sermon 23:58
Prayers 33:44
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Place Finders
Readings 10:39
Reflections 17:32
Prayers 40:30
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“… Christ the King is a massive corrective on the focus of our emotional, relational, and everyday attention. Of course government policies impact our lives, some of us in more dire ways than others. But we can’t lose sight of who our king is or we will be constantly disappointed and overinvested in winning. For the Christian, any investment in winning is too much.”
Sermon Notes
Read David Von Drehle’s article of the American psyche HERE. I’m not as anti-federal government as he is, but his point is well taken nonetheless.
Watch the gorgeous videos of our sermon song Be Thou My Vision and We Bow Before the One. Thank you The Work of the People!!
Place Finders
Readings 13:45
Sermon 21:19
Prayers 35:49
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“…We didn’t need the election to tell us how different we are. We have been heartbroken because of our differences. We have mourned lost relationships, cleansed our social media friend lists, dreaded family conversation, hesitated to reach out, despised our institutions and our leaders, suspected the worse of each other, hidden our votes from our spouses -- the election didn’t need to tell us what we already knew.”
Sermon Notes
David Brooks talks about waking up to the reality that we have to learn to live with each other on this episode of the PBS News Hour.
Place Finders
Readings 14:00
Sermon 18:12
Prayers 32:20
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“…- we go into our encounters with God so often expecting judgment and Jesus says no...mercy. We go in expecting to be turned away and God says no...you have arrived. You belong.”
This sermon relies heavily on the scholarship and theology presented on The Bible Project website in their Church at Home series. This episode was on Holiness.
Place Finders
Litany of Names 7::25
Readings 26:24
Sermon 35:00
Prayers 48:41
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“…All of us have the potential to believe we are more free than we really are (because we are locating our freedom in the wrong place). All of us, most of the time, think we are more loyal to God than we really are. All of us at one time or another, imagine that the rest of the world has the problem, not us. ”
Bishop’s prayer commendation today comes from his weekly letter. Read it HERE.
The quote and commentary about the heart comes from Dr. Anathea Portier-Young on Workingpreacher.org.
Place Finders
Readings 15:37 Sermon 19:39 Prayers 35:44
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“It’s more than isolation. Are we witnessing a sense of alienation descend upon our lives? Alienation is what happens when we start to actively reject loved ones or the society of friends….It’s about shunning offers of connection and love and human contact. It’s the experience of feelings like distance and estrangement, even from people we trust and even from our own emotional selves.”
We are indebted to The Work of the People for their incredible visual art offerings including the audio recording of today’s Prayers of Intercession. The video is worth watching: Earth as the Original Liturgy.
I leaned on Luke Timothy Johnson’s write up in Philippians for my summary. He offers fantastic theology of of the New Testament.
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Readings 14:04
Sermon 19:53
Prayers 38:46
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“I asked my daughter, what do you think? God’s judgment condemning us for crucifying his son or Jesus telling us to come to him and take his yoke so he can carry us when we are weary and heavy laden with burdens. ‘I’m not really sure that’s a choice, Mom,’ she said.”
We are indebted to The Work of the People for their incredible visual art offerings including the audio recording of today’s Prayers of Intercession. The video is worth watching: Earth as the Original Saints.
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Readings - 15:20
Sermon - 19:37
Prayers - 31:05
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“So this is a lesson about authenticity and integrity, AND it’s a lesson about how the authentic life… a life without hypocrisy, and a life with the humility to show and say, ‘I made a mistake and I’ll go make it right.’ That kind of life takes courage. “
Thank you to the scholarship of Brian Stroffregen for providing the exegesis that informed this sermon. Here is the full text — honor/shame culture Mark Allen Powell’s story.
This Changes Everything by Jaquelle Crowe
We are indebted to The Work of the People for their incredible visual art offerings including the audio recording of today’s Prayers of Intercession. The video is worth watching: Earth as the Original Scriptures.
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Readings 12:36
Sermon 19:31
Prayers 34:06
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“Here is your choice: rage and death, or mercy and life. We might not have a choice in how we feel in any given moment, but God seems to say consistently, we have a choice in what we do with the anger, in where we take it, in how we use it to harm or to make justice, and even how we self-examine in the midst of it. Those are choices even if the feelings are not.”
We are indebted to The Work of the People for their incredible visual art offerings including the audio recording of today’s Prayers of Intercession. The video is worth watching: Earth as the Original Cathedral.
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Readings 14:54
Sermon 22:47
Prayers 44:34
Photo Credit: Kat Love on Upsplash