Church Information the Bethel News Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church Experiencing Transformation We are all born with the same malady. Love for God and affection for Christ are not natural to us. Before we can love God, something must happen to us. Our hearts of stone must be changed into hearts of flesh, hearts that pulsate with new life and new affection for God. When one speaks of being “born again,” he is speaking of his change of heart. When God quickens us from spiritual death, when He regenerates us by His Holy Spirit, He does radical surgery on our hearts. He turns the stone into living tissue. To be converted is to gain a new disposition, a new inclination, a new bent to our hearts. Where formerly we were hostile, cold, or indifferent to God, now we are warmly attracted to Him. To be a Christian is to be a new person. We have undergone a transformation that is rooted in the heart. The more we know of God, the greater is our capacity to love Him. The more we love Him, the greater is our capacity to obey Him. Our new affection, however, must be made to grow. We are called to love God with our whole hearts. The new heart of flesh must be nurtured. It must be fed by the Word of God. If we neglect our new hearts, they too can undergo a kind of hardening. They will not revert once more to a total heart of stone, but they can get a bit leathery. The new heart is the creation of the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit is working within us to yield His fruit. As our hearts are more inclined to God, so the fruit of His Spirit is multiplied in our lives. Unregenerate people can perform external acts of righteousness, but no man with a heart of stone can yield the authentic fruit of the Spirit. Our sanctification is a matter of the heart. It is a process that flows from intimate fellowship with God. Jesus summarized the matter by showing the link between love and law: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” http://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/experiencing-transformation/ FEB RUARY 201 4 Fred Scragg……………………………………….…..…........Pastor Steve Geier………………………………..Administrative Assistant Erik Hagedorn………………………………..……..Music Director Ed & Debbie Fawcett…………………………….……...Caretakers Psalm 84 [1] How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! [2] My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. [3] Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. [4] Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah [5] Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. [6] As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. [7] They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
Bethel News February 2014
Oct 22, 2015
Bethel News February 2014
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Church Information
the
Bethel News Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church
Experiencing Transformation
We are all born with the same malady. Love for God and affection for Christ are not natural to us. Before we can love God, something must happen to us. Our hearts of stone must be changed into hearts of flesh, hearts that pulsate with new life and new affection for God. When one speaks of being “born again,” he is speaking of his change of heart.
When God quickens us from spiritual death, when He regenerates us by His Holy Spirit, He does radical surgery on our hearts. He turns the stone into living tissue. To be converted is to gain a new disposition, a new inclination, a new bent to our hearts. Where formerly we were hostile, cold, or indifferent to God, now we are warmly attracted to Him.
To be a Christian is to be a new person. We have undergone a transformation that is rooted in the heart.
The more we know of God, the greater is our capacity to love Him. The more we love Him, the greater is our capacity to obey Him. Our new affection, however, must be made to grow. We are called to love God with our whole hearts. The new heart of flesh must be nurtured. It must be fed by the Word of God. If we neglect our new hearts, they too can undergo a kind of hardening. They will not revert once more to a total heart of stone, but they can get a bit leathery.
The new heart is the creation of the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit is working within us to yield His fruit. As our hearts are more inclined to God, so the fruit of His Spirit is multiplied in our lives. Unregenerate people can perform external acts of righteousness, but no man with a heart of stone can yield the authentic fruit of the Spirit.
Our sanctification is a matter of the heart. It is a process that flows from intimate fellowship with God. Jesus summarized the matter by showing the link between love and law: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” http://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/experiencing-transformation/
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4
Fred Scragg……………………………………….…..…........Pastor Steve Geier………………………………..Administrative Assistant Erik Hagedorn………………………………..……..Music Director Ed & Debbie Fawcett…………………………….……...Caretakers
Psalm 84
[1] How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
[2] My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
[3] Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for
herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of
hosts, my King and my God. [4] Blessed are those who dwell in
your house, ever singing your praise! Selah
[5] Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart
are the highways to Zion. [6] As they go through the Valley
of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers
it with pools. [7] They go from strength to
strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
THE BETHEL NEWS FEBRUARY 2014
2
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1
2
9:30 AM Confirmation
11:00 AM Worship
3
4
5
7:30 PM Bible Study @ Pastor Fred’s
House
6
7 5:30-7:00 PM Boys Club & Lamplighters
7:00-10:00 PM Youth Group: Coffee House
7:00 PM Bethel Coffee
House
8
9
9:30 AM Confirmation
11:00 AM Worship
10
11
7:30 PM Trustee Meeting
12
7:30 PM Bible Study @ Pastor Fred’s
House
13
14 5:30-7:00 PM Boys Club & Lamplighters
6:00 PM Youth Group
SHWW
15
16
11:00 AM Worship & Stuyvesant
Baptism
17
18
19
20
21
7:00-10:00 PM Youth Group: Roller Skating
22
23
11:00 AM Worship
24
25
26 7:30 PM Women’s
Ministry Event
7:30 PM Bible Study @ Pastor Fred’s
House
27
28 5:30-7:00 PM Boys Club & Lamplighters
7:00-10:00 PM Youth Group:
Decathlon
Notes:
|-------------SHWW-------------
---------------SHWW-----------|
THE BETHEL NEWS FEBRUARY 2014
3
YOUTH GROUP NEWS
Anniversaries
Birthdays
February 7th 7:00-10:00 pm Coffee House
February 14th – 17th 6:00 pm
A four-day retreat at Tuscarora for all Students
Cost:$190
February 21st 6:00-10:00 pm Youth Group: Roller Skating @ United Skates of America
Cost $20
February 28th 7:00-10:00 pm Youth Group: Decathlon
2/4 Milan Sivacek Mona Wick
2/10 Tasia Calvagna 2/12 Janelle Poukamissas 2/27 Morgan McNulty
2/28 Jeremy & Diane Talleur
THE BETHEL NEWS FEBRUARY 2014
4
Upcoming Events
Bethel Coffee House
February 7th, 2014 @ 7:30 PM Join us for coffee, tea and desserts to a soundtrack of live music, poetry and spoken word at Bethel’s Friday Night Coffee House!
Nursery School Movie Night
Join us as we continue reading The Story: The Bible As One Continual Story
of God and His people.
Fred will continue to preach on the themes from the book and our small groups will also be using the reading for the
week as the basis for their study and discussion.
Senior High Winter Weekend February 14th – 17th, 2014 6:00 pm A four-day retreat at Tuscarora for all Students Cost:$190
March 19th, 2014 @ 7:30 PM The membership of Bethel will gather to hear what God has been doing through our ministries and what plans are being made for the coming year of ministry
Quarterly Business Meeting
Find Your Place at Bethel Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church is a place for your entire family.
Children’s Church – K-6th grade
(meets during Sunday morning service)
Boys Club – boys K-6th grade
Lamplighters – girls K-6th grade
Youth Group – teens 7th-12th grade
Leisure Timers- Luncheons for retirees
Prayer Group 10:00 AM on Sunday morning
Check the calendar on page 2 to find out when your group meets.
Check the calendar on page 2 to find out when your group meets!
Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church
Address: 10 Pinetree Road, Huntington Station, NY 11746 Website: www.Bethellb.com Email: [email protected] Phone: (631) 423-4404 Office Hours: M,T,F 9am-4pm; W 9am-1pm; Th 11am-4pm
THE BETHEL NEWS FEBRUARY 2014
“You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 3:15
For more information about our Nursery School program please contact the church office or send an email to [email protected]. Classes available for 2, 3, and 4 year olds.
Related Documents
