Bethany Community Church

Teachers:
9am: Pastor Megan Dobrasz
11am: Shonnie Scott
5pm: Scott Sund

Teacher: Pastor Nick Steinloski, December 20, 2009.

Christ’s blessing can never be purchased; it can only be received as a gift, which requires our own emptiness as the only precondition.

I’m just finishing up my second week of teaching with Torchbearers Missionary Fellowship, and here at the Austrian school, one of the staff members is a missionary supported by Bethany. Watch this video for a brief window into her world, and to meet a few of the students I’ve taught this past week.

Happy Advent

Richard

Teacher:  Joe Springer, Director of Small Groups, December 13, 2009.

Spiritual Discipline: Prayer

Joseph, a righteous man, almost missed his opportunity to care for and parent Jesus, our Lord and Savior. It was his willingness to listen to God and obey that opened up this great calling on his life as Christ’s earthly father. When we spend time in prayer, we can make our requests know to God, and we are also invited to see situations and events through God’s eyes. As we grow in our prayer life, we can move from talking at God, to talking to God, to listening to God, to being with Him, aware of His presence in every part of our day. His presence teaches us His way of responding to what happens, so that, like Joseph, our righteousness and graciousness is empowered and directed by His revelation to us.

Practicing Prayer
1. Pick up a devotional book that focuses on prayer and contemplation. Commit to reading from it once or twice a day throughout Advent.

2. Write out a prayer to God. Then prayerfully write a response. What might God be trying to say to you?

3. At the end of the day, prayerfully consider the following questions: For what moment today am I the most grateful? For what moment today am I least grateful? Give these moments up to God in prayer.

4. Start a prayer journal. You can make a simple one by labeling four columns on a sheet of paper: Date Requested, Request Made, How Answered, and Date Answered. Below there are downloadable samples of prayer journals.

Verse to Memorize: Psalm 25:4–5
“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”

Prayer List for Everyday
Prayer Journal Sample One
Prayer Journal Sample Two

Teacher: Pastor Phil Maulding, December 6, 2009.

Scripture: Luke 1:5-25, 57-80.

Watching the Wall, December 2009

Advent has a way of sneaking up on me, especially when it starts the Sunday after Thanksgiving. As I gear up, my first thought is to cut corners. Do I have to put Christmas lights on the outside of the house this year? I know we have the friendly competition with our neighbors, to be the first house lit, if not the best, but can I let it go this year? What about the Advent Calendar? And which of the red/green boxes on the high shelf is it in?

The Advent wreath was another shortcut I wanted to take this year. “Would it be okay if we just read the advent stories, but didn’t light candles?” I asked my son. He looked at me in disbelief and suggested I stop by the thrift store and pick up some inexpensive solution to the problem of no Advent wreath. Yes, it mattered to him.

We all want to take shortcuts in our life. Especially during busy times, like the holidays, we are tempted to give up anything that seems extra so that we have time for the urgent to-do lists. Unfortunately those things that seem extra are often, in reality, the most important.

Prayer may be one of those things. God knows our hearts. He knows our desires before we speak them. But there is something that occurs in our hearts when we name those desires, so that they are out there on the table before God. Our nagging sadness in spite of the celebration of the season. Our fear regarding an uncertain future. Our addiction to some substitute for intimacy with God. This prayer of confession before God draws us into His presence in authentic ways, as His spirit speaks to our spirit, reminding us that regardless of our circumstances, we belong to Him.

Prayer for others may be lost as well, as our focus narrows to our close family and friends and the details of preparing for gift-giving and feasting together. Yet our own planning should remind us of those around us for whom the holidays may not be so filled with joy. Loss, uncertainty, and grief may overshadow this time of year for them. Praying for them renews our own humble gratitude for God’s provision and may reveal to us concrete ways that we can reach out to those around us.

This December, as we prepare for Christmas, and celebrate with friends and family, may we not shortcut our time in prayer, so that we will carry God’s presence with us into all our activities and events. Blessings to you all during this Advent season.

In Christ,

Nancy Eckardt
Director, Discipleship and Leadership Development

This Week:

Pray for Pastor Richard throughout the month of December, as he spends his time in Europe. He will be teaching at two different Bible schools during his time, as well as vacationing with his family during Christmas. Pray for health and refreshment, and a renewed focus for the coming year.

Pray for staff as they share the teaching and ministry load while Richard is away. Pray that God will anoint their hearts as they prepare.

Pray for all the volunteers and staff who are a part of the Advent celebrations here at Bethany. Pray also for the hearts of the congregation as they listen and participate in the events. Pray that this season will be a powerful time of drawing people to Christ as we reflect on the profound and loving expression of God becoming flesh.

Pray for Shonnie Scott and Scott Sund, who have been identified as the ones to lead our first two church plants. Pray that God would give them a vision that reflects His heart and the hearts of those who will plant the church with them. Pray that we will all see ourselves as a part of this effort, and that we would be willing to hear God’s voice for our own lives in this area, and be obedient.

Pray for those in our midst who are looking for work. Pray that God would give them peace and direction in their search, and that He would provide all their needs and the needs of their families.

Pray for those who are mourning the loss of loved ones this season. Pray for those who will attend our Longest Night Service on December 21, that they will experience the comfort of God’s love, and the hope that comes from our faith in Christ.

Pray for those who live around Bethany who are struggling financially. Pray that we will be able to help them in tangible ways through our Benevolence Fund.

Pray for our missionaries who are away from family and friends during the holidays, some for the first time. Pray that God will fill up their loneliness with his presence, and provide a new “family” for them to celebrate with. Pray that they will be renewed in their sense of God’s power in their lives and ministry in this new year.

And finally, pray that we would take this time of Advent to grow more deeply in love with Jesus, and that the love he has poured out on us will spill into our homes and communities, and that we will give God the glory.

Come Lord Jesus.

Teacher: Joe Springer, Director of Small Groups, November 29,2009.

Today marks not only the beginning of the Advent season, but also the beginning of what is known as the Church year. Advent is the four-week season (ending on Christmas Eve) when we celebrate God’s coming to Earth in the person of Jesus Christ. This is a season for both remembering God’s coming, and also for anticipating His future coming.

Once again the Christmas season is upon us and the search for the perfect gift for loved ones has begun.  If you would like to try something different this year, consider purchasing gifts that support various causes.

Gifts of Hope: Women’s Enterprises International
Women’s Enterprises International is dedicated to creating opportunities that equip women in developing countries to overcome poverty and transform their lives and communities.  Gifts of Hope provide for the basic needs of women both young and old this holiday season.

Krochet Kids
Buy a Hat.  Change a Life.  Krochet Kids international works in developing nations to empower impoverished communities to rise above poverty by employing this generation through the creation of products, and educating the next through their sale.

Living Water International
Living Water International exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water, and to experience “living water”—the gospel of Jesus Christ—which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.  LWI gift cards allow you to charge a gift amount to the card and your loved one will get to decide  what projects the gift will fund!

Advent Conspiracy
The concept behind Advent Conspiracy is simple: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All.

Agros
By choosing to give a gift from Agros in honor of someone you love, you are enabling families across Central America and Mexico to break out of crushing poverty.

World Vision
World Vision “must have” gifts are precious because they are genuinely needed. They are the charity gift of hope, dignity, health and in some cases life itself. Thanks to you, your friends and family will know that they’ll be making a real difference to some of the world’s most vulnerable children and families.

World of Good
Wish you could shop and support what you value?  World of Good allows you to choose what you support with your purchase.  Eco-positive, preserving tradition, enabling education, and animal-friendly are just a few you can choose from.

Better World Books
Better World Books is a for-profit social enterprise that collects used books and sells them online to raise money for literacy initiatives worldwide.

Fair Trade Sports
Fair Trade Sports is excited to bring North America the world’s first line of sports balls for soccer, football, basketball (and more!) that are certified green and certified Fair Trade.