Weekly Encouragement

Good Wednesday Everyone,

Weekly blessings to all.  As we are all aware there is some serious southern heat and humidity coming this weekend.  Please be careful and check on one another this weekend as we will experience extremely high heat indices.  Remember Heidi and I in your prayers this weekend as we will be traveling to Louisville, Kentucky to see our son Jacob and his wife Tori.  As your pastor is away, we will extend a warm Bethel Baptist welcome again to Reverend Dean Finch and his wife Diane.  They will lead us this Lord’s Day.  I know Pastor Dean and Mrs. Diane will feel Bethel’s love and fellowship.

Tonight, we continue our Summer Wednesday Night Fellowship with an episode of The Chosen – Season 3.  Then mark all your wall calendars and your phone calendars for our Fifth Sunday Fellowship on July 30.  We always have a wonderful congregation on these special Sundays.  Invite friends, family, and neighbors to join us. 

As you all know, we completed a sermon series through the book of Daniel.  The Lord taught the importance of faith, prayer, obedience, study, and witness despite living in the pagan environment of Daniel’s time.  We must have the same commitment to our Lord in our time.  Indoor plumbing and central heating and air have NOT changed the human heart.  So, what about the human heart?

Beginning on July 9th: Our next sermon series will consist of individual sermons from various New Testament passages joined by the same theme.  Prepare your hearts for our upcoming sermon series from this perspective.

Almost everyone in America is familiar with the legendary actor and singer Frank Sinatra.    You don’t have to be a Sinatra fan to know the closing line in each of the four verses of, “My Way”.  The lyric is, “I did it my way.”  Sinatra’s famous song is a compilation of how a person calls his own shots, charts his own course, takes life’s blows, and stands tall throughout all life’s difficulties.  This sounds good, but your way and everyone’s way is terribly flawed.  Make no mistake, God gives us incredible freedoms and liberties to live our lives and make decisions, but God protects us from our own way.

The process of daily sanctification for all God’s children is one of intentionally yielding, “my way.”  God wants every person to experience church, community, family, fellowship, fun, work, and worship – LIFE to the full, but life to the full can only be experienced, “His Way!!”  This simple truth is the point where Christianity sharply yet lovingly diverges from the world.

At Bethel Baptist we will always and unapologetically promote “God’s Way” far above our own.  We believe and teach that only God’s way releases our fullest potential.  We have all heard of the “health and wealth” gospels promoted in various formats.  This is a gospel that at best marginalizes Christ’s Gospel of repentance, and at worse leads to open idolatry against God.  But doesn’t God want us to be “healthy and wealthy”?  Aren’t these good things to seek and secure throughout our lives?  Of course, they are, but we need help in the WAY health and wealth are achieved and pursued.  God’s way can be explained like this.  God wants you to be healthy, but He has a far greater desire for you to be healed.  This means despite your physical health; God wants to heal your broken spirit.  God wants you to be wealthy, but He has a far greater desire for you to be wanting.  This means despite having enough materially; God wants you to seek Him first. 

Without knowing it most people are living out the verses of Frank Sinatra’s famous song because it’s the only one they know.  There is a better way. We can find it.  We can live it.  And most import, we can share it.  As Christians, our mission is to share what we know about God, what we have seen God do, and what we have learned God says.  If we will do this, people will truly and thankfully come to the realization not that their way was totally wrong, but that God’s way is infinitely better.  There’s an eternal difference.  Brothers and sisters, we must believe that “people want what we have, they just don’t know it yet.”  God’s way says, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Then Paul encourages, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!”  Bring people to hear good news.  Invite people to hear good news.  Tell people the good news.  Join Pastor Dean this Sunday.

In Christ,

Pastor Michael