Bethel Lutheran Church

Join the “55” Club on Thursday, March 11th for a roasted chicken dinner catered by Magnolias Restaurant at a cost of $8 (payable to Betty Paulus by March 7th). A representative from the Saint Paul Fire Department will be the program for the day. An opportunity for smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors will be available for the participants. Sign up on the lounge bulletin board. All are welcome!

Sunday, March 7, 2010
Readings: 1 Samuel 17:31-37, 1 Corinthians 9:19-25, Luke 9:18-24
Little David never saw it coming.  His experience fending off predators while tending his sheep was only that until the Philistene giant, Goliath came around.  Suddenly, the training God had been putting him through for years had come in handy.  One sling and a smooth stone was all it took to fell the giant.  Listen as Pastor Seabaugh describes the training God has us for us and what He’s training us to do.

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Week 26:  March 8-13
I Samuel 24-31

GodSpeak readings for each day are listed below. Click the link to read the section and/or listen online. A discussion question is listed below for you to use in your GodSpeak group session or for discussion with others who are reading along.

Monday, March 8 I Samuel 24  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
1. Review 1 Samuel 24:1–10. Explain David’s attitude and actions toward King Saul.

Tuesday, March 9 I Samuel 25  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
2. Abigail graciously interceded with David on behalf of her wicked and foolish husband Nabal (1 Samuel 25:24). Her loving actions designed to rescue Nabal remind us of our Savior’s actions on our behalf. Explain. See 1 John 2:1 and 1 Corinthians 15:3. (more…)

Week 24:  I Samuel 9-15

Click to listen to this week’s recorded GodSpeak discussion group!

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Want to join the discussion?  Drop in a comment below!

Monday, Feb 22 I Samuel 9-10  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
1. Note how Samuel describes the effect the power the Holy Spirit will have on Saul (1 Samuel 10:6). Explain the change the power of the Holy Spirit has brought into your life. See John 3:5–6 and 1 Corinthians 12:3, 13.

Tuesday, Feb 23 I Samuel 11  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
2. What does 1 Samuel 11:6 suggest about the role of anger in the life of a believer? See also Ephesians 4:26.

Wednesday, Feb 24 I Samuel 12  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
3. See 1 Samuel 12:24. What great things, which God has done for us, should we consider as, moved by the Holy Spirit, we pledge to “fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all [our] heart”?

Thursday, Feb 25 I Samuel 13  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
4. Samuel confronts Saul about his sin with the words, “What have you done” (1 Samuel 13:11)? These words confront the sinner with the Law. The goal of the Law is to bring people to repentance. What does God’s Word indicate is the result of repentance (Acts 3:19)?

Friday, Feb 26 I Samuel 14  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
5. Saul seems willing to put his son Jonathan to death because of the foolish oath Saul had made earlier. But the men of the army interceded for Jonathan and saved his life. They said, “should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of the head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death” (1 Samuel 14:45). Contrast and compare Jonathan and Jesus.

Saturday, Feb 27 I Samuel 15  Read & Listen Online   (Click “Audio” link to listen)
6. In a feeble attempt to clear himself before God, Saul tells Samuel that he did not follow God’s instructions in order to provide animals for a sacrifice. Explain Samuel’s response to Saul recorded in 1 Samuel 15:22.

Today’s Light Discussion Questions © 2009 Concordia Publishing House.
Used with permission. To subscribe to Today’s Light, contact Concordia Publishing House
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On Being Your Pastor – A Thank You

God’s blessing…
It is truly an immense honor to be the Pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church. The spirit of mission and outreach here is nothing short of inspiring. Your willingness to embrace an initiative like GodSpeak and hang with it through Leviticus and Numbers shows a maturity and dedication that is commendable. The sense of welcome that each guest receives here shows that God is using us to be a blessing here and to the world around us. I know it’s not the Lutheran thing to pat each other on the back, but just humor me and let me speak for those who have spoken to me about this congregation. Thank you.

A different world…
I was trained to be a pastor in a world that has since gone by. The church does not hold the position it once held in society. A pastor is not assumed to be the civic leader he once was. Our churches and schools struggle for identity, relevancy and fiscal solvency. It seems that everywhere I look the church is seeking desperately to reinvent itself. (more…)

Check out the news at Bethel!

March 2010 Newsletter

Included in this newsletter:
1.  Mexico Mission Trip
2.  Bible Bowl
3.  Lent & Easter Worship Calendar