December 8, 2024 -- Pr. Kevin Kritzer -- "Coming Soon: Mercy!" -- Luke 1: 46-55 46 Mary said, “My soul praises the Lord’s greatness! 47 My spirit finds its joy in God, my Savior, 48 because he has looked favorably on me, his humble servant. “From now on, all people will call me blessed 49 because the Almighty has done great things to me. His name is holy. 50 For those who fear him, his mercy lasts throughout every generation. 51 “He displayed his mighty power. He scattered those who think too highly of themselves. 52 He pulled strong rulers from their thrones. He honored humble people. 53 He f ..read more

December 1, 2024 -- Pr. Kevin Kritzer -- "Coming Soon: Joy!" -- Luke 1:24-45 24 Later, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and didn’t go out in public for five months. She said, 25 “The Lord has done this for me now. He has removed my public disgrace.” 26 Six months after Elizabeth had become pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee. 27 The angel went to a virgin promised in marriage to a descendant of David named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 When the angel entered her home, he greeted her and said, “You are favored by the Lord! The Lord is with you.” 29 She ..read more

April 28, 2024 - "Gathered to Grow!" - Pr. Kevin Kritzer, Bible Text: John 15:1-8 15 ⌞Then Jesus said,⌟ “I am the true vine, and my Father takes care of the vineyard. 2 He removes every one of my branches that doesn’t produce fruit. He also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit. 3 “You are already clean [a] because of what I have told you. 4 Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me. 5 “I am the vine. You are the branche ..read more

November 24, 2024 -- Pr. Nader Hanna -- "Christ Jesus Our One King" -- John 18:33-37 33 Pilate went back into the palace, called for Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 Jesus replied, “Did you think of that yourself, or did others tell you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom doesn’t belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. My kingdom doesn’t have its origin on eart ..read more

November 17, 2024 -- Vicar John Alwood -- "The Original Thanksgiving" -- Psalm 16 (16) Protect me, O God, because I take refuge in you. 2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord. Without you, I have nothing good.” 3 Those who lead holy lives on earth are the noble ones who fill me with joy. 4 Those who quickly chase after other gods multiply their sorrows. I will not pour out their sacrificial offerings of blood or use my lips to speak their names. 5 The Lord is my inheritance and my cup. You are the one who determines my destiny. 6 Your boundary lines mark out pleasant places for me. Indeed, my ..read more

November 10, 2024 -- Pr. Kyle Blake -- "You Won The Election!" -- Psalm 146 (146) Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppres ..read more

November 3, 2024 -- Pr. Kevin Kritzer -- "His 'R Us" -- 1 John 3:1-2 (3) Consider this: The Father has given us his love. He loves us so much that we are actually called God’s dear children. And that’s what we are. For this reason the world doesn’t recognize us, and it didn’t recognize him either. 2 Dear friends, now we are God’s children. What we will be isn’t completely clear yet. We do know that when Christ appears we will be like him because we will see him as he is. --GW http://www.bethanylutheran.org ..read more

October 27, 2024 -- Pr. Kevin Kritzer -- "Not to brag, but..." -- Romans 3:19-28 19 We know that whatever the Scriptures say applies to everyone under their influence, and no one can say a thing. The whole world is brought under the judgment of God. 20 Not one person can have God’s approval by any effort to follow the laws in the Scriptures. These laws show what sin is. 21 Now, the way to receive God’s approval has been made plain in a way other than the laws in the Scriptures. Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets tell us this. 22 Everyone who believes has God’s approval through faith in Jesus Ch ..read more

October 20, 2024 -- Vicar John Alwood -- "Sent for (the) Rest" -- Hebrews 4: 1-16 (4) God’s promise that we may enter his place of rest still stands. We are afraid that some of you think you won’t enter his place of rest. 2 We have heard the same Good News that your ancestors heard. But the message didn’t help those who heard it in the past because they didn’t believe. 3 We who believe are entering that place of rest. As God said, “So I angrily took a solemn oath that they would never enter my place of rest.” God said this even though he had finished his work when he created the world. 4 Somew ..read more

October 13, 2024 -- Pr. Kyle Blake -- "Connected: to hold fast to one another" -- Hebrews 3: 12-19 12 Be careful, brothers and sisters, that none of you ever develop a wicked, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 Encourage each other every day while you have the opportunity. If you do this, none of you will be deceived by sin and become stubborn. 14 After all, we will remain Christ’s partners only if we continue to hold on to our original confidence until the end. 15 Scripture says,“If you hear God speak today, don’t be stubborn. Don’t be stubborn like those who rebelled ..read more