Faithfulness
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God’s Gospel Through the Small
I got to know my good friend, Sarah Cordray, through the doctor of ministry program at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Through her, I saw a wonderful picture of small church ministry that I had, frankly, never considered. As I listened to her and read her work, I began to pay closer attention to what…
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Building Bethel: We Do Stuff Here You Just Don’t Do Anywhere Else
From December 2015 Bethel Bell Tower newsletter And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs…
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Comments at Bethel in Light of Recent Supreme Court Rulings
The following comments were made by Pastor Jeff Wilson at the beginning of worship services on Sunday, June 27, 2015. Today we gather for worship after a deeply emotional week. This is the second time in as many weeks that I felt I must address issues that affect us. This has been a week in which…
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Building Bethel: Focusing and Re-Focusing
From June/July 2015 Bethel Bell Tower newsletter But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ~ Matthew 6:33 Vicki and I enjoy watching TV … it’s a guilty pleasure. We recently stumbled upon a reality show on CNBC called “The Profit” (www.cnbcprime.com/the-profit). I admit…
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Devotion: The Softer Side of the Old Testament
After some pretty rough weeks in The Story as we read about battles and God seemingly being pretty hard-nosed about the rules (for example, Moses didn’t get to cross over into the Promised Land because he struck a rock to bring about water rather than just speaking to it), we some real gems through the…
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Devotion: Can God Possibly Want Me?
All Christians want a relationship with God, but we’re not always clear on what that relationship should be or about our part in it. We hear stories of faithful people from long ago or more contemporary people of faith like Mother Theresa and we think that we could never have faith like theirs. And, if…
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Devotion: Deliverance
Could you be like Moses? I’m sure your first reaction is “No way!” Well … think about that … why not? Moses didn’t even think he should be able to do what God called him to do. But, God chose to reach out to Moses. Could we say that Moses may not have been…
Epicurious Lutheran 