A message from Pastor Jon, Oct 13, 2021
If you love them, you will feed them. No, this is not a line from scripture it’s something I utter often in my home. We have two dogs that the family adores. One, Bear, is a fascinating mix of every dog ever created, not kidding, we did a DNA test. 80 painful bucks later we learned that Bear is a mix of all breeds. We adopted Bear from a shelter and are smitten by his burly presence, loyal commitment, and huggable companionship. Cooper our one-year-old pandemic dog, the Golden-Doodle, is the more happy-go-lucky, adventurous, goofy one. We love them both or so we say. You see in a house now with five boys, three of them human, I have to remind the humans that if you love the canines, you will feed them. It doesn’t always translate because we like the feeling of love that our dogs provide us, but when it comes to cleaning up after them and feeding them, every day(!), well…that’s work. Ah yes, work. We want to believe love is ‘all we need’ but alas love takes work.
John tells us that God is more than a God who loves, God is love (John 4:16). This means in my mind that God is always working. The trinity is God’s relational being working to serve one another, and when we allow God to be our central work, God gets busy working in us, and on us, so that God can work through us.
Same with the church, the bride of Christ. Bethany is the body of Christ in motion, working as the love agent of God. In this e-news, you will learn about the opportunities to participate in the love of God.
- Pastor Christian, a brother in Christ and Missionary in Costa Rica, will be here to visit us this month to talk about how God is working in and through our partner ministry, the Refuge.
- Forever Young, our 50+ group, is meeting now for the second time since the pandemic. It is so encouraging to see the spirit of community alive and well within Forever Young.
- Trunk or Treat is back this month. Please consider a trunk with your family. It’s our top event for the Elkhorn community and usually attracts about a thousand people.
- Care and wellness programs for flu shots and the Blood Drive. And if you have been hard at work caring for a loved one, you need to have the support that our Care for the Caregiver Event provides.
November will begin with the new “Rooted” class which is a small group experience that will deepen your faith like no other group. And the Gala is back! Sign up soon.
I can’t help but think about how God feeds us through our church community. It was the work of Jesus that made the church possible and is the ultimate reason behind why we continue to do the work of the Lord in this world. So remember, if you love them, you too will feed them.
All God’s Blessings,
Pr. Jon