The Leverett Letter   Vol. V   Num. 2    1/21/10     www.bethelcolorado.com  

Bethel Family and Friends,

This Sunday we will be holding our Annual Business Meeting in the P.M. service.  Along with the usual budgetary matters, we will be sharing some statistics, and other reports about the health of the church.  There are some things to be excited about.  For one thing, we grew this year!   We are also seeing visitors and repeat visitors in our services.  This is a good sign that people are looking for spiritual food, and see Bethel as a place where this can be found.  Another blessing is that, even in a weak economy, our budget is healthy and in "the black".  We have added to our missionary family, and it looks like we may soon be able to add even more new missionaries.  Praise the Lord!

With all the positives that we could focus on, it remains imperative that we wisely prepare for the needs of the future.  There are some challenges we must face, and some opportunities we must grasp, if we are to remain a healthy and thriving church.  As a church, and as individuals, we have two choices.  We can either climb, or coast.  Coasting is easy, but it depends on past momentum, rather than new energy, to go forward.  Coasting is easy, but it slowly, but surely, leads to decline.  Climbing is harder, but is necessary for going upward.  One of the keys to success is to make the effort of climbing as much fun and as rewarding as possible.  Work is hard, but work can be fun too.  When we can see the good results of diligent effort, we feel empowered to continue.  Work becomes a pleasure!

I am asking every member of Bethel to make this meeting a priority.  This is your church, and its business is your business.  I will be sharing my vision for the future, and providing some perspective to show what we need to do to be where we need to be in the next few years.  You will be encouraged, inspired, motivated, and challenged as we examine our church's history, present state, and future possibilities.  May God use this meeting as a catalyst for renewed zeal and evangelistic endeavor as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission in our day!

On another note, we have all seen the shocking reports of the destruction and death in the small, empoverished country of Haiti.  One of the things God tells us to do in His Word is to show mercy toward others and help the afflicted.  We will present an opportunity for us to demonstrate the love of Christ to these devastated people. 

For Souls,

Pastor Marc

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 Quotes:

 Some Christians are so fearful of doing something wrong that they never do right.   Anonymous

The significant problems that we face today cannot be solved with the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.  Albert Einstein

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Referring to those who say the local church is not important, "Is a head still a head if it doesn't have a body?  Is a basement still a basement if there's no house on top?  Is a friend still a friend if you can't stand his wife?"   Kevin DeYoung

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Wednesday Night Series -  We are into our inside program on Wed. nights.  We start at 6:30.  We will be introducing "King's Kids" for the children, a fun program for the teens, and the adults will meet at 6:30 for fellowship and prayer time.  At 7:05 we will have our adult Bible Study.  This format includes some scripture passage studies and occasional Q. and A.  At the present time, we are studying the Book of Revelation with an emphasis on devotional application.

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Sunday Night Series:  While the Sunday morning services are about worship and presenting the gospel, Sunday night will be about "body life".  Presently we are in a series on "Personal Graces".  In this series we hope to re-discover what worship is all about, with the goal of improving our personal and corporate worship.  Come and let's learn together from God's Word.   We meet at 6:30.

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Humor:

These classifieds ran in Minneapolis newspapers:

FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER .
8-years old.
Hateful little brat and he Bites!

FREE PUPPIES:
1/2 Cocker Spaniel,
1/2 sneaky neighbor's dog.

FREE PUPPIES..
Mother, AKC German Shepherd.
Father, Super Dog…able to leap tall fences in a single bound.

FOUND DIRTY WHITE DOG.
Looks like a rat. Been out awhile.
Better be a big reward. 

NORDIC TRACK
$300 Hardly used, call Chubby.

GEORGIA PEACHES
California grown - 89 cents/lb.

WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE .
Worn once by mistake.
Call Stephanie. 

FOR SALE BY OWNER:
Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica,
45 volumes. Excellent condition.
$1,000 or best offer..
No longer needed,
Got married last month.
Wife knows everything..

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 The Sherrif pulled up next to the guy unloading garbage out of his pick-up into the ditch.

The Sheriff asked, "Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch?  Don't you see that sign right over your head."

"Yep", he replied.  "That's why I'm dumpin it here, cause it says:  'Fine For Dumping Garbage'."

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Links This Week -

Disclaimer - These links are not given, necessarily, as an endorsement of all or even any, of the content.  Some are given just to provide intellectual stimulation and sometimes will contain a viewpoint divergent from my own or that of the church.  Others are given for their humorous or devotional content.  I trust the judgment of the reader to eat the fish and spit out the bones.  Any links or sub links should be navigated with discretion.

http://mysonrise.com/arc300spoof.html  Friend day promo video from the tech team of a sister church in Napa, CA.  They have a few "bikers".  I thought it was clever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vOhf3OvRXKg  Sand art, an amazing art form, is employed by a talented woman to make a very moving presentation of the suffering brought to the Russian people by war.  Love and family are universal human traits.

Until next week...

Pastor Marc Leverett