Bethel Bible Church

Responsibilities in the Betrayal of Jesus

Some questions were posed yesterday in reference to Luke 22:3-6 which states, "Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.  He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd." 

The questions were:

• What was Judas' responsibility?
• What was Satan doing?
• Where was God in all of this?

I would begin with Judas.  I believe Judas is 100% responsible for his actions.  I had to wrestle with the question whether Satan merely takes over Judas (Demon possession) or does Satan put into action what is already there.  I do not believe that Satan takes over innocent people.  First of all, no one is innocent, we are all born sinners.  I do believe that Satan has power where sinful passions are feed and nurtured.  I read in the scriptures where Judas was titled a thief and especially his reaction to Mary using the oil on Jesus.  He was not concerned for the poor at all and only with himself.  I believe Judas choose the road of selfishness and greed and he was responsible for the sinful betrayal of Jesus.

I then move to what was Satan trying to do.  I have found a helpful resource in the book called "Spectacular Sins" by John Piper.  The question is really why would Satan enter Judas and lead Judas to betray Jesus?  Didn't Satan know that the death and resurrection of Jesus would result in his final defeat?  There seems to me to be evidence that Satan did know this.  When I read through the temptations of Jesus I see Satan trying to get Jesus to use His power to escape the coming suffering and take His rightful place of honor.  I see even more support for this when Peter tries to stand in Jesus way to the cross.  Jesus looks at Peter and says, "Get behind me, Satan!  You are a hindrance to me.  For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" (Matt. 16:23).  So hindering Jesus from going to the cross was the work of Satan.  But why would Satan help carry this out if he knew it would be the end of him?  Maybe Satan realized there was no way he could stop it so he decided to make it as ugly as possible.  If he could not stop the death, he would drag others into it and do as much harm as he could.

Then the last thought is where was God in all of this and what was His role?  When I look back over the many prophecies dealing with the death of Christ I see the answer.

• Psalm 118:22 - Jesus would be rejected by evil me
• Psalm 35:19 - Jesus would be hated
• Zech. 13:7 - Disciples would abandon Jesus
• Psalm 34:20 and Zech. 12:10 - Jesus would be pierced, yet none of his bones broken
• Psalm 41:9 - Jesus would be sold for 30 pieces of silver

And Jesus Himself declared how he would be killed.  What I see is that God foresaw and did not prevent and therefore included in his plan that his Son would be rejected, hated, abandoned, betrayed, denied, condemned, flogged, mocked, pierced and killed.  All of these were in God's mind before they actually happened.  They did not just happen.  They were foretold in God's word.  God knew they would happen and could have planned to stop them, but didn't.  So they happened according to his SOVEREIGN WILL - HIS PLAN.

Why does this make any difference?  It matters because if God were not the main Actor in the death of Christ, then the death of Christ could not save us from our sins, and we would perish in hell forever (Matt. 25:46;l 2 Thess. 1:9).  If you separate God's activity from the death of Jesus, you lose the gospel.  It is the highest and deepest point of his love for sinners.  His love for me and you.

Now, I would love to hear from you.

Mark Kuykendall - Youth Pastor - Bethel Bible Church

Monday WorshipWord!

Monday WorshipWord! from Bethel Bible Church on Vimeo.

Monday WorshipWord!

Hey everybody!

I just wanted to take a chance this week to say "thank you."

My family and I have been completely amazed by the people of Bethel Bible Church. 2008 has been a fantastic year for us - to borrow a phrase from my wife,

"We're in love with this church!"

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving you. Thank you for being gracious - when the music's too loud or the songs are new or you're sick of words like "twitter" and "blog." Thank you for being encouraging - those words of support and belief are so important and I take each one very seriously.

Thank you for how much you love my family. My children are learning scripture, they're learning how to pray, they're learning how to live out faith. My wife has made so many amazing friends...the women's ministry at Bethel deserves a gold medal for their friendship and care.

Thank you for making worship a priority. Each Sunday I am so impressed with the attitude of reverence and zeal you bring to worship.

Thanks for having us...this place is HOME.

Todd Wright is the pastor of worship and creative arts.

He likes to take silly pictures of himself.
Follow him HERE or HERE.

STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW!

Well, it's Saturday and that means we're sharing some STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW!

CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE
Wednesday, Christmas Eve
6-7pm
Nursery available for children under 2
Sign up at the Baby Snapshots office for childcare!

WOMEN'S MINISTRY
SPRING BIBLE STUDY: Register for the Spring Bible Study today!
Registration tables are set up in the foyer.
Need more info? See Leslie Strader!

CRAFT NIGHT: Are you crafty?
Monday, January 26th
6:30-8:30pm
Piddlin' Pottery
Space is limited, call Kay at 903-839-5007!

JAMAICA MISSION TRIPS
March 7-13th
18 year-olds and older
Bethel will partner with Christian Camping International and Next Generation Camp, Jamaica.
If you are interested, contact Mark Kuykendall at mark@bethelbible.com or Jim Smithies at jim@bethelbible.com.

Friday: Children's Ministry

Last Sunday we were blessed to be led in worship by our Snapshots kids. These are our 2-5 year olds and they are a blast!

Lots of you took video and/or pictures, but we thought it would be cool to offer up this video for all our Snapshot parents. If you'd like to share this video with grandparents or friends, just click the SHARE button and send it their way.

We are so grateful for these kids...week in and week out they are learning the truth of who God is and their joy is contagious!

We love you, parents. It's a privilege to care and love your kids every Sunday morning.

Special thanks to Snapshots Director, Cay Bolin and Worship leader, Ruth Yeager. They love these kids more than you could ever know. We also want to thank ALL those volunteers who helped get all those little ones on stage. THANKS, GUYS!

Hope you have a great weekend. Be sure and share this video with somebody!

SNAPSHOTS Performance 12/14/08! from Bethel Bible Church on Vimeo.

MondayWorshipWord!

Who Mattered?

It's a great, albeit odd-sounding, question.

Let me explain...

We know all about "defining moments." We've all got "defining people" in our lives.

But let me ask you this...with regard to worship, Who Mattered?

Who modeled worship for you?
Who taught you what it means to publicly worship God in a corporate setting?
Who helped you understand that worship needed to also be personal, and even quiet?
Who was patient with you when you didn't understand worship?

The scary thing about asking "who mattered," is that sadly, some folks can't answer that question. Some people don't have "definers" with regard to worship. Some of us go our whole lives without ever even learning anything about worship.

Which is sad, really. Because I believe the Bible is pretty clear that worship is a big deal to God. In fact, the Bible tells us that worship is so important that if WE didn't do it, then trees and rocks WOULD! I would think a whole host of inanimate objects coming to life would prove the important of worship to God himself!!

So, if worship is something God values, shouldn't we be learning about it? Shouldn't we be growing in it? Shouldn't we be turning around and sharing what we know to be true of God-honoring worship with others?

_____

I've got a lot of folks who mattered.

One of them was a guy named Steve D.

Steve D. had gone to elementary school with my Dad. All through school, Steve D. played guitar. He got better and better and better. As a young adult, he toured the country playing a "sideman" in numerous bands and even built up a nice following for his solo career.

Eventually, Steve D. moved back to our hometown and set up shop as a guitar teacher. In addition, he played as a one-man band at a tavern on the outskrits of our town.

But then something happened...Steve D. gave his life to Christ.

What an amazing thing! This fantastic musician would now be making music for the King. YES!
Not long after his conversion, Steve D. began to give me guitar lessons. I was not the best student...and I quit about a year later. But I eventually picked the guitar back up and tried to re-learn what Steve had taught me.

Years later, Steve and his family joined the church where I attended. By this time, I was a young man and a volunteer worship leader for the church.

Steve D. was still a rock star...all of the various praise teams at church were calling him to play bass, acoustic, electric guitar, harmonica, mandolin...you name it, Steve D. could play it!

Eventually, it was my team's turn to lead worship and I asked Steve to fill in on bass. Boy, was I nervous!

But I can remember rehearsing and being totally amazed by Steve's humility and encouragement. He was taking notes as I arranged the songs. He offered words of support and agreement as I led rehearsal and he was lavish with his praise each time we came off the stage.

Even then I knew that Steve was being far more gracious than I deserved. When I look back, I see SO many mistakes I made as a worship leader. (I cringe to remember some of the stuff I did! Ewww!) It would have been so easy for Steve to just quit the team. Or talk bad about me to other teams. He could have easily shown me up at rehearsal with his vast knowledge of music theory.

But he didn't do any of those things.

He sat back and did everything he could to allow me to learn and grown in my craft. Steve D. mattered because he taught me that it's the humble musician that's the secret weapon in worship. Steve taught me that only by getting ourselves out of the way can worship truly be something powerful for us and for our congregants. I knew then and there that I wanted to be humble. I wanted to be an encourager.

I'm still working on that, by the way. Still trying to kill my pride and offer what talents I have for the Kingdom. I haven't seen Steve D. in a long, long time, but I'll always be grateful for what his example taught me. It made me a better follower of Jesus, a better musician and a better worship leader.

And so, I ask again: WHO MATTERED?

I'd love to hear from you...take a second right now and email me a story about somebody who mattered in your worship. We gotta' be a people who tell stories of the King, Bethel! I wanna' hear yours!

Email me at todd@bethelbible.com.

THIS IS ME IN A PLAID SHIRT.
GO LUMBERJACKS!

Live From The Children's Ministry!

Today, we're sharing a video from last week during our kids' worship service.

We're very fortunate to have great volunteers at Bethel...we have volunteers of all ages! One great volunteer is Grant Trotter!

A few weeks ago, Grant achieved celebrity status at Bethel with his amazing "Hot Like A Tea Kettle" video. (You'll see that one next week!)

But this past Sunday, Grant did a very special Christmas performance for our kids. Although he had some "lyrical issues" towards the end, it still was a great performance and our kids loved it!

We're so blessed to have so many creative, hard-working, CRAZY volunteers in the Children's Ministry! Check out Grant!

Twitter

Over the past couple of months I have made mention of my new fascination - Twitter

(what is Twitter?, why Twitter?, how Twitter?)
watch a video about Twitter

Now, I'm not saying that twitter is for everyone, in fact, it isn't. But, I have found Twitter to be a great social networking tool that allows me to stay connected with 1) people I care about; 2) people I'm interested in; 3) people I'd like to know, but may never meet. It also provides an opportunity for family and friends to catch small glimpses into my life during the day.

I want to share a story that happened this past week that illustrates both the power and "coolness" of Twitter. Periodically I get on Twitter's "search page" and type in "Tyler, TX." I do this because I am always interested who else in our community is using this tool. There is always a good list this search generates and from time to time, if the people are not totally weird, I will "follow" them.

Now, Tyler is a small town, not small enough that everyone knows everyone, but we have no more than 3 degrees of separation. Last week I followed a person that lives in Tyler who happens to know Alley Burton (elder) and was somewhat familiar with Bethel, but has never been. Since all of my biographical information is on my Twitter page, this person discovered that I am a pastor at Bethel and because of the timing in their life decided that they were going to visit. I met them this past Sunday and so did many of you!

This really is less about Twitter and more of what I would call opportunity. I was reminded that all over this city there are people who are not connected with a church and would love to be. But, just like all of us, it is hard to imagine getting up on a Sunday morning (or any morning), getting dressed in clothes you don't normally wear, getting your family ready, getting in the car, driving to an unfamiliar place, parking and then making that long walk from your car to the front door... all while being a perfect stranger. It is hard to be "new" or "different" or "uninformed." In fact, I think besides public speaking, visiting a church is probably one of the most frightening and difficult things a person, couple or family ever does.

For my new friend, I was glad that there family felt at least the comfort of "knowing" someone before they got there.

So - let me ask you this morning (or afternoon/evening), who might there be in your life that would love to be connected to a community of people? And not just any community of people, but a community that is committed to following Jesus and living out His life? I can guarantee there is someone in the ebb and flow of your life that is not connected, but would love to be.

Everything I have read, and my experience supports, is that people are most likely to visit a church because someone they know asked them. In fact, it is rare that when I have invited someone to church that they flat out said "no." Most people, who are not connected to a church, are thrilled to be asked and have some excitement that they might actually find a place to connect. The problem is that we just don't ask.

So - ASK. If there is anyone that has come to your mind, make if your priority and goal to invite them to a service before the end of the year. Christmas is a great time here at Bethel and a great time for you to bring someone with you...

And you don't need a twitter account to do that.

My Second Favorite Christmas Story

The World on Wednesday by Jim Smithies, Pastor of Ministries and World

The Man and the Birds

Now the man to whom I'm going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind, decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn't believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn't make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn't swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man. "I'm truly sorry to distress you," he told his wife, "but I'm not going with you to church this Christmas Eve." He said he'd feel like a hypocrite. That he'd much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They'd been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn't let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn.

And then, he realized, that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me. That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him. "If only I could be a bird," he thought to himself, "and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to safety ... to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand."

At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells - Adeste Fidelis - listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.

-- Author Unknown --
(Shared by Paul Harvey on his radio show)

---

This is my favorite Christmas Story!!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God .... The Word became flesh and dwelt among us ....” (John 1:1,14)

 

What do you remember?

I have been doing a personal review of the past year.  So this got me to thinking.  When you look back over the year we have known as 2008, what do you remember?  So let me know.

My list would right now include:

• Olympics in China
• NY Giants giving us one of the most exciting Super Bowl wins
• Reuniting of New Kids on the Block - don't ask me why

So what do you remember?