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  • Remembering & Making time – All Saints Sunday

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    Brothers, we ant you to know bout those who have died. We do not want you to be sad as others who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and that he rose again. So, because of Jesus, God will bring together with Jesus those who have died. ~1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 International Children’s Bible…

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  • Faith, Fellowship, Family

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    They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ~Acts 2:42 For the last few Sundays we have been going through our newest member class in our adult education. These classes aren’t just for people interested in new membership at Bethany. But my hope…

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  • Reform and Reforming

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    “Source of all life, we confess that we have  not allowed your grace to set us free. We fear that we are not good enough. We hear  your word of love freely given to us, yet we expect others to earn it. God we turn the church inward, rather than moving it outward. Forgive us.…

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  • #metoo – Lifting voices

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    “Me too.” ~Hagar (Gen 21), Bilhah (Gen 30), Dinah (Gen 34), Tamar (Gen 38), Bathsheba (2 Sm 11), Tamar II (2 Sm 13), Unnamed Woman (Jgs 19-21), and countless more On October 15th, a saddening trend began on Twitter and Facebook. I started seeing posts from friends and acquaintances saying, “Me too. If all the…

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  • Small Town Life – Living it Up

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    I’ve been the pastor at Bethany for a little more than a year now. And after a year working in this community, I still wouldn’t have thought of Longview-Kelso as being small towns. It’s smaller than Seattle or Portland sure. But after a month of living here, there may be more of that “small town”…

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  • Group Work as “Grown Ups”

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    Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. ~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 I am notoriously terrible at doing group work. I’ve been enjoying all of the “first day of school” photos in my Facebook feed the last few weeks. I…

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  • Light out of our Basket – Community

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    “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may…

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  • Blessed by Giving – Blessed to be a Blessing to Others

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    “She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.” ~Proverbs 31:20 September is pledge month at Bethany Lutheran Church. Our theme is revisiting the concept of being “blessed by giving”. Each Sunday during the offering, we have had members of our church share during temple talks how they have…

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  • Speak to the Earth – Creation’s Language

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    7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; 8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. 9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD…

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  • Gospel Lessons – NIMBY

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    “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?” Matthew 25:37b I learned a new acronym last week: NIMBY It means “Not in my back yard”. The context? People in my neighborhood were commenting about an upcoming council meeting regarding resources for people…

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