Let Your Kingdom Come & Free Download

I love this song. The choir encouraged us with this song during last Sunday’s service and my heart was being stirred by the Spirit. Rod and Tavi led this song at Junior High Bible Study last night and my heart was bursting.

I’ve been reflecting on these lyrics all week long.  This song communicates what our church is all about.  We are here to fill Southern California with the glory of King Jesus by spreading God’s Word and making Spirit-filled disciples.  I think this should be the theme song of Bethel Grace. I love this song!

Reflect carefully on these lyrics:

Your glorious cause, O God, engages our hearts
May Jesus Christ be known wherever we are
We ask not for ourselves but for Your renown
The cross has saved us so we pray,
Your kingdom come

Let Your kingdom come
Let Your will be done
So that everyone might know Your Name
Let Your song be heard everywhere on earth
Till Your sovereign work on earth is done
Let Your kingdom come

Give us Your strength, O God, and courage to speak
Perform Your wondrous deeds
Through those who are weak
Lord use us as You want, whatever the test
By grace we’ll preach Your gospel
Till our dying breath

Awesome.  Wonderful lyrics.  Is your heart engaged?  That song was inspired by this prayer in the Puritan book on prayer, The Valley of Vision.  Let’s pray this prayer lots:

Sovereign God,
Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart,
and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom
to set up thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns;
Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice,
for to bring honor to thy name is my sole desire.
I adore thee that thou art God,
and long that other should know it, feel it,
and rejoice in it.

Follow this link to download a free mp3 of the song.  On that page, the Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace music explains how the Puritans’ passion to advance the gospel inspired the song.  Get the song while you can.  Get it into iTunes and listen to it lots.  Pray it lots. 

I can’t wait for this Sunday in Mark. We will hear Jesus’ first sermon: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.”

~Jeff

Deacon’s Fund this Sunday

Perhaps you recall the massage in James 5:1-6 from last Sunday.  James spoke words of stern judgment for those who hoard resources with no sympathy for the people around them in need.  A heavy and challenging passage of Scripture!  And the Spirit used it to stir many of our hearts toward generosity. 

Here is one way you can help people in the Bethel Grace family who are in need.  Give to the Deacon’s Fund.  This fund is separate from the operating budget of Bethel Grace.  It goes directly to assist members of the congregation who find themselves in need.  It provides financial assistance for rent, food, medical care, utilities, and other expenses.  

It was reported at the August 16th Quarterly Business Meeting that our Deacon’s Fund is currently running a deficit in the range $1,700.  That’s indicative of how many people are turning to Bethel Grace for support during tough economic times.

This Sunday, as with every communion Sunday, a collection will be received at the close of the service for the Deacon’s Fund.  Please consider giving to this worthy cause!

~Jeff

Read Jack

Read Jack. That’s the advice given by Desiring God ministries, and we’re following it in our men’s and women’s groups… The book we’re currently reading in these groups is called A Faith Worth Sharing, by C. John ”Jack” Miller. David Mathis of  Desiring God Ministries describes this book as “the best resource I’ve found on gospel-telling.” You can read what else he has to say about it here.

If you are not currently in a men’s or women’s group, I encourage you to join for our next round! Details will be announced soon…

~Donovan

Bethel Grace on facebook…

More and more Bethel Gracers are joining facebook.com: an on-line networking site that allows you to create a profile in which you post pictures and information about yourself, and interact with other users… One of the most enjoyable features is the ability to “tag” pictures – linking pictures to users who are in it and notifying them about it.  Bethel Grace has a group on facebook called “Bethel Grace – Past and Present”.  Sign up and join our group!

~Donovan

Church Membership

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

In Acts 2:44-47, we see a picture of corporate spiritual vitality in the Church.  Over and over again it is described how the church was together: together in the temple courts, together in one another’s homes, and together with glad and sincere hearts.  From the start, there has been a strong emphasis of togetherness in our life in Christ.

 

Four reasons why membership is encouraged at BGBC:

Books for parents of teens…

At a recent lunch for the parents of our youth I recommended two books: Age of Opportunity, by Paul David Tripp, and Girl Talk, by Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Mahaney Whitacre. I ordered more copies of each and they have now arrived… We believe these books are great resources to aid parents in the responsibility God has given them to raise their children in the wisdom and instruction of the Lord, and we’d like to make them available to parents of our youth for less than they can buy them elsewhere. Age of Opportunity is available for $7, and Girl Talk is available for $5. 

• Age of Opportunity is a fantastic read aimed at parents. It primarily addresses how to really engage teens in heart-level conversations (what are they treasuring? Christ or something else?), and how to help them learn to think biblically and make God-honoring decisions themselves…

 

• Girl Talk is written for mothers and daughters and is intended to stimulate and guide edifying conversation between them about being a God-honoring woman. Carolyn Mahaney (CJ Mahaney’s wife) wrote it with her oldest daughter, Nicole Whitacre. I asked three mothers to read this book and let me know if they recommended it. All three did so heartily! If you’d like to know more about the book you can chat with Laura Bachle, Julie Dennis, or Denise Montgomery-Scott. You can also visit the Girl Talk blog.

~ Donovan

God’s grace in the life of Larry Kuechlin

                               

I was raised in a non-Christian home until around 10 or 11 years old when God fulfilled a dream. This dream was one that one of my mother’s aunts had about my mother being covered with blood. When my aunt told my mother about her dream, it repulsed her, but my aunt said it was good for her to be covered with blood because it was the blood of Jesus Christ.

 

After my mother was born again, I started having some contact with the Gospel even though it was limited because my father wanted to go places on his only day off—Sunday. Like any saved mother, she got my sister and I involved as much as possible in Bible-centered activities. She won my father over without nagging him. She lived a godly life before him and lived like the woman in Proverbs 31:10.

 

I lived an outwardly clean life until my junior year of High School. This was the time my depraved nature started to manifest itself in many rebellious ways. Alcohol addiction was my first. I was known at Banning High as “Larry the Lush.” I soon tired of being sick, was introduced to drugs, and then became a respectable drug addict.

 

Then, God started doing some very strange things to me, like not letting me go to sleep until I read His Word. This went on for some months in 1957 until one Sunday morning in November God got me up and sent me off to my mother’s church. When the invitation was given, the Lord told me if I didn’t make a decision and believe on Jesus now He would never deal with me again. I went to the front and tried to tell a deacon my reason for coming but all I could do was cry. After a long time having liquid prayers, I went outside. I had never seen the sky so blue and the grass so green! That was the morning my Heavenly Father made me a new creature in the Lord Jesus Christ. “I have begun the work in you and I will complete it” Philippians 1:6.

 

Soon after, our gracious God and Father gave me life, light, and faith to believe in Him, He started using me to tell others of His great power to free souls from Satan’s darkness and slavery to sin. God gave me the gifts of teaching and preaching His Word and the faith to know that His Word always does exactly what He promises it will do. I have failed Him many times but for Jesus’ sake He has never given up on me. Praise His Holy Name!

 

~Larry Kuechlin Sr.

I am one of His Born Ones only by His GRACE!

 

 

Larry and Pat Kuechlin

               

 

Larry with 2 of his granddaughters, Lacee and Katelyn Young,

at Bethel Grace, Resurrection Sunday, 2008 

 

             

Larry and Dave Novak enjoying a laugh at the Bethel Grace VBS, 2007

 

     

To read more testimonies, click here.

             

A New Creation: God’s grace in the life of Lisa Smeaton…

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 

- 2 Corinthians 5:17

        

When I try to explain to people what kind of person I used to be, it is usually received with shock and awe that the person standing before them really could have been “THAT” bad. But that’s what makes God’s grace so amazing! He can take the worst of sinners and turn their life around in such a dramatic way, a way that is so inhumanly possible,  that only God can get the glory for it! 

God’s grace in the life of Lance Skifter (“Skip”)

Lance Skifter is no longer at Bethel Grace, but God used our church significantly in his life, and used him to bless us greatly too… Most of us know him affectionately as “Skip” or “Skipper”. Many of his good friends are here, so he and his wife still visit from time to time… This is Lance’s testimony of God’s grace in his life:

“I was raised in a Christian home by godly parents. I attended church (at Bethel Grace since I was 8 years old) every Sunday and AWANA or Youth Group every Wednesday night. I went to Brethren Christian Elementary (in Long Beach) and Brethren Junior High School (in Paramount at that time). Although I attended church regularly, went to Christian school, could talk about all the Bible stories, and memorized many AWANA verses, my life never produced any good fruit (Matt. 7:17). 

 Throughout my high school years, I would go to church and act like the kids at church, then I would go to school and act like the kids at school. My main focus growing up was to be accepted by my friends. I guess you could say I became all things to all people, but in the wrong way.

 The evening of my high school graduation I took my first drink of alcohol. That was the start of a downhill slide that lasted nine years. In January 2001, I got married and by January 2002, we separated. My ex-wife announced that she was a lesbian. She moved out of our bedroom and into the spare room with her girlfriend. My drinking problem only escalated over the time of the marital problems and after the separation. The problem became so bad that I was drinking a case of beer every day (yes, every day!), and I was smoking a pack-and-a-half of cigarettes every day. My drinking caused me to lose my job and get evicted from my rental house in Riverside, CA. 

God’s grace in the life of Colleen Smith

At 1:30 p.m. on August 24 2007, I asked Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior. I was sitting on the couch with my sister Debi and my niece Emily. We prayed together and cried together.  I remember it so definitely because my life changed so much that afternoon.

The leader of our Church youth group sexually molested me from when I was very young until I was the age of eleven, at which point I turned to a life of drugs and alcohol. I dropped out of school, was promiscuous, and became pregnant young. I was blessed with two beautiful children that I abused, not sexually but physically, and couldn’t care for. I ended up giving them to my aunt and uncle when they were only one and three. They are now fourteen and sixteen.

 

I had an uncle that I was very close to all my life; he was my buddy. He died August 16, 2001. I was devastated and became so mad at God for taking him away from me. I didn’t care about anything or anyone. I had given up any thought of becoming clean or having a chance at the good life.

 

I continued on my path of destruction for several years, trying to fix the emptiness within me with drugs, alcohol, and destructive relationships. Finally I hit my rock bottom and I quit. That was around June 2005. It seemed that I stood still in time until that wonderful day that I asked Jesus Christ to be my Savior. When I did I was finally able to exhale and I was released of my burdens. I haven’t felt the same since; colors are brighter, smells are sweeter, and songs dance in my head. God gave His only Son to die for my sins and therefore I’ve been given a chance at the good life!

 

I’m thirsty for the Word of God and I desire to do God’s will and glorify Him.

 

~Colleen Smith

 

 

 Colleen (right), with her sister, Debi Herring, and niece, Emily

 

 

Debi prayed for her sister for years and witnessed to her numerous times before Colleen embraced Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Colleen’s salvation is a testimony to how God uses faithfulness in evangelism and prayer. It was such a joy to see Debi and Emily’s joy in Colleen’s salvation - they were so excited! And that joy has continued as they’ve watched her grow and grow… Colleen is a beautiful testimony to the joy that can only be found in Christ! She is amazed at God’s grace! And it’s truly impossible to talk to her about Jesus and miss the fact that she LOVES her Savior! : ) 

 

Colleen moved to California shortly after being saved in order to be close to her sister and other believing family. She was baptized at Bethel Grace on March 9, 2008. 

 

Our God is mighty to save!

~ Donovan 

P.S: If you have not yet read our post describing this “series” of testimonies and what we’re hoping to achieve through them, check the post below this one.