CONNECT BETHEL CHURCH
WELCOME TO BETHEL Welcome to Bethel! We are so glad to have you here! As you look through this Connect Bulletin, we trust that you will quickly find that Bethel has something for you and your family. Our hope is that you will take the next step into our community and get involved. As you do, you will begin to see that Bethel is more than just a Sunday service, it is a family of everyday people following Christ to bring hope and change to the world one life at a time.
WWW.BETHELSARNIA.COM
JUNE 2019
THIS MONTH
BETHEL NEWS WATER BAPTISM A Water Baptism Service is planned for Sunday June 2nd at the 10:30AM service. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, and have not yet been baptized in water, we invite you to follow the instruction of Scripture and be baptized. Please speak to Darwin or Angela Armstrong or contact the church office for baptism.
MEMBERSHIP CLASS If you desire to become an official member at Bethel church, Pastor Tim will be leading a membership class on Sunday June 23rd following the morning service in our Community Room. A lunch will be provided at no charge. Contact the church office to sign-up.
PREGNANCY CENTRE BOTTLE DRIVE Reminder that the Baby Bottle Fundraiser for the Pregnancy Centre concludes on Father’s Day, June 16th. Please bring your filled bottle with your donations to the service that morning or drop off at the church office. Thank you for your support of this ministry. It is making a difference in the lives of people in our community.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT PRAYER Wednesday Night Prayer resumes every Wednesday night from 6:00PM to 7:00PM. On Wednesday June 5th, we will be traveling to The Revival Centre and Gathering Place in London Ontario. The church has asked if we come to join in agreement with their intercessors for a breakthrough in their area for the Gospel. We will be leaving the church at 6:00PM and arriving back at Bethel at 10:00PM. Please speak to Pastor Tim to let him know you would like to be a part of this ministry trip as there is limited space in the Church Van.
DARREN MCCREA Bethel Missionary Darren McCrea will be giving a brief presentation of the work in Colombia on Sunday, June 16th 10:30AM service. For those intertested in being involved in a Missions Trip to Colombia in 2020, as part of a Work Team or teaching English in schools, an information meeting with Darren will be held on Sunday June 16th at 9:45AM in the Office Board Room.
MISSONS OPPORTUNITIES
KIDS / STUDENT MINISTRIES CHILDREN’S MINISTRY NURSERY There is a volunteer staffed Nursery open for babies 0-2years. (down main floor hallway) TODDLER 2-4years are welcome in our Toddler class (upstairs). We play, sing songs, read a story, eat a snack and make a craft. This month we are reading stories from the New Testament. PRESCHOOL JK and SK children are welcome in our Preschool class (upstairs). We are learning about the early church and the importance of the church today. ELEMENTARY Grades 1-4 are welcome in our Elementary class (upstairs). We are learning about the Names of God. This month we will learn about the names El Elyon (God Most Hight), Abba Father, Jesus as The Word, Jesus as the High Priest, and Jesus as the Cornerstone.
STUDENT MINISTRY RESCUE Rescue is our program for grades 5-8. Rescue exists to create a fun place for pre-teens to learn about God and build relationships while having a fun time. Our Rescue program is currently on summer break and will resume in the Fall. You can look us up on Facebook by searching Rescue @ Bethel Sarnia (group) REVO Revo is our high school program that is geared toward grades 8-12. We meet on Thursday nights from 7-9pm. Revo is a great place for students to belong to a youth group family while growing in their relationship with God. You can look us up on Facebook by searching Revo @ Bethel Sarnia (group) and follow us on Instagram @revosarnia
June 6th Service night
June 13th Service night June 20th Service night
June 28th Barn Yard Bash (Friday)
HOW DO I HANDLE BIBLE DIFFICULTIES? What’s a Bible difficulty? A Bible difficulty is an apparent problem posed by the biblical record. It might be called an error, a mistake, a difficulty, a challenge, a contradiction, or any number of other terms. Critics of the Bible are sometimes hostile in their claims that the Bible is “full of contradictions” or “difficulties,” but these apparent problems are also brought up by committed Christians wanting to make sense of God’s Word. Rather than get into a number of specific examples, it will be more beneficial to learn some key tips for handling Bible difficulties. That way, whenever you encounter a seeming problem in the Bible, you will be able to use these tips as a starting point for resolving the difficulty. Essentially, handling Bible difficulties is a matter of hermeneutics or interpretation (specifically, biblical interpretation). But other factors also come into play when interpreting, such as looking for a reasonable explanation, carefully making comparisons to other passages when necessary, and in general puzzling through possible answers and satisfactory resolutions to apparent problems. Theologically liberal approaches to the Bible, on the other hand, often simply accept contradictions as part of a flawed record. But if the Bible is God’s Word, and if God is all knowing and all powerful, it stands to reason we should be able to trust the Bible.
Tips from a Bible Scholar What are some helpful general tips for handling Bible difficulties? Fortunately, a number of Bible scholars have offered their insights. Here are some tips gleaned from the late Gleason Archer’s fine book Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties - “Be fully persuaded in your own mind that an adequate explanation exists, even though you have not found it yet.” In other words, Archer is accepting the Bible as an accurate, authoritative collection of documents – God’s inspired Word. Once a case has been made for this fact, then it stands to reason that the Bible should not contain any serious discrepancies in the manuscript copies. If you come across a Bible difficulty, there should be one or more reasonable explanations for it. - “Carefully study the context and framework of the verse in which the problem arises until you gain some idea of what the verse is intended to mean within its own setting.” This is a key point of biblical hermeneutics – the science and art of interpreting the Bible. Context matters significantly. Keep in mind the context of a particular verse in a book, as well as the context given the broader teachings on the subject throughout the entire Bible. - “In the case of parallel passages, the only method that can be justified is harmonization.” This helpful tip applies more to the four New Testament Gospels than anywhere else, though there certainly are parallel accounts of historical events in the Old Testament as well. There’s no doubt that the Gospels contain various accounts from different perspectives, but these accounts should be able to be reconciled. Critics would not be happy if the four Gospels were identical in their reports of certain events, accusing the authors of collusion. Ironically, however, they aren’t happy with the differences either. The best approach is to study the passages and find a way to harmonize them without compromising the essence of the text. - “Consult the best commentaries available, especially those written by Evangelical scholars who believe in the integrity of Scripture.” A good commentary is a valuable resource. Many alleged Bible difficulties are addressed in such books. One helpful series is the Expositor’s Bible Commentary(Zondervan). With the rise of Bible software, many commentaries are now included in these packages as well. - “Many Bible difficulties result from a minor error on the part of a copyist in the transmission of the text.” This is an important point, especially when it comes to apparent numerical discrepancies. While Christians who adhere to inerrancy believe the original Bible manuscripts contained no errors whatsoever, they do grant that copies may contain a small number of errors. These errors or variants, however, do not change any key Christian doctrines.
- “Whenever historical accounts of the Bible are called in question on the basis of alleged disagreement with the findings of archaeology or the testimony of ancient non-Hebrew documents, always remember that the Bible is itself an archaeological document of the highest caliber.” Again and again throughout history, the archaeological evidence has supported the biblical record, not contradicted it. The evidence is clearly on the side of the Bible. Be wary of the latest news story claiming to debunk some key aspect of Christianity on the basis of recent findings that have yet to be studied in detail by qualified scholars. For more on the archeological evidence for the Bible see The Archaeological Study Bible (Zondervan).
More Advice (from two Bible scholars)
In addition to Archer’s helpful tips for handling Bible difficulties, When Critics Ask also offers its share of useful insights. Here’s a selection of the advice: - “Mistake 1: Assuming that the Unexplained Is Not Explainable.” This ties into Archer’s advice “that an adequate explanation exists.” Be confident that if you encounter a Bible difficulty, there is a reasonable explanation. - “Mistake 2: Presuming the Bible Guilty Until Proven Innocent.” This is not treating the biblical text fairly. As with other historical documents, let’s grant it the benefit of the doubt unless clear evidence says otherwise. - “Mistake 3: Confusing Our Fallible Interpretations with God’s Infallible Revelation.” Usually the problem with alleged Bible contradictions and difficulties is with our interpretation, theology, or approach to the text, not with the actual text itself. We make mistakes, but God doesn’t. - “Mistake 4: Failing to Understand the Context of the Passage.” Again, context is supremely important when handling Bible difficulties. In most cases, a careful reading of the passage(s) in question, in their proper contexts, will resolve apparent difficulties. - “Mistake 5: Neglecting to Interpret Difficult Passages in the Light of Clear Ones.” This is a key concept to keep in mind when approaching Bible difficulties that fall into the category of an obscure or particularly challenging passage. We may not be able to completely understand or explain the isolated passage in question, but given the broader context of the Bible and clear teachings on the subject elsewhere, we should be able to come to a good consensus on the matter at hand. A concept known as the perspicuity of Scripture is relevant in such cases. This means that the Bible is clear in essential matters.
Bible Difficulties? Does the Bible contain some difficult passages? Yes. Are they unresolvable? No. Whenever a critic or sincere believer comes across an alleged Bible difficulty, it has always been answered. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness …” (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV) Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Zondervan, 1982), pp. 15-17. Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, When Critics Ask (Victor Books, 1992), pp. 15-26. Geisler and Howe cover twelve additional “mistakes” in reference to biblical interpretation and handling Bible difficulties. Other helpful resources in addition to Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties and When Critics Ask include Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul (IVP, 1977), Exegetical Fallacies by D.A. Carson (Baker, 1984), Scripture Twisting by James Sire (IVP, 1980), and Introduction to Biblical Interpretation by William Klein, Craig Blomberg, et. al. (Thomas Nelson, 2004).
Written by Robert Velarde for Focus on the Family.
JUNE 2019 Sun SUN
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6:30PM Bible Study & Hymn Sing-Prayer Room
6:00PM PrayerGathering Place in London Ontario
7:00PM REVO
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10:30 AM Service Pastor Tim Gibb Communion Water Baptism
9:30AM Prayer Group- 10:00AM Mom’s Group Sanctuary
6:30PM Service Pastor Tim Gibb
9:30AM Paint GroupCafe
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10:30 AM Service Van Johnson 6:30PM Service Van Johnson
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10:30 AM Service Pastor Tim Gibb 6:30PM Service Pastor Keith Patrick
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10:30 AM Service Pastor Tim Gibb
9:30AM Prayer GroupSanctuary 10:00AM Mom’s Group 6:30PM Bible Study & Hymn Sing-Prayer Room
6:00PM PrayerBoardroom
7:00PM REVO
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6:30PM Bible Study & Hymn Sing-Prayer Room
6:00PM PrayerBoardroom
7:00PM REVO
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6:30PM Bible Study & Hymn Sing-Prayer Room
6:00PM PrayerBoardroom
9:30AM Prayer GroupSanctuary
9:30AM Prayer GroupSanctuary
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12:00PM Keenagers BBQ lunch at Canatara Park-Beach Pavilion
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Membership Class 6:30PM Service Kerry Kirkwood
7:00PM REVO-Barnyard Bash in Petrolia
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10:30 AM Service Pastor Tim Gibb NO EVENING SERVICE
OUR PASTORS PASTOR TIM & KIM GIBB
Lead Pastor pastortim@bethelsarnia.com
PASTOR TRICIA GIBB Connections Pastor tricia@bethelsarnia.com
PASTORS KEITH & PATRICIA PATRICK
PASTOR JENNIFER WINKLMEIER
Pastoral Care pastorkeith@bethelsarnia.com
PASTOR BROCK & KIRSTEN WRIGHT
Youth Pastor brock@bethelsarnia.com
Children’s Pastor jennifer@bethelsarnia.com
CONTACT US
1565 London Line Sarnia, Ontario N7T 7H2
/bethelsarnia 519.542.7731 bethel@bethelsarnia.com
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