Bethany Lutheran Church

06/02/2026

The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
~ Isaiah 6:4-7

06/01/2026

The basics of the Trinity—which do not explain the mystery of God’s triune nature but provide its biblical truths—are three.

Firstly, the premise of the Trinity is that God is three persons but one God. He’s all three persons at the same time, but each person is separate and distinct.

Secondly, all the persons of the Trinity are equal. The Father isn’t greater than the Son. The Son isn’t greater than the Holy Spirit.

Thirdly, the persons of the Trinity work together in redemption. The Father made you and chose you for life (Rom. 8:28–30). The Son is Jesus Christ who died to save you (Rom. 5:8) and is your advocate before God the Father (1 John 2:1–2). The Spirit works in your heart to make you more like Christ (Gal. 5:16–18).

It’s a great blessing as well as a great wonder to ponder these mysteries—and how sweet to ponder them with your children! Let’s praise a God who is so far beyond our understanding. Let’s contemplate the great mystery that God condescended to reveal himself at all, and that in doing so he also provided for us salvation and hope and an eternal inheritance as his sons and daughters.
~ Mary Van Weelden

Without intending to, we often water down important doctrines because we want people to be able to grasp hold of these great mysteries without becoming discouraged by their perplexity.

05/31/2026

Join us for worship today, Holy Trinity Sunday. Worship begins at 10:30 a.m. Come to receive the gifts of Christ! Also, be sure to tune in today at 8 AM to 106 FM WACD for our weekly "Shepherd's Voice" broadcast.

"No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."
~ John 3:13-15

05/30/2026

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
~ John 14:26

05/29/2026

“Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
~ Acts 2:7-11

05/28/2026

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
~ Acts 2:1-4

05/27/2026

Psalm 143:10

05/26/2026

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
~ Genesis 11:1-9

05/25/2026

The Spirit is not a ghost. He is the Giver of Life. And he does not come to decorate, but to fill.

He fills empty mouths. He fills old wounds. He fills churches long dead with new song. He makes old men dream again, and young women see true.

And here is the scandal: the Spirit comes to dwell in us.

Not in the high towers. Not in the clean corners. In us.

Earthen vessels, cracked and worn. Bodies that ache. Minds that wander. Mouths that falter. Into us he comes, not because we are worthy, but because Christ is. Because the blood has covered. Because the stone has rolled away. Because Christ is risen, and now the Church must rise with him.

Pentecost tells the truth about us.

That we cannot live by memory alone. That we cannot carry the name of Christ by strength of will or cleverness. That we need breath. That we need fire.

And it tells the truth about God.

That he still sends himself. That he still fills empty rooms. That he still turns coward into witness. That he still speaks in the tongue of the people, and he still calls men and women out of every land to become one Body.

One fire. One faith. One baptism. One Lord.

So the wind comes.

The fire falls again.

The Church speaks not with the cleverness of men, but with the breath of God. And the people say, as they did long ago, “What shall we do?”

And the answer still is this: Kneel. Be washed. Be filled.
~ Donavon Riley

The Church speaks not with the cleverness of men, but with the breath of God.

05/25/2026

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!"
~ Psalm 33:12

A blessed Memorial Day to you as we give thanks to God for those who died to preserve and protect the freedoms we enjoy.