Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Bethlehem Lutheran Church Sunday morning services are at 8:00 & 10:45 am. The 8:00 service is live streamed to Facebook. Fellowship Sunday is twice a year with 1 service at 9:30 am.

Our mission comes from Matt 28:19-20:
"We seek to save the lost and strengthen the saved."

09/06/2026

The 14th Sunday after Trinity - Sep 06, 2026
Divine Service: Setting One

Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ! We pray God’s word will enrich and encourage you this day.

Let us know you’re here with a "Good Morning" comment and virtually “greet” your brothers and sisters.

An order of service is available in the Document Library of our website at https://www.bethlehem-raymore.org/connect/document-library

09/05/2026

The verse for today, 9/5, is Mark 9:5
“ Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’“

It’s hard to tell what Peter was thinking here. The next verse even tells us Peter himself didn’t really know. Jesus had just begun to shine. Actually, literally, shine. He was glowing. Like the appearance of God to the prophets in the Old Testament, the radiance of His glory visibly shone before them so brilliantly that nothing on earth could compare. At His side appeared two of the leading figures of God’s revelation in the Old Testament, speaking with Him.

Peter should really be excused for not knowing what to say at that point. What exactly is the proper thing to say in a situation like that? Probably nothing! That’s not just to avoid saying the wrong thing, either. In the presence of the greatest teachers of the Old Testament, let alone in the midst of the revelation of the glory of the Son of God Himself, is really ideal time for listening rather than speaking. In fact, that was the very instruction Peter received. Peter’s words were answered by the voice of God the Father speaking from the cloud saying “this is my beloved Son, Listen to Him.”

We’re sometimes quick to add our two cents to God’s Word when we really ought to just let God speak to us. When we listen to Jesus, we’ll usually find that He has already said and done everything for us, far better than we ourselves could’ve done!

09/04/2026

The verse for today, 9/4, is Ezekiel 9:4
“And Yahweh said to him, ‘Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it’.”

Once again, X marks the spot! The Hebrew word for “a mark” was the name of the letter taw, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which was in those days made X or +. This was a commonly used mark back then, just as it is today for a broad variety of purposes.
While many of the ways we use this mark are insignificant, God’s use of it has the greatest significance.

Just like the cross of Jesus marks the spot of God’s saving work for all mankind, the cross also marks us as those who have received that salvation and are spared from the coming judgment. Like the mark God mercifully gave Cain so that he would not be killed, or the marking of the doors of the Israelites with the blood of the lamb at the first Passover, we have been marked in our baptism as those redeemed by Christ the Crucified. We illustrate this concretely in the baptismal liturgy by making the sign of the cross over the forehead and the heart, “to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.” God wants us, and everyone else, to know without a doubt that we belong to Him!

09/03/2026

The verse for today, 9/3, is John 9:3
“Jesus answered, ‘It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’”

Jesus’ disciples had just asked him, “why was this man born blind? Who sinned, was it him or his parents?” They understood that all suffering is the result of sin, but their application of that understanding was overly simplistic and incorrectly focused.

God doesn’t cause suffering, but He does manipulate it. Like a sculptor working in garbage, God can use something awful to make something beautiful. Jesus didn’t see the blind man’s suffering as an opportunity to play the blame game but as an opportunity to bring powerful healing both physically and spiritually – to the blind man, and through him to others.

Jesus wants His disciples, us, to have the same attitude. We know if it weren’t for Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, there would be no suffering. How and where that suffering pops up in our lives and the lives of those around us is not for us to try to assign blame. It’s an opportunity to instead look for how God can use us to show His glorious power to heal.

09/02/2026

The verse for today, 9/2, is Isaiah 9:2
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”

“The people who walk in darkness”? What people? Who goes for a stroll in the middle of the night? Walking around in the dark is a good way to get lost or hurt, and that’s why most people don’t do it. Walking in the dark is typically a sign that someone is already pretty lost and confused, even apart from the confusion that comes from trying to navigate in the darkness.

God spoke to Isaiah of a people so “in the dark” they didn’t even realize they were in the dark, and He promised them light, a light so great that it could dispel even the deepest darkness. Even in a darkness so deep and wide that no light could be found in the whole land, God’s light would find its way in. By that light, all people would be able to see not only the way to walk in safety and peace, but even the very face of God Himself.

The Wise Men from the East saw this light when Jesus was born. Every Christmas we prove the truth of this verse as we too celebrate the birth of our Savior, the light that has shone on us, thousands of years later and thousands of miles away. The Good News of eternal life in Christ is the light that God has indeed shone over all the earth, piercing the deepest darkness, showing that no one is beyond His power to save.

09/01/2026

The verse for today, 9/1, is Mark 9:1
“And he said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.’”

God’s Kingdom coming “with power” is a theme throughout the New Testament, but it doesn’t always look the way we might expect it to, and it doesn’t necessarily refer to the Last Day. Scripture uses the phrase “with power” to describe the coming of God’s Kingdom in the resurrection of Jesus (Ro 1:4), the miracles accompanying the Apostles’ preaching (1 Th 1:5, Ac 4:33), the strengthening of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all believers (Eph 3:16), and even the presence of God in the gathering together of the church in worship (1 Co 5:4)!

We tend to think of power in terms of weapons of destruction or threats of economic ruin to coerce people through fear. When you think about it, though, it actually doesn’t take a lot of power to bring death. Death will come on its own even without our helping it along! True power is the power to give life, which only God can do.

It’s true that hell is for real, and God does judge sin, but that is not His primary work; it’s more of a side effect of those who reject His power. The focus of God’s power is always to bring life, and those who were there at the first Pentecost when the disciples were “clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24:49) witnessed exactly what Jesus promised, the powerful work of the Holy Spirit giving eternal life and salvation through the Gospel. We too are witnesses and recipients of that power, and because of that we need not fear death or any earthly “power”!

08/31/2026

The verse for today, 8/31, is Mark 8:31
“And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

The Apostle Peter didn't like the sound of that, as we read in the verse following today’s verse. He even went so far as to rebuke Jesus for suggesting such a thing. Jesus words were very clear, though. The fulfillment of His purpose was through suffering and death. The way to victory was through the cross. The treasure was indeed marked with an X.

Like Peter, we too often want the way to be an easy one, and we too need to hear Jesus' word that teaches us not fear the cross or trial. Rejection, persecution, and other hardships that come from following Jesus are certainly unpleasant, but we have His promise of the resurrection to assure us and help us endure until we ultimately experience His complete victory over all suffering, and even death itself!

08/30/2026

The 13th Sunday after Trinity - Aug 30, 2026
Divine Service: Setting One

Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ! We pray God’s word will enrich and encourage you this day.

Let us know you’re here with a "Good Morning" comment and virtually “greet” your brothers and sisters.

An order of service is available in the Document Library of our website at https://www.bethlehem-raymore.org/connect/document-library

08/29/2026

The verse for today, 8/29, is Mark 8:29
“And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ.’”

Hey, look at that! Peter got one Right! It’s a miracle! Peter is seen throughout the Gospels as singularly gifted in flexibility, specifically the ability to put his own foot in his mouth. The insight of his identification of Jesus as the Messiah here really stands out because of Peter’s usual boneheadedness. That contrast really highlights that it actually was in fact a miracle.

Although it might seem especially surprising to hear a confession of the Truth come from Peter, the reality is that nobody can by their own reason or strength believe in Jesus or come to Him, as Luther states in his explanation to the 3rd article of the Creed in the Small Catechism. In the Gospel of Matthew’s account of this event, Jesus even says it Himself “Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in Heaven” (Mt 16:17). It takes a miracle for anyone to understand that Jesus is the Messiah. Fortunately, miracles are what God is good at, and He is more than willing to provide.

It’s because of God’s grace that we not only have Jesus but that we even know and recognize who Jesus is. Although it may be tempting to claim some credit for ourselves by attributing it to our own wisdom, true faith in Jesus as the Christ recognizes that all the glory and praise goes to Him.

Address

310 Johnston Pkwy
Raymore, MO
64083

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm
Sunday 8am - 12pm

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