Bethel Presbyterian Church, West Columbia, Texas

09/08/2026

(Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, via BibleGateway.com)

35

Thus there remains only one path for those who in following Jesus want to truly serve God in worship, and that is the path of reconciliation with their sisters and brothers. Anyone who comes to the word and sacrament with an unreconciled heart stands judged by doing so. Such a person is a murderer in God’s sight. That is why you must “first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” It is a difficult path Jesus imposes on his disciples. It includes much humiliation and dishonor for the disciples themselves. But it is the path to him, our crucified brother, and thus, it is a path full of grace. In Jesus, service to the least brother or sister and service to God became one. He went and was reconciled to his human kindred, and then he came and offered himself, the one true sacrifice, to his Father.

Biblical Wisdom

“So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother and sister, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

Questions to Ponder

*Bonhoeffer states that: “It is a difficult path Jesus imposes on his disciples.” What makes it difficult?

*He also states that, “it is a path full of grace.” Where is the grace?

*How did Jesus model the truth that, “service to the least brother or sister and service to God became one”?

Psalm Fragment

O guard my life, and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you. (Psalm 25:20-21)

Journal Reflections

*Is there someone with whom you need to be reconciled? Write about the circumstances that led to alienation from this person.

*What step(s) might you take to begin the process of reconciliation?

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, thank you for reconciling me to yourself; now make me a reconciler.

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09/08/2026

09/04/2026

Scripture for (Communion) Sunday, Romans 13:8-10; hymns, “Blessed Jesus, at Your Word,” “Break Thou the Bread of Life,” “I Need Thee Every Hour,” and “All the Way My Savior Leads Me.”

09/03/2026

(John Piper devotional, via BibleGateway.com)

Devastated and Delighted

The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6)

What would the doctrines of grace sound like if every limb in that tree were coursing with the sap of Augustinian delight (that is, what I call “Christian Hedonism”)?

Total depravity is not just badness, but blindness to God’s beauty and deadness to the deepest joy.
Unconditional election means that the completeness of our joy in Jesus was planned for us before we ever existed as the overflow of God’s joy in the fellowship of the Trinity.
Limited atonement is the assurance that indestructible joy in God is infallibly secured for us by the blood of the new covenant.
Irresistible grace is the commitment and power of God’s love to make sure we don’t hold on to suicidal pleasures, and to set us free by the sovereign power of superior delights.
Perseverance of the saints is the almighty work of God not to let us fall into the final bo***ge of inferior pleasures, but to keep us, through all affliction and suffering, for an inheritance of fullness of joy in his presence and pleasures at his right hand forevermore.
Unconditional election delivers the harshest and the sweetest judgments to my soul. That it is unconditional destroys all self-exaltation; and that it is election makes me his treasured possession.

This is one of the beauties of the biblical doctrines of grace: their worst devastations prepare us for their greatest delights.

What prigs we would become at the words, “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6), if this election were in any way dependent on our will. But to protect us from pride, the Lord teaches us that we are unconditionally chosen (7:7–9). “He made a wretch his treasure,” as we so gladly sing.

Only the devastating freeness and unconditionality of electing grace lets us take and taste such gifts for our very own without the exaltation of self.

08/31/2026

Garage sale is over, but we would still love to sell this item.

08/31/2026

A couple of notes about the now completed annual garage sale at Bethel:
FIRST--Did you get home with a box of treasures, but minus your ring? We have a ring that was NOT part of the sale, so we think one of you shoppers might have lost it. Call the office (345 3717) to describe it and help us get it back to you.

Second--the Chuck Norris Total Body gym is still available. We would love to have someone come and get it--Share this info with a friend who's been wanting to turn the garage into a gym when the weather cools down! Call the church if you would like to take another look at it (345 3717).

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