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Sunday, January 29, 2012 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt When have you felt like you were in a place you didn’t want to be?  How easy was it to trust that it was because of God? What does saying yes to God require you to say no to at this point? Who has God used in your life to shape you? How has your brokenness limited your choices? How has your brokenness opened up new opportunities for ministry or service? In what ways have you come to grip with your brokenness? When have you been drawn in your brokenness to God? When have your obligations governed our choices and put you into a deeper dependence on Christ? When has moving towards God’s will become more difficult? How has self-denial led you to step into God’s will and given you a God-ordained voice in your particular context? Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, December 25, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt When have you been profoundly affected by the absence of light? When have you experienced a profound appreciation for the presence of light? What does light looks like to you? How do you turn toward the light?  What blocks the light from view in your life? How are you a light-bearer for others? In what areas of your life might you be resisting the light?  Why is darkness more preferred in these areas? Who is a light-bearer for you?  How honest are you with the areas of your life that need the light to shine into the darkness? How can you invite Jesus, the Light of the World, into your life this next year?  What step will you take? Sunday’s Bulletin

Saturday, December 24, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Christmas Eve Bulletin

Sunday, December 18 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt When have you been a part of a project that captured your attention?  What made it so captivating to you? When have you experienced overt rejection?  How did it impact you? When have you missed out on a wonderful opportunity because you were distracted by something else? What fills the rooms of your heart, leaving little or no room for Jesus?  What needs to be cleared out? How do you think making room for Christ would help to create order in your life?  How might it create more chaos? What keeps you from stepping into the light?  What are you afraid will be exposed? When has the “light” exposed something you didn’t like in your life?  What did you do about it? What is at risk for you to run toward the light?  What are you afraid of losing? What do you have to gain by stepping into the light? What will you do this week to step toward the light?  Who can you confide in regarding this next step? Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, December 11, 2011 | Pastor Joe Springer Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt What do you anticipate this particular Advent season? “We are a people that need to be saved.”  What evidence do you see of this? Can you think of a time when Satan was actively resisting the work of God in your life or experience? Where do you see resistance to God’s invitation to salvation? In what areas have you made a list to define and attain salvation?  What might be on your list? Is your faith more about no or yes? What is God inviting you to say yes to that you might be hearing as a no, or where culture might be saying no? How do you see Jesus being the yes to the brokenness of the world?  How can you participate in the “yes” of Christ? How does independence get in the way of following Christ’s example—surrendering to God’s call? What does the fullness of yes in Christ look like to you in your life and endeavors? What do you need to empty yourself of in order to be filled with Christ? Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, December 4, 2011 | Pastor Joe Springer Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt What do we know at the time of John’s writing of his gospel that wasn’t known when Genesis was written? What is the significance of Jesus being the Word? When has your message been received differently than you intended? Why did God need to reveal Himself in the form of a human? How easy is it for you to understand that Jesus’ self-sacrifice and self-giving reflects the character of the invisible God? Do you see God the Father as having different characteristics than Jesus?  Why? In what ways has God pursued you?  How did you respond? How might God be pursuing you now and how are you responding? Where have you experienced or witnessed God’s reconciliation through Christ in your life?  Your relationships? Your community? Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, November, 27, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Nancy Eckardt In what ways does science influence your view of humanity, God and the potential for relationship? How do you see the influence of the Spirit in your life?  In your creativity? We are created to be image-bearers of God.  When have you seen the glory of Christ in another? How do you see Christ’s glory in your own life? In Genesis 1 – 3, God reveals to His people who they are.  What do you learn about yourself in this passage? How is obedience challenging your appetite these days? In what ways have you chosen against what is best? How do you address failure in your life? How do you address failure in those you love? How does the presence of Christ redeem your failures? In what area do you need Christ to save you? What do you hope for during this Advent season? Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, November 20, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt What role does nature play in your worship? What role does consumption play in your worship? When has natural beauty invited you to God?  When has it distracted you from God? When have you seen God do something that humanity can’t do? How does relationship influence your holidays?  How do gifts play a role? What does dominion bring to mind for you? How have you seen an attitude of dominion be destructive in nature? In relationships? How might your subtle acts of dominion be impacting others? What would it look like for you, as God’s image-bearer, to love the earth as God loves the earth? How can you practice contentment?  What are barriers to contentment for you? Read Psalm 73:25.  How are you doing in moving toward contentment with Christ? What step can you take? Sunday’s Bulletin

We’re aware that every time we talk about the intersection of faith and science it brings up questions. In conjunction with Pastor Richard’s current “Genesis & Science” sermon series, we held a discussion panel to talk about these questions–and with the help of four Christian experts who work with science every day, we got some answers (or at least a left with quite a bit to think about). Listen to a podcast of the evening’s discussion below. Our panelists were Ben McFarland, Rod Stiling, Owen Thompson, and Adrian Wyard. Watch the video _____________________________ A list of books and other materials recommended by the panel members from the “Speaking of Genesis: A Panel to Answer Your Questions” discussion. Books recommended by the panel: Karl Giberson and Francis Collins, The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions (IVP Books, 2011) Francis Collins, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief (Free Press, 2007) Alister McGrath, Dawkins’ GOD: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life (Wiley Blackwell, 2004) Heidi Campbell and Heather Looy, A Science and Religion Primer (Baker Academic, 2009) Ian Barbour, When Science Meets Religion: Enemies, Strangers, or Partners? (HarperOne, 2000) John F Haught. God after Darwin (Westview Press, 2007) David C. Lindberg, Ronald L. Numbers, When Science and Christianity Meet, (University of Chicago Press, 2003). Simon Conway Morris, Life’s Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe (Cambridge University Press, 2004) Kenneth Miller, Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution (Harper Perennial, 2007) R Russell, W Stoeger, F Ayala, Evolutionary Molecular Biology: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action (University of Notre Dame Press, 1999) Online resources recommended by the panel: Counterbalance An extensive library of science and religion materials. Featuring introductory video, interviews, textbook samples, biographies, a glossary of science and religion terms, and advanced articles. Introductory video on faith and science (five-minute clips) Question: Where did we come from? What is the geological evidence for an old earth? For an explanation of the different methods of dating objects and why they are reliable (and agree with each other) see the three-part series “How Old Is It? How Do We Know? A Review of Dating Methods …” by Davis A. Young in PSCF. (Level = Scientific Journal with Explanation for Those Outside the Field) Why is “Creationism” a debate in America but not in Europe? For a fascinating outline of specific historical reasons why American evangelicals distrust science, see “Evangelicals, Creation, and Scripture: An Overview” by Mark Noll, published by BioLogos and in PSCF. (Level = Historical Journal) How can the story of science and the story of God interact for good? For a view of how the science of chemistry and the theology of creation align described by a long-time Bethany member, see “The Chemical Constraints on Creation: Natural Theology and Narrative Resonance” (pdf) by Ben McFarland (2010 Weter Lecture), audio/video on iTunesU. (Level = Post-College Lecture) Other talks by Ben McFarland on faith and science include “Trees of Life” about Tolkien and DNA in 2011, “The Sounds of New Creation” which is a ‘Last Lecture’ awarded in 2011, and “What Good is Evolution?” in 2010, all of which are online on iTunesU, and “The Eight Days of Creation,” written for college students on his blog “Arrow Through the Sun.” Biology and theology For a controversial but Scripture-based interpretation of the Fall in the light of genomic science, see “Recent Genetic Science and Christian Theology on Human Origins: An “Aesthetic Supralapsarianism” by John Schneider, published by PSCF. Theology For a view of how the theory of evolution aligns with the theology that Jesus was God, see “Darwin, Design, and [...]

We often read the Bible through a material lens, so when we read about God creating the heavens and the earth, we presume that what we’re talking about is physical creation. But there are other ways to talk about creation. Sunday, November 13, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt How has your identity as a materialist impacted your understanding of God? What would it look like for creation, i.e. moving from non-functional to functional, to happen in your life? What would you like Christ’s life in you to make functional? When have you been tempted to define yourself materially? When have you played a role in bringing order out of chaos? What meaning do you find in Genesis 1 when you read it without a scientific lens? How do you play the role of priest in your work and context? Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, November 6, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt Why do you think theology is so slow to change? How do you reconcile what you read about science and what you read in scripture? Is there a time when you had to let go of a notion that you believed based on your reading of scripture because of something you learned in science? Where do you see God’s truth in the sciences? How does your life benefit from generations of scientific discovery? When have you resisted new discovery because of fear that it may challenge your beliefs?  What ultimately ended up happening? What’s at stake for you to learn more about your world? What have you learned about God through science? What needs to change in your heart in order to embrace the truth that God is revealing to you? Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, October 30, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Nancy Eckardt When have you felt isolated? When have you had to leave something behind in order to move into something new? How is your relationship with Christ reflected in your relationship with others? Is there a horizontal relationship that is getting in the way of your relationship with God?  What do you need to do about this? When have you stepped out of your comfort zone to help someone in need – financially, relationally, or spiritually? When has it been easier to meet someone’s financial need than their relational need?  What makes one easier to meet than the other? How do you see your finances as causing isolation for you? What makes it difficult for you to be vulnerable with others? What do you see as your role in caring for the Bethany community? Sunday’s Bulletin

Sunday, October, 23, 2011 | Pastor Joe Springer Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt What are you watching and associating yourself with without actually participating in? What are you truly participating in?  What does that look like?  What does that say about you and your values? When have your plans been changed?  How has that led you into God’s desire for you? How do you respond to changed plans? How do you respond to interruption? When has God revealed His character to you in interruption? What detours have you experienced? In what way are you in a detour now?  How is it drawing you into an encounter with God? When have you entered into a situation that ended up being messy? In what ways does your life reflect hospitality? What scares you about hospitality? When has an experience of extending hospitality been transformative for you? When have you received hospitality in a transformative way? How might God be calling you to risk interruption by extending hospitality in a new way? Sunday’s Bulletin

A healthy church is committed to making the invisible God visible in our community and around the world by embodying the reign of Christ in word and deed. We face challenges at many levels when embracing God’s mission, and these challenges are effectively addressed by looking at one single verse in the Bible, Acts 1:8. Sunday, October, 16, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt “Mission is making the invisible God visible in our community and around the world by embodying the reign of Christ in word and deed.”  What does mission mean for you?  For BCC? What characteristics of the kingdom of God does your life reflect? How comfortable are you with the reality that your life tells others who Jesus is? How do your actions connect to your intimacy with Christ? We are called to be effective witnesses at home – what is home to you? How is your life and witness counter-cultural to your context? In what ways is your faith characterized by your culture? How do you reflect Christ in word in your daily context? Can you think of a time when you left a comfortable context and were scattered to another place?  How did you step into a new community, secular and/or Christian? How do you cross cultural barriers in your daily life? What keeps you from crossing cultural barriers? What step can you take to overcome the barriers to step more richly into culture? In what ways can we benefit from crossing cultural barriers? How aware are you of God’s presence throughout the day?  What can you do to deepen awareness of Him? Sunday’s Bulletin

As a part of overall church health, we’re committed to helping each person find their unique voice and calling, and to developing leaders. Faith is passed from one generation to another intentionally, through relationship, therefore leaders must commit to passing the torch of leadership to a new generation. Sunday, October 9, 2011 | Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Discussion Questions by Pastor Nancy Eckardt When has someone passed the baton to you?  What did it feel like? When have you passed the baton to someone else?  Was it easy or hard and why? Have you had a mentor before?  What did you gain? Have you been a mentor before?  How did you gain from it? What emotion does the phrase “Pass the torch” stir in you? What role has presence played in your mentoring relationships? What keeps you from being a mentor? What responsibilities can you entrust to a new leader as a way to encourage and equip them? Are you closer to being Frodo or Gandalf? How easy is it for you to see a mentoring relationship as mutually beneficial? What can you gain from the older generation?  From the younger generation? What have you learned from interactions with friends from different cultures? What keeps you from being curious? What are you curious about? When have you seen curiosity building bridges? How is your Facebook identity different than your true identity? What struggles do you hide from those you seek to impress?  Why? Sunday’s Bulletin