Welcome to Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Welcome to Bethlehem Lutheran Church

The Bible begins with a promise of abundance. “It is good, it is good, it is very good,” God declares as work of creation is begun. And then God blesses the entire endeavor, “Be fruitful and multiply.” Goodness overflows from God’s creative spirit and endows all plants, animals, and earth with light, life and hope. What was begun in creation comes to fulfillment in God’s own son when Jesus declares, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

But what is an abundant life? It is easy in our world to confuse abundance with possessions. We begin to believe in entitlement: “I deserve my piece of the pie.” We begin to feel pressure to create and produce our own futures. We begin to worry that there might not be enough to go around. We begin to compete with others so we can get ours “while the gettin’s good.” We find that the end of this story is despair, not the abundance we were misled to expect. Instead of abundant life, we are controlled by a fear of scarcity.

But there is another story. It is God’s story of endless grace, love, forgiveness and justice. It is the story of manna from heaven. It is the story of a few loaves and fishes feeding 5,000. It is the story of the blind receiving sight and the lame leaping like a deer. It is the story of the bread of life that can feed us even after we die. This is the story we teach, learn, proclaim and live at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

When you begin to live God’s story, the world is different. No longer afraid of scarcity, you notice God’s blessings all around, and even within, even in the hard times. No longer forced into competition, you are freed to be the creative, generous, gifted person God created you to be. Now open to God’s presence, you want to go deeper into that relationship; exploring the gifts God has given you as one of God’s children. You want to nurture those gifts, strengthen them, and then let them loose in the world for service to others. You want to join others in celebrating our God of abundance.

If this story sounds exciting to you, I invite you to join us at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Come join us in worship as we thank and praise God for the blessings and gifts of God’s abundance. Come learn with us, no matter your age, for we all are on a journey of discovering and nurturing our personal gifts and abilities given to us by our loving Creator. Come serve with us as we share a new story with our hurting, despairing world.

Mark H. Larson
Senior Pastor