I believe the Lord is calling us to seek him earnestly this fall concerning forms and focuses of church life for our future. We will do this in at least three ways: Preaching, Praying and Discussing.

Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings this fall will be devoted to issues relating to what it means to be the body of Christ. If "Christ is all" (Colossians 3:11), how then shall we live together? If we are “one body in Christ” what should our life together look like? How are we to be structured (or unstructured) so as to release the gifts of all and care for all and hold all accountable to fulfill the covenant commitments of belonging to the body of Christ called Bethlehem?

Wednesdays will supplement the Sunday morning messages and include questions and answers from you. During the prayer times from 5:30 to 6:30 on Wednesday evenings we will pray for the Lord’s leading and power in all these matters.

We will preach on Sundays, pray from 5:30 - 6:30 on Wednesdays (or for whatever part of it you can come for), and discuss in the BITC Plenary Session at 6:45 PM Wednesdays.

I look forward to following the Word of the Lord with you as we discover more fully what it means to be the body of Christ and the church, the temple of the living God.

*      *      *

• September 20 – Ephesians 1:15-23
  “His Body: The Fullness of Him Who Fills All in All”
• September 27 – Ephesians 2:11-22
  “Israel and Us Reconciled in One Body”
  
  
• October 4 – COMMUNION SUNDAY, 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
  “One Bread, One Body”
• October 11 – Ephesians 5:22-32
  “Beautifying the Body and the Bride”
• October 18 – Ephesians 4:7-16
  “Why the Saints Minister to the Body”
• October 25 – Ephesians 4:7-16
  “How the Saints Minister to the Body”
  
  
• November 1 – MISSIONS WEEK, Timothy George Speaking
  “Expect Great Things from God, Attempt Great Things for God”
• November 8 – MISSIONS WEEK,
  COMMUNION SUNDAY, Ephesians 4:1-6
  “One Lord, One Spirit, One Body for All Time and All Peoples”
• November 15 – Romans 12:1-8
  “Sound Judgment, One Body, Several Gifts”
• November 22 – VISITOR FOCUSED SUNDAY
• 1 Corinthians 12:1-13
  “The Body, the Gifts and the Common Good”
• November 27 – 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
  “You Were Bought with a Price, Your Body is Christ’s”
  
  
• December 6 – 1 Corinthians 12:14-20
  “Body Pains: Feelings of Uselessness”
• December 13 – 1 Corinthians 12:21-27
  “Body Pains: Feelings of Self-Sufficiency”
• December 20 – VISITOR FOCUSED SUNDAY
  A Celebration of Christ’s Coming

Pastor John