loving God
THE MEANING
When Jesus was asked what was the most important thing for people to do, He responded: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul and all your mind" (Matt. 22:37). He was making it clear that the most important thing that we do, is to love God. We are to love God with all that we are, and all that we have. We are to love God in all we do, say & think. Loving God is to define our very existence. The love that we have for everyone & everything is to be a result of our love for God, or resulting in our love for God.
TOGETHER, COLLECTIVELY, CORPORATELY
At Bethel, we love God together, as a church, on Sunday mornings at 11:00. On Sunday mornings, we worship through MUSIC (exciting, alive, powerful, moving) and MESSAGE (Biblical, relevant, engaging, understandable, dignified). Everyone is welcome to join us as we love God together through vibrant worship of the One True God - the Creator of Heaven and Earth, God Almighty.
During our Sunday-morning worship service, a nursery for bed babies (birth-18 months) is provided. We also provide a toddler nursery for those 18 months - 4-years-old. At the same time, we provide an age-appropriate worship experience for kids 4-years-old through the fourth grade (Worship KidStyle). These options of special care for children are only options. Families are always welcome to worship together in the large service.
On Saturday evenings, we provide a concert-style worship experience (RiseUp) for youth (Grades 7-12) & college students. RiseUp provides a specialized opportunity for students to love God collectively.
BY FAMILY
Families are great places to love God. We encourage husbands & wives to worship together through prayer, fasting and studying God's Word the Bible. Children need love, and they need to give love. We encourage parents to make time for their whole family to love God in family worship or devotional time. Sometimes this includes simply reading a Bible story and praying, or using a family devotional book, or maybe just talking with the Lord as a family unit. We suggest that families love God together daily.
INDIVIDUALLY
We encourage every person to love God individually. Communities are only as strong as the churches within them, churches are only as strong as the families that make them up, & families are only as strong as their individual members. The more each person loves God, the stronger our families, churches & communities become. Ultimately, loving God is not about us, it's about Him. As much as God loves the church and families, the reality is that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for individuals. Because of His vast personal love for us, we worship Him personally. We encourage people to love God through the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, Bible reading, Bible study, Scripture memorization, and giving. We also encourage people to love God by loving other people, because we know from the ancient Scriptures that this brings Him great pleasure.
When Jesus was asked what was the most important thing for people to do, He responded: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul and all your mind" (Matt. 22:37). He was making it clear that the most important thing that we do, is to love God. We are to love God with all that we are, and all that we have. We are to love God in all we do, say & think. Loving God is to define our very existence. The love that we have for everyone & everything is to be a result of our love for God, or resulting in our love for God.
TOGETHER, COLLECTIVELY, CORPORATELY
At Bethel, we love God together, as a church, on Sunday mornings at 11:00. On Sunday mornings, we worship through MUSIC (exciting, alive, powerful, moving) and MESSAGE (Biblical, relevant, engaging, understandable, dignified). Everyone is welcome to join us as we love God together through vibrant worship of the One True God - the Creator of Heaven and Earth, God Almighty.
During our Sunday-morning worship service, a nursery for bed babies (birth-18 months) is provided. We also provide a toddler nursery for those 18 months - 4-years-old. At the same time, we provide an age-appropriate worship experience for kids 4-years-old through the fourth grade (Worship KidStyle). These options of special care for children are only options. Families are always welcome to worship together in the large service.
On Saturday evenings, we provide a concert-style worship experience (RiseUp) for youth (Grades 7-12) & college students. RiseUp provides a specialized opportunity for students to love God collectively.
BY FAMILY
Families are great places to love God. We encourage husbands & wives to worship together through prayer, fasting and studying God's Word the Bible. Children need love, and they need to give love. We encourage parents to make time for their whole family to love God in family worship or devotional time. Sometimes this includes simply reading a Bible story and praying, or using a family devotional book, or maybe just talking with the Lord as a family unit. We suggest that families love God together daily.
INDIVIDUALLY
We encourage every person to love God individually. Communities are only as strong as the churches within them, churches are only as strong as the families that make them up, & families are only as strong as their individual members. The more each person loves God, the stronger our families, churches & communities become. Ultimately, loving God is not about us, it's about Him. As much as God loves the church and families, the reality is that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for individuals. Because of His vast personal love for us, we worship Him personally. We encourage people to love God through the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, Bible reading, Bible study, Scripture memorization, and giving. We also encourage people to love God by loving other people, because we know from the ancient Scriptures that this brings Him great pleasure.
