April, 2015 - Bethesda Church

Good News from the Bethesda Family
“Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another...” I Thess. 5:11
Volume 26, Issue 4
Bethesda Church
15033 Hwy. 13 South
Prior Lake, MN 55372
April, 2015
“He Set His Face Toward Jerusalem!”
One of the things that always blesses us in the
Easter Season is the purposefulness of the Lord
Office: 952-226-6651
in fulfilling the will of the Father and completing
Fax:
952-226-6652
His redemptive mission for mankind. I’ve always
loved the verses in scripture where we find the
www.bethesdachurch.com Lord “setting His face toward Jerusalem.” He
was resolute and undeterred in His desire to
Inside this issue:
accomplish what was needed for our salvation.
Many times I’ve been deeply moved as I’ve
Prayer Requests
2 considered the passage in Isaiah 53:7 “He was
led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb
Calendar
3
before its shearer is silent, so He does not open
Kidz Korner
4 His mouth.” A basic tenet of our understanding
of God’s work on the Cross of Calvary is that it
Wally
5 was carefully planned in ages past and carried
out in exact fulfillment of the Father’s will. Don’t
Events
6 you find it thrilling to know of Christ’s determined
love for you as He willingly walked to His own
The Encourager
crucifixion?
If you have an event or
news you would like to
have published, please
submit articles to the
church office by the second Tuesday of the month.
E-mail:bethesda@
bethesdachurch.com
One of the ways I’ve found myself reminded of
this is the Lord’s frequent statements to the
effect that “His hour has not yet come.” (John
7:6) Over and over again it is made obvious that
certain things could not happen because God’s
plan and timing were not satisfied. Many times
Jesus would make clear, “My hour has not yet
come!” (John 2:4, 7:8, 8:20) God was not
arbitrary and careless about the details of the
eternal work of Christ defeating sin and death.
Certainly events had to be just as God wanted
on earth and we have to believe there were very
significant reasons for when and how things
transpired. God was careful to fulfill His every
prophesied promise and He satisfied all of the
Law through the “once for all” sacrifice. I have to
believe that there were matters of timing in
relation to the heavenly and spiritual realms as
well. All of God’s created realms revolved and
focused in upon this pivotal moment in history.
God's glorious work was soon to be realized in all
its fullness! As the spiritual forces set against God
braced themselves for an all-out effort against the
redeemer, the angels of heavens watched and
marveled at the wisdom and grace of God.
How amazing and wonderful it is that as the Lord
gathered together His disciples to celebrate the
Feast of Passover, He did so “knowing that His
hour had come. ”(John 13:1) He taught them
many very specific things intended to encourage
them in their understanding of what He was soon
to accomplish. They need not be afraid because
His Spirit would be with them. They need not be
troubled because He would return for them. The
need not be discouraged because He would give
strength and peace from above. Christ even
opens His most wonderful prayer of John 17 with
the words “Father, the hour has come…”
Rejoicing in the wisdom and plan of the Father,
Christ lifts up a wonderful prayer on behalf of His
children. He does so recognizing “the hour has
come!”
As we worship and enjoy this very special season
of Christ’ death, burial, and resurrection, may our
hearts overflow with the knowledge of His love for
each one of us. For he calmly, quietly, and
purposefully walked to His agonizing death,
knowing the joy that was set before Him. The joy
of yours and my salvation! Praise the Name of
Jesus Christ through whom all blessings flow!
Have a wonderful Easter!
~Pastor Mark Matychuk
Getting to Know You…Brittny Hollenbeck
April 5th
Brittny found salvation at
VBS when she was in grade
school. She graduated from
Minnehaha Academy, went on to
Grace Bible College, and is now
studying Theater in Mankato
with a minor in Music. She’d like
to become a Stage Manager and
has received some excellent help
from Rosalie Miller who arranged
for Brittny to shadow the stage
manager for Triple Espresso.
She also worked with a
community theater while at GBC
in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Stage managing requires that she
know
(Cont. pg. 2)
2
The Encourager
Prayer & Praise Requests
TERRY & JOYCE CAVE - Please pray for
Terry and Joyce as Terry’s brother, Wayne,
passed away. Wayne was saved and Terry
truly desires that God would use them to
encourage the family.
AUSTIN CRONQUIST - Pray for Austin as he
is preparing to sign up for the army full time.
He is confident of the Lord’s leading through
the whole decision process and asks for prayer
for safety and his direction in terms of his units
placement.
ANDY PAPULAS - (a long time member of
Bethesda) Andy went home to be with his Lord
and Savior on Saturday, March 14th. Pray for
his family and friends during this difficult time.
DIANE DETJEN - Diane had surgery on March
26th, at Abbott Northwestern hospital, to
remove a pituitary tumor. It went well. Pray that
she makes a complete recovery.
DON & RINDY KOUKAL - Don’s liver cancer
has returned. Praise the Lord he is a
Getting to know You…
everything about running a performance. So
she is learning the basics of lighting, sound,
performing, physical set-up, etc.
Brittny has big plans. Her goal is to
establish a Christian Community Theater in
the Twin Cities which is second only to New
York City in number of theaters. She has a
great love for story-telling and wants those
walking away from a performance to
experience deeper thinking and
understanding, depth not just entertainment.
She’ll needs lots of creative people plus
financial backing to make this a reality and
had already lined up friends to join her. One
is a business major and one is majoring in
advertisement.
Brittny has a God-given passion for this.
While working one summer at Northern Grace
Youth Camp she and a friend were just
hanging out with their Bibles when she came
across Psalm. 33:10-11. She knows that even
if her plan doesn’t work out-God’s will!!!!
First she wants to set up a school to teach the
basics of acting. This will give performers the
opportunity to get a taste of theater and see if
they are really serious about their art. Then,
when her theater is a reality, she can draw on
this pool of actors. The theater will use
performers aged from middle school through
adult. They can begin by performing in
smaller groups and in Christmas and spring
plays.
She and her dad, Andy, want to set up the
Youth Room for theatrical use, and she would
candidate for the same treatment as before
in Ann Arbor, MI. They left on March 23 and
will return April 2nd. Pray that all goes well
and for little side affects.
PAM MYHRA - I am asking for prayer for
my team prayer coordinator - Lori
Glynn. She has been hospitalized twice in
the past few weeks due to a severe
breathing condition. Her asthma has been
compounded by an unexplained air pocket
next to her spine. It has been extremely
God Bless You on
Your Special Day!
April Birthdays
4-01 Eleanor Larson
Faith Larson
Mark Matychuk
Don Swanson
4-02
Grayce Triplett
difficult for her and she needs our
4-03 Cassandra Loppnow
prayers for a breakthrough.
Lauren Woods
GRETCHEN MATYCHUK - Pray as she
4-04 Larry Bakke
meets with pastors to distribute the “Project
Dean Davis
Translate” books. She was also asked to
Tom Vellani
speak on April 12th to a combined group of 4-05 Derek Larson
ladies. Pray that she can get enough
4-07 Garan LCPL Williams
practice in by then so she can present a real 4-10 T.J. Peterson
challenge. Thanks for your prayer support.
4-12 Wesley Wolke
4-13 Gavin Harbo
John Simonsen
Sandra Toeller
Brittny Hollenbeck
4-17 Stephanie Ebert
4-18 Lance Becker
Andy Hollenbeck
Adam Jones
Maria Meyer
Paul Pedro
4-19 Laura Cleveland
4-20 Daniel Koutsky
Noah Murigi
4-21 Julia Josephson
4-22 Leota Anderson
Tammy Williams
4-23 Taylor Burma
4-26 Bryn Jones
4-28 Emily Cleveland
Paul Pagel
4-30 Andrew Brandt
like to offer month long acting classes in the
LaDrea Gray
summer where interested people could get
some experience in presentation, stage
Anniversaries
movement, rendering monologues, and
4-12 Peter & Claudia Hennen
actually performing with feedback. If anyone 4-13 Bill & Roberta Kolesar
reading this is truly interested in the stage
4-17 Ken & Mary Mueller
please contact Brittny.
4-21 Ted & Judy Brown
Right now she’s working as assistant
4-22 James & Julia Josephson
stage manager for the Mankato presentation 4-23 Mike & Donna Gray
of “The Pirates of Penzance” (April 9-12 and
4-30 James & Leah Wolke
16-19, there are still tickets available ;D ).
Missionary Birthdays
Brittny uses her skills at NGYC where she
4-14 Michelle Kilgo
works summer. She assists in putting on skits 4-17 David Sorteberg
4-22 Mary Sue Reed
with the other staff and doing puppet shows
4-24 Mary Sorteberg
for the younger campers. This gal has BIG
4-25 Lynn Sorteberg
plans and knows God has His plans for her
4-28 Mike Benton
too.
~Reported by Shirley Calvin
4
The Encourager
Mark your
Calendars...
C hi
ld
3 Ye ren ag
es:
ars
Gra to 6th
de
Vacation Bible School
Kids will discover that through Jesus they can
be members of God’s family and personally
experience God’s formula for life-GP4U=J!
August 3-7, 2015
9:00 a.m. to Noon
Bible Stories - Crafts - Games
Skits - Snacks - Songs
Come and make
new Friends!
My God is a Good God
My God is a good God
Let me tell how good He is
He died on the cross
So that all of us could live…
There are some things He wants us to do
To live our lives the right way
And when things aren’t going right for us
All we have to do is “PRAY”
My God is a good God
You wanna know how I know
I know my God is a good God
Because the Bible tells me so
He’s there when I need Him
Even if I take a fall
He’s by my side when I need
Him
All I have to do is give Him a call
My God is a good God
Everything I am saying is true
My God is a good God
Everything He does for me,
He’ll do the same for you…
The Encourager
Happy Easter everyone! Singing
is a thing of beauty. Kathy
Matychuk has the ability to pull
beautiful music out of a small
choir-----because they're singing
for the Lord.
Wally Sez... The move to Haiti by the Russell
family was an extremely moving
announcement. The genuine commitment, the
true "seeking to do God's will" attitude of all is
inspiring. We sing, "I will leave everything
behind".....this family is the embodiment of that
song. But, that's not how they look at it. They are
answering a call ----obeying God's direction for
their lives. We will be praying....always.
Jamee Francis is on the book covers of the
Jerry Eicher trilogy, "Fields of Home”, books on
the Amish. Her pure, sweet face is a perfect
match for those stories. And, Michael Francis is
pictured on the cover of "A Plain Man", another
book about the Amish by Mary Ellis. All these
and more are available in our church library.
Betty Crownover isn't returning from Florida
until May so I'm thinkin' there's still plenty of time
for mis-adventures. And....sure enough! Betty
had to do some re-tiling which entailed moving
the stove and refrigerator into her living
room....and the toilet into the bath tub. A crew
came to level and prepare the floors and she
was quite alarmed noticing one young man's
calves...heavily tattooed.........until.....she
discovered all the tattooing was Scripture!! The
entire crew were fine Christian gentlemen.
Abigail Summer beat everyone including
Pastor Brent at the Youth bowling outing.
Mary Ann Dalbey and late husband Bob were,
among other things, greeters at Bethesda. Mary
Ann put a roast in the oven every Sunday a.m.
before leaving for church. Whenever they
greeted a new person or family the invitation to
join the Dalbey’s for lunch was extended and
accepted. Rivenburg’s and Keller’s were just a
few of the recipients. There are many folks today
who do that very same thing.
Bruce Anderson drives, every other weekend,
near Alexandria, MN to visit his recently widowed
father and brothers. They enjoy a good visit, a
pinochle game and lunch. Don't go with him
'round Christmas though, they have lutefisk!!!
Christenson's are the fun family as we all well
know. When they party----it's Retro time. While
playing "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" party-goers
lost a bit of confidence in our "mountain man"
Peter Hennen. He tried pinning his tail on
Rachel Matychuk's forehead!!! Claudia, on the
other hand, redeemed herself by being
blindfolded with Tracey Eimer and the two came
very close to the donkey's rear end!!!
Thought for the Month
When we spill a little happiness
it splashes on all
Women’s
Retreat
5
On Friday, March 13th, many Bethesda
women arrived at the Oak Ridge
Conference Center for the annual
Bethesda Women's Retreat. They were
met by some very handsome, well
dressed Bethesda men who parked
their cars and carried their belongings
to their rooms.
Once settled,
the weekend truly began. The theme, Be Still, was
displayed by a beautifully painted sunset scene on a
serene lake in front of our conference room,
complete with a full dock for a stage!
Each session began with a time of prayer and
worship to our great God! Sue Vinton was our guest
speaker, and gave us so many verses and truths that our pens could hardly
keep up! Friday nights' session was focused on what it meant to be still,
repent, and renew. She taught about repentance as a continual way of life,
a heart attitude, and renewing our mind.
Saturday morning, Sue focused on being still and relying on God. In
order to rely on God, we need to trust God. We can come to know God
through His Word, reminding ourselves of God's past faithfulness, and in
practice in going through life's storms.
Saturday night, the session was on
being still and resting in God. She gave us
many verses and identity statements about
who we are in Christ. Getting to know God
imparts stillness as He works on and in us.
Our concluding session on Sunday
morning focused on being still and responding to God. The contrast was
made between Mary and Martha. Martha was trying to get her approval and
acceptance by serving others, but it is when we sit
at the feet of Jesus that our priorities are in order.
Making the Lord our first priority requires a
deliberate choice.
Saturday afternoon was free time! Many women
got together to be paired with each other as prayer
partners. Julie Francis led several women in toning
exercises - even some you could use sitting in a
chair! Many others went for a walk - some even without jackets - around the
lake connected with the conference center. We were really blessed to have
very spring like weather for our winter retreat!
There were many opportunities to converse with one another and share
tidbits about ourselves. Do you know that a couple of the women have been
to ALL of the Bethesda women's retreats? There were also many women
who came to the retreat for the first time this year. It was a wonderful
opportunity to get reacquainted with old friends and to make new ones.
Saturday evening, we all enjoyed a
banquet in the Garden Vista room. It was
a chance to dress up, be waited upon,
enjoy good fellowship, and good food.
The whole weekend was one of being
pampered - no cleaning, no cooking,
being fed with good food, both literal and
spiritual, as well as with friendship.
The women would like to extend a
special thank you to the men of Bethesda who helped make this weekend
special. Those who volunteered to valet, those who set up and tore down
the set, and especially to Tim Osterlund, who made magic happen through
his artistic talent and hard work on the beautiful back drop!
~Joyce Gunn
Be Still.
The Encourager
ANNOUNCING:
THE SEVENTH
COLLEGE LEVEL
EXTENSION COURSE
TAUGHT AT BETHESDA
June
6
7-13
2015
Taught by Dr. Phil Long - Raised in California, Phil
attended Grace Bible College beginning in 1982 and
graduated with a BTh in 1987. While teaching at
Woodcrest Christian High School in Riverside, CA, he
earned Masters Degrees in Biblical Exposition and Old
Testament from Talbot School of Theology, BIOLA
University, and has a PhD. In New Testament Studies.
He moved to Grace Bible College in 1998, where he
serves as Associate Professor of Bible and Biblical
Languages and is chair of the Bible/Theology
department. Phil has served as an interim pastor in
Michigan and California, and serves as Teaching Pastor
at Rush Creek Bible Church, Byron Center, MI. Phil is
married to Lori, and has two children, Amy (16) and
Caroline (10).
www.bethesdachurch.com
This year our mission's
team will be heading to
San Jose, Costa Rica.
We will be partnering
with the Tico's and a
couple of missionaries
known to Pastor Brent.
While we are in Costa
Rica we intend to help
out with work projects
in the church as well
as the school. We also want to build relationships with the Tico's
and participate in their culture, food, leisure, and how they worship
God. Pray for our team as they prepare their hearts and minds for
the service they will do. Also, please pray for their hearts as they
will be ministered to by the Tico's and stretched in their faith!
Our Youth Team Members:
Victoria Christenson, Joseph
Craesmeyer, Elizabeth Larson,
Emmett Larson, Greta Larson,
Cassidy McGillick, Jake McGillick,
and Emanuel Pierce.
Our Adult Team Members:
Pastor Brent Befus, Roberto Diaz,
Dale and Marcy Dugan, Kristianna
Larson, and Rachel Matychuk,