Rev. Torrie Osgood with Garland Cahoon, our most mature father; and Chris Furr, pastor of Covenant Christian Church in Cary, the youngest father present. —Photo by Communications

My son, do not despise the Lord‘s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. –Proverbs 3:11-12.

In worship today, we celebrated fathers, because a father’s love, discipline and support are just as necessary as a mother’s love for a child. Just as a mother is a child’s role model for how a woman of faith is to live and conduct herself, so a father is a child’s role model for how a man of faith is to live and conduct himself.

It is important that children and wives show love, honor and respect for our fathers and husbands. As children, we appreciate the time they spend with us and the feeling of security they provide, and as wives, we appreciate them for loving our children and helping them grow in the way they should, and for being our faithful partners.

We, as a congregation, thank, love and respect all the fathers for their love and hard work, not only for their children, but for the Lord and their church, which needs them and their help just as much as it needs that of the mothers!

The web devotional “A Light for Your Path,” has changed locations. You will find it in the page tabs along with Home, About, Bethany Calendar, Order of Worship and The Beacon. Now you can click on the tab, A Light for Your Path.

A Light for Your Path Writer Schedule 2018 6-2018 8

The weekly web devotional, A Light for Your Path, begins today. A number of writers have agreed to write for the devotional. Each one will be signed. Rev. Torrie Osgood kicks off A Light for Your Path today. Readers can look for the new week’s devotion on Mondays, beginning June 11.

While the theme will change monthly, the devotional and the background photograph will change weekly. Beginning in July, 2018, the communications photo contest winners’ photos will be used as background, but all are invited to submit photos for the devotional’s photo bank. We will need lots of photos! The June photos will be those taken by the devotional editor, but, starting in July, we will use photos submitted by anyone who wishes to offer them for our use. Each photo will credited, and must, as closely as possible, illustrate the monthly theme, which will be published about three weeks in advance on this site and in the church bulletin

Writers will write to the theme, and photographs will illustrate the theme to the degree possible. The themes and devotionals will be based on scripture, and each writer will submit, along with his or her devotional copy, the scripture he or she selects.

If you would like to write for us, please submit a sample devotional of 100 words or less, along with a scripture reference, to communications@bethanyarapahoe.org.

If you want to submit photographs, look for notice of each coming month’s theme on this site or in the church bulletin, take your picture(s), and submit to communications@bethanyarapahoe.org, or drop them by the church office.

Last year, Bethany’s youth grew watermelons and cantaloupes for Operation Veggie Box, helping OVB distribute fresh fruits and vegetables to food banks, with a message introducing recipients to Christ and the Holy Spirit, and urging them to go to the church of their choice to learn more about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It was, as OVB puts it, an effort to feed the hungry, physically and spiritually. Celebrate our youth and our commitment to helping our community!

…but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. –John 19:25-27.

Heather Jones, our most recent mother; Clara Banks, our most mature mother; and Gloria Cowell; our most prolific mother.           –Photo by Communications

In worship on Mother’s Day, we celebrated mothers, because mothers love us and mold us into who we are, and we love them in return. Mothers care for us, and so, like Jesus, we want to care for them.

On this day, most importantly–but not only on this day–we children and husbands show our love, honor and respect to our mothers and wives. As children, we thank and appreciate them for their love and nurturing, and husbands, we thank and appreciate them for bearing our children, loving them and us, and for being our faithful partners.

We, as a congregation, thank, love and respect all the mothers for their love and giving, not only for their children, but for the Lord and their church, which could hardly do without them, as they truly are Christ’s faithful workers!

We love you, mothers!

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. ² And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: ³ “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. ⁶ And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. ⁸ And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” ⁹ And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹ And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, ¹² so that

¹³ And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. ¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷ And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.^[a] 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, ¹⁹ but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²⁰ But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” –Mark 4:1-20

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
    like streams in the Negeb!
⁵ Those who sow in tears
    shall reap with shouts of joy!
⁶ He who goes out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    bringing his sheaves with him. –Psalm 126:4-6

Sow the Word with the way that you live and you will reap life!

Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. Matthew 27:65-66.

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. –Luke 24:1.

Easter morning! As the sun rises, so death gives way to resurrection. The tomb is empty! It is, indeed, a time to rejoice and celebrate our risen Lord with praise and thanksgiving!

In a sermon, Rev. Osgood quoted the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who said, “Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life.”

Bonhoeffer, in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, wrote “Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. … Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

Often, we opt for “cheap grace,” but in this season of Lent, we should remember that “salvation is free;” to us. There was a high price for our salvation, but Jesus paid it through His suffering on the cross, so that we would not have to.

So if discipleship costs us our lives, considering that our Savior gave us precious salvation for free, when we weigh salvation against giving our lives to Jesus and doing His will, are we not still getting a bargain? Let’s not settle for cheap grace; rather, let’s be willing to pay for the real thing: being Jesus’ disciples.

The columbarium project, in the works for around three years, took a giant step forward today when the primary unit and benches were delivered around noon.

The unit was offloaded, but due the size of the crane and access constraints, the crane operators were unable to position it on the slab; instead, it was positioned about 10 feet away, and soon will be positioned on the slab by members of the congregation with the proper equipment.

Soon, also, those CMF members charged with drafting operational policy and rules will, through CMF, submit the policy and rules to the general board for approval, and the general board will decide on administration of the columbarium.

More pictures of the delivery and offloading will be published shortly.