No Midweek Service this Thursday.
This week, August 8th, since Pastor Cox
will be on vacation, there will not
be a midweek worship service.
Our schedule will resume on the 15th,
with Holy Communion offered
in that service.
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We are happy for you to meet
Pastor Ron Baerbock
God is good. One way that the members of Bethel Lutheran in Arcadia and Galesville measure God's goodness is by considering the way the Lord has sent pastors to serve with us. We are especially grateful for the arrival of our newest pastor, Ron Baerbock.
Pastor Baerbock and his wife Karen (pictured here) have been married since 1970 and have served in congregations and mission fields from 1973 to 2015. The Lord directed them from the suburbs of Milwaukee to the Pacific coast of Washington, from islands in the Caribean to villages in both Northern and Southern Mexico. From serving to Coordinate mission field work to helping to produce multi-language outreach material, Pastor Baerbock has enjoyed a wide range of ministry experiences. One great blessing that the Baerbocks bring to us is that they are both fluent in Spanish as well as English.
There is no doubt that Pastor and his wife count their four children and 18 grandchildren among the greatest blessings that the Lord has given to them. Though their children live at some distance from mom and dad - West coast, Milwaukee, and two in Minnesota - the Baerbocks praise God for the faith in Jesus Christ that binds them all together.
Pastor Baerbock, as a previously retired minister, has been called to serve with Bethel in a part-time role for the next two years. This provides Bethel with extra manpower and the Baerbocks with the opportunity to still enjoy some well-earned retirement. Though their time with us is limited, the Lord will not put limits on the message of Christ to bring spiritual blessings to those whom we serve with God's Word.
We are happy for you to meet Pastor and Mrs. Baerbock. We would be happier still for you to know Jesus through our ministry of the Word at Bethel Lutheran.
From Sunday to Sunday, in Arcadia and Galesville, you will find Pastors Cox and Baerbock opening up the Scriptures to all who attend. Come and hear what good news God's Word has for you to know!
Contact Pastor Baerbock by email - rbaerbock2@gmail.com - or phone (715) 299-0786
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"Peace to you!" from
Pastor Jon Cox
Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ!
Thank you for visiting the Bethel Lutheran website! We would be especially glad if what you saw here would lead you to visit and worship with us in Galesville or Arcadia.
My wife, Doreen, and I have been married since 1990. We've been at home on the west side of Galesville since 2011. While our five children are growing up and heading out on their own, its nice to live where the neighbors are friendly.
The family at Bethel Lutheran is certainly a friendly group. We love it there and believe that you would too. Our members come from a range of backgrounds and span an age range from little ones on up, but there is a harmony among us that makes being at church there a peaceful experience.
Over the last 27 years of ministry, I've been blessed to serve in a wide variety of settings and situations. From a small mission congregation in central Texas, to a large congregation in central Wisconsin, to Bethel - Galesville and Arcadia. No matter the setting or size, the most valuable feature of life in these congregations is the blessing of being able to share Gods' Word with people who are eager to hear it.
It is so true that people of differing places and cultures face many of the same troubles. We all need the Word of God to counsel and direct our lives. The message of Jesus Christ is the one constant power that both motivates us to reach for success and comforts us when faced with plans that fail. We can always trust the goodness of God to bless and sustain us.
It is always a blessing to meet new people at church. I would be so happy to help you know Jesus Christ. Take a little time, read about what we believe, then come and see for yourself all the good things that God is doing at Bethel!
Contact Pastor Cox by email - jon.nathan.cox@gmail.com - or phone (608) 582-9998
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Faith Related Q and A
| Peggy Capps has several yoga DVDs for back pain and arthritis. Yoga is sometimes thought of being a gateway to Eastern religions. Is yoga considered not a Christian type of exercise? Thanks.
My predecessor in the “Forward in Christ” question and answer column offered a response to a question like yours a few years ago. I am not able to provide a link to it for you to read, so I have included it below.
“An important question on a terrifically controversial subject! I searched ‘Can a Christian do yoga?’ on Google and immediately got 1.6 million online hits. A brief scan of Web sites listed revealed strong convictions from those who answer, ‘Yes, it’s okay,’ and from those who say, ‘No, it’s not okay.’
“Yoga: A truly religious discipline
“The history and primary purposes of yoga are religious to the core. The goal of yoga (‘union’) is to serve as a path to spiritual enlightenment and growth. It is a discipline designed to join a human spirit to the divine—in this case, to a Hindu, pantheistic Brahman or Universal Spirit. Enlightenment is sought from within oneself, not from an external source like Scripture.
“The physical posture, breathing exercises, and mental concentration or meditation linked with yoga were designed to serve this spiritual purpose and help achieve or express union with the divine. Serious advocates and practitioners of yoga consistently insist this is so.
“Yoga: A mere physical regimen?
“Many people, including professing Christians, maintain yoga may be viewed simply as a means of physically improving oneself. ‘Hatha’ yoga, the aspect that focuses mostly on the body and mind, is seen merely as a tool to strengthen and improve flexibility of muscles or counter mental stress. Yoga’s primary, higher goals of achieving a mystical union with the divine are viewed as expendable or irrelevant.
“Viewing yoga only as a physical fitness routine is not legitimate according to authentic yoga advocates. Would we Christians be comfortable with people serving wine and bread to houseguests and saying they gave them the Lord’s Supper? Do we see running people through sprinklers or having them dive into a pool as suitable examples of Baptism? I think not. There are essential distinctions to be maintained. Yoga, adequately defined, is not a physical fitness program but a spiritual discipline or process.
“Yoga: Ever acceptable?
“Is it really possible for Christians to isolate the physical aspects of yoga from their religious basis and pursue this as a method of exercise? I can envision this, but incorporating some yoga stretches into a more comprehensive stretching program is not really yoga anymore. Nor is this what is advocated when someone signs up for yoga classes at a local gym. Rather, the breathing exercises and meditation techniques that accompany the body posture still train people to focus on themselves instead of Scripture to seek answers for conscience and lifestyle issues that go far beyond muscular or mental fatigue. To leave ourselves open to this kind of spiritual deception smacks of spiritual smugness.
“What if I’m confronted by Christians who think it’s okay to attend yoga classes because they are strong enough to withstand whatever spiritual deception that may come their way and still want the perceived physical benefits? I will quickly urge them to consider weaker Christians who may be watching their lifestyle and be moved to participate. Less informed and more gullible believers may easily pay a price for this reckless example.
“It is far better to seek alternative approaches to physical fitness and mental relaxation. Online sources suggest gymnastic- or even ballet-related approaches to accompany daily Bible reading and meditation deeply rooted in that Word. Our marching orders have not changed: ‘Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil’ (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22).”
| I understand that I deserve hell because I have sinned. I understand that there is no hope in being saved and going to heaven through works or good things that I can do. We are saved because Jesus has lived a perfect life, died in our place, and rose from the dead. But how exactly does that pay for our sins? If we deserve to suffer in hell for eternity, wouldn't Jesus have to be suffering in hell for eternity to pay for our sins? Did Jesus go to hell? I know that different people believe different things about where he went after he died and what he did there. Why did Jesus rise from the dead? Is this necessary for our salvation? Thank you.
You asked some very important questions about our salvation. You identified the all-important works of Jesus: his perfect life, sacrificial death and glorious resurrection.
How did those works pay for our sins? God’s law demands that we be perfect in every way and at all times (Leviticus 19:2; Matthew 5:48). Jesus lived life perfectly in our place (Hebrews 4:15). Because we also deserved punishment from God for not living perfectly as he demands, Jesus suffered that punishment in our place (Galatians 3:10-13).
On the cross, Jesus suffered what amounts to hell: he was punished for sin and forsaken by God (Matthew 27:46). Rather than suffering eternally, the eternal punishment all people deserved was compressed into a few hours of suffering on the cross.
Jesus’ resurrection was proof positive that his heavenly Father had accepted his perfect life and sacrificial death as the full payment for the sins of the world (Romans 4:25).
After Jesus’ body and soul were reunited in the grave, he descended into hell to proclaim his victory over sin, Satan and death (1 Peter 3:18-20). He did not descend into hell to suffer or to give people a second chance to believe in him.
Yes, we all deserved an eternity in hell because of our natural sinful condition and our actual sins. Praise be to God for promising and sending a Savior—his Son, Jesus Christ—to be our perfect substitute in life and our innocent substitute in death. Praise be to God for accepting his Son’s works as the full payment for our salvation, as evidenced by Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
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| | » | WELS Connection - June 2019
WELCOME HOME The God-given mission of the church is to seek the lost. Knowing that, we rightly dedicate much effort and resources to reaching the unchurched and those who have never known their Savior. But that same zeal for missions should lead us also to recognize that we have a ripe mission field right in our own congregations, among family, friends, and neighbors who once worshiped with us but have now strayed. Cast: WELS
| | » | WELS Connection - May 2019
Christian Aid and Relief Volunteers with Christian Aid and Relief provide help through labor and love when natural disasters strike. Cast: WELS
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Forward in Christ
| What’s the best parenting advice you have received?
 Years before I became a mother, I wrote a news article for Forward in Christ in which I interviewed a dad who described his nightly ritual of blessing his young daughter before she went to sleep. He noted, “Blessing your child is not hocus pocus. When I bless Kayla, I am asking the Lord to […]
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