September 2024 promises to be a very special month for our household, one that we shall never forget, as we become grandparents for the first time! I realize that by writing a newsletter article about my unborn grandson I risk being labeled an obnoxious grandfather. I promise I’ll do my best to refrain from showing pictures at church each Sunday while proclaiming, “Isn’t he the most beautiful, wonderful, smartest baby ever?!” I want to share this good news with you though, because it is indeed good news and as Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice.” So, please, rejoice with us as we welcome Augustus “August” Roy Bradbury into the world and into our church. As we’ve been anticipating August’s birth I’ve been thinking about how God often blesses the world through children. I think about Abraham and Sarah as they awaited for their long hoped for baby. Recall that God promised them a gift of a child and they waited and yearned for this child for about 25 years before he was born. When the promised child finally arrived they named him Isaac, which means “Laughter.” Once Sarah found out she was pregnant, she laughed because it seems improbable,
impossible, even laughable, that she would ever give birth. After all, she was a geriatric whose womb had been barren for decades. The news of an impending birth must have seemed like a joke, until God intervened and fulfilled His promise. This wasn’t the last time that God revealed his glory, might and power through the gift of a child. Think of Moses being set apart and saved from birth to lead God’s people out of bondage. Think of Hannah who was also barren and the Lord blessed her with a child whom she named Samuel, which means “God has heard.” All of these births foreshadow the Christ child. As much as we have been looking forward to the birth of our grandson I can imagine that our anticipation must pale in comparison to the anticipation that Mary and Joseph must have felt as they knew God was doing a new, miraculous thing in their midst. Can you imagine what they thought, or felt, as they anticipated the birth of Jesus? When Mary first receives word of her impending pregnancy she asks the angel, “How can this be since I’m a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to
be bornwill be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:34-37) I love that last line, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” As we wait and anticipate the birth of our grandson I am reminded that God is a light and blessing. He is the God of birth and re-birth, as Jesus reminds us that we must be born again and Paul calls us to a constant renewal of our minds. As I ponder all of these things I wonder what new thing is God birthing in your life? What improbable thing will God birth through the ministry of our church? I want to remind you that with God, nothing, nothing, nothing is impossible! We serve a great and holy God in whom we live, move and have our being. I pray that at Bethel we can do a great job of encouraging each other to have the faith of Abraham, Sarah, and Mary and to follow the Lord wherever He may lead. May God bless you and may God bless Bethel Baptist Church as we work towards our vision of Knowing, Growing and Going
in the Love of Christ!
-Todd