O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. For Christ is born of Mary; and, gathered all above, while […]
Advent is a season of waiting that begins four Sundays before Christmas. The word Advent means “coming,” and faithful Christians reflect on the mystery of our Lord’s first coming and anticipate his glorious return. Christ has come, and Christ will come again. These gospel truths animate our worship and orient our lives during Advent and […]
The apostles often expressed in their letters how they longed to be with the churches face to face. Pastor Tom and our church have felt that longing ever since he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. But miraculously, even though his pancreas was taken out, Pastor Tom finally came back to Cameroon after 2 years, and […]
Every student at Bethlehem learns to read their New Testament in the original Greek. Seminary students and some college students also learn to read their Old Testament in Hebrew. Learning these languages requires an enormous investment of time initially and regular use thereafter, or the language memory will fade. Is it worth it? My answer […]
Bethlehem Seminary seeks to prepare joyful pastors to preach a big God and shepherd Christ’s church. We call our seminary students “pastoral apprentices” and deploy them in meaningful hands-on ministry in a number of likeminded partner churches under the supervision of wise and godly pastors. At a recent gathering of these apprenticing pastors, I encouraged […]
Bethlehem College and Seminary is delighted to announce that Pastor Toph Majors has agreed to serve as the Director of Pastoral Apprenticeship and Instructor of Biblical Studies.
Autumn in Minnesota is a season of sensory overload. Pumpkin-spiced items from cereal to cookies to coffee creamer line grocery store shelves, reminding us that the season has begun. October sunsets and fall foliage displaying unimaginable color can bring us to our knees in worship as we ponder the magnitude of our great Creator. Oh, […]
“And you will say in that day: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.’” (Isaiah 12:4) We are halfway through the Fall semester and a quarter of the way through the school year. Students’ minds are already tired. Administration has […]
One of Bethlehem College and Seminary’s seven core commitments is that it is “Missions-Minded.” I have been especially appreciative of this during my seven years teaching in the Seminary, for several reasons, the first and most important being that being “missions-minded” is a biblical command for all Christians. Probably the most famous such command is […]
Following the nation of Israel’s “fall narrative,” worshipping the golden calf, the book of Exodus gives us an amazing story of the prophet Moses. Though he had been an indifferent shepherd only a little while before (see Exodus 3), this man steps into the gap to intercede for this rebellious people. God had just offered […]