The Bethany Beacon

Week of July 19, 2026

Help Us Bless Our Neighborhood

As we prepare for our Back-to-School Splash Bash, we are inviting the Bethany family to help fill school-supply bags for children and families in the neighborhood around our church.

Please consider donating:

• Crayola Classic 10-count markers

• Crayola colored pencils

• Pre-Sharpened Ticonderoga pencils

• Wide-ruled notebook paper

• 12–13 ounce boxes of cereal

Each donation will help us offer practical support, encouragement, and a warm welcome to families as a new school year begins. This is a simple but meaningful way to show our neighbors that Bethany cares and that God’s love is present in tangible ways.

We also need volunteers to help serve during the event. Volunteers can assist with welcoming families, distributing supplies, helping with food and activities, and simply being present to offer kindness and hospitality.

Headlines That Won’t Stress You Out

The Bright Side: Headlines That Won’t Stress You Out

When Compassion Pays Attention

While waiting at California’s John Wayne Airport, LaCinda Thackeray noticed a tarmac worker moving slowly and painfully, but continuing his demanding work without complaint. She shared a video hoping someone could identify him.

The worker was James Blair, a 64-year-old Navy veteran struggling with serious knee problems while also helping care for his elderly mother in hospice. After LaCinda told his story, strangers around the world donated more than $174,000, giving James the opportunity to retire, seek medical care, and finally rest.

Sometimes love begins with something wonderfully simple: paying attention. Jesus consistently noticed people others overlooked, and he calls us to do the same. In a world that often rushes past suffering, this story reminds us that compassion can still become action, and that bearing one another’s burdens can change a life.

ICYMI:

Here’s Your Sermon Recap!

Grace in the Deep

We All Could Use A Second Chance

If you’ve ever wondered whether God can still use you after a mistake, this message is for you. Jonah’s story reminds us that it is never too late to turn around, say yes to God, and step into His purpose. Watch or listen and be encouraged: God’s mercy is greater than your past, and His call is still full of hope.

Sneak Peek at This Sunday’s Worship

Sunday Sneak Peek

In Jonah 3, we discovered that God’s grace gives us another chance. This Sunday, as we conclude our journey through Jonah, we will confront a more challenging question: What happens when God extends that same grace to people we believe do not deserve it?

Jonah finally obeyed God. He preached the message, the people of Nineveh repented, and an entire city was spared. It should have been a moment of celebration.

But Jonah was angry.

He welcomed God’s mercy when he needed it, yet resented that same mercy when God offered it to others. Jonah discovered that it is possible to do what God asks while still resisting what God loves. His actions had changed, but his heart still needed God’s transforming grace.

Jonah’s struggle invites us to examine our own hearts. Are there people we find difficult to love? Do we ever judge others while depending upon the very grace we are reluctant to extend? Are we more concerned with our comfort and preferences than with the people God longs to reach?

The book of Jonah ends not with a tidy conclusion, but with a searching question. God leaves Jonah, and each of us, to consider whether our hearts truly reflect His heart.

This Sunday’s message, “When God’s Mercy Offends You,” will remind us that God desires more than outward obedience. He wants to shape us into people who love what He loves, care about what He cares about, and rejoice whenever His grace changes a life.

Come and discover the wideness of God’s mercy, a mercy large enough for us, large enough for others, and powerful enough to transform even the most reluctant heart.

The Music

Our worship will open with “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy,” a beautiful celebration of a love far greater than we can comprehend. We will conclude with “Take Time to Be Holy,” asking God to continue His transforming work within us so that our lives more faithfully reflect the character of Christ.

As you prepare for worship, consider this question: Is there someone to whom you struggle to extend the mercy you have received from God?

Ask the Lord to give you His eyes, His compassion, and His heart.

We look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday!