What’s Happening at Bethel Church
 Our current study is in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew has been called "the most Jewish of the Gospels." In the early second century Papias spoke of Matthew as an "arrangement of the oracles in the Hebrew dialect" by which he meant literary style, not language. Though written in Greek, Matthew borrows a structural style that is seen in the Book of Genesis. Matthew's main purpose is simple: In Jesus the anointed one (meshiach in Hebrew, christos in Greek) has come. In him converges the offices of prophet, priest, and king. Jesus himself is the new Israel, and from him will come a new Israel. In him, all the prophecies of the first covenant are fulfilled, and the promised kingdom of God has dawned.
1T4-8 takes its name from 1 Timothy 4:8. It is a Father-son activity, the purpose of which is to instill in young men, ages 5 and over (men-in-training) a sense of living in the presence of God in every sphere of life. To accomplish this end, we utilize the biblical themes of physical exertion and struggle as a tangible metaphor for the pursuit of spiritual discipline and training in righteousness. 1T4-8 meets weekly during the summer, June through August.
Koinonia is derived from a Greek word that means partnership or fellowship. It is used in the Bible to describe the relationship within the early Christian church. Today it concerns the fellowship and community of Christians. At Bethel, this committee was formed to plan social activities to deepen that fellowship with one another. In 2007, Koinonia events included our annual church picnic, date night, girl's night out, and a new year's eve pajama party. We're looking forward to seeing you at one of our activities in 2008.
 The Christian Valor Society is an organization open to all the men of Bethel Presbyterian Church. It exists to foster and encourage valor, courage, manners, etiquette, and gentlemanliness in all spheres of life in those who join it. It seeks to promote the biblical idea of covenant, and impress upon its members their spiritual, moral, and physical responsibility to their wives, families, church, communities, and country. CVS's goals and aims are accomplished through monthly breakfast meetings, and other gatherings as may be helpful. In a day when the societal ethos stands against responsibility and courage to do what is right, CVS endeavors to produce men that will stand as a lamp for Christ in a dark world, its motto standing as a polemic against the mistaken and deceived notion of the age: virtuti nulla ignavia - cowardice is not a virtue. CVS typically meets the third Saturday of each month.
Bethel Church hosts monthly fellowship meals on the second Sunday of each month, immediately following the morning worship. Visitors are welcome, and not expected to bring anything. On fellowship-meal Sundays, an afternoon worship service follows, usually about 1:30PM.
 During the week, Bethel Church offers two opportunities to grow in our knowledge of God, to study His Word, and to build strong, close-knit relationships with one another. Our current groups meet in Sterling/Ashburn and at the church. The study at the church meets at 6:00 pm on the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th Sunday of each month. The Sterling/Ashburn group meets at 6:30 pm on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month. Call the church office for more details.
Bethel's Dorcas Society consists of all the women of our church, and is named after a disciple from the town of Joppa who was always doing good and helping the poor. (Acts 9:36-39) The Dorcas Society meets the 3rd Wednesday of every other month at 7:30 pm.
REFORMATION SUNDAY CELEBRATION - In honor of Reformation Day, a special celebration was held at the home of the Hammonds. After a fabulous German dinner, which was contributed to by all who attended, we enjoyed a special viewing of the movie Luther in the Hammonds' "theater."
FATHER/SON CAMPOUT - The Christian Valor Society hosted a fall campout at Bear's Den on November 2-3. It was pretty chilly again, and no campfires were allowed due to drought conditions, but the men and boys still had a great time.
CHARL VAN WYCK PRESENTATION - On November 4 Missionary Charl van Wyck visited Bethel and told us of his experience in 1993 when terrorists with AK47's stormed the church where he was worshipping and started massacring people. Charl, who was armed only with a five-shot revolver, returned fire, putting all the terrorists to flight! His David-like courage against Goliath odds opened an opportunity for him to dialogue with and preach on a regular basis to the terrorist group that attacked the church.
***Late breaking news*** - In a recent email, Charl reported that one of the original terrorists has turned to Christ!
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD - Bethel once again participated in this ministry to share the love of Christ with disadvantaged children around the world. Our goal this year was for the church to collect 35 shoeboxes. We met and far exceeded our goal, contributing over 50 shoeboxes!
CARDS FOR MISSIONARIES - For the second year Rebecca Moughon organized a card-making party for our children. Christmas cards were created and sent to our missionaries around the world.
M&M'S MINISTRY - The girls of M&M's made and decorated over 150 cookies and collected lots of socks, gym shorts, and t-shirts (making about 40 pounds). These were shipped to an OPC chaplain to be shared with some of the wounded military personnel as needed blessings at the hospital in Kuwait.
GREEK 2 COMPLETED - In December Pastor Hammond finished teaching his Introduction to New Testament Level 2 class. He's looking forward in February to teaching Greek 3: Translation and Advanced Greek Grammar, and in the fall Greek 4: Seminar in New Testament Exegesis. Pastor Hammond's classes are being accepted for full credit to fulfill the Greek language requirements at Reformed Theological Seminary.
ADVENT SEASON CELEBRATIONS - During the month of December, Bethel held many special events to celebrate the birth of our Savior, including . . .
* A beautiful candlelight communion service on December 9.
* Christmas Caroling party on December 16; this community outreach was well received, and we were able to hand out fliers for our Christmas Eve service.
* Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, attended by both our church members and residents of local communities.
NEW MEMBERS - We are excited and thankful to welcome new members Cindy Lecrone and Jason Steenrod. God has brought numerous families to us, so watch for others to be making their membership at Bethel formal in the coming weeks.
ANNUAL MEETING - Bethel held its annual meeting on Sunday, January 20. It was an encouraging time during which all the ministries of the church had the opportunity to share their activities during 2007 and their vision and goals for 2008.
Bethel Presbyterian Church
19856 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg, Virginia 20175
(703) 777-4221
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