I am truly humbled and blessed to serve as Pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church here in Omaha. God has immensely Blessed and equipped us to serve in this community. It is my desire to honor God in all that we do here. Ephesians 5:1-2 tells us to “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children let us walk in the way of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Our goal is to make every effort to take every opportunity to show how much we appreciate God’s Amazing Grace.
God’s grace and mercy has brought us to the Year 2023. We experienced many life changing events throughout 2022; some have been pleasant, some not so pleasant. However you look at it, it was and is God’s wisdom that directed us to the places of our lives that worked ultimately for our good and for His glory.
Our nation is in the midst of great moral decline. The prophet Isaiah gives a strong warning when he says, “Woe those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20 NKJV).
We are in times of despair people; a time where the suicide rate has risen, especially among teenagers, and If you are looking for things to get better socially, you are not seeing a true picture. It is also discouraging that many “Christians” are allowing politics to shape their Spirituality, which should never be. In the life of the Believer, God orders events that bring about growth and produce fruit. As we reflect on 2022, I am sure there were many challenging trials that we all have endured. Many situations you were unaware as to how you were going overcome. The encounters, at that time, were so overwhelming to you until you just did not know what you were going to do. Or maybe it was every time you prayed, it seemed things got worse. The problems just lingered on and on and on. I want you to think about the fact that you’re still here, and God has not forgotten about you. He continues to keep you and I through the storms of life; think about it. We made it to 2022. It is over, and we are now in a new year. We must stop mourning the troubles of 2022, because every day wasn’t bad; and start thanking God that it was not as bad as it could have been.
The good news for all of us is that we will have trouble in 2023 as well, and I am quite sure that you have already experienced some type of problems…So keep moving on. What I am saying is, God has promised to keep His children through our ups and down’s, tests, and trials, storms, hardships, dilemmas, disappointments, hopeless moments, and crises. We must keep moving forward by faith. (Proverbs 3:5-6) reminds us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths". As God’s grace moves us further into 2023, we must not focus on the past troubles, or worry about what will happen next. But we must devote our lives to growing closer to the Lord day by day and trusting and depending on Him and through it all His will allows us to grow stronger in Him knowing that He knows what is best for us. We must stop trusting in self and place all of our trust in Christ, let Him do what He promised He would do. Let each of us move forward by faith in Christ Jesus for 2023. Happy New Year!!!
Your servant in Christ, Rev. Juliet Kent-Hemphill, Pastor
Our goal is to make every effort to take every opportunity to show how much we appreciate God’s Amazing Grace.
God’s grace and mercy has brought us to the Year 2023. We experienced many life changing events throughout 2022; some have been pleasant, some not so pleasant. However you look at it, it was and is God’s wisdom that directed us to the places of our lives that worked ultimately for our good and for His glory.
Our nation is in the midst of great moral decline. The prophet Isaiah gives a strong warning when he says, “Woe those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20 NKJV).
We are in times of despair people; a time where the suicide rate has risen, especially among teenagers, and If you are looking for things to get better socially, you are not seeing a true picture. It is also discouraging that many “Christians” are allowing politics to shape their Spirituality, which should never be. In the life of the Believer, God orders events that bring about growth and produce fruit. As we reflect on 2022, I am sure there were many challenging trials that we all have endured. Many situations you were unaware as to how you were going overcome. The encounters, at that time, were so overwhelming to you until you just did not know what you were going to do. Or maybe it was every time you prayed, it seemed things got worse. The problems just lingered on and on and on. I want you to think about the fact that you’re still here, and God has not forgotten about you. He continues to keep you and I through the storms of life; think about it. We made it to 2022. It is over, and we are now in a new year. We must stop mourning the troubles of 2022, because every day wasn’t bad; and start thanking God that it was not as bad as it could have been.
The good news for all of us is that we will have trouble in 2023 as well, and I am quite sure that you have already experienced some type of problems…So keep moving on. What I am saying is, God has promised to keep His children through our ups and down’s, tests, and trials, storms, hardships, dilemmas, disappointments, hopeless moments, and crises. We must keep moving forward by faith. (Proverbs 3:5-6) reminds us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths". As God’s grace moves us further into 2023, we must not focus on the past troubles, or worry about what will happen next. But we must devote our lives to growing closer to the Lord day by day and trusting and depending on Him and through it all His will allows us to grow stronger in Him knowing that He knows what is best for us. We must stop trusting in self and place all of our trust in Christ, let Him do what He promised He would do. Let each of us move forward by faith in Christ Jesus for 2023. Happy New Year!!!
Your servant in Christ, Rev. Juliet Kent-Hemphill, Pastor