Day Four

Today was an outstanding day to be at Bethel Temple. God overwhelmed us with His grace and unbelievable blessings! Thanks to all of you for making today such a tremendous success. Everything just seemed to click. Worship was again phenomenal, as many made their way around the altars and spent some personal time in God's presence. The feedback I've recieved thus far has been really encouraging as I shared with you todays vision casting message "THE WORD OF THE LORD FOR 2009". A healthy church is one that shares the Good News to those who are lost and far away from God. Our vision in the coming year is to be a light to the many communities in our area. Everything we do during this new year of opportunity will be to try and touch other's with Christ's love, compassion, and kindness. Believing that evangelism is one of our church's core values our ministry team is preparing steps that will enable everyone to get involved. This will require a collaborative effort to be successful. Our vision for 2009 provides our church family with clear direction and purpose. You will be hearing much more about the opportunities you can connect to and participate in through out the year. We will be sharing the first one that the ladies of BT can be involved in this next Sunday (Jan 11).

God gave to me a specific word during one of my prayertimes with Him that I shared in the service. Some have asked me for a copy of my handwritten notes, which I'm sure would be a struggle for some to make out so I'm going to post it here for you who wanted to have it again...

Listen to the Word of the Lord..This is what the Almighty says..."I will save my people, from every direction as far as the eye can see. I will bring them back to life! And they will be my people. I the Lord your God will be faithful and righteous towards each one who calls upon My Name. Let strength this day come into your hands and hearts so that My Church may be built. Plant deep within your soul the seed of faith, for it shall grow well. And it's vine shall bring forth it's fruit. The soil of your prayers will produce crops too marvelous for human understanding. I will shower you this day with heavens dew and you shall reap in abundance an inheritance, saith the Lord. Do not be afraid. Recieve this day courage. That kind that is incomparable and uncommon. For you shall become a blessing to many! For I the Lord your God have determined to do good once again in your midst. For many will yet come and say together to you "May we be where you are and entreat the Lord and seek His face and favor". For you shall see in the coming days many whom will take firm hold of you and seek permission to go with you to this place of worship because they have heard that God dwells here and that He is with you. For great and marvelous will be His deeds done among you! This is what the Almighty says...For I have determined to give you My peace, My prosperity, and My Happiness"!!!

I believe that BT is poised to do something incredible in Cuyohoga County and that 2009 is going to far exceed our expectations! Below are some pics from this mornings 10:30 service and a few from this afternoons Slavic ministry service. What a privilege it was for all of our pastors to spend time praying for each one to become a bold witness for Christ in the new year. Over 300 names of unsaved family and friends were submitted to us for prayer during this year. We are believing that God will be able to see each name added into the Lamb's Book of Life.

Don't forget that tomorrow begins our Week of Prayer. You are invited to join others and come pray nightly at 7 pm. See you there!!

Day Three

This morning I woke up early as I customarily do, made some coffee (God's daily gift to mankind) and settled in my office here at home and began praying for tomorrows service. I started thinking about why should someone consider coming to church? Why come to Bethel Temple specifically?? Here are some of my thoughts..You can add comments to this post as to why you believe people should consider coming to Bethel Temple!

Why visit Bethel Temple?
*It's in a great location and easy to get to!
*Parking is great.
*It's an inviting place to worship.
*There is a great team of volunteers in place ..ready to serve!
*You can experience life together with some really down to earth people.
*You will enjoy being a part of a church that is intentional about reaching the lost.
*People here are hungry for more of God's power and presence!

So Please Tell Your Family, Friends, Co-Workers, and Neighbors About Us And Invite Them To Come With You Tomorrow!!!!

For your consideration....

Many people are experiencing financial challenges today as never before. They are struggling with overwhelming debt, inadequate savings, unforeseen financial emergencies, out of control credit card spending, etc.. Did you know..Everything comes from God, belongs to God, and is dispersed by God. We are the stewards of His possessions. Do you recognize God as the owner of your belongings? Keith Faust, will be teaching the "CROWN FINANCIAL CLASS" this quarter to assist interested individuals who desire to obtain true financial freedom. You will be able to obtain valuable information and resources designed to support your steps towards life changing principles. You will learn to set simple goals that are measurable and once your objectives are reached will provide you with encouragement and financial freedom! This class meets tomorrow in our large conference room. Our greeters will be happy to assist you if you need help locating this room.

Also, I'll be teaching the Adult Quarterly Class (50 WEST) in classroom 96. Join us as we look at "Having The Spirit Of Christ". The Apostle Paul saw a single cure for things that can trouble any church. The Holy Spirit can equip, unify, and strengthen it. Today's believers need what the Holy Spirit alone can provide. If your not connected to any of our other great Christian Education classes yet, let me invite you to check us out on this first Sunday of the New Year!!!!

Day 2

I've established some personal goals for myself on Day 2 of the New Year. Although it's not an exhaustive list here are some of my initial thoughts for 2009.

*I want to be completely given to Christ
*Become a better worshipper of Jesus
*Grow a more intimate relationship with Christ
*Experience the power and presence of God more in my life
*Remain truly grateful for the opportunities presented to me
*Preach and teach with strength and clarity
*Live out what I proclaim
*Engage people in ministry more
*Strengthen networking relationships with other successful pastors
*Stay connected more closely to my mentors and accountability partners
*Be a ton of fun to be around

Here's a great link to assist you in reading the Bible from cover to cover in 2009. It's called http://www.youversion.com/ and it will help make the Bible a more meaningful part of your life. I chose the New Living Translation (NLT) for my personal Bible reading plan this year. It is simple to download and use. I downloaded it to my Blackberry in just a few short minutes and now I can keep up with my daily scripture readings anywhere I have some free moments.

Just a little while ago our leadership team met and went over the final plans for this weekends first Sunday of 2009! Be sure to start the year off right and make plans today to be with us with your entire family and invited guests! We believe that 2009 will be an transformational year for us at Bethel Temple. We look forward to God moving and renewing more lives than ever,seeing God draw more people to Him who are far away, seeing more marriages restored and more people set free from destructive addictions. Anticipation is building and I can hardly wait for Sunday to get here!!

Today I'm praying for...
* Roz Donaldson's mother who is recovering from another recent surgery
* Kim Hawkins complete healing from cancer
* May Soas as she recovers from surgery (Amir says they are hoping to attend services this Sunday..We've missed them!)
* Gardiner Trane and their HVAC technicians to be able to repair (2) units that serve our sanctuary that went down earlier this week before this Sundays service! Brrrr!!
*Benny and Shirley Cox as they prepare to lead us during our upcoming "Week of Prayer"
starting Monday Jan. 5th at 7 pm (don't they do a phenomenal job of heading up our prayer
ministry at Bethel Temple?!!!). See You There!!
*Vicky Gonzalez, Milton and Jenny Ntragatakis, Pastor Dale and Tracy Klaehn, Ashely Gerycz, Bill and Kim Hawkins, Robyn Burdett, Reggie Duke, all these wonderful folks called, emailed or texted me their New Years Wishes! I pray that they all get a double portion of God's Blessings in 2009!!!!
*For This Sundays message "The Word of the Lord for 2009" will be well recieved and embraced by all
*I'm praying that our first ever "Vision Seed Offering" is a tremendous success! This offering will start us toward our goals for 2009

Here's a question that you can give me some feedback on for my future use in upcoming Communion services. What does Communion mean to you? I would really like to hear from as many of you as possible to find out your personal thoughts concerning this very important ordinance of the church. How does taking the elements impact your life and spiritual walk with God? Please send me your comments to my email address at rusdebord@aol.com

Happy New Year

2008 will be memorable for a variety of reasons. some forgettable, some forever cherished. Day One of 2009 brings with it a renewed sense of optimism and hope. Today is the first day. The first day to begin reading the Bible through completely. First day to pray to God and share with Him my needs, desires, and hopes. First day to say to my wife, Shari and to my sons Calvin and Randall, I Love You! First Day to make my life count to God in 2009. Each day of this new year will be packed with opportunities for personal and spiritual growth. some of those opportunities will come in the form of challenges and obstacles. While others will find us with the wind at our back experiencing wonderful moments of celebration. There will be both successes and failures, yet the lessons learned will make each of us better individuals.

On this first day, I am again challenged to examine my life, my heart, and my motivations in order to gaze deeper inside myself to find out where my focus is. In the midst of change, in the midst of ministry commitments, in the midst of family responsibilities, in the midst of a lot of craziness and disorder its easy to lose sight of the number one priority of my life . . . My relationship with God! I want to renew that relationship, fall back in love, and fall on my knees daily in submission and worship to Christ! May 2009 be the year that as a ministry leader, husband, father, and friend that I've positioned myself better in order to experience all of Gods extraordinary plans for my life.

The Bible says in Psalms 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God". It's astounding what God can say and do when you remain silent and still. Lately, I've doing a lot of that. He has spoken into my heart on a number of occasions during my quiet moments with Him. As He speaks and I listen I am being challenged deep on the inside. I love His presence and His anointing that He has placed on me. It is my sincere desire to humbly serve and lead this magnificent church into one of its greatest years of ministry ever. I hope you are filled with the same desire and zeal for the coming year as I possess. I will be praying for you to have your "Best year Ever!" Let's all crave more of God, His presence and His power in our lives in 2009!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Pastor Russ, Shari, Calvin, Randall (and Bosley & Kokomo!) We hope you are enjoying your Christmas Day with your family and friends. May the whole day be filled with wonderful moments that create lasting memories. As we all celebrate Christ our Saviors birth may your hearts and home be filled with great joy! Let me share with you some of my Christmas Blessings . . . I am blessed . to have a caring and loving wife . to have two awesome sons that i have a great realtionship with! . to have two playful dogs that love me uncondtionally! . to have a plate full of orange roasted pork, scalloped potatoes, buttered sweet corn, cranberry sauce, toss salad w/ a delectable Italian vinaigrette dressing, piping hot (some what burnt - haha) dinner rolls, a glass of raspberry zinger sweet tea and then topped off with a hearty slice of (my favorite) pecan pie smotherd in whipped cream! . to serve a wonderful church family . to be surrounded by an excellent team of pastors . to have numerous friends Last night we had the most wonderful Christmas Eve Service, 225+ individuals and and families participated in our candlelight celebration. What a blessing it was to see our diversity and togetherness highlighted throughout the evenings program. Be sure to click below and view a few highlights of the evening provided by our Philippine, Slavic and a piano solo by Judy Burdett. ENJOY!

well the videos would load.. but here are some pictures of the night.