The Berthoud Bugle: Created in His Image
Volume 2026: Edition 52
Hello everyone. We thank you for your love and support for our Church and our family. Please continue to pray for our church, our pastor and his leadership, and our church leaders that we may continue to share the word of God. We are so blessed and grateful for the growth in our church, the ability to share our messages and newsletters with our viewers, and the strengthening of our church family and viewers as a congregation and as individuals. We strive to bring encouragement and connection through this newsletter, which we will continue to post every 1st of the month. So, we hope you will continue to learn and grow in God's word with us.
Happy September, everyone.
I hope this newsletter finds you all well, as we get ready to say hello to fall in a few weeks and move out of the summer season.
We want to wish a happy birthday to everyone celebrating in September. May our Lord continue to bless you and watch over you. May He continue to give you many years and decades to come, with a long and healthy life. And may you let Him guide you every step of the way.
Congratulations, Lambrecht family, on God's blessing.
We would like to welcome baby Adrian Michael Lambrecht, who was born on August 25th, 2026, to Taylor and Dillon Lambrecht. May God bless their family and put His arms around them.
Food for Thought:
What does it mean to be made in God’s image?
First off, we must read:
Genesis 1:26 NKJV - Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;
Genesis 1:27 NKJV - So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
The verses in full context:
Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV - Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
I have tried this subject before, but like most subjects, our ideals and hearts are constantly changing when we try to walk a Christian/God fearing life. Our perspective should always be challenged by God’s word through discernment and through our prayer life.
So when I think about how we are made in our Creator’s image, I think about, or am reminded of, how I watch people and see all the amazing talents they have. How does one person stand out from another? How do certain people do some amazing things and have so many amazing talents? And where do groups of people get the inspiration, encouragement, and boldness to do what they do?
Yes, there are people out there who waste their talent, gifts, or amazing ability God has put inside them. Some use the abilities and gifts for evil and try to profit from what is given, but those people will also find out:
Luke 12:41-48 NKJV -
Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?”
And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
There is so much to that parable, especially in its full context, but what we are discussing is at the heart of this verse. If you think you can use what God has given to you to profit yourself and take advantage of others, it will become your downfall, and you will be blinded by the world and be destroyed like the world.
That’s why, as found in
1 John 4:7-11 NKJV - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Our Lord leaves us instructions and warnings on what to do and how to handle being made in His image. Because everything comes at a cost. All those talents, gifts we were given, and the trust in ourselves and man, the cost was :
John 3:16-17 RSV - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
Our God knew what we would do with what He gave us. Our God knew we would be prideful and think that all that we have is man-driven, man-earned, and man-given. The thing is, that’s the world talking. That’s the world telling us we can have everything we want if we go get it, but at what cost? Is the world worth your soul?
Matthew 16:24-26 NKJV - Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
The question from the beginning of our food for thought topic again was, “What does it mean to be made in God’s image?”
How do we as individuals answer this question?
For me, it is seeing God’s gifts and talents to mankind and in my own journey in life. But the biggest eye-opener for me came on August 25th of this year, when our daughter had her first child. The love you can have for someone you have never met, who entered this world by God’s grace, and you love that tiny little person with your whole heart, not having even met them yet, made me wonder…how? How can I love someone I have never seen or met? But that’s when my mind and heart are opened, and it is like God telling my heart, I can show you just a piece of how I feel about you. How He gave His Son to save us because He loved us so much. And for me, that again triggered the feelings I have for my own children and the question: what would I do for my own kids?
God has blessed my wife and me with 3 beautiful kids of our own. Raising them, having the responsibility of caring for them and all their needs reminds us, as parents, of all the sacrifices we make to take care of those children and what we will do to give them everything they need. God gave us His Son to save us; that’s how much He loves us. A love that we still can’t comprehend. We can only get a little piece of that love through the people He puts in our lives. And for me, God put on my heart a personal reminder: this life is precious, and through the miracle of life, through my wife and my daughter and now her child, I thank Him for all the blessings and prayers that He has answered.
Do not forget where these miracles, these gifts, these talents, or even the people who are in your life are from. God doesn’t make mistakes. God provides and gives you what you ask for. It might not be how you think you would want those prayers answered, or the road you take to get there, but God is good. God is perfect. God is love.
Luke 11:9-10 RSV - And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened
So I ask you to ponder this same question, and see what answer you find when you think:
What does it mean to be made in God’s image?
I pray you all have a blessed and wonderful month of September. Hope to chat with you all again in October. May God bless us all and keep us all safe and healthy for many seasons to come.
Special Prayers:
Please keep Devin Salazar and his family in your prayers, as Devin is off to Navy boot camp to serve in our country’s military. May God protect him, watch over him, and give Devin’s family peace and comfort, knowing that our Lord is watching over Devin in his new journey in life.
Pray for Taylor and Dillon for patience, peace and rest as they learn to navigate their new normal with the addition of little to Adrian to their family.
Pray for Adelia Salazar for healing and for comfort for her family
Pray for Baby Elijah, for not only healing on his little body, but for protection and guidance on his entire family.
Pray for Kevin Allen for Gods healing and guidance
Pray for the men and women in the military and their families in this time of war.
Pray that God will protect them and be with them where they are as they serve overseas and give comfort to their families.
Pray also for the people in Iran and Isreal that God will be with them
Pray for our Newsletter that we can continue to write through the Holy Spirit
Pray for our Pastor and our church that we may be blessed to continue to grow and share the word of God
And please continue to pray for one another, our fellow community and leaders, along with our soldiers who are at war. Pray for the people of Israel, the people of Iran, and all the people involved in the war conflict. That our Lord will touch their hearts and give them wisdom and guidance in this time of war.
Weekly Devotional: Guarding Against Unbelief
Begg, Alistair. Truth for Life- Daily Devotions
Verse(s) of the Month:
Psalm 90:12 & 17
So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Announcements:
Here are just a few reminders that will also be on our calendar page section below:
*End of September, Oktoberfest Date and time TBA
(date and time to be posted and updated on website & through Facebook page)
* Please feel free to share any ideas for the Berthoud Christmas parade and sale.
(Date is typically the first weekend in December)
*Christmas Eve service and ringing of the bells. The ringing of the bells takes place each Sunday evening during the month of December, with the last ringing at our Christmas Eve service.
If you have any ideas, questions, or suggestions, feel free to contact us through our Facebook page, website, or email/phone.
If you would like to volunteer your time or give a donation to help with any of our activities or events, feel free to contact us as well.
Get Involved! There are many ways you can support our church inside and outside of service and help us reach out to our community here in Berthoud. You can help us with the newsletter, plan a fellowship meeting, lead a church activity, help keep the church clean, join in on decorating the church seasonally, design and build church floats in the winter and summer parade, play with and teach the little kids that come in, participate in bible studies, sing or play in worship, lead a bake/ craft sale, make burritos for our Burrito Sales, help maintain the church property, etc.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” (Colossians 3:23)
Upcoming Events:
As this newsletter continues to grow and expand, please don’t be afraid to let us know if you are in need of prayer or support. And feel free to share your stories, your testimony, or just a quick question in the comments section below any of our links. We truly want to hear from you and do what we can to help because we are meant to be here to love, encourage, and support one another.
We are grateful to have you with us as readers, church members, and interested guests and we are always open to any suggestions and volunteers for our website, newsletter, and future activities. We hope to see you at our Sunday service and stay tuned for our coming newsletters and updates at church, at bible study, on Facebook, on our YouTube Channel, on the Wix App, and on the website.
We would love to send out the newsletter personally to every member and pray for and celebrate birthdays and anniversaries together as a church family. We are asking all of our members to fill out the member information card either in church or through the mail after they've received their mailed newsletter
We have been printing and mailing our newsletters to our subscribers over this past year. If you haven't received the newsletter physically and would like to join our mailing list, please sign up below.
Questions?
For any questions or suggestions regarding our newsletter please email berthoudfoursquarechurch@gmail.com
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