Bethany Baptist Church, Salem OR

Today we will return to a very difficult passage at the end of 1 Timothy 2, which describes the marks of women in corporate worship life of the church. Claire Smith, in her excellent book God’s Good Design, writes: “If the difficulty of a passage of Scripture was decided by the heat of the debate surrounding it, or the number of books written on it, or the number of people attending seminars on it...

After instructing Timothy on the marks of prayer in 1 Tim. 2, Paul turns his attention to the marks of church leaders in chapter 3. Because the impact of leaders in God's church is high, the qualifications for leadership are equally high: “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, no...

One of our Shepherds, Wayne Mick, filled the pulpit for Pastor Tim today and spoke from 1 Timothy 2:1-10 on the Importance of Prayer. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/live/x0KojABkyFo?si=ibusrpnmM2_PBZ8j Website https://www.bethanybaptistchurch.com/sermons

We’ve been looking at what it means to “leave your mark,” starting with “A Mother’s Legacy” from the intro to 2 Timothy on Mother’s Day, and the “Devastating Legacy” of false teachers in the intro to 1 Timothy. Today we continue by looking at the second half of 1 Tim. 1 at Paul’s legacy. Paul is going to note five facets of his legacy, the marks God left on him and the marks he subsequently left o...

THE LEGACY OF FALSE TEACHERS: 1.     The misuse of God's law. (v. 3-7) Confronting false teachers (v. 3-4) “ As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. ” 1 Timoth...

A MOTHER'S LEGACY: 1.     Is a pedigree passed on to others. (v. 3-5) The pedigree of service (v. 3-4) “ I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. ” 2 Timothy 1:3–4 (ESV) The pedigree of sincere faith (v. 5) “ I am reminded of your sinc...

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We spent this Sunday celebrating 30 years of ministry at Bethany with Pastor Tim & Marcy Baker. The service featured three guest speakers sharing their personal perspectives on why 30 years at the same church, while rare, is so beneficial. The service was followed by a reception in their honor. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/live/x0KojABkyFo?si=ibusrpnmM2_PBZ8j Website https://www.bethanybaptistc...

The NT word for kindness is chrestos. As a fruit of the Spirit, it is "goodness in action, sweetness of disposition, gentleness dealing with others, benevolence, kindness, affability." It is the Holy Spirit who prompts you to be kind to your family members, neighbors, coworkers, and others that you come into contact with. We are to be know as chrestos people, those who are routinely kind to those...

THE LEGACY OF A GODLESS LIFE: (In the book of Obadiah) 1.     Prediction of Edom's downfall. (v. 1-9) 2.     Reason for Edom's destruction. (v. 10-14) 3.     Coming judgment and restoration. (v. 15-21) “ This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affli...

Rick Bruggeman, ABWE EveryEthne Western Region Coordinator of Hispanic Ministries, shared a ministry update and a message with us. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/live/x0KojABkyFo?si=ibusrpnmM2_PBZ8j Website https://www.bethanybaptistchurch.com/sermons

This evening, we will be considering the final words of Jesus before his death. While on the cross, the gospels record seven times that Christ spoke, and in these words we receive an abundance of insight into the purposes of his death. May these words draw us closer into his death as we worship through singing, prayer, preaching, and the Lord’s Supper. For if we have been united with him in a deat...

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Chapter 35 is so completely different from chapter 34. Donald Grey Barnhouse describes the contrast like this: “Chapter 34 does not mention God, and is full of lust, murder, deceit, and wretchedness—but this chapter [35] is filled with God. His name appears ten times, plus once as God Almighty, El Shaddai, plus eleven times in the names Bethel and Israel. The contrast is striking, as it always mus...

We last saw Jacob making peace with his estranged brother Esau. In that encounter, Jacob exhibited some refreshing new traits, signs that he was changing his ways. “Jacob” was his old life, the schemer/grabber. His new identity would be “Israel,” one who struggled with God and finally surrendered. As so often is the case, however, Jacob’s surrender to God wasn’t an overnight transformation: it was...

The night before his fateful reunion with Esau, Jacob wrestled with God in human form. God broke him that night, injuring his hip and leaving him with a limp that would accompany him the rest of his life. God also changed his name that night. No longer would he be Jacob (the schemer, heel grabber). From now on he would be Israel – a warrior who struggled with God and lived. Jacob named that place...

Today we are going to look at the story of Jacob’s wrestling match with God. It’s an amazing story because God lets Jacob win! But with his victory, Jacob walked away a changed man. Something in his heart turned a corner after that match, and though he walked away a victor, he walked away with a scar that would mark him the rest of his life. That’s often how it goes for us: necessary growth comes...

We’ve all wrestled with the concept of trusting the promises of God. Some of us are beginning the journey, wondering if God’s promises to us are true. We wonder if we can really trust him. Others of us are in the middle of the journey, knowing he has been faithful so far, but wondering what the next turn in the road will bring. Will he be faithful to his promises to me? And others are nearing the...

There was a time when Jacob thought that success came because he did certain things. But Jacob learned differently. He learned that when you do certain things and success happens, it’s not because you did those certain things, but it’s because of something else. This lesson will play out in two vignettes in Gen. 30 dealing with children and flocks. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/live/x0KojABkyFo?...

Jacob took advantage of his father, Isaac’s, old age and poor eyesight and tricked Isaac into giving him the blessing that was meant to go to the firstborn son, Esau. Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, advised him to leave in order to escape his brother Esau’s wrath and to go stay with her side of the family. Jacob leaves and on the road has a vision in which God speaks to him and promises to bless him. Now...

We were blessed to hear an update on our daughter church, Peace Bible Church, from Pastor Casey Lute. He also preached from Psalm 85 on Revival in the Church. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/live/x0KojABkyFo?si=ibusrpnmM2_PBZ8j Website https://www.bethanybaptistchurch.com/sermons

Last week we looked at the famed story of Isaac stealing the blessing from his brother Esau. The point of that story, as I shared it, was this: Don’t attempt to get the right things in the wrong ways. That is what Isaac did, deceiving his blind father by impersonating his older brother and stealing the father’s blessing. At the end of that story, Isaac flees for his life, uncertain of when or if h...

Last week’s text ends with this description: “When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.” Genesis 26:34–35 (ESV) Isn’t that the goal of every good son, to make his parents’ lives miserable? We know from Genesis 25 that Isaac is 60 when the twins were...

We ended our last study in the Patriarchs with the story of Isaac and Esau, and the fateful day Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of red stew. Today we will examine an overview of Isaac’s life in Gen. 26. This is the only chapter in Genesis completely devoted to Isaac. We aren’t told the span of years these events cover, but it is very possible that they encompass the vast majority of his life...

We ended our last study in the Patriarchs by reviewing “the generations of Ishmael,” Abraham’s first son. Though born first, he was not the chosen son of promise; Isaac was. Isaac and Ishmael would subsequently have conflict the rest of their lives, except for a brief truce while together they buried their father. Isaac is much like his father Abraham. Both had wives who struggled for years to get...