Bethel Baptist Church

Special Guest Speaker: Rev. Greg Hands Scripture Reading: Acts 3:1-10

Special Guest Speaker: Bud Fuchs Scripture Reading: Psalm 67

Scripture Reading: John 5:30-47   In this long and exquisite section of John 5, Jesus continues to defend His nature as the Son of God.  In John 5:30-47, Jesus points to a series of 'witnesses' which testify to His authority as deity.  The witnesses begin with the Father (Jn 5:32,37) and then there are three witnesses which issue from Him. John the Baptist, who was sent from God (Jn 1:6), was a cl...

Scripture Reading: John 5:25-29 In a majestic passage, Jesus is defending His deity and His equality with God the Father.  He does this by referring to His activity ("Whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise" – Jn 5:19) … and to His relationship with God the Father ("The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing" – Jn 5:20). Then Jesus makes staggering and specifi...

Scripture Reading: John 5:13-24 When Jesus said, "My Father is working until now, and I am working," it sounded like a trumpet on the ears of the Jewish leaders who heard it.  God is sometimes referred to as the Father of Israel collectively and, on rare occasions, of an individual.  But in direct address, individuals did not call on God by using the term 'father.'  When Jesus called God His Fathe...

Scripture Reading: John 5:1-18 The gospel of John is filled with miracles which Jesus did.  John calls them 'signs' and his design in including them in his account of Jesus' life is to point readers to the divinity of Christ.  John is saying, in effect, "Behold, what power and majesty Jesus displays.  Surely He is the Son of God!" In the present passage Jesus seeks out a man who had been an invali...

Scripture Reading: John 4:43-54 The healing of the royal official's son is yet another declaration of both the grace and power of Jesus.  Having passed through Samaria Jesus came, again, to Galilee.  In fact, He came to Cana, where He had turned water into wine. There is a stark contrast in this account … between the superficial reception of Christ by the Galileans, on one hand, and the genuine fa...

Scripture Reading: John 4:27-42 John has recorded four stories, in quick succession, in which the contrast between material realities and spiritual realities is stark. The Jewish leaders thought about the physical temple when Jesus mentioned that He would raise the temple in three days (Jn 2:19,20).  Nicodemus thought about physical birth when Jesus mentioned being born again (Jn 3:3,4).  The Sama...

Scripture Reading: John 4:24 One of the great dangers of a worship service (or even private worship) is that its activities can be done out of routine.  There is an external form of worship … singing, praying, communion, giving.  But it is possible to do all those activities without the heart being engaged.  This was one of the recurring sins of the people of Israel (cf. Isa 1:10-15; Mt 23:23). Je...

Scripture Reading: John 4:13-26 One of the subjects that arose in Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman was worship.  The Samaritans had erected a temple on Mt. Gerizim so they would not have to go to Jerusalem to worship.  Jesus' response was to talk about the nature of worship.  True worship is not to be found in a particular place or in a particular form. "But the hour is coming, and is...

Scripture Reading: John 4:1-15 We are naturally hesitant to talk with unbelievers about Jesus Christ and the Christian faith.  In John 4, we have a wonderful story of the truth of Christ, declared to a woman who was not at all looking for the truth. Perhaps John means to draw a contrast here, between Nicodemus in John 3 and the unnamed Samaritan woman in John 4.  Nicodemus was learned, powerful, r...

Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:9-18 The description of Jesus Christ, given in the first chapter of Revelation, is one of the most majestic pictures of our Savior found in the Scriptures.   The awesome imagery is taken mostly from Old Testament passages and is meant to evoke from us the same reaction that this vision produced in John. While banished to the island of Patmos, John had the wondrous v...

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:41-52 Christmas is a season we both love and hate.  We love the food and spruce trees and poinsettias.  We hate the traffic and crowds and endless television commercials.  We love the Christmas carols and holly and the warmth of our families.  We hate the icy roads and broken toys and the inconvenience of returning clothes that don't fit. In the middle of the joy and sorr...

Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 17:7-14 In light of the multiplied and complicated problems of our world it is clear that what the world needs is a king … someone to rule in divine wisdom and perfect justice and holy compassion.  A king is exactly what God promised to David and through David, in what is usually called the Davidic Covenant. "When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I...

Scripture Reading: John 3:31-36 "To an age which has unashamedly sold itself to the gods of greed, pride, sex, and self-will, the Church mumbles on about God's kindness, but says virtually nothing about His judgment" (J. I. Packer, Knowing God , 148). The Bible has much to say about God's wrath about rebellion against Him.  Arthur Pink says that there are more references in the Bible regarding God...

Scripture Reading: John 3:22-36 John paints two portraits in this section of his gospel.  Both are wonderful, but one is more wondrous.  One portrait is an example to follow and the other portrait is a witness of divinity which we may not and cannot possess. What we see here is a sterling example of humility.  John the Baptizer is being compared, by his own disciples, to Jesus in His growing popul...

Scripture Reading: John 3:17-21 Following John 3:16, we have something of an expansion of the purpose and results of the coming of Jesus.  First, we have a statement of the grand purpose for which Jesus came, followed by some insight as to why people either receive or reject Christ. John 3:17 says that God sent His Son not to condemn the world, but to save the world.  At the very least this means...

Scripture Reading: John 3:16-21 The most beloved and memorized verse in the Bible is John 3:16.  In this wondrous sentence we have a summary of God's glorious plan for securing a people for Himself for all eternity.  Considering who God is and who we are, the actions of the Almighty on our behalf in this verse are staggering to see. First, there is a warning in this verse.  For those who do not ho...

DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY presidents and persecutions Two major subjects converge this Sunday, both with global significance and both governed by a sovereign God.  The first is the impending presidential election and the second is the persecuted church around the world. There are many clear Biblical texts that say that when a person gains a position of authority (president, senator, judge, father), he is...

Scripture Reading: John 3:9-15 Having spoken with Nicodemus of the process of the new birth, Jesus now turns His attention to the basis or means of the new birth.  The new birth (regeneration) is necessary for entrance into the kingdom of God, but on what basis can such a transformation happen? Jesus now takes Nicodemus into heavenly realities as He speaks of the work of redemption He came to perf...

Special Guest Speaker: Rev. Greg Hands Scripture Reading: Acts 13:32-43

Scripture Reading: John 3:1-10 This is one of the clearest passages in the Bible regarding conversion. Nicodemus is a Jewish Pharisee and is sincerely seeking to know what God requires of a person. As a Pharisee, Nicodemus would have been taught to view religion as mainly behavioral. Jesus' statements to Nicodemus (and to us) indicate that what God requires is more profound and foundational than s...

Originally Presented: April 5th, 2009 Romans 1:1 - 26:27 Overview of the Greatest Book Ever Written

Scripture Reading: John 2:23-25 If we read the gospel of John carefully, we see John's governing purpose illustrated again and again.  John's purpose, which he specifically states at the end of his book, is to display the nature of Jesus … seen in the many signs which He did … in order that the readers of this book would believe in Christ and have eternal life. John presents his accounts of Jesus'...

Originally Presented: March 29th, 2009 Scripture Reading: Romans 16:25-27 It is fitting for the book of Romans to end with a doxology ('word of praise').  There are many doxologies in the Bible … Rom 11:36; Heb 13:20,21; Jude 24,25.  Here, after his long and detailed unfolding of the gospel of Christ, Paul stops explaining and simply worships. The main point of this very long and complex sentence...