Bethel Baptist Church

Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 The passage for our consideration is probably the best known passage in the book of Ecclesiastes. This section is an eloquent picture of life. In 14 contrasting couplets, and with a beautiful rhythmic cadence, Solomon depicts the ebb and flow of living. With the wisdom of his contemplation, the preacher reminds us that living is not a static process, but a dy...

Originally Presented: June 8th, 2008 Scripture Reading: Romans 12:1-2 Romans 12:1 marks a significant change in the subject matter of the book.  In the first eleven chapters, the focus is on the glories of God in the gospel of Christ and wonder of His salvation.  It is a magnificent description of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ and His eternal redemption.  But these eleven chapters are  primari...

Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 If there was ever a Bible passage tailor-made for 21st century America, it is Ecclesiastes 2:1-11.  Our culture is decidedly hedonistic because we are so bent (one might say 'hell-bent') on pleasure.  In this passage Solomon relates how he sought pleasure in his search for meaning and order in life's struggles. Solomon wrote, "All that my eyes desired, I did...

Originally Presented: June 1st, 2008 Scripture Reading: Romans: 11:30-36 After eleven chapters of what is the fullest, most exquisite presentation of the gospel of Christ in all the Bible, it is no wonder that the writer of Romans breaks out in a glorious doxology in Romans 11:33-36.  What he exclaims is especially relevant following Romans 9-11, which are among the most mysterious chapters in the...

Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 Ecclesiastes, although anonymous, was certainly written by Solomon, "son of David, king in Jerusalem" (Ecc 1:1).  It presents a unique look at life "under the sun" from the standpoint of a diligent inquirer who contemplates meaning and order. One conclusion that is repeated many times in Ecclesiastes is that life is 'vain'.  We see the declaration in the seco...

Originally Presented: May 25th, 2008 Scripture Reading: Romans 11:24-32 In Romans 11:24-32, Paul brings to an end the argument he has been making concerning the people of Israel in Romans 9-11.  The theme of this section is the statement in Romans 9:6 that the word of God has not failed.  The people of Israel were not, in general, being saved because: (1) God has not promised to save all Jews in e...

God and the Coronavirus Profound questions naturally arise in the face of events like the global spread of the coronavirus.  Why does God allow such a disease and why doesn't He stop it, since He is omnipotent?  Could He … would He … have designed such an event?  Though answers to every question certainly cannot be given, the Bible does give us insight into why God allows and even decrees horrible...

Originally Presented: May 18th, 2008 Scripture Reading: Romans 11:16-24 THE  FEAR  OF  THE LORD The Bible proclaims that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10).  We cannot live wisely if our life is not built on the foundation of reverence for and awe of God.  But in our familiarity with God and in our emphasis on His mercy and forgiveness, sometimes we lose our fear of Him. In our...

Special Guest Speaker: Rev. Greg Hands Scripture Reading: Galatians 6 1-5,17

Originally Presented: May 11th, 2008 Scripture Reading: Romans 11:16-24 Continuing his discussion of the future of the people of Israel, Paul has an exhortation to the Gentiles.  In light of what has happened to the unbelieving people of Israel, namely that some Jews have been cut off from God's 'olive tree' (Rom 11:17,19,21), Gentiles ought not to be arrogant toward the Jews.  Nor should they be...

Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:9-17  

Originally Presented: May 4th, 2008 Scripture Reading: Romans 11:11-15 Romans 11 is meant to display the divine and sovereign plan God has planned for the people of Israel.  To the question as to whether or not God has rejected Israel, after their having rejected Christ, Paul responds with a resounding, "No.  Of course God will not reject His people whom He has chosen" (Rom 11:1,11). The proof tha...

Scripture Reading: Luke 6:43-49 From the time of Cain, sinful people have the tendency to substitute religious activity for an obedience of the heart.  King Saul sacrificed animals from the spoil of war, but God had commanded that these animals be destroyed.  Samuel challenged Saul by saying, "To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Sam 15:22).  Samuel did not mean that people should not sacrifice, b...

Originally presented: April 27th, 2008 Scripture Reading: Romans 11:7-10 This passage is another reminder to us that God's ways are both sovereign and often surprising.  In this paragraph Paul continues his discussion of the spiritual status of the Jewish people and their future position as God's chosen nation. For the present, God has saved only a remnant of Jewish people (Rom 11:5).  Israel, in...

Scripture Reading: Psalm 111 We are commanded in the Scriptures to delight in God. "Delight yourself in the LORD" (Psa 37:4); "Rejoice in the Lord" (Phil 3:1; 4:4).  This joy is one of the characteristics that the Holy Spirit is working in Christians, according to Galatians 5:22-24.  This emotion must not be confused with the lightheartedness that comes and goes as our circumstances change.  Bibli...

Romans: The Integrity of God and the Wonder of Grace Originally Presented: April 13th, 2008  Scripture Reading: Romans 11:1-6 In Romans 11 Paul answers the question concerning the future of the people of Israel.  Because of Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ and the spiritual deadness of their hearts, most Jews were not being saved.  The status of their being lost called into question both the int...

Attribute: Soli Deo Gloria - God's own purpose At the bottom of his musical compositions, Johann Sebastian Bach, would write three capital letters . . . SDG.  George Frederic Handel did the same at the end of his writing "The Messiah" oratorio.  The letters stood for the Latin words soli Deo gloria . . . glory to God alone.  Bach and Handel knew that the purpose for music, like the purpose for all...

Originally Presented: April 6th, 2008 Scripture Reading: Romans 10:15-21 The question that prompts Paul to write Romans 9-11 is the question of the people of Israel. Paul begins his discussion by asking, in effect, "Why aren't all Jews saved?"  To that question he poses two answers, one in chapter 9, from the standpoint of divine purpose in divine sovereignty (unconditional election of some Jews,...

Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 29:11 Sovereignty … the notion that God is King over His creation and that, as King, He has the right to rule over it. Providence … the outworking of God's sovereignty, by which He sustains His creation and orders the events of history and of our lives to bring about His intended purposes. Extent of God's Sovereignty . . . physical creation - Psa 104:14; Nah 1:3-5;...

Originally Presented: March 30th, 2008 Scripture Reading: Romans 10:11-15 In discussing the status and future of the Jewish people in light of their rejection of Christ, Paul highlights the wonder that God has included Gentiles in His plan of redemption.  Sandwiched in between two 'whoever' quotations (Rom 10:11,13), we read "there is no distinction between Jew and Greek" (Rom 10:12). The statemen...

Attribute of God: Patience Not all books on the attributes of God have a separate section or chapter on the patience of God, but Stephen Charnock (1628-1680) in his massive classic The Existence and Attributes of God dedicates 52 pages to the subject.  Repeatedly in the Scriptures we see the description of God that is found in Exodus 34:6;7.  This is, by the way, God's own description of Himself....

Originally Presented: March 16th, 2008 Scripture Reading: Romans 10:9-10  When Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, one week before His death, it was a deliberate display of His majesty and provided the Jewish people with an opportunity to make an unambiguous declaration that Jesus is king.  That is the point of the Palm Sunday story.  It is the proclamation, in no uncertain terms, that J...

Special Guest Speaker: Rev. Greg Hands Scripture Reading: Psalm 146:1-10

Originally Presented: March 9th, 2008   Scripture Reading: Romans 10:1-10 In Romans 10, Paul continues his discussion of the people of Israel, lamenting their state of spiritual blindness and self righteousness.  Even though the apostle has stated that a man's salvation is solely based on "Him who calls" (Rom 9:11) and on "God who has mercy" (Rom 9:16), nevertheless he prays for the salvation of h...

Special Guest Speaker: Rev. Greg Hands Scripture Reading: Acts 11:14-18