Bethel Baptist Church

Scripture Reading: Amos 9:8-13   The message of the book of Amos generally follows the pattern seen in most of the prophetic books.  There is declaration of the sins of the people … a plea for the people to repent … a pronouncement of judgment … and a promise of restoration. Amos 9 contains the often-repeated promise of God that a day is coming when He will "restore the fortunes" of the Israelites...

Scripture Reading: Amos 5:21-27   One of the signs of the rebellion of the Israelites of Amos's day was the hypocrisy of their worship.  They performed the acts of worship, but these acts were not pleasing to God.  In fact, God declared that He hated the empty rituals these Jews were engaged in (Amos 5:21).   The true nature of the hollow ceremonies of the Jews was seen in the sinfulness of their...

Scripture Reading: Amos 3   In the context of God's special relationship with the people of Israel, in Amos 3 there are two verses that signal the glorious truth about God's supremacy over all His creation.  In His sovereign freedom, God chose the people of Israel to be His special people.  God uses the verb 'to know' to make a statement about His choosing the nation of Israel to be recipients of...

Scripture Reading: Amos 4,5 Much of the book of Amos is a catalog of the sins of the northern kingdom of Israel, as God reasons with the people to see their rebellion for what it is and turn to Him for mercy and life.   God reminds the Israelites of their great privileges of His grace.  God had destroyed Israel's enemies so they could live in the promised land (Amos 2:9).  He had brought the Israe...

Scripture Reading: Amos 1,2 The book of Amos is one of the twelve books often called 'minor prophets.'  These twelve books in the Old Testament are small in comparison with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel ('major prophets').   Amos was one of only two writing prophets sent to the northern kingdom of Israel (Hosea was the other one).  His message, like most of the prophets, was to declare the...

Scripture Reading: Habakkuk 3 The third chapter of Habakkuk is a song of praise, but Habakkuk's praise is in the context of the horror of divine judgment on Judah.  This section of Habakkuk lauds the might of the Almighty … "His splendor covered the heavens and the earth was full of his praise.  His brightness was like the light" (Hab 3:3,4).  God had revealed to Habakkuk that God would display Hi...

Scripture Reading: Habakkuk 2 The book of Habakkuk begins with a heartfelt question as to why God had allowed the protracted sins of the people of Judah to go on, unchecked and unjudged.  God gives his prophet a clear, if surprising, answer.  He would, indeed, mete out His justice by means of the Chaldeans … a dreaded and fearsome people.   Habakkuk, then, has a second (we might say 'follow-up') q...

Scripture Reading: Habakkuk 1 The name Habakkuk does not appear anywhere else in the Bible but in this book.  He is a prophet of God, ministering to the southern kingdom of Judah. His message is primarily given in the form of a conversation the prophet has with God.  When God reveals that He will destroy Judah and Jerusalem by means of the Babylonians, Habakkuk protests as to the justice of such a...

Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:9-11 Clearly the central focus of the entire Bible is Jesus Christ.  He is foreseen in the books of the Old Testament, often in shrouded language whose glory is revealed when Christ appears in human form.  The mountain peaks of revelation are found in the New Testament, where the mystery and majesty of Christ stand out in unmistakable and unforgettable splendor.  ...

Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:5-11 This passage is the most theological section of Philippians and one of the most majestic passages in the Bible.  At the same time these verses speak of the glorious divinity of Christ and the inestimable humiliation involved in the humanity of Christ. Philippians 2:6 is built on the eternal existence of God the Son before His incarnation.  When the verse says,...

Scripture Reading: Nahum 1:7-15 The city of Nineveh was the central city of the Assyrian empire, which was one of the cruelest, vilest, most idolatrous empires of the ancient world.  Nahum's prophecy is a tribute to the justice of the wrath of God.  We see some crucial issues regarding God's consuming justice in this little book.  First, God's wrath is right (cf. Nah 1:3) .   God's wrath is not pe...

THIS IS MY FATHER'S WORLD 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 governs the events of history and of our lives to bring about His intended purposes.   Heidelberg Catechism – question # 27 Question:  What do you understand by the providen...

Jonah 4

Scripture Reading: Jonah 3 Jonah 3 contains the account of Jonah's preaching to the people of Nineveh and their repentance and the stay of God's judgment.  There are multiple lessons on display in this chapter.  One lesson is the obedience of Jonah to do a very difficult thing … namely, to go to the capital city of a hostile enemy (both Israel's enemy and God's enemy) and declare a coming destruct...

Since 1996, one Sunday in November has been designated the "International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church." It is a significant remembrance for us. David Barrett, formerly of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, is one of the foremost authorities on the state of Christianity in the world today. In his book Our Globe and How to Reach It, he says that more Christians have been killed...

Judges 16:23-31, Hebrews 11:32-34

Scripture Reading: Jonah 2

Scripture Reading: Jonah 1

Ruth 4

Scripture Reading: Ruth 3 … 'Redeemer' in the Old Testament … nearest relative … "kinsman redeemer" … Hebrew word  -  goel …. the concept of the 'goel' included the notion of protecting, saving, sustaining, guarding a family member, usually with some purchase involved. …. Lev 25:25,26 - redemption of property …. Lev 25:47-49 - redemption of people …. Num 35:16-19 - avenging a murder …. Deut 25:5-1...

Scripture Reading: Ruth 2:1-23

Scripture Reading: Ruth 1 During the time of the judges in Israel, God's providence was on display in a wondrous way, in order to show His faithfulness to bring the promised Messiah.  In the process, God displays His grace to a family in Bethlehem.  He does this through the everyday ebb and flow of life and not through some spectacular miracle. The book of Ruth is a story of ordinary people in ord...

Scripture Reading; John 21:15-25 The gospel of John ends with a passage about the greatness of Christ.  Peter, who had been frightened to even say the name of Jesus, would one day give his life for the Master.   "Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you...