Bethel Baptist Church

Scripture Reading: John 21:15-19 This remarkable conversation between Jesus and Simon Peter is found only in John's gospel.  Following breakfast that morning, Jesus asked the same question three times … "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"  And three times Simon Peter gave the same answer, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you." In calling Peter "Simon, son of John," Jesus may have been recalling t...

Scripture Reading: John 21:1-14 This post-resurrection story is found only in the gospel of John.  It is a tender reminder of the power, compassion, and provision of Christ.  Still coming to grips with the reality and implications of Christ's resurrection, these seven disciples return to fishing.  This was probably not evidence that these men were abandoning their ministry of the gospel, but rathe...

John 20:19-23

Scripture Reading: John 20:1-10 The account of the resurrection of Christ is found in all four gospel accounts, as we would expect.  Each gospel writer includes some details about Jesus' resurrection that are not found in the other three gospels.  It is only from John that we learn about Peter and John running to the tomb, and John hesitating to go in.  Only in John do we have the account of Jesus...

Psalm 2

Scripture Reading: John 19:16-30 If someone can read this passage about the substitutionary death of Christ and not be moved, then that person is either quite thoughtless or spiritually dead.  Given who Jesus is, the condescension He subjected Himself to is utterly indescribable. During the crucifixion, Jesus said seven things which the gospel writers record.  John 19 contains three of these sayin...

Scripture Reading: John 19:1-16

Scripture Reading:  John 18:28-40 After being up all night, both praying and being questioned by Annas and Caiaphas, Jesus endured the Roman stage of His trial.  At daybreak, the Sanhedrin Council made a formal charge and sent Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.  There were three components of the Roman stage of Jesus' trial.  Jesus was questioned by Pilate, then by Herod, then by Pilate...

John 18:12-24

John 18:12-27

John 18:1-11 The story of Jesus' arrest in the garden of Gethsemane appears in all four gospels, but the details in the gospel of John are virtually only in John.  In his gospel, John is interested in presenting the deity of Christ and that deity is on display when Judas and the others came to arrest Jesus.  We see, in this account, the authority of Jesus.  Though the arresting group was large, an...

John 17:20-26

Scripture: John 17:14-19 In praying for His own, Jesus asks the Father to do several things for them.  He prays that the Father will keep them (Jn 17:11,15).  He prays that they would experience Jesus' own joy (Jn 17:13).  Next, Jesus prays that the Father would 'sanctify' believers (Jn 17:17,19). The root of the word 'sanctify' is the word for holiness.  All holiness derives from God's holiness. ...

Scripture Reading: John 17:12-19 In this wonderful prayer for His disciples, Jesus requests four things from the Father.  The first is that the Father would keep those whom He had given to His Son (Jn 17:11).  The second request is that Jesus' disciples would experience Jesus' joy.  "But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they [the disciples] might have my joy fulf...

Scripture: John 17:10-17 The first request Jesus makes in this glorious prayer is found in verse 11 … "Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me."  Jesus is asking the Father to hold on to these disciples, keeping them aligned with God's name.  God's name represents who He is.  To be kept 'in His name' is to be drawn to a life which accords with God's character.  This fits with...

Scripture Reading: Job 14:7-15 From time immemorial, people have wondered out loud about what happens after we die.  There is a longing in the human soul for immortality because our Creator has set eternity in our hearts (Ecc 3:11). Job's question in this passage reflects the desire in his heart for eternal life.  He notes that when a tree is cut down, sometimes a shoot springs up and the tree liv...

Scritpture Reading John 17:6-11 Continuing in His glorious prayer, Jesus turns His focus from the glory of the Father and the Son to the needs of His disciples. He knows they are sorrowful and that their grief will increase the next day. In this prayer, Jesus is clear that He is not praying for the world but for these men. The foundation of what Jesus says here is that the Father had given these m...

Scripture Reading: John 17:1-5 This is one of the most exquisite chapters in the Bible.  Though we are told that Jesus prayed often, this passage is the only long prayer of Jesus recorded in the gospels.  Because these are the words and thoughts of one person of the Godhead (the Son) to another person of the Godhead (the Father), there are depths here that we are not able to fathom. Even though th...

Scritpture Reading: John 16:25-33 This section of chapter 16 is the final recorded words of encouragement of Jesus to His apostles, prior to His arrest and death.  It is a fitting summary of this glorious section of John known as the 'upper room discourse' (Jn 13:31-16:33).  Jesus repeats some of the themes He has mentioned, namely prayer, His relationship with the Father, the Father's love for th...

Scripture Reading: John 16:16-24 In light of His impending death, Jesus continues to encourage His apostles (and us) in this passage.  Here Jesus promises His own joy and answers to prayer.  Referring to His death and resurrection (and ministry beyond His earthly life) Jesus says, "You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy . . . and no one will take your joy from you" (Jn 16:20,22)...

Mark 1:21-28

Scripture Reading: Romans 15:1-13 Guest Speaker: Dr. Brandon Jones

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:13,14 &  Romans 12:6-8 For people who belong to Christ, the Bible answers the profound questions, "Where are we going?" and "What do we do on the way there?"  The Spirit of God is our guarantee, in Christ, that we will be made new on the day of redemption.  And the Spirit equips us to work in the kingdom of Christ along the way. For Christians, the Holy Spirit has be...

Scripture Reading: John 16:12-15 John 16:12-15 is the last section in this gospel about the Helper, to whom Jesus has repeatedly referred in the sermon on the mount.  "When the Spirit of truth comes," Jesus says, "he will guide you into all truth. . . . He will declare to you the things that are to come.  He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you" (Jn 16:13,14). The m...