Bethel Christian Center

The first recorded miracle Jesus performed was at a wedding. The wine had run out, and the Lord Jesus Christ, at the request of His mother, moved in to take care of the embarrassing situation. He told the servants to fill six available water pots with water; then, He turned the water into wine — but not ordinary wine, the very best. But this was not just a miracle. It was a miracle with a message.

Preaching the miracle stories of the Gospels in a rational age is not easy. Yet the Synoptic Gospels and the first nine chapters of Mark in particular, are filled with stories of Jesus as a miracle-worker. There are 18 miracles of Jesus recorded in the Book of Mark. The Gospel of Mark is well able to establish a healthy faith in Jesus Christ and his kingdom. Mark proceeded to do this through an em...

Communion should be a time of unity, reverence, self-reflection, and expectation for the coming of Christ.

All of the apostles were chosen by the Lord for a reason. All of them shared in the ministry and apostleship. Despite this equality, the gospel accounts reveal that on three different occasions, Jesus chose three of His apostles, and allowed them to see things that they were not permitted to tell the others. These three are regularly singled out to attend Him at His most sacred moments, both as he...

This is the last picture that we have of the apostle Paul in the book of Acts. The book of Acts is the one book in the New Testament Scriptures that tells us about the early church; it shows us what the early church was like; it gives us a pattern of churches in all time to come. Acts begins with Jerusalem, which, of course, was the capital city of the Jewish people, and concludes by bringing us t...

Mark deals with the subject of the keeping of the Sabbath, according to the Pharisaical interpretation of the law. This passage has two major divisions. Verses 23-28 give an account of the protest of the Pharisees and the response of our Lord, stemming from the “harvesting” of food on the Sabbath by Jesus’ disciples. Mark 3:1-6 deals with Jesus’ healing of the man with the withered hand on the Sab...

Change is in the air when God is involved. The resurrection of Jesus is synonymous with change. Old gives way to new. Death gives way to life. Deadness is transformed into something new and vital and life-giving. Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and about the triumph of eternal life over death. With the resurrection come new hope, new possibilities, new life, new promise, a...

It is a rare thing that all four gospels record the same event in Jesus’ life. But what happens on this day in Jerusalem is recorded by all four of the gospel writers. For that reason alone, we should consider what happened here to be important. Six days before the Passover, on what we call Palm Sunday, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem. His dynamic entrance into the city fulfilled prophecy (Zech...

Chapter two of Mark begins with the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man who was lowered through the roof. The next story is the one for today. Here he calls Levi, who happens to be a tax collector. The people of Israel hated tax collectors. Tax collectors were viewed as low-lifes who would sell their own people down the river to make a buck. They were lumped with the worst of sinners. Now her...

“Jesus did not leave behind a powerless church when He ascended back to heaven. To the contrary, He imparted divine authority to those who follow Him, along with Holy Spirit power to accomplish great things for Him on this earth.” Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph. D.

A Guest Preacher upsets all expectation at the Synagogue and the religious order.

A Desperate, Canaanite mother beseeches Jesus between a "rock" and a "hard place."

The story of John’s childhood is passed over in one sentence, Luke 1:80; “And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.”

Life in general is so fast and with each passing year it speeds up. May we at times take a visit to Mayberry where stress is almost non-existent, where people sit on their front porches after supper and talk for hours; where people watch the sunsets more than they do TV-where no one hurries anywhere and the pace of life is so relaxed and easy that everyone has the time to actually know everyone el...

The Gospel is the revelation of God through Jesus Christ. The gospel is “good news” from God to man, from heaven to earth, from the infinitely holy to the lowest depths of human wretchedness and sin. The gospel is a voice from heaven breaking through the silence or discord of our natural condition; it is good news in relation to our sins, salvation, and eternity. It remedies the greatest evils and...

Mark’s purpose in writing this Gospel: to make the good news accessible to Gentiles, to be an apologist of the cross, to encourage those who were facing persecution. Mark is the Gospel of action, moving rapidly from one scene to another. He substantiates the messianic claims of Jesus by emphasizing His authority as a Teacher (1:22) and His author over Satan and unclean spirits and sin (1:27; 3:19-...

Mark is the shortest of the four gospels. In comparison with Matthew and Luke, it contains relatively little teachings of Jesus and nothing at all about His birth and childhood. Starting with the ministry of John the Baptist, it comes immediately to the public ministry of Christ, ending with his death and resurrection. It is believed by most scholars to be the earliest of the four NT Gospels. Mark...

John Mark (John is his Jewish name, and Mark is his Gentile or Roman name) may not be as well-known as Peter, Paul, John or many of the other New Testament personalities. Yet a quick survey of his life reveals time tested truths that are good for us to keep in mind even today. The Bible tells us John Mark was the close cousin of Barnabas, from the island of Cyprus (Acts 4:36). Mark wrote from Rome...

Ordination Service for Michael Britt Michael Britt- Intro Sermonette Pastor Don Westbrook- Sermon Mitchell Britt- Remarks and Ordination Scripture

The vision of the valley of dry bones has been variously interpreted. Some see it as teaching the postexilic return of the exiles; as an analogy for spiritual regeneration and the birth of the church. Dispensational interpreters see here the resurrection and restoration of end times national Israel. Contextually, it is designed to be a message of hope to the exiled Jews. “SFL Bible”

Insofar as eternity is concerned, it makes no difference what we think of the world political and religious leaders, the world social and economic problems. Nor does it make much difference what we think of the Protestants, Catholics, Jews or the Muslims. However, our soul's eternal destiny will definitely be determined by how we honestly respond to this question---"What think ye of Christ?"

Although the Jews did not like the Samaritans, Jesus purposely went through their territory; for it was here in the shade of a well to an ostracized woman He announced His identity: “I am the Messiah.” Suddenly the insignificance of her life was swallowed by the significance of the moment. “God is here! God has come! God cares…for me.” -Max Lucado

After expressing His own regard to the work that was given Him to do, our Savior stimulates His disciples to similar zeal. The people were ready to hear if only the gospel were delivered unto them.

The Israelites often burned incense, but this holy incense could be burned only in the tabernacle. Here God gave the recipe for this special incense. This incense was burned to show honor and reverence to God. This incense was so holy that the people were strictly forbidden to copy it for personal use. The visual aids, described in Exodus 30:34-38, gives us a wonderful insight into the area of wor...