Bethel Christian Center

In this story found in John 8, Jesus confronts a band of cold, self-righteous prudes and a woman who was guilty of open sexual sin, and handles both with such wisdom and grace that the story has become a favorite of many. The motive of the Pharisees was not passion for holiness, but a desire to entrap Jesus in a dilemma (v.6).

Christian believers today seem to have a full understanding of God the Father and God the Son, but God the Holy Spirit seems to be a more confusing and misunderstood person. It is vitally important to the believer today to understand the purpose and power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself makes it very clear what the role of the Holy Spirit will be during the age of grace. Everything that is accomplished today to advance the Kingdom of God is done through the work of the Holy Spirit.

God had made covenants of blessing with Israel, but they were conditional. Because of blatant disobedience, the pleasurable aspects of blessing would be replaced by punishment. The moral decline of the kingdom of Judah would lead to its defeat and captivity. This book is literally titled Oh My Gosh! How Could This Have Happened? Lamentations and the United States.

It is time for the church to rise and declare the sound of praise that changes the atmosphere inside the building and lives that change the environment outside!

Communism, Humanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, does not have the answer to the meaning of life. In the Bible, and there only, do we find the answer to: where did we come from, why are we here, and where are we going? As we look at a few verses in the book of Ecclesiastes we find that King Solomon came to the conclusion that life is meaningless apart from God.

Job is introduced as an extremely rich man who is also God-fearing. Subjected to the loss of all he owned; Job still keeps his attitude of wholehearted devotion to God. Even when Job is subjected to personal physical suffering, he maintains his integrity and does not renounce God. In this study we will look at FIVE MISTAKES IN JOB.

I’m profoundly impressed with the unlimited resources of the God of the Bible. He makes an ocean, makes it so deep no man can fathom it. He makes a mountain, makes it so large no one can measure or weigh it. He makes a flower, scatters multiplied millions, no one to admire but Himself. “Makes” grace, makes it without sides or bottom and leaves the top off; Pours salvation forth like a river.

Gideon was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in chapters 6 to 8 of the Book of Judges. Gideon is among the brightest luminaries of the Old Testament history.

Throughout the New Testament, water for drinking is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God that comes to the sinner and shows him his need of salvation, John 16:8. It is the Holy Spirit that applies the Word of God in conviction, John 6:44. It is the Spirit that baptizes the new believer into the body of Christ, 1 Cor. 12:13. It is the Spirit that seals that believer, Eph. 4:30. It is the Spirit of God that fills the believer and uses him for the glory of God, Eph. 5:18.

Where there is the anointed Word of God presented with power, love, and compassion, and where there are hearts turned to the Lord in repentance, the power of the Lord will be present to save and heal.

Romans 1:13-32

The touch that taps into Jesus' power and five kinds of people you can't help.

Today we look squarely and honestly into the center of the dark clouds and the raging storm in the life of Job. Job is portrayed as a wealthy man of upright character who loves God. Yet God allows Satan to destroy his flocks, his possessions, his children, and his health. Job refuses to give up on God, even when he does not understand why this is happening to him. We, too, must trust God when we do not understand the difficulties we face.

Job was an enormously wealthy man. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He lived in Southeast Palestine nearly three thousand years ago during the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He had seven sons and three daughters, but there was much more to his legacy than his bank account. Job is an example of a godly father that courageously led his family. The opening of the book of Job gives us important information concerning his character and his example as a father (Job 1:1). According to Job 1:1-5, he was an exceptional father.

We certainly live in days when the spirit of the good Samaritan is needed, and the place it should be displayed is in the lives of Christians. By using a simple story, Jesus shows that enemies can prove to be neighbors, that compassion has no boundaries, and that judging people on the basis of their religion or ethnicity will leave us dying in a ditch. "Racism is not a skin problem, it's a sin problem." This is not a political divide, it's a spiritual divide. If you have cops that don't understand that their authority is limited to the law and you have a guy that puts his knee on a guy's neck and kills him, that's a sin problem, if you have people who take to the streets and they think they have a right to steal other people's property, indiscriminately, whether the property is owned by blacks or whites, that a sin problem. We've got to get to the heart of the problem." -Mike Huckabee

We need unity and prayer now more than ever if we expect to see evangelism similar to Pentecost.

In describing the Holy Spirit’s coming, Jesus specifically said, "Rivers of living water shall flow from the inner being of all those who believe me" (John 7:37-38). On Pentecost, what Joel had prophesied, Peter preached: "God has poured out His Spirit; a stream of restoring, healing power is released to mankind!"

special memorial day sermon from brother Todd

After being chased out of Thessalonica & Berea for preaching the good news about Jesus, the apostle Paul spent a few days in the city of Athens. While waiting he did a little sightseeing. Paul came to Athens as a sightseer and became a soul winner. Paul did not purpose to evangelize these Gentiles, but he could not help but do so when he was deeply stirred in his soul over their rampant idolatry. Paul's speech becomes a model for how to witness to the educated post-Christian mind, even as it spoke to Theophilus and his fellow seekers with their first-century pre-Christian minds; proclaiming the Gospel with Integrity (17:16-21)

Mother’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the role our mothers play in our lives. For the vast majority of people their mum is a faithful, caring, loving person whose nurturing hand is one that shapes and influences them for the rest of their lives. This post for Mothers’ Day looks at the influence that a faithful mother and a faithful grandmother had on the life of someone who became a significant figure in the early church.