Bethel Pulpit - Primitive Baptist Sermons

Keeping a Perspective of Faith

In this third message from the mini-series on Habakkuk's prophecy, Mike Gowens considers Habakkuk 2:4-20. This passage teaches that God generally answers our "why" questions with a "Who" answer. A focus on the God that holds our lives in His own sovereign and capable hands, together with the prospect that His purposes will not be frustrated is what it means to "live by faith." This sermon was delivered on 2/19/23.

God’s Answer to Your Perplexity

Elder Michael Gowens continues his look at the prophecy of Habakkuk with this 2/12/23 sermon from Habakkuk 2:1-4. God never promises to answer all of our questions, but he does exhort us to live by faith. When we trust Him, we may say with Paul, "I am perplexed, but I'm not in despair."

Perplexed by the Problem of Evil

On January 8, 2023, Michael Gowens begins a mini-series on the prophecy of Habakkuk. This message from Habakkuk 1 explains the prophet's wrestling with two hard questions: 1) Why doesn't God do something? 2) How can a just God employ a sinful nation to discipline His covenant people? Habakkuk is grappling with, first, God's apparent indifference, and secondly, God's apparent injustice. His book has much to say to all that are perplexed by the problem of evil.

A Precious Promise for the New Year

Elder Gowens begins 2023 with a message from Deuteronomy 11:12. Applying insights from the Lord's description of the land of Canaan to our current situation, Brother Mike emphasizes the precious promise of God's providential oversight of His people.

The Birth of the King

Elder Gowens' 12/18/22 sermon looks at Matthew 1:1-25, the royal pedigree and circumstances of the birth of Jesus the Christ. Every syllable of God's word is important and the genealogy that begins the New Testament is vital to the gospel of the kingdom of God.

After Darkness, Light

The 12/11/22 sermon by Michael Gowens looks at Isaiah 9:1-2, a Messianic prophecy concerning the effect of Christ's advent into the world. Elder Gowens begins by developing the light/darkness metaphor that is so prolific in Scripture, and proceeds to apply the metaphor to this important prophecy.

Making An Example of Paul

Elder Michael Gowens' 12/4/22 sermon looks at 1 Timothy 1:12-17, one of the autobiographical passages so characteristic of the Pauline epistles. Paul employs two similar words in this passage to affirm that just as he was the prototypical sinner, so he is the quintessential example of God's transforming power and grace. He never lost his sense of wonder at God's amazing grace, and neither should we.

Sin’s ”Double Cure”

Mike Gowens' 11/27/22 message looks at Psalm 32:1-2. Taking his cue from a line in the hymn "Rock of Ages" by Augustus M. Toplady, Elder Gowens explores the theological need in the sinner for both justifying and sanctifying grace. Christ's precious blood is effectual to remit both legal guilt and the cleanse from personal corruption.

The Church’s Prophetic Voice

In this 11/6/22 message, Elder Mike Gowens considers Paul's message to Felix (Acts 24:24-27), the Roman procurator that had jurisdiction over his case. Paul, though respectful, does not patronize the governor. He reasons of "righteousness, temperance and judgment to come." This episode is an example of an occasion in which those whose principal business is to proclaim the comfort of the gospel must also be prepared to speak as God's appointed moral authority in this world.

The Return of the Seventy

In this 10/30/22 sermon, Elder Gowens considers Luke 10:17-24. When the seventy returned from a successful ministry outing, Jesus taught them the true source of the preacher's joy. Happiness in the life of a gospel minister, and in every believer's life, does not derive from gifts or ministry successes, but in the sovereign grace of God.