Bethel Pulpit - Primitive Baptist Sermons

The Image of God Restored in the Resurrection

In the Saturday evening (7/28/18) session of our 5th Weekend Meeting, visiting minister Elder Michael Ivey continued his exposition of 1 Corinthians 15. This message covers verses 20 through 52, and focuses on the resoration of the imago Dei at the resurrection.

Saved by the Hope of Resurrection

On Saturday afternoon, 7/28/18, guest minister Elder Mike Ivey (TX) brought an excellent sermon from 1 Corinthians 15:1-19. He demonstrates the logical case Paul makes in this chapter for the bodily resurrection of Christ, and for the coming event of our resurrection at the Savior's glorious return. As we wait in the meantime for the final resurrection of our bodies, we may be saved from despair as we anticipate the glory that awaits us at that triumphant day.

The Doctrine of Adoption

Elder Mike Ivey was our guest minister during the July 2018 Fifth Weekend Meeting. This message from the initial service on Friday evening, July 27, was based on Ephesians 1:5. Elder Ivey explains the intriguing history of the Roman adoption process, then looks at the references to this concept in the Pauline epistles of Ephesians, Galatians and Romans to make application to the gracious gift of adoption into God's family.

Tears in God's Bottle

Elder Mike Gowens' sermon on 7/22/18 draws from the interesting metaphor of an old-fashioned tear-bottle (or lachrymatory) in Psalm 56:8. The metaphor suggests the comforting thought that God marks, collects and remembers the tears of his children in this world. Of course, life in this world presents ample occasion to shed tears. But how wonderful it is to anticipate a heavenly world in which every tear will be wiped away. Until then, our merciful Father in heaven has provided a cloth to dry our many tears by means of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and the precious promises of His word.

Irresistible Grace

In the 7/15/18 sermon, Elder Mike Gowens looks at Paul's Damascus Road encounter with the risen Christ, recorded in Acts 9:1-9. After working through the details of the narrative, Gowens highlights the expression at the end of verse 5, "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks," showing that depraved sinners, like Saul, are involved in a long war against the God of heaven. This spirit of resistance and rebellion against the Lord, however, is no match for the supernatural power of Divine grace. The story of everyone who has been conquered by such power, whether or not they share an experience as dramatic as Paul's, is "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

The Martyrdom of Stephen

On Sunday 7/8/18, Elder Michael Gowens looks at Acts 7:54-60 and the account of Stephen's dying testimony. In the middle of the greatest trauma of his life, Stephen found help and strength by means of a special blessing. He was granted a sight of the risen Christ in His ascended glory and majesty, and the triumphant reality he witnessed so completely superseded the tragedy of his present circumstances that his presence was almost angelic. Subsequent accounts of faithful martyrs in Christian history duplicate Stephen's narrative so that we may safely say that Christ gives special assistance to His people when the world turns against them.

Love in Action

Pastor Michael Gowens looks at 1 Corinthians 13 in this 7/1/18 sermon. More than a mere feeling or emotion, biblical love is a way of behaving toward another person. Paul's divinely inspired description of charity, or love in action, stands in stark contrast to the way the Corinthians were behaving toward each other. If we want fulfilling, lasting and God-honoring relationships, whether in marriage or in the church, it is imperative that we rediscover the priority of Biblical love.

God's Perspective of His Church vs. The World's Opinion

In the concluding service of our Communion Meeting (Sunday, 6/25/18), Elder Marty Smith (GA) expounds Romans 1:1-8. He contrasts Paul's comments in verse 8 ("Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world") with Acts 28:22 ("...for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against."), showing that the world's opinion of those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is frequently the very opposite of the Lord's assessment. It is preferable to have God's endorsement rather than man's approval and applause.
 

Loving Life

In the evening service of our 6/24/18 Communion Meeting, Elder Marty Smith (GA) took his text from James 3:10-11. He begins the message by addressing the importance of godly speech and a passion for peace. Then, he proceeds to distinguish between the life we are to love and a life we are to abandon for Christ and his gospel. 

Bound Together in the Bundle of Life

We were thankful to have Elder Marty Smith (GA) with us as the guest minister during our 2018 Communion Meeting. His first message on Saturday afternoon, 6/24/18, is based on Abigail's counsel to David in 1 Samuel 25:29. When God's child is cognizant of the rich blessings bestowed upon him from a loving God, he has incentive to resist the urge to retaliate against those who have wronged him.