Bethel Pulpit - Primitive Baptist Sermons

We Believe in Christ’s Finished Work

Brother Gowens' 11/5/23 sermon is message four in the "Things Most Surely Believed Among Us" series. This sermon is taken from John 17:1-5, a passage emphasizing our Lord's completion of the covenant assignment He received from the Father. The Lord Jesus is an actual, not a potential, Savior. The use of the telos root in the exclamation "It is finished!" indicates that He made an end of sin, death, Divine wrath, the Law and the Devil at the cross.

We Believe in the Everlasting Covenant

Michael Gowens' 10/29/23 sermon considers Ephesians 1:3-6, a passage in which the apostle Paul celebrates God's eternal purpose in the Covenant of Grace before time began. This is message #3 in the series entitled "Things Most Surely Believed Among Us."

We Believe in the New Birth, Part 2

Elder Gowens' 10/21/23 message continues the survey of John 3:1-11 on the doctrine of regeneration. This message focuses on the necessity and the agency of the new birth. It is message #2 in the "Things Most Surely Believed Among Us" series.

We Believe in the New Birth

This 10/14/23 sermon by Michael Gowens is the first in a topical mini-series on the doctrine of salvation entitled "Things Most Surely Believed Among Us." Gowens begins the series out-of-sequence with the doctrine of regeneration, because it here that most people in our congregation diverge with popular sentiments in religious circles. The text for this message is John 3:1-11.

The Ministry of Comfort

Suffering, God’s School

In this 9/17/23 sermon, Mike Gowens returns to the introduction of 2 Corinthians to consider the theme of comfort in affliction once more. Though the ascetic errs in assuming there is some merit in suffering, it is nonetheless true that God may use trials to teach valuable lessons. Gowens itemizes several of these benefits, concluding with the one highlighted in verse 4, namely, that suffering equips us in the ministry of comfort.

The God of All Comfort

With this 9/10/23 sermon, Mike Gowens begins a consecutive study through 2 Corinthians, an epistle of encouragement. In a day when there are ample reasons to be discouraged, God's people need regular reminders of who their God is. By sharing his own story, Paul points the believers at Corinth to the God who never failed to come to his side with strength and comfort. This is message #1 in the 2 Corinthians series.

The Day of Small Things

Elder Gowens' 9/3/23 sermon is taken from Zechariah 4:10. The sight of the foundation for the rebuilt Temple distressed the ancients that saw the first Temple and evoked a reaction that tended to dismiss it as irrelevant. God corrects their bad attitude by pledging to do something great with that Temple. Gowens draws the lesson that God specializes in using that which may appear to be insignificant.

A New Commandment

This 8/27/23 sermon by Michael Gowens is based on John 13:34-35. Love between brethren in the gospel is the hallmark of authentic discipleship. Nothing will counter the tendency to competition and rivalry in the church like the commitment to esteem others better than self. And nothing will be a better advertisement to the watching world than a church that prioritizes brotherly love.

The Great Commandment

In this August 20, 2023 sermon, Michael Gowens considers the Lord Jesus Christ's reply to a legal question in Matthew 22:37-40. The question, stridently debated among the various rabbinic schools, concerned the most important commandment in the Law. Jesus replies by reaffirming the Jewish Shema (from Deut. 6:4-5), asserting that love for God is the first and great commandment.