Bethel Pulpit - Primitive Baptist Sermons

On Friday evening, 7/28/17, visiting minister Elder Sam Bryant (Birmingham, AL) began our 5th Weekend Meeting by looking at an intriguing comment in Philippians 2:12. The apostle Paul commended this church for their obedience "not only in his presence, but much more in his absence." Elder Bryant traces the reason for their obedience, even when Paul was not there to hold them accountable, to the fact that the Philippian believers lived with a conscious awareness of God's presence and reality.

The 7/23/17 sermon from Pastor Michael Gowens focuses on the narrative in 1 Kings 10 concerning the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon. Gowens takes his text from Matthew 12:42 and shows that King Jesus surpasses Solomon in terms of peace, wisdom, personal character, building projects, wealth, love for his bride, the happiness of his servants, and the honor and effort due Him.

Pastor Gowens' 7/16/17 sermon is taken from Romans 1. He highlights Paul's emphasis on the concept of "Divine Calling" and proceeds to discuss three categories in which this subject may be defined: (1) The Effectual Call; (2) The Gospel Call; (3) The Call to the Ministry. The call of God is not a vague, nebulous invitation, but a Divine summons and directive. In one sense, every child of God hears and responds to God's call. In the other two categories of God's call, the child of God is responsible for hearing and heeding it. Listen today and find help to "rightly divide" this important subject.

Elder Mike Gowens took his text from Philippians 1:6 on Sunday morning, 7/9/17. This text teaches that the God who begins the good work of eternal life in one of His elect will never abandon that child, but will complete the work He began. Simply stated, Philippians 1:6 is one passage among many in Scripture that affirms the great doctrine of Eternal Security, or, as Pastor Gowens terms it, the Divine Preservation of the Saints. 

On Sunday morning, 6/25/17, visiting Elder Chris McCool concluded our Communion Weekend meeting with an exposition of Isaiah 55. This wonderful chapter foreshadows numerous characteristics and virtues of the church our Lord established in the world, as well as the benefits of participation in it. Elder McCool urges us to press into that kingdom in order to enjoy the spiritual blessings that may only be found in the church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

During the Saturday evening (6/24/17) service of our Communion Meeting, guest minister Elder Chris McCool looked at the story of Jesus' visit to the house of Simon Peter in Capernaum as recorded in Mark 2. From that inspired narrative, Elder McCool drew several lessons of the kinds of things we may expect when Jesus is in the house. Here is the great need of the hour for the Church, i.e. the manifest presence of the Lord in our midst.

On Father's Day 2017 (6/18/17), Elder Michael Gowens looked at Proverbs 20:7 as the text for his sermon on the generational impact of a godly father: "The just man walketh in his integrity and his children are blessed after him." Fathers who are absent, whether physically, emotionally, or educationally, produce children who are lost and cannot find their way. Of the many responsibilities a man may have in life, none is more important than to bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

In this 6/11/17 message, Pastor Michael Gowens considers what is perhaps the most crucial precondition for acceptable prayer - praying in faith. Two passages from the general epistle of James form the basis of this study: James 1:5-6 and James 5:13-15. The prayer of faith is not a matter of simple positive thinking or "naming and claiming" a blessing, but of confidence in God's approachability, goodness, love and power. It is also a prayer that acqueisces to His sovereign will, knowing that His way is always best.

Nuggets of gospel truth may be discovered throughout the Old Testament. Elder Mike Gowens finds one such gospel nugget in the narrative of 2 Samuel 14 - the story of Absalom's revolt against the throne of his father and David's incentive to bring him home again from exile. The text for this 6/4/17 sermon is 2 Samuel 14:14.

The May 26, 2017 sermon by Elder Michael Gowens was taken from the narrative in Acts 9:36-42. In the church at Joppa, an obscure female disciple named Dorcas lived a life of sincere devotion to Christ by means of quiet service to others. Upon her sudden and unexpected demise, the widows and saints gathered to remember her by showcasing the many crafts in their possession from her hand, mourning the passing of this greatly beloved Christian woman. From this narrative, Elder Gowens draws multiple lessons concerning authentic Christian discipleship for believers today.