Bethel Pulpit - Primitive Baptist Sermons
Weekly sermons by Elder Michael Gowens and others from the pulpit of Bethel PBC, Calabash, NC.
Episodes
The 4/14/24 message by Elder Michael Gowens is taken from 1 Peter 2:3. Reference to senses (like "taste") in the Scriptures must be understood in terms of spiritual experience. Newly born babies learn and grow principally by means of experiencing their world. Likewise, the experience of tasting that God is gracious is the catalyst for the believer to grow further toward spiritual maturity.
Brother Gowens' sermon on 4/7/24 looks at Acts 10 and the character sketch of the Roman centurion named Cornelius. The description given of this outstanding man indicates that he was already a born again child of God, even before Peter preached the gospel to him. What a comfort to know that God has people in every nation, many of whom are yet unevangelized! May He bless us to reach them with the good news of the God that saved them...
Elder Gowens' 3/31/24 message is based on Matthew 12:38-40. The only sign, or miracle, necessary for the believer is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He lives, you can face tomorrow.
"Preaching is not only proclamation, but it is also witness." In this message from Psalm 66:18, Pastor Gowens enlists this definition of the joy of preaching to give personal witness to the Lord's goodness to him. He does so by tracing his own story through salient Scripture passages.
Brother Gowens' 3/3/24 sermon is the third and final in a short series of messages from John 1:35-51. In this message, he considers how the Lord Jesus overcame Nathanael's skepticism.
Brother Gowens' 2/25/24 message continues the look at John 1:35-51 in which Jesus gathers the first disciples to himself. Andrew and John were seekers. Peter was encouraged to follow Jesus by the faithful testimony of his brother. But Philip was not seeking or demonstrating any interest in the Lord. Instead, Jesus sought him out and called him to follow. Like Philip, many contemporary disciples must say, "He sought me and found me;...
Michael Gowens' 2/18/24 sermon looks at John 1:35-51, the account of the beginning of Jesus' public ministry and the first disciples He gathered to Himself. Like these first disciples, we too may have different stories in terms of coming to the decision to follow the Lord Jesus, but the call to be like the Master - the goal of discipleship - is the same from person to person.
Pastor Gowens' 2/11/24 sermon continues the "Traveling Light" series with a look at the death of Lazarus in John 11. Grief, and particularly the grief of bereavement, is a debilitating burden. But several helps to deal with painful loss emerge from this dramatic account - Christ's love, God's truth and Hope in the resurrection.
In this 2/4/24 sermon, Mike Gowens takes a look at Psalm 37 and the oppressive burden of anxiety. This important chapter specifically addresses anxiety arising when injustice seems to prevail, offering Biblical counsel concerning what not to do (the negative) and what to do (the positive).
This 1/28/24 sermon is the third in the topical series titled "Traveling Light." Elder Gowens' text is 1 John 2:1-2. In this message, Michael defines a three-fold solution to alleviate the heavy burden of guilt and shame that so many people carry in the conscience.
Pastor Gowens' 1/21/24 sermon takes a look at Matthew 16:13-20, a strategically important passage in the New Testament. It is one of two places in the four Gospels in which reference is made to "the church." Here we discover the priority the Lord Jesus places on his church, and an encouraging promise regarding its longevity.
Elder Gowens' message on 1/14/24 is taken from 2 Chronicles 20 and the encouraging story of King Jehoshaphat's response to the news of an approaching enemy. Here is an illustration of how faith in God resolves our fears.
The 1/7/24 sermon by Mike Gowens is based on 2 Timothy 1:7, continuing the theme of "traveling light" from the previous Sunday. Fear cripples and paralyzes a person. It is an extremely heavy burden to bear. What is the secret for releasing the burden of fear? The text offers a three-fold solution to unnecessary fear.
Elder Gowens' sermon on 12/31/23 is based on Matthew 11:28-29. Whether we are thinking in physical or emotional terms, human beings tend to accumulate what the Bible calls "stuff." In this message, Brother Gowens encourages the congregation to unburden their lives of unnecessary baggage and to take instead the easy yoke of following the Lord Jesus.
This sermon by Michael Gowens from 12/24/23 is based on Isaiah 11, a prophecy of the coming King. The Messianic King, however, will not initially resemble any other king in human history. His arrival on the stage of history will be, in fact, unimpressive and unspectacular, so far as men are concerned; nevertheless, He is the penultimate King.
In this 12/17/23 message, Mike Gowens considers another of the wonderful names of Jesus. The text for this message is Matthew 1:18-23.
On Sunday 12/10/23, Michael Gowens led the Bethel congregation in consideration of the wonderful name of Jesus, "Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6-7). Where Jesus Christ reigns as King, peace prevails. And it prevails in two dimensions: 1) in heaven, and 2) on earth. Gowens explains this two-fold blessing of Christ's gift of peace in this message.
On 12/3/23, Pastor Gowens brings the final message in the topical series "Things Most Surely Believed Among Us." Following up on the previous message, he once more addresses the utility of the gospel. Regular exposure to the preaching of the gospel will exercise a saving influence in the life of the believer.
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