http://bethanybible.org/new We Preach Christ - Colossians 1:28 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:46:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 We Preach Christ - Colossians 1:28 Bethany Bible Church no We Preach Christ - Colossians 1:28 http://bethanybible.org/new/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-27/the-key-to-integrity http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-27/the-key-to-integrity#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:45:31 +0000 Pastor Greg Allen http://bethanybible.org/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-27/the-key-to-integrity http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-27/the-key-to-integrity/feed 0 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-27/the-key-to-integrity-2 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-27/the-key-to-integrity-2#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:45:02 +0000 Pastor Greg Allen http://bethanybible.org/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-27/the-key-to-integrity-2 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-27/the-key-to-integrity-2/feed 0 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-24/three-worshipful-gifts-for-the-king http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-24/three-worshipful-gifts-for-the-king#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:30:54 +0000 Pastor Greg Allen http://bethanybible.org/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-24/three-worshipful-gifts-for-the-king http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-24/three-worshipful-gifts-for-the-king/feed 0 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-20/marveling-at-bethlehem-2 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-20/marveling-at-bethlehem-2#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:45:22 +0000 Pastor Greg Allen http://bethanybible.org/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-20/marveling-at-bethlehem-2 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-20/marveling-at-bethlehem-2/feed 0 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-13/the-commission-from-the-king http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-13/the-commission-from-the-king#comments Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:45:52 +0000 Pastor Greg Allen http://bethanybible.org/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-13/the-commission-from-the-king http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-13/the-commission-from-the-king/feed 0 New Testament Theme: The church is divinely equipped by King Jesus for the work of spreading His kingdom. Preached on Sunday, December 13, 2009 from Matthew 28:18-20 Theme: The church is divinely equipped by King Jesus for the work of spreading His kingdom. (Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King... Bethany Bible Church no http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-06/but-some-doubted http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-06/but-some-doubted#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:45:59 +0000 Pastor Greg Allen http://bethanybible.org/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-06/but-some-doubted http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-12-06/but-some-doubted/feed 0 Great Commission,New Testament Theme: This passage encourages us to move from doubtful hesitation to a full-hearted commitment in our obedience to our Lord's Great Commission. Preached on Sunday, December 6, 2009 from Matthew 28:16-17 Theme: This passage encourages us to move from doubtful hesitation to a full-hearted commitment in our obedience to our Lord's Great Commission. (Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptur... Bethany Bible Church no http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-29/according-to-his-riches-in-glory http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-29/according-to-his-riches-in-glory#comments Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:45:47 +0000 Pastor Greg Allen http://bethanybible.org/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-29/according-to-his-riches-in-glory http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-29/according-to-his-riches-in-glory/feed 0 baptism,New Testament Theme: According to God's riches in glory, we have rich spiritual resources for living for Jesus on earth. Preached on a Baptism Sunday; November 29, 2009 from Ephesians 3:14-21 Theme: According to God's riches in glory, we have rich spiritual resources for living for Jesus on earth. This is a very special Sunday to me. It's one of those days in which I am very thankful to God for the privilege of being the pastor of Bethany Bible Church; because today, I get to baptize my two friends Owen and Emma. And it's also your privilege, dear church family, to witness their baptism and to support them in your prayers. I've asked God to give me a passage of Scripture to preach from on this important day; and I feel that He has led me to Ephesians 3:14-21. It's a very good passage for such a day as this, because it tells us about the prayer that the apostle Paul prayed for his Christian friends as they were beginning their new life with Jesus Christ. I believe it teaches us some things that we need to pray for Owen and Emma. And as we all turn to this passage in the third chapter of Ephesians, I want to let you know that, this morning in my sermon, I'm going to be speaking mostly to Owen and Emma. But I hope everyone else will listen along too. That, of course, means that I have a bit of a challenge today. I must preach in such a way that Owen and Emma will be especially blessed by the things this important portion of God's word has to say—but also so that the whole church family will be edified by it too. * * * * * * * * * * So; let's begin by thinking about this letter remarkable letter to the Ephesians. In it, the apostle Paul had been writing to his Christian friends about the wonderful spiritual riches that were theirs because of their faith in Jesus. I very much love how Paul begins his letter in the first three verses. He writes; Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ . . . (Ephesians 1:1-3). Now; think of that! Paul doesn't just say, "I sure hope that you will, one day, become blessed with a whole lot of spiritual blessings!" Instead, he says that—right now, because of their faith in Jesus Christ—they already have "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ"! When those early Christians first trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior, they immediately—along with receiving Jesus—got every spiritual blessing in heavenly places that God could ever give to anyone. This is because all the spiritual blessings of God are to be found in Jesus alone! Owen and Emma, I sure hope you know that! You and I have met a couple of times; and you've told me about how you have trusted Jesus as your Savior. And now—even though you may not be rich in the riches of this world—you are, nevertheless, truly rich beyond your wildest imaginations in the eternal treasures of heaven! All of the rich treasures of heaven are found only in Jesus Christ; and because you have Him, you have it all! (And that's also true of the rest of us, dear brothers and sisters, if we too have trusted in Jesus!) It's really sad when people who have trusted in Jesus don't understand that. Sometimes, Christians waste a lot of time seeking after this 'spiritual treasure', or that 'spiritual resource'—never realizing that, if they have Jesus Christ, they already have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places as a free gift! That's why Paul spends the next three chapters of this wonderful letter telling them what those spiritual blessings are that they now have in Him. Now; chapter four of Ephesians is where Paul urges his dear Christian friends to rise up and start living like people who truly are already rich in every spiritual blessing. That's where he tells them, Bethany Bible Church no http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-22/thanks-in-all-things http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-22/thanks-in-all-things#comments Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:45:11 +0000 Pastor Greg Allen http://bethanybible.org/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-22/thanks-in-all-things http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-22/thanks-in-all-things/feed 0 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-15/sowing-by-faith http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-15/sowing-by-faith#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:45:30 +0000 Pastor Greg Allen http://bethanybible.org/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-15/sowing-by-faith http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-15/sowing-by-faith/feed 0 http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-08/the-challenges-of-disbelief http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-08/the-challenges-of-disbelief#comments Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:45:28 +0000 Pastor Greg Allen http://bethanybible.org/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-08/the-challenges-of-disbelief http://bethanybible.org/new/sermon/sermons_2009/2009-11-08/the-challenges-of-disbelief/feed 0 Great Commission Theme: This passage reminds us that our obedience to the Great Commission will be accompanied by the active challenges of disbelief. Preached November 8, 2009 from Matthew 28:11-15 Theme: This passage reminds us that our obedience to the Great Commission will be accompanied by the active challenges of disbelief. We're drawing near the end of our study of the Gospel of Matthew. Shortly, we'll come to the Great Commission of the resurrected Lord to His church—that is that, in light of all we have been told about Him, we are now to obey His command to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . ." (Matthew 28:19-20a). But before telling us about that Great Commission, Matthew was led by the Holy Spirit to tell the story of this morning's passage. It's a story that doesn't get preached from very often. But its importance to the Great Commission couldn't be stressed enough. It tells us about the Roman soldiers that had stood watch at the tomb of our Lord. An angel of the Lord had come down from heaven and rolled away the stone from the Lord's tomb—leaving those guards shaking and fainting from fear. It tells us that the Lord then met the women who had come to the tomb with the greeting, "Rejoice!"; and commanding them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me" (Matthew 28:9-10). Matthew goes on to say; Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day (Matthew 28:11-15). This passage is important because it teaches us that, in our obedience to the Great Commission—whether it be on the foreign mission field, or right here at home from our own friends, or neighbors, or relatives, or work colleagues, or teachers at school—we should expect the work of the gospel to encounter the active challenges of disbelief. * * * * * * * * * * Let me take just a moment to define what I mean by "disbelief". A good way to explain it might be to contrast it with something else that is said just before the "Great Commission" passage. If you'll look at verses 16-17, you'll read these words: Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted (vv. 16-17). Some people have been bothered by the Bible's testimony that some of the disciples, who saw the resurrected Jesus, doubted what they saw. They think that it's bad advertising. But I'm very grateful that the Holy Spirit led Matthew to record those words. Their presence demonstrates the Bible's integrity. These disciples truly were astonished at what they were seeing! They were struggling with it! They couldn't believe their eyes! And the fact that such doubting was found in our Lord's own chosen disciples proves that it's not something fatal to our relationship with Him. It's not something inherently hostile to faith. It's a normal, rational reaction to something miraculous—that someone who had been executed by crucifixion, and was dead and buried, could now present Himself to be alive. It's something that, when humbly brought before God, will be resolved—and that will even be used by Him to strengthen our faith in Him. When someone among us struggles with such doubts, we should be patient with them. Given the amazing things that the Bible testifies to us, it would almost irrational to expect someone not to experience doubts. Bethany Bible Church no