In a follow up message to ‘Justification by Works’, Brother Luke examines what it means to be justified by faith. Justification by works has to do with the opinions of those who see our works and, based on what they see, declare us righteous. But to be justified by faith means that we see ourselves as righteous based solely on the testimony of God-…

Colossians 1:15–16Kenny Stokes

Mark 11:12-26

Living in the blessings of a free society, with very little threat of persecution for serving the Lord, we are often shocked by suffering. But the true experience of God’s children down through the years has involved much suffering. In this message, I look at how we should not be shocked when we suffer. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/upload…

Peter writes in several places that his intention is to stir up our minds by his writing. In this message Brother Luke looks at the reasons we stir our food when we are cooking and compares that to our spiritual minds. In the same way failing to stir our food can cause it to burn or stick, failing to stir up our spiritual minds can lead to us being…

To be justified means to be ‘declared just or righteous’. The Bible teaches 3 types of justification: by grace, by faith, and by works. So which one is it? The answer is – all of them. To understand how this works, we must look at each justification individually. In this sermon Brother Luke looks at justification by works. This occurs when others s…

We recognize common phrases like “you only live once”, or “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” When Paul wrote the Corinthians, there was a common phrase they were accustomed to hearing: “Meats for the belly.” Like a code phrase, the initiated knew the devious double meaning behind this phrase. In this message I look at the meaning behind this …

Ephesians 4:1–6Kenny Stokes

Many believe the parable of the Sower is given to show who is going to heaven or hell. In reality, the parable teaches that born again children of God are often at different stages. Personally, I have found myself in all 4 categories at times in my life. In this message, I look at one of the purposes of the parable – to direct us to examine our gro…

Luke 18:1-18Kenny Stokes

Psalm 1:1–6John Beckman

In this message, I revisit a subject related to the location of Jesus’ birth. The traditional nativity scene is in a barn, with all types of barnyard animals surrounding Christ in a hay-filled manger. But there may be another possibility of the where the Christ was born – in the tower of the flock… http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uploads/202…

In his previous two sermons, Brother Luke has answered the questions of when and how we are saved and born again. Having established both are the sovereign work of God alone, in this sermon he addresses man’s role in discipleship. If God Himself alone saves us eternally and borns us again, how does discipleship work? http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-…

Philippians 2:1-18

1 John 1:5–10Bud Burk

In a follow up message to Firstfruits, I look at what it means to be a living sacrifice. This is a mystery, as the meaning of sacrifice is to kill, or put to death. So how can we be living but dead sacrifices? In this message, I look at how this works. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12.15.24.Living.Sacrifices.Tim_.McCool.mp3…

John 17:1–5, 24–26Kenny Stokes

Romans 8:35-39

Isaiah 9:6–7Revelation 19:11–16Kenny Stokes

As a husband to my wife, a father to my children, a son to my mother – I am one person, but I have different roles. When it comes to our salvation, God is One, but He has different roles. In this message, I look at the roles of God in our salvation. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12.11.24.Roles_.of_.God_.Tim_.McCool.mp3 12.1…

There are three important events in a child of God’s life – being saved, being born again, and discipleship. There is much confusion about when and how these events occur. In a follow-up message to the Chalkboard Message on 11/24/24, which answers the question when were you saved? – this message focuses on answering the question when and how were y…

Philippians 4:4-7

Psalm 110:1–4Hebrews 7:17–25John Piper

Following Thanksgiving, I have often spoken about leftovers, which is something we all partake of after a big celebration. But in this message, instead of leftovers, I focus on the Biblical teaching of firstfruits, which is the other end of the spectrum from leftovers. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12.01.24.Firstfruits.Tim_…

Around Thanksgiving, black Friday seems to cast a dark shadow over the time of celebrating freedom, family and being thankful. In this message, I look at what should be our focus not just on Thanksgiving, but every day. If we had a gauge to measure how thankful we are, where would the meter rest? At full? At empty? Somewhere in between? http://www.…

In this message, Brother Luke looks at the confusing and contradicting ideas that the religious world puts forth about eternal salvation. Then in a refreshing and simple way, he presents the simplicity of God’s truth on how we are saved. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/11.24.24.The_.Chalkboard.Message.Luke_.Hagler.mp3 11.24.2…

John 14:6

Deuteronomy 18:15–19Kenny Stokes

To have someone’s back means that you will support them and not let anyone sneak up on them. In an eternal sense, the Lord has our back. There is nothing that can sneak up on us and take away our eternal salvation. But He also has us here and now. The question to ask is – Do we have each other’s back? As born again believers, do we love and support…

We often feel like the Lord is not there for us, or that He is not doing something about our situation. In this message, I look at the mental process that David went through when he asked, “How Long, Lord?” Ultimately, David arrived at the right kind of thinking. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/11.13.24.How-long.Tim_.McCool.m…

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive m…

Luke 16:19–31Kenny Stokes

Two of the most powerful words we can have in our vocabulary, are “I’m sorry.” In this message I look at how these two words are essential for navigating the ups and downs of relationships in this fallen, broken world. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/11.10.24.Im_.Sorry_.Tim_.McCool.mp3 11.10.24.Im.Sorry.Tim.McCool…

Broken fellowship, damaged relationships, severed ties – these are common experiences for us all. The Bible is filled with examples of this, from Adam in the garden to Peter with our Savior. Broken fellowship is a consequence of our broken world. But God in mercy shows the glorious path of restoration. In this message, Brother Luke looks at broken …

Praise to the Lord!

Luke 16:14–18Kenny Stokes

Mark 10:32-52

Have you ever lain awake all night with your mind running in circles? Or thoughts come into your head that you can’t seem to shake out? Thankfully, the Lord knows how our broken minds run in circles. In this message, I look at how God gives us ways for us to retrain our brain and break out of harmful circular thinking and establish ways of thinking…

In Jeremiah 35, the Lord told Jeremiah to bring the Rechabites to the house of the Lord and set wine before them. The Lord uses this family to demonstrate true faithfulness and show how unfaithful his own nation was to Him. In this message, Brother Luke looks at how the Lord saw the Rechabites as worthy of honor. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-cont…

Luke 16:1–13Matt Moore

We have all heard the phrase “go getters”. In this message, I present a twist on that phrase, in an effort to teach how we should strive to be givers, just as our Lord gave His life, His time, His effort, and accomplished our salvation. Let us all set our hearts and minds to honor the Lord by being Go Givers. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/…

If we call someone ignorant today, it sounds harsh. But the root word of ignorance is the word ignore. In this message, Brother Luke looks at the subject of ignorance as it is used in the Bible. We may find that it applies to us all in some ways. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/10.27.24.The_.Ignorance.of_.Man_.Luke_.Hagler.mp…

Mark 10:13-31

Luke 15:11–32René González

All through the word of God, boasting is frowned upon, except in a few limited circumstances. From the ballpark to social media, we are saturated with boasting. In this message, Brother Luke takes up this subject of boasting and looks at the instances when boasting is approved and appreciated by our Lord. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uplo…

What does the Bible teach about mission work? Is it scriptural? Are missions as commonly understood today, following a Biblical pattern? In this message of the “Why” series, Brother Luke looks at what the Bible teaches about missions. http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/10.20.24.What_.the_.Bible_.Teaches.About_.Missions.Luke_.Hag…

In this message, I look at the difference between givers and takers. Sadly, among Christians there are a lot more takers than givers! It should be our desire to model ourselves after our Savior, who was the ultimate Giver. Will we take the giver / taker test? http://www.bethlehempbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/10.20.24.Givers.and_.Takers.Tim_.Mc…

Dust of the earth, stars of sky, sands of the sea – all are Bible descriptions of the vast number of God’s people. The purpose of these descriptions is to emphasize the large number of the chosen people of God. But we can lose ourselves in such large numbers. In this message, I look at the truth that applies not only to nature, but also to every si…

Mark 10:1-12

Luke 24:44–49Kenny Stokes