Bethany Baptist Church

09/06/2026

09/03/2026

Temptations.

James 1:13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;..."

Seems like we all have them. They can come in various forms. As in..."I'm tempted to have another slice of cake" or "I'm tempted to run more lap around the track." If you know me, you'll never hear me say, "I'm tempted to add more vegetables to my plate."

Satan, who goes by the father of lies, is the undisputed leader of temptations. None of his are good. It may seem like it is but if you could see the result of allowing yourself to join in whatever the temptation is, you'd realize how harmful it is to you and those around you.

I can look around and see how this country, in the past and more so currently, has been deceived into thinking things are good and right and true, when in reality they are lies that are meant to harm.

And it all started so many years ago. In a garden. With a snake, a woman and a man, and a fruit that wasn't to be eaten. And the world has never been the same since.

Pastor Tim

08/30/2026

08/27/2026

Joy.

How is it, as it says in James 1:2, that we should "consider it pure joy, whenever we face trials of many kinds." Seems like polar opposites. Joy and trials don't mix.

Unless, of course, you are a Christ-follower. Then the joy will happen when you make it through the trials (and let's face it...some will be hard) and you've learned something from those trials. That Jesus never left. And your faith in Him grew exponentially because you made it through.

Being a Christ-follower in this world is hard. We face a world that is against what we believe. We have an enemy who doesn't stop trying to tear us down. And in the process, we have joy. That joy comes in many forms and will vary for each of us.

When I have come to the end of this life and the trials of it, when I walk through the thin veil that separates life on this earth and an eternity in heaven, when my new eyes are opened and I see the face of Jesus, the joy that will be felt isn't even describable right now.

I have an idea of what it will look like. It's in the picture that included in this post. Pure unadulterated joy of what I see.

Pastor Tim

08/23/2026

08/16/2026

08/06/2026

The Holy Spirit. The part of the Trinity that takes up residence in us when we walk up to the Cross and proclaim our faith in Jesus and his death, burial and resurrection.

1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Why do we neglect the Holy Spirit? He is the one who does the filling, and yet most of the time we forget He is there. And yet, 1 John 4:4 says that the "one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world."

Let's not forget the power of the Holy Spirit as we walk through this world that is trying to destroy ultimate truth.

So, a challenge. Finish the following sentence in the comment section below. What is the Holy Spirit doing for you?

By the Power of the Holy Spirit...

07/30/2026

In Matthew 9, Jesus meets a dude who isn't liked. I don't mean just not liked, prob need to use the word "hated". There are very few who want to be friends with this guy.

Then two words changes everything.

"Follow me".

To many people think that to follow Jesus there have to be conditions. Let me ask you a question...what conditions do you read/hear in those words? I can answer the question with one word. None. Jesus wants you to follow him as you are. In the process, you will be changed.

But first, you have to be willing to follow. When Jesus said these words to the man, the man got up from the table he was sitting at and followed.

Jesus is saying to you even now..."Follow me." Will you? Just as you are. If you do, He will change your world and your future.

Join us at church or online to hear the rest of the story. (10:30am Aug 2)

Pastor Tim

07/16/2026

In Luke 17, there is an interesting story of ten l***rs. The ten l***rs show up and call out to Jesus for pity. Jesus says to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priest" and while they go, they are healed. One came back, and the others, well we just don't know the rest of their story.

For nine of the ten, normalcy was the goal. They wanted their ordinary life back. But the grace of God isn’t about giving people back their ordinary life; it’s about raising people from the dead. In other words, nine of these l***rs thought their daily problems were the problem. Family issues, health issues, financial issues – these are the problems of ordinary life, not things that affect dead people.

But one l***r realized that leprosy was the least of his problems. That’s because he saw himself for what he really was – spiritually dead.

This is where you can tell where a person’s heart is at. When whatever problem is solved, how do they respond to Jesus? People who get their ordinary problems solved by Jesus usually say thank you and then move on. But people who get raised from the dead? Well, that’s a different story.

We don’t know what became of the nine and whether or not they ever came down with leprosy again. But we do know this for sure, Jesus was and is comfortable in mixing up close with the walking dead. What these men were going through because of the ugliness of leprosy only makes the love of God that much more extraordinary. It shows that God will cross the boundaries of the extreme so He could reveal just how far the love of God will travel in order to reach people.

Join us this Sunday (7/19) for the rest of the story and how it applies to our life.
Pastor Tim

*picture by James Christensen