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Bethel Baptist Church, 6486 Confederate Highway, Ulmer, SC (2026)

09/08/2026

As we looked at faith, we started with one of the most famous verses on faith: Hebrews 11:1. This is the verse that kicks off the great ‘chapter of heroes of the faith’. Let’s dive in a little and make sure we understand what this verse is saying and what lessons we can take from this to apply to our own faith.

We just looked at faith. That is what starts off this verse. But we know chapters and verses are later divisions of the actual letters. So as we look back at the ending of chapter ten, we see how the author has been laying out that this new covenant between God and humanity is superior to the old covenant we used to live under. And he says in 10:39, “we are not those …. but those who have faith and are saved”. He then goes right into what this faith is. So the first word to define there is faith. We talked about this yesterday. It is not only belief, but faith. It is not just a knowledge of these things or even our agreement with them, but it is a total trusting and reliance on them. It is a full understanding, intellectually in our minds, this can be trusted, so much that we base everything in our lives on it. This is my starting point for everything. We trust God is Who he has said that he is. We trust Jesus is Who he has said he is. We trust the Holy Spirit is Who he has said he is. We have gathered the information on them, we have agreed it is true, and we use this as the starting point of our faith. All things point back to them. God always has, he does, and he always will and I can rely on that truth in every moment and with every decision in my life.

That faith is the reality of what is hoped for. It is the assurance of the reality of what God has said. Because I trust this to be true so that I act on it, I can act in confident expectation it will happen. This is the confidence I have in God; this is my faith. I can turn my heart to him and know that he is bringing about his reality, his blessings. I am assured of this. I can live in a way that is in faith because I am confident he is going to work all things out to the best way he has preordained for it to happen. There is a distinction here we need to note: if I am walking in faith, I can be confident of his outcomes. I can’t be walking out of faith or in faith of something other than God, then when things don’t work out the best, I ask him to come and put everything back according to his Will, with the full intention that I am going to continue walking the way I want to walk. That is not having faith; that is just wanting a get out of jail free card to use when I end up in the places I do not want to be. That is not the definition of faith. Faith is being assured of his outcomes directly because I have acted based on the faith I have in him and from him.

The last part of that verse is that faith is the proof of what is not seen. What is proof? It is evidence. It is seeing what proves something to be true. But how can we have proof when we specifically cannot see? That is faith! We cannot see, but God can. We don’t understand, but God does. We cannot achieve something, but God can. But how can I move forward when I can’t see? That’s just it, we can’t!! We can’t reason, speak, or act when we are doing so from a place of faith in ourselves or anything else of this world. The only way we can do it is by the faith that comes from and in God. He sees the outcomes. He knows them and has preordained them to happen. He is the one who sets them up and makes them come about. That is why we must have faith in him. We can’t have faith to see it but we can receive faith from God who has seen it. God is always faithful, he has always proved himself. There has never been a time where God has not proven himself trustworthy. There have been times where we thought the answer should have been something else, there have been times where we acted in faith in something other than God. We will look at some of these later this week, but there has never been a time where God has not done what he has said he would do. This is the proof! This is the confirmation he can be trusted, that we can walk in faith in him. God has always been trustworthy and always will be trustworthy. That is the proof of what is not seen.

Therefore, no matter whatever situation arises in my walking with God, I can walk in confidence that, because I am trusting in him, assured he will bring about what I cannot see - faith, he will provide evidence he is trustworthy. What a thought! God loves me so much he will give me faith to trust him in all my thoughts, words, and deeds, such that he will show me that I am able to place my faith in him! Wow; what an amazing God!!

'Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. '
Hebrews 11:1 NLT

09/07/2026

We said to make disciples we must first be disciples. That’s a great thing to say to people, but if we don’t instruct them on how to do it (“disciple them”), how are they going to know? These next few weeks we are going to look at a few characteristics of disciples and some practical ways we can apply these lessons to our lives. Our first characteristic of a disciple is a disciple is faithful.

Before we jump into some examples and lessons, let’s make sure we have the correct definition. Many times, people can confuse belief and faith. While you may use them and mean the same thing, they are technically different. This was one of the great things to come out of the Protestant Reformation. They phrased it as: notitia, assensus, and fiducia. Notitia is the knowledge of the Gospel facts. You’ve read the Bible, you’ve heard it read. You have studied it and been involved in studies on it. You know the characters and main ideas presented in it. You even know basics, or even in-depth, theological reasonings that originate in the Bible. But while knowledge is important and necessary, it is only a first step. Apply this to our daily lives: knowing all the facts does not mean we make the right decisions. Just because we know everything that is involved doesn’t mean we use this knowledge to go in the direction we are supposed to go. It is a vital first step we cannot overlook nor skip, but it is not the end of the process. Just look at the world around us today; in our hands we literally have the knowledge of the world in our smartphones. If knowledge was the primary key for success, we would all be living perfect lives and be successful in everything we do. Knowledge alone does not save.

The next part is assensus. This is the intellectual agreement the knowledge we have obtained is true. There is a lot of information out there to be gained. Not all of it is true, not all of it is necessary, and not all of it is profitable for us. We have to sort through all this information to find that which is true and useful. We have to research, look at options, theorize and put into practice, and come back and pick apart the outcomes to see what is actually true and beneficial for us. This is not blind faith or acceptance of information just because it has been presented. Just look around today and it will not take you long to see this in our society today. “Truths” that are presented as so at a time, only to be proven as outright deceptions later, the phrase used so much today, “my truth”, which is really just an excuse for me to do what I want and I go and find information that supports what I really wanted to do in the first place, we have many others, take any media story, who only take and emphasize information that shows their point they want to make and they only show that information or show it in a way that supports their idea. We can go on and on. We do this in our personal lives as well. In my naturally selfish way, I’m only going to give credence to information that is most beneficial to me and mostly ignore or argue the rest. But this also is a vital next step in the process that moves us from belief to faith. I must find that information that is actually the Truth and I must come into agreement with it. I must agree in my mind it is right and true. I must go through the process till I get to the point that I believe, beyond a shadow of doubt, these facts are true. Applied to God, this is agreeing with him about what he has said about himself. But as necessary as this step is, it still does not get us to the point of saving faith.

The final step we cannot leave out is fiducia. This is the personal trust, reliance on, and commitment of one’s life to God. Belief lives in the first two: I have gained knowledge of God and I agree that knowledge is true. But belief alone does not save. James told us even the demons believe, and tremble. That does not provide salvation to them. It does not save us either. I can sit in a church for years, I can be involved in Bible study, I could have read the Bible through 47 times; I can agree with what I have read, I could have looked at science, archaeology, psychology, and many other disciplines, I could have seen and rationalized how this has played out throughout human history, and I could have come to the conclusion this information is true. But if I do not live my life out based on this trusting of this knowledge, I am still stuck in the belief stage and have not moved into the faith stage. Faith involves putting all my knowledge and acceptance into practice. Belief is the first two; faith that saves involves all three.

We will look at this more as we go through this week. But here is our challenge: have I moved from belief into faith? Do I have a saving faith? Or am I still stuck somewhere in the process? First, I have to get the knowledge. Romans tells us faith comes by hearing the Word and they won’t hear unless someone tells them. We must gather that information first. Next, have I accepted it as true? We can have a whole conversation about the truth of the Bible, we’ve had some of it before. But do we accept, wholly, what the Bible says is true? You must take this second step to be on the path to saving faith. But we can’t stop there. Has this gaining of knowledge and accepting it as truth made an impact in our lives? Do we trust it with all we are? This doesn’t make us perfect, but it does change our direction. Have I moved from belief to faith? As we continue, we will look more at what this move will look like. May we all examine ourselves this week to make sure we aren’t just knowledgeable, religious or moral, pious and better than someone else, but that we are trusting and relying on God every moment of our lives!

'Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “ Lord , who has believed our message?” So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have: “The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.” '
Romans 10:12,14-18 NLT

09/06/2026

Good Morning!

09/04/2026

Hmm, so there is more to following Jesus than just thinking he was a special person. There’s more than just thinking the things he said are good advice to follow. There’s more than just getting into heaven one day. He showed us the example of making disciples, he told us we needed to make disciples, and even more, he gave us the ability to make disciples.

But first, I have to be a disciple to make disciples. If I were put out in the spotlight, given ten people, and told “alright, y’all go learn from him and start thinking, speaking, and acting like him”, what would I feel like? Yikes!! That’s a scary thought! But that’s exactly what I am supposed to be doing. I have opportunities. In my home, in my workplace, in my comings and goings of daily life. I have family members, friends, and acquaintances where I have many opportunities to disciple others. There are many more opportunities I have probably missed or ignored over the years. But before I even start thinking about those, what kind of disciple am I? Am I really being a disciple? Am I sitting at Jesus’ feet, soaking in everything he is saying? Am I watching how he interacts with people, how he submits to God’s plan over his own? Am I trying to think like he does in situations I face? Am I transforming my mind each day by surrendering to his Spirit? Am I changing my life to walk with him? Or am I just a fan? Am I just a supporter or even truly a convert, just not really dedicated to doing much about it? What’s the use in being given people to disciple if I’m not even being a disciple myself? And that is no excuse! Well, I’m not a very good disciple so I shouldn’t be discipling anyone. That’s a sorry excuse to get out of disobedience. Do I not think Jesus is who he said he is? Do I not believe God is who he says he is? Do I not think the Spirit is able to do all he says he can do? Then I have everything I need to be a disciple. I have everything I need to grow more and more like my rabbi, Jesus. I also have everything I need to begin to make disciples.

So we have our conviction. We also have our stories. No one has walked the life you have walked. No one has gone through the things you have gone through. No one comes in contact, in that walk, with all the people you come into contact with. No one had the potential influence you have. We can help disciple people in ways we can never imagine! God has a plan just for you. God can use your life, just as it has been. Just think of all the ways Job has helped people over the years. I bet Job didn’t think he was a good disciple either! And what about Peter? He probably thought there was no way he would make disciples after what he did. Paul? He actually jailed, killed, and made real disciples deny Jesus. Think he would be denied making disciples, right? Nope. It wasn’t anything they did previously nor after. It was all because they were surrendered to Jesus. Not only did Jesus save them but he led them. They knew it wasn’t their actions but that they submitted to God’s leading them. That’s how we do it as well. We don’t become great disciples; we surrender and follow God and he leads us into being disciples. Then we can turn and disciple others as he has designed and declared for us to do. It’s never too late as long as we have breath. God calls you to be a disciple. God calls you to make disciples. Follow God’s call.

'For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. '
Ephesians 2:10 NLT

'And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. '
Philippians 1:6 NLT

'For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. '
2 Timothy 1:9 NLT

09/03/2026

The next thing we notice in this Great Commission is Jesus tells his disciples to baptize those who decide to become disciples.

To begin, let me be clear, baptism as we practice it today is important. While many can debate which sacraments are more important than others, I believe there is not much argument against baptism. First, our Lord himself was baptized. We see when Jesus came to John to be baptized by him, John at first didn’t agree. But Jesus explained, he did this to be obedient to God. He didn’t need a baptism for the forgiveness of Sin, but he knew everyone else who would follow after him would. So he set the example by being obedient, even though he had no need. This was another example of Jesus, the servant. And we see how God showed his pleasure at this sign of obedience. But also, Jesus commanded his disciples to go and baptize. We see it here in the Great Commission but also in other places. Jesus and his disciples baptized people as well. After this commission, we see his followers baptizing and preaching baptism to all who would believe. Today, we see it as important for three reasons. First, it is out of obedience. God said it, we obey it. Secondly, it signifies our death to our old life and our birth into the new one. When we go under the water, we show how we died with Christ and when we are raised out of the water, we are raised in newness of life with him. But there is a third reason: It is a public profession of faith in him, an obedient action performed to show we are not living the life we used to live, but we are born again and are now following Jesus.

This last reason is closely related to the baptism that was called for in the case of Jewish believers. Jews already had ceremonial cleansings they had to do. They were laid out and practiced in the Old Testament. But John’s call for baptism was different. First, he called them to be cleansed, once, for their Sin. Their washings were done more than once as a routine for when they became unclean. John preached the coming Messiah and a need for repentance and cleansing once before his arrival. Also, Jews saw themselves as the chosen people already, prepared now for God’s arrival. John showed them they all needed to be cleansed again, as the Israelites had to pass through the Jordan before entering the Promised Land in their past, John said they now needed to be prepared again, cleansed of their uncleanness, to meet the Messiah. Lastly, John was not a part of the Temple, their established religious system. That he told the religious leaders they needed to be washed by him was unthinkable and upset all they had established. From the beginning, this idea of baptism surrounding Jesus attacked every way the Jews practiced their religion. But there was even one more way. We talked about this in Acts. When Peter told the crowd to “repent and be baptized .. in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins”, he was telling them they had to quit thinking they were saved by their religion. Being Jewish wasn’t enough, following their religion wasn’t enough, hoping in the Temple and requirements of their religion wasn’t enough, being a good people wasn’t enough. They had to separate themselves from all they thought saved them and turn to the only person who could actually save them. They had to step out, in public, and declare by being baptized they believed Jesus was the Messiah and declare him to be their Lord. They would declare they would now follow Jesus and align themselves with him, not with their former religious selves. That was a big deal to a Jew who had such a strong national identity and culture woven into every aspect of their lives. They had to publicly declare they were no longer just Jews but were leaving that life to follow Jesus.

So baptism itself is extremely important, but what it symbolizes is even more important! Am I willing to forsake everything in my former life for the one God has ordained for me? Do I understand what that decision truly entails? Often, I’m afraid we are so preoccupied with getting someone to make a “commitment” and “get wet” we don’t teach them how vitally important this decision they are making is. No, it probably won’t require me to sell all my possessions like the rich young ruler, I probably won’t have to leave my fishing business, my nets still in the boats, and follow Jesus, I probably won’t have to go and live in the wilderness and eat locusts and honey, or be whisked away to a desert road to help explain Scripture to a government official. But I could! God has so much in store for me!! If I am not willing to change my whole life around for him, have I really surrendered to him? Do I truly trust him? Am I being a real disciple? A disciple is called out. They are no longer living the life they lived before. They learn from their teacher and they follow wherever he leads. What has my baptism symbolized? What change took place after that? Do I need to look to be baptized again or to look again at what all that decision involves? Be a disciple, be set apart.

'“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. '
Matthew 3:11 CSB

'When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do? ” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation! ” So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. '
Acts 2:37-41 CSB

09/02/2026

We’ve talked a little about the importance of disciples and what they are commanded to do, but what exactly is a “disciple”?

First there is the word itself. It just means a student, a pupil. In the culture of the time, rabbis would teach to their students. They would share the knowledge, interpretations, and applications they had received in their learning to those students who were chosen or selected to learn from them. It is much like a professor today who is supposedly the expert in their field. Students will go to that university to enroll in that specific class so they can learn from the person who is supposed to know. It is also like an internship or a mentoring program. You want to learn a specific skill, so you find someone who does that skill well, you learn under them paying careful attention to all the lessons they can teach you so that you will one day be able to do the same job. The rabbis of this time practiced this. They would collect students who would spend their time learning from them in the hopes that one day, they would be able to be rabbis of their own. They would then spread the teachings of their original rabbi to disciples of their own. As they would continue doing this, the teachings of the first rabbi would spread. In this example, a disciple is both a learner and a teacher. They learn from their rabbi, and then when they become a rabbi themselves, they teach others. Now in these examples, a student may take a professors knowledge and improve on it or add to it. An intern may learn the process and then improve or streamline it using new technology. In Jesus’ case, his disciples learned from THE Master. There was nothing to improve upon! Everything they needed to know he provided, either physically in his words or spiritually through his Spirit.

Another thing about disciples is they weren’t just in favor of a rabbi, they patterned everything after them. They weren’t part-time disciples. They would often leave their previous lives entirely to follow and learn from their rabbi. This is why it was not such an extreme thing these disciples followed Jesus or that he had disciples at all. All rabbis of the time had disciples. Even John had disciples before they followed Jesus instead. So it is vital that you choose your rabbi well! A disciple patterns his whole life around the rabbi he chooses. They start to think like their rabbi. When this situation happens, when this thought arises, what would my rabbi think? When the opportunity to speak or act arises, what would my rabbi say or do? You have to spend a lot of time with your rabbi and pay close attention to what they are teaching if you are going to actually start thinking, speaking, and acting like they do. That takes discipline, devotion, and dedication.

I heard it put this way: there are a lot of fans of Jesus, but not a lot of disciples. That’s a good point. There are a lot of people who are fans of Jesus. There are many people who point out and agree with the fact Jesus said to love others. They also agree with forgiving wrongs, turning the other cheek, helping those in need, looking out for the cast outs, and meeting people right where they are. These people cheer on these teachings of Jesus and even point out where those who claim to follow Jesus do not do these things. But even these people often don’t actually do all the things they say they cheer for. For instance, a big thing in today’s American culture is to include everyone …. unless you don’t agree with me and then I can not include you. You are supposed to love everyone …. unless you don’t agree with me and then I don’t have to love you, in fact, I can vehemently hate you. Even when these fans try to do the things they say they agree with, they often don’t do them perfectly or habitually. So while they say they agree with these things, they only agree with them when it works out best for them. Kind of like many fans of sports teams. We know a lot about them, support them, cheer for them even, but when they start to lose, say things we don’t agree with, or we even perceive they are going in a direction we don’t agree with, we get upset. We yell, we burn our jerseys, and we definitely get on social media to vent. A fan is different than a player on the team. They also like the team, but they have committed to changing their entire life to do what is necessary for that team to win.

A disciple should do the same. They are not just fans, supporters, or even just converts. No, they have decided that not only do they agree with Jesus, they are going to change everything about their lives to pattern them after Jesus’ life. Learn what he said. Apply what he said. See things as he did. Speak like he did. Follow God like he did. Submit to the Spirit like he did. That’s what a disciple is. And then, when they do that, they look to teach others to do the same. Why do I think this, because I learned it from God; let me teach you. Why do I speak like this or act this way? I learned it by being a disciple of Jesus, not just liking some things he said or did. Let me teach you how I learned it. So a disciple doesn’t just have knowledge or like some ideas, their life is actually changed from what it was before because they believe it so much they trust every decision in their life to what they have learned. Question for us: are we fans, religious supporters, members of religious groups, have our name on a roll somewhere, or are we disciples?

'So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I Am he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” Then many who heard him say these things believed in him. Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” '
John 8:28-32 NLT

09/01/2026

Go. That was Jesus’ command. Such a short word, yet so much is implied by it!

First, Jesus had the authority to say it. We talked about how Jesus changed because of the resurrection. He didn’t change his identity; he always was God. Coming in the flesh, living as a man, being persecuted and killed didn’t change the fact he was God. Being resurrected didn’t change it either. This was always the plan, this was always how it was going to be. But just as God is three separate persons in one, Jesus has fulfilled two roles while being the same person. When he came in the manger, he was the servant - fully submitted to God’s plan to live and die as the perfect sacrificial lamb, the only acceptable price for the Sin of humanity. But when he conquered death and readied to take his place at the right hand of God, he was given all authority over heaven and earth. We studied in Daniel, Revelation, and other places where he will return as Lord of Lords and King of Kings! By THIS authority, he commands his disciples to go.

Secondly, the meaning of the word ‘go’. The definition of the actual word is the movement from one place to another. It requires movement. You cannot stay still. You have to move from the beginning place that is comfortable, out to the places the Spirit will lead you, places that are uncomfortable, unwelcoming, that require faith. As we said yesterday, the disciples didn’t just remain seated at Jesus’ feet. He had something for them to do, places for them to go. By both his Word and his Spirit, he led them to the people, places, and situations he desired. The same is true for us. When we decide to be his disciples, he has places for us to go. He will lead, open and close doors, and always provide for his paths to be walked. There is nothing stationary about a disciple of Jesus.

Another aspect of the word ‘go’ is it is a travel, a journey, a walk. It’s not just a directive, but a verb. I’ve heard it said before “as you are going”. We have a life to live. God has placed us where we are. We have things to do in this life. AS we are doing those things, we should be making disciples. Where do you go in your daily walk? Your home? Your place of work? Your school? Your entertainment, your relaxing, your running around? As we are going all these places, we are supposed to be making disciples. Does that mean as I’m driving to Walmart I start discipling the person parked next to me? Probably not (but don’t ignore those opportunities!). Just as we have to make a decision to follow Jesus before we can be discipled, so we can’t disciple others until they have made that decision as well. We can’t disciple people who don’t choose to follow Jesus. But at the same time, if we are not looking to make disciples, we will miss many opportunities. It’s a command; it’s something we are supposed to be doing.

So where is God calling me to go? Where is the Spirit leading me? What is my path today? Who will I come into contact with? Am I looking for chances to help in someones walk as a disciple? Am I looking at the specific people in my life that I have the opportunity to disciple? Jesus had all the right and authority to send out his followers. This command has not changed in the years since he gave it: go make disciples!

' On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. '
John 20:19-22 ESV

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