Bethel Community Church Orlando

PSALMS - Week 7//A Heart for God

Psalm 84 explains the goodness and blessings for those who love God and long to be in His presence. They receive His generous grace and glory. They spend time with God, pursue the purpose He has for our lives, and grow in their trust of a faithful God. A heart for God dwells with God and finds hope in God. 

PSALMS - Week 6//When Giving Thanks is Hard to Do

Psalm 137 is a hymn expressing the yearnings of the Jewish people during their Babylonian exile. They longed for Zion. It’s easy to praise God when nothing is going wrong. The Israelites were in a place where they didn’t feel like praising God. However, Psalm 136 reminds us that "His steadfast love endures forever." When giving thanks is hard to do, think about what God has already done. So, even if everything isn't going well for you, you’ve got a reason to give thanks: because His love endures forever.

PSALMS - Week 5//Who is God?

Psalm 93 focuses particularly on God as Creator and Sustainer of the world. The first verse declares, “The Lord reigns!” and the rest of the psalm proclaims the majesty and strength of God that has established the world for all eternity. The five verses show us how He reigns gloriously, powerfully, and righteously. 

PSALMS - Week 4//Will Life Get Better?

Psalms 88 and 89 seem to be a deliberate pair. The Psalmist of Psalm 88 wrote about sorrow and despair; it is a song of lament. However, Psalm 89 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. Psalm 88 shows Christians that not all prayers are answered quickly and not all suffering is stopped. Not every story has a happy ending. Then Psalm 89 comes and reminds those Christians that God's steadfast love is forever. So pray, honestly, Psalm 88 to God, and then preach Psalm 89 to yourself.

PSALMS - Week 3//Forgiveness Equals Happiness

In Psalm 32, David connects happiness with forgiveness. Happiness is found in God's forgiveness. It’s not just forgiveness for forgiveness sake. It’s forgiveness that reconciles us to God. There will come a time when a person can no longer call on God's forgiveness. God can use feelings of guilt or other things in our lives as a wake up call. These events are not to pay us back, but to bring us back. Seek God's forgiveness and find the key to happiness in reconciliation with Him.

PSALMS - Week 2//What is Going On?

What’s wrong with this world? The Psalmist says that mankind is in rebellion against God the Father and against His Son, Jesus Christ. While mankind revolts against God, we can find solace in the fact that God is where He’s always been, sitting on His throne. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He alone conquerors evil. The only hope for a rebellious mankind is submission to Christ and trust in Him for salvation.

PSALMS - Week 1//Does my Life Have Purpose?

David wrote Psalm 57 while hiding in a cave from King Saul, who was trying to kill him because David was to be the future king of Israel, and Saul was jealous. It is a pretty extraordinary Psalm, because in spite of all the things that were going wrong in David’s life, not one time does David ask God to change his situation. The only thing David asks throughout the Psalm is for God to glorify His name in that situation. David realized that the success of his life would be measured by whether he discovered his purpose to glorify God.

Resurrection - Easter

The Christian faith is built on a resurrected Jesus. Not everyone believes this to be true. Paul testified that Jesus is who He says He is. Paul, a former persecutor of Christians, told of the love and forgiveness he found in a relationship with Jesus. That didn't mean Paul's life was easy and free of pain, but it meant that he could remain joyful and hopeful for a future in heaven. Jesus is risen. Paul believed it. Do you?

Resurrection - Week 2

Pain, suffering, and disappointment are a part of our life here on earth. Sometimes it is hard to reconcile while God allows tragedy to take place. First, we have to understand that all suffering is a result of the curse of sin. We will all experience the curse no matter how good or godly we are. However, God sent Jesus to reverse the curse of death by suffering in our place. Finally, God uses the difficult experiences in our lives for His glory and our good. 

Resurrection - Week 1

Sometimes Jesus spoke in parables so that only those who were genuinely listening would understand what He was saying. One parable Jesus told before He died was about sheep and goats. Just as a shepherd separates the goats from the sheep, so will Jesus differentiate between His true followers and those that are only pretending. True believers are justified by faith, and then they live out their faith as an example of what Jesus has done in their lives.