Center Bethel Church

Center Bethel Church
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Christianity
  • Weekly

Creating Disciples. Building Community. Changing Lives.

  1. 13h ago

    Faith Without Works Is Dead: Living Out What You Believe

    Faith without works is dead. That’s one of the most famous lines in the Bible, and one of the most misunderstood. James isn’t saying you earn your way to God. He’s saying real faith shows up in how you live.In part three of our series through the book of James, Pastor Keith walks through James 1:9-27 and James 2:14-26 to show how hearing God’s Word turns into living it.In this message:• Your attitude is the one thing you control, and it guides every choice you make• Your status in life matters far less than how you use the life you’ve been given• Temptation starts with our own desires, and God leads us through trials, not into sin• Every good thing comes from God• Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger• Hearing the Bible without doing what it says is like looking in a mirror and forgetting your own face• Works don’t save you, and they don’t make God love you more, but they are the evidence that your faith is real• Even demons believe in God, which is why belief alone isn’t the whole picture• Abraham, Rahab, and the people of Hebrews 11 all acted on what they believed• The tightrope walker and the wheelbarrow: believing something versus trusting it with your life• A simple prayer to start with: “Lord, show me what to do with what I read”Scripture: James 1:9-27 | James 2:14-26 | Colossians 3 | 1 John 4:20 | Hebrews 11 | 1 Corinthians 8:1

  2. Oct 27

    Asking God for Wisdom When You Don’t Know What to Do | Book of James

    When you don’t know what to do, the Bible gives a simple starting point: ask God for wisdom. James 1:5 promises that God gives generously to all who ask, without criticizing them for asking.In part two of our series through the book of James, Pastor Keith explains what wisdom really is, how to ask for it, and what can get in the way.In this message:• Wisdom is more than good advice. It’s an attitude about how you live the one life God gives you• James 1:5 invites you to ask God for wisdom, and He never gets tired of being asked• God doesn’t criticize you for coming to Him, even if it took you a while• The world’s wisdom runs on jealousy and selfish ambition, while God’s wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, merciful, and sincere (James 3)• Living wisely starts with humility, the same attitude Jesus showed (Philippians 2)• Being “double-minded” means asking God for help while holding on to your own plan, and James says it leaves you unstable• God can act in a moment, but most of His work in us happens over time• The Holy Spirit, God’s presence in a believer’s life, guides us day to dayScripture: James 1:5-8 | James 3:13-18 | Proverbs 14:8 | Ephesians 5:15-16 | Philippians 2:5-7 | 1 Corinthians 2:12-14

  3. Oct 20

    How to Find Joy in Hard Times When Life Doesn’t Make Sense

    “Count it all joy” sounds impossible when you’re in the middle of loss, hardship, or a season that makes no sense. So does James really mean you have to feel happy when bad things happen?In the first message of our new series through the book of James, Pastor Jack walks through James 1:1-4 and what it means to count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds. He explains why joy is not celebrating the circumstance but rejoicing in the sovereignty of God, and how Job’s story and Psalm 23:4 show a God who is in control and with us in the valley.Over the next five weeks, Pastor Jack, Pastor Drew, and Pastor Keith will walk through the book of James together.Scripture: James 1:1-5, 12 | Job 38 | Isaiah 55:9 | Psalm 23:4 | 1 Peter 1:6-7 | Hebrews 12:1-2In this message:• Who James was: the half-brother of Jesus, writing to scattered and suffering believers• Why “trials of various kinds” includes every kind of hardship, not just the small ones• What “count it all joy” does and doesn’t mean: you can grieve and still have joy• What God’s answer to Job and Isaiah 55:9 teach about trusting God beyond what we understand• Why Psalm 23:4 says “you are with me” in the valley of the shadow of death• Why trials work like resistance training for endurance• Faith tested like gold in the fire (1 Peter 1:6-7)• Looking to Jesus, who endured the cross “for the joy that was set before Him” (Hebrews 12:1-2)• An action step you can do today: write a “thank you God” listThis is part one of our series through James, Attitudes of the Heart. 0:00 Introduction, welcome to the James series Attitudes of the Heart1:27 James 1:1-4 read1:56 Who was James? The half-brother of Jesus writing to suffering believers2:59 “Count it all joy” when you meet trials of various kinds3:58 Trials are inevitable, so what attitude will we take?5:05 Does joy mean you have to feel happy? No6:20 The book of Job: a conversation in the throne room of heaven8:05 Job 38: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?”9:31 Isaiah 55:9 and trusting God beyond our understanding11:37 Psalm 23:4, God is with us in the valley12:06 God is with us: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Gideon, and Jesus’ promise13:08 Spurgeon on looking back at times of trial14:14 James 1:3-4: let endurance have its full effect, and Paul’s thorn16:39 Walking through the trial with God, and the New Living Translation18:28 James 1:5: ask God for wisdom, and the at-home workout story19:34 1 Peter 1:6-7: faith more precious than gold21:21 Gold in the furnace: God producing Christ-likeness in us22:36 Hebrews 12:1-2: run the race looking to Jesus24:27 The gospel, the reason we can count it all joy25:54 James 1:12 and closing26:24 Action step: write a “thank you God” list27:34 Closing prayer

  4. Oct 13

    How Do You Pray According to God’s Will?

    Most of us pray to get God to fix our situation. What if prayer is meant to do something different?In the final message of our series, Who Is God?, Pastor Keith looks at two more attributes: God is omnipotent (all powerful) and immutable (He never changes). From the galaxies of Genesis 1 to Elijah’s prayers in James 5, this message asks how big your problem really is next to a God who made the stars by Himself, and what He might be waiting for us to ask.Pastor Keith teaches that prayer doesn’t change God, but aligns us with His will and heart, and that God’s power often works in accordance with what we ask and allow. Then he walks back through everything we’ve learned in this series about who God is, and closes in praise.Scripture: Ephesians ch.3 v.20 | Genesis ch.1 v.1 | Isaiah ch.44 v.24 | Psalm ch.146 v.6 | Ephesians ch.6 v.18 | Matthew 6 | James ch.5 vv.17-18 | Malachi ch.3 v.6In this message:• What omnipotent and immutable actually mean• Why a God who made the galaxies by Himself can handle your biggest problem• Why God tells us to pray even though He already knows what we need• How prayer aligns us with God’s will instead of telling God what to do• What Elijah’s prayers teach us about asking and believing• What God’s will looks like for salvation, discipleship, families, and the church• Why a God who never changes is good news for us• A closing review of who God is: loving, merciful, gracious, faithful, good, just, and righteous

  5. Oct 6

    If God Knows Everything, Do You Still Have a Choice?

    You can't outrun Him, you can't surprise Him, and you can't mess up so badly that He walks away.In part four of our series, Who Is God?, Pastor Keith unpacks two attributes that set God apart: He knows everything, and He is everywhere. From Isaiah 53, a prophecy written in the past tense about events hundreds of years away, to the three words in Psalm 139 that change everything ("You are there"), this message shows a God who isn't predicting the future. He's already in it.Then comes one of the most debated questions in Christianity: if God knows everything and is in control of everything, do we really have a choice? Pastor Keith's answer is that God knowing what you will do is not the same as God choosing for you.Scripture: Psalm 139 v.3, vv.7-12 | Isaiah 53 | Galatians 4 v.4 | John 1 v.12 | Acts 13 vv.38-39 | Romans 10 v.9 | Romans 8 vv.29-30 | Deuteronomy 30 vv.19-20In this message:• What omniscience and omnipresence actually mean, and why they make God so much bigger than the enemy• Why Isaiah 53 describes the future in the past tense, and what it reveals about who God is• Why there is nowhere you can go, even like Jonah, where God is not already there• Why you can't mess up so badly that He abandons you• How God's foreknowledge and your free will fit together• Romans ch.8 vv.29-30 and why God will get the message to the people He knows will respond• Why choosing life in Deuteronomy 30 comes down to choosing Jesus, His Word, and His people

  6. Sep 29

    You Can Wreck Your Life, But You Can't Wreck God's Plan

    You can wreck your own life. You cannot wreck God's plan.In part three of our series, Who Is God, Pastor Keith takes on the sovereignty of God, what it means that He does everything according to His will, and why that truth should bring comfort rather than fear. Through the stories of Jonah, Joseph, Moses, and the nation of Israel, this message shows a God whose purposes cannot be thwarted, no matter how many choices stand in the way.Scripture: Jonah 1 | Job 42:2 | Joshua 10:12-14 | Romans 11:33-36 | Psalm 139:1-4 | Genesis 1 | Revelation 21:1-4 | Galatians 4:4-5 | 2 Corinthians 6:2In this message:• Why free will lets you make choices, but never lets you override God's will• King Herod could not kill Jesus before it was God's appointed time• Jonah's disobedience, the storm, and the fish God appointed to save him• Joshua 10, the day the sun stood still• The two bookends of scripture, a perfect creation and a perfect new creation• How Joseph's betrayal and Moses' survival prove God's sovereignty works through human choices, not around them• Galatians 4:4, why Jesus came in the fullness of time, not a moment early or late• A closing challenge, God has sovereignly brought you to this exact moment for a reason

  7. Sep 22

    What Is a Heavenly Surprise? A Testimony of God's Faithfulness

    God can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. That truth carries this entire message.In this message, guest Bruce Ridpath shares stories of what he calls heavenly surprises, moments where God intervened in ways no one could have planned. From answered prayer across continents, to changed lives on the mission field, to his own testimony of grace, this message is a call to pray, give, and remain willing to serve wherever God leads.Scripture referenced: Ephesians 3:20, Mark 10:27, Acts 9, 2 Chronicles 7:14, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Isaiah 6In this message:• What it means to trust God for more than we can ask or imagine• How prayer connects believers across the world in ways we rarely see• Stories of transformed lives on the mission field•Bruce's own testimony of finding Christ and being called into ministry• Three calls to action for the church: pray, give, and be willing to go

  8. Sep 15

    You Don't Have to Understand Everything to Trust God

    You can't fire God. You can't replace Him. And when He does something you don't understand, you don't get an explanation — you get an invitation to trust.In part two of our series, Who Is God?, Pastor Keith walks through the book of Job and the story of Jonah to unpack what it means that God is self-existing, self-governing, and answerable to no one, and why that should actually bring comfort, not fear.📖 Scripture: Revelation 22:13 | Job 38–42 | Jonah 4 | Genesis 18:25 | Deuteronomy 32:4 | Isaiah 55:8–9 | Psalm 111:7–8 | Lamentations 3:22–23In this message:• Why God's response to Job wasn't an explanation — it was a revelation of His greatness•"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" — Job 38 and the limits of human understanding• Why Jonah got angry at God for being merciful, and what that reveals about our own hearts• Three unshakable anchors: God loves, God is just, and God is omniscient• Why we often see God through the filter of our own expectations instead of who He actually is• The full weight of His character: merciful, gracious, faithful, good, just, and righteous• Why "his thoughts are not your thoughts" is actually the most comforting verse in this message• His mercies are new every morning — no matter how badly yesterday went

See All (208)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Creating Disciples. Building Community. Changing Lives.

Information

  • Creator
    Center Bethel Church
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    208
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Center Bethel Church
  • Show Website
    Center Bethel Church