Jesus Archives - Bethel Grove Bible Church

The Light: Bread

March 1, 2026 No Comments

Jesus challenges two of his disciples right before he miraculously feeds a crowd in the wilderness. A study of John 6.1-15.

The Light: Sabbath

February 22, 2026 No Comments

On a Sabbath day, Jesus heals a man not just from his physical ailment but from spiritual darkness. A study of John 5.1-18.

The Light: Love

February 15, 2026 No Comments

What needs to happen in a person’s heart to come into the light of Jesus? In this study of John 3.16-36, we think about God’s

The Light: Whip

February 8, 2026 No Comments

When Jesus finds darkness in the temple, he makes a whip and drives it out. A study of John 2.13-25.

The Light: Wine

February 1, 2026 No Comments

The darkness often misses the light of Jesus entirely. When he turned water into wine, only a handful of people knew it. A study of

The Light: Baptism

January 25, 2026 No Comments

The second theme of the Gospel of John is that Jesus is the light of the world. John the Baptist speaks to this theme as

Vision 2026: Your Unique Calling

January 11, 2026 No Comments

Bethel Grove is embarking on a new vision process in 2026. At the heart of this process is the fact that each believer has a

BG’s Year-End Inventory

December 28, 2025 No Comments

BG has been focused on discipleship and community for the last two years. Why are these two areas so crucial? How are we doing so

Advent 2025: Shepherds and the Shepherd

December 21, 2025 No Comments

What story did the shepherds outside Bethlehem think they were in? A study of Luke 2.8-20.

Advent 2025: Yahweh the Shepherd

December 14, 2025 No Comments

One of the most powerful pictures of the coming Messiah in the Old Testament is a poem by the shepherd-king David. A study of Psalm

Advent 2025: David the Shepherd

December 7, 2025 No Comments

When the people of Israel anticipated Messiah’s coming, they thought of their previous shepherds like David. A study of 1 Samuel 16.1-13.

Advent 2025: Moses the Shepherd

November 30, 2025 No Comments

When the people of Israel anticipated Messiah’s coming, they thought of their previous shepherds like Moses. A study of Exodus 3-4.

The Word: Jesus’s Trial

November 16, 2025 No Comments

The Word who was God from the beginning goes on trial before the Roman governor Pilate, who thinks he has the power of life and

The Word: Jesus’s Prayer

November 9, 2025 No Comments

We can see see Jesus’s relationship with the Father in action when Jesus prays for his disciples and for us. A study of John 17.

The Word: Jesus’s Promise

November 2, 2025 No Comments

With his disciples in the upper room, Jesus describes his own relationship with the Father. A study of John 14.1-11.

The Word: Jesus’s Friends

October 26, 2025 No Comments

As the Word made flesh, Jesus is the resurrection and the life. That is why he risks death to raise his friend Lazarus from the

The Word: Jesus’s Flock

October 20, 2025 No Comments

Jesus confronts the rebellion against his authority as the Shepherd of Israel. He defines the good shepherd as the one who lays down his life

The Word: Jesus’s Freedom

October 12, 2025 No Comments

By promising freedom from sin, Jesus offends his new followers. Then he offends them so severely that they try to kill him. A study of

The Word: Jesus’s Sign

October 5, 2025 No Comments

When his followers demand a sign from Jesus like the manna from Moses, he debates them. He insists that he himself is the sign from

The Word: Jesus’s Life

September 28, 2025 No Comments

Jesus speaks directly about his relationship to his Father and the source of his life. He has the divine life within himself. A study of

The Word: Jesus’s Name

September 21, 2025 No Comments

Jesus talks with the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar, giving her his real name. A study of John 4.1-42.

The Word: Jesus’s Conflict

September 14, 2025 No Comments

Jesus talks with Nicodemus not as a fellow teacher, but as the Word who came from God from the beginning. A study of John 3.1-21.

Prelude: Jesus the Witness

August 31, 2025 No Comments

As he said to Mary Magdalene, Jesus testifies for the Father about a new family in the world–the family of faith. In this sermon, we

Prelude: Jesus the Light

August 24, 2025 No Comments

A second theme in the Gospel of John is that Jesus is the light of the world. What did John mean by using this metaphor

Prelude: Jesus the Word

August 17, 2025 No Comments

As BG starts a two- year series in the Gospel of John, we study the first theme of the book. Jesus is the Word from

Wide Open Sunday (July 20, 2025)

July 20, 2025 No Comments

This sermon was preached without the usual preparation and study. BG opened up the service to the Holy Spirit’s leading in a more direct way

The Holy Spirit: Glorification

June 29, 2025 No Comments

The Holy Spirit secures our future in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. A study of Romans 8.26-39.

Familiar Face: Symbol or Savior? (Part 2)

April 20, 2025 No Comments

Jesus told his disciples three times that he would rise from the dead on the third day. Yet when they actually confronted the reality of

Familiar Face: Symbol or Savior (Part 1)

April 13, 2025 No Comments

There were many agendas surrounding Jesus as he made his entry into Jerusalem. Today, we have many ways of turning Jesus into a symbol of

Wisdom at Work: Contented

April 6, 2025 No Comments

When your work is done, what do you have? So often, our work ethic just empowers us to build an alienated life of discontent. It

Wisdom at Work: Persistent

March 30, 2025 No Comments

Sometimes the only way to accomplish your work is by sheer persistence. What does God’s wisdom saw about those times when work is unrewarding? A

Waiting for a Savior

December 22, 2024 No Comments

What can we learn from a genealogy? In the record of Jesus’s family lineage, we can actually find the whole story of our need for

Waiting for Forgiveness

December 22, 2024 No Comments

The Bible’s Christmas story has a scandal at the center of it: God forgives our wrongdoing. A study of David’s sins of adultery and murder

Waiting for Redemption

December 8, 2024 No Comments

A foreign woman named Ruth seeks food in a barley field, but she ends up finding a redeemer who rescues her from poverty. This is

Waiting for Justice

December 1, 2024 No Comments

Two women in Jesus’s genealogy were waiting for justice. In this first week of Advent, we look at the story of Tamar in Genesis 38

What are you waiting for?

December 1, 2024 No Comments

The season of Advent is about waiting. For children, an Advent calendar counts the days until Christmas, the anticipation of presents becoming more intense. For

Wisdom under a Microscope: Roles

October 13, 2024 No Comments

A cell has parts that each play a role in its life. When we look closely at wisdom, we find roles that contribute to our

Wisdom under a Microscope: Behavior

October 6, 2024 No Comments

Just as we can see the behavior of organisms under a microscope, we can see the virtues of wisdom when we zoom in close. A

Wisdom under a Microscope: Organism

September 29, 2024 No Comments

In this special family service, we start putting wisdom under a microscope. We discover that wisdom is a living whole. A study of Proverbs 1.1-7.

Wisdom Journey: Invitation

August 18, 2024 No Comments

This year, we start a journey to Wisdom in the book of Proverbs. In this study of Proverbs 8, we hear an invitation from Wisdom

You and Your Bible: Authority

June 16, 2024 No Comments

Like Jesus’s authority to turn water into wine, the Bible has authority to give light in the darkness. A study of John 12.44-50.

You and Your Bible: Inspiration

June 9, 2024 No Comments

The Scriptures are like water turning to wine. Jesus describes the words of a man like Moses as God’s own words. A study of John

You and Your Bible: Revelation

June 2, 2024 No Comments

The Bible reveals knowledge that we cannot get anywhere else, the knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. A study of John 17.6-17.

Life Against Darkness: Incorruptible

May 26, 2024 No Comments

What fuels the Christian life? Paul gives the answer in the very last word of Ephesians. A study of Ephesians 6.23-24. (A second video below

Life Against Darkness: Armed

May 19, 2024 No Comments

Paul takes tiles from Isaiah and the Psalms and makes an image of Christ in his armor of strength. This is who lives in us.

Life Against Darkness: Strong

May 12, 2024 No Comments

The ancient Greeks and Romans fought battles in a formation called a phalanx. Soldiers were strongest when they stayed together. Paul calls us to be

Life Against Darkness: Sincere

May 5, 2024 No Comments

Paul addresses the relationship in Ephesus with the most extreme disparity of power: masters and slaves. A study of Ephesians 6. 5-9.

Life Against Darkness: Obedient

April 28, 2024 No Comments

Is Christian parenting about gaining a child’s compliance? The relationship between a child and parent is about something much deeper. A study of Ephesians 6.1-4.

Life Against Darkness: Sacrificial

April 21, 2024 No Comments

Husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. What does this mean theologically and what does it require in daily life?

Life Against Darkness: Submitted

April 14, 2024 No Comments

Marriage is the most intimate workshop of God’s grace. Wives and husbands become cold when they forget this. A study of Ephesians 5.21-25.

Life Against Darkness: Full

April 7, 2024 No Comments

Dionysus, the god of theater and spring, wants you to be full of wine. Paul says that he will only waste your vitality. True renewal

Jesus, Power, and Mary Magdalene (Part 2)

March 31, 2024 No Comments

In this Easter morning sermon from John 20.1-18, we encounter the first person to realize that Jesus had risen from the dead, Mary Magdalene. (March

Jesus, Power, and Mary Magdalene (Part 1)

March 24, 2024 No Comments

A look at the women who followed Jesus and their importance for us today from Luke 8.1-3. (Palm Sunday, March 24, 2024.) In a second

Life Against Darkness: Wise

March 17, 2024 No Comments

The call to walk wisely is a call to ask, “Where are you going? What path are you on?” A study of Ephesians 5.15-17. (Matt

Life Against Darkness: Awake

March 10, 2024 No Comments

The presence of Christ wakes us up. It shines light on the evil that is both around us and in us. A study of Ephesians

Life Against Darkness: Beloved

March 3, 2024 No Comments

We are called to be like a beloved child who imitates his parent. As Christ loved us, we are to love others. A study of

Life Against Darkness: Sealed

February 25, 2024 No Comments

Letters from a Roman emperor were sealed in wax. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit. A special family service devoted to Ephesians 4.25-32.

Life Against Darkness: Renewed

February 18, 2024 No Comments

Like a butterfly, each believer is changing from one kind of creature into another. A study of Ephesians 4.17-24.

Life Against Darkness: Mature

February 11, 2024 No Comments

Many believers are carried around by every wave of teaching. What does it really take to become mature? A study of Ephesians 4.13-16.

Life Against Darkness: Equipped

February 4, 2024 No Comments

Jesus Christ equips us to build his Kingdom. Everything we need comes from him but he equips us through his Word and other people. A

Life Against Darkness: Victorious

January 28, 2024 No Comments

In Ephesians 4.7-10, Paul describes Christ’s victory parade using Psalm 68. To understand Paul’s message, we begin in Numbers 10.35.

Life Against Darkness: Worthy

January 21, 2024 No Comments

Every Christian is called to a high purpose. What does it mean to be worthy of that calling? A study of Ephesians 4.1-6.

Are You Scrolling Your Faith?

January 14, 2024 No Comments

The discipleship agenda for Bethel Grove from Ephesians 4.1.

New Year, Old Grievances

December 31, 2023 No Comments

Jesus’s parable of the unmerciful servant highlights forgiveness. But what exactly is forgiveness? Why should Christians extend it to others? A study of Matthew 18.23-35.

Angels on Guard

December 24, 2023 No Comments

The last time the glory of God appears in the Old Testament, it is leaving the temple. Will it ever return? Where and when?

Angels on Fire

December 17, 2023 No Comments

There is a world beyond what we can see. In Isaiah 6.1-7, the prophet sees beyond the earthly temple into the heavenly places, where fiery

Angels on the Veil

December 3, 2023 No Comments

Angels are everywhere when Jesus is born. They visit an elderly priest, a young woman, and a carpenter. They surprise shepherds in the middle of

Life Against Darkness: Adore

November 12, 2023 No Comments

Paul gives one of the Bible’s great benedictions in Ephesians 3.20-21, adoring the Father for his power. This blessing is especially important to meditate on

Life Against Darkness: Comprehend

November 9, 2023 No Comments

We comprehend the love of Christ together, like a band learns music. We explore Paul’s prayer for the Church in Ephesians 3.14-19.

Life Against Darkness: Reveal

October 29, 2023 No Comments

Paul’s life was full of personal suffering but he always pointed to the revelation of God’s plan. Each one of us has a role in

Life Against Darkness: Read

October 23, 2023 No Comments

Paul does something revolutionary in the ancient world. He writes open letters so that all believers will know the secrets of Christ. Normally, religions thrive

Life Against Darkness: Understand

October 15, 2023 No Comments

Paul calls himself a “prisoner of Christ.” In Ephesians 3, he wants us to understand why he thinks of himself that way. Paul’s authority as

Life Against Darkness: Unite

October 8, 2023 No Comments

Like stones in a wall, Christ unites different people together. The day after terrorists invaded Israel, BG studied one of the most important passages in

Life Against Darkness: Walk

September 25, 2023 No Comments

You can learn a lot from someone’s shoes. In this study of Ephesians 2.1-10, we trace humanity’s radical problem to how we walk. Christ, our

Life Against Darkness: Pray

September 10, 2023 No Comments

Ancient Ephesians believed that the theater, with its masked actors, chants, and music, was an access point to the power of Dionysus. In Ephesians 1.15-18,

Life Against Darkness: Believe

September 4, 2023 No Comments

What does it mean to believe in Jesus? Is it personal, or is faith in Christ larger than just our own experience? When the Ephesians

Life Against Darkness: Bless

August 29, 2023 No Comments

The Roman Pantheon was a temple to all the gods and goddesses of the empire. Peace was secure because no god claimed superiority. But Paul

Life Against Darkness: Stand

August 20, 2023 No Comments

What has Jesus Christ accomplished in the heavenly places? He has enabled us to stand against darkness. In this introduction to the book of Ephesians,

The Goal of Prayer

July 30, 2023 No Comments

Aaron Hicks and his family have been connected with Bethel Grove since 1990. They serve as church planters in Spain. Aaron joins Matt to talk

Jesus’s Model Prayer

July 23, 2023 No Comments

Longtime Bethel Grove member Ruth Walker joins Matt for a study of the famous model prayer in Matthew 6.9-15. (4th in the series.)

Jesus on Prayer

July 16, 2023 No Comments

Bethel Grove elder Gabe Carpenter joins Matt to discuss Jesus’s teaching about hypocrisy in prayer (Mt 6.5-8). This recording has been edited to remove sections

A Key to the Whole Bible: Jesus

June 4, 2023 No Comments

People often treat Jesus as an inkblot test–as a projection of whatever they think he is. But when Jesus speaks for himself, like he does

Jesus Focuses Peter’s Camera

April 9, 2023 No Comments

How does the resurrected Jesus relate to people? For Easter Sunday, a look at John 21.

The Camera Angles on Jesus

April 2, 2023 No Comments

Why did so many 1st century people miss the power of Jesus’s death and resurrection? In this Palm Sunday sermon, we study John 12.1-26.

The Redeemer and Ruth: Plan

March 12, 2023 No Comments

At the end of the Ruth, we learn that Boaz starts a royal line. God’s plan for redeeming the world becomes amazingly clear. (Final sermon

Safe House: Glory

December 25, 2022 No Comments

On Christmas Day, we consider what Caesar Augustus knew and when he knew it. (Last in the series “Safe House”).