Bethany Baptist Church exists to glorify God by proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and preparing His people to worship Him forever.
Broadcaster The World Without the Gospel: An American Parable There are some key differences between the world to which Jesus came and our world today. While both cultures hated certain sins, the list of those hated sins varies starkly. Typically, our world hates the quiet sins of self-righteousness, while those in Jesus’ day hated the public sins of self-expression. Generally, first century Jews acknowledged the morality of the Old Testament. Our people do not. The Jews of the first century did not debate the rightness of the moral code that God gave to His people in Moses’ day. Our people do. While heated conflict raged strongly between the Sadducees and the Pharisees regarding the application of certain parts of the Law, these two dominant parties fundamentally embraced the moral standard represented in the Ten Commandments. We do not. For instance, every teacher in Israel agreed that God forbade
sexual relations outside of marriage. Few agree in our culture. The rabbis taught that marriage was a covenantal union between one man and one woman and the people agreed. Our Supreme Court and people reject this reality. Opposing voices in the synagogues promoting the kind of “sexual freedom” that our culture celebrates did not exist in Jesus’ day. Voices promoting sexual immorality could be found outside of Israel in the philosophers of the Roman world, but not among the Jews. The Babylonian and Assyrian captivities taught the Jewish people that worshipping other gods and participating in abominable acts of sexual immorality would bring God’s wrath upon them. As a result, the Jewish people did not return to idolatry or to the open, sexually immoral practices that characterized other nations surrounding them. Living with a Continued on page 2.
Dr. Ritch Boerckel
Senior Pastor 3
August Calendar Highlights
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Children’s Ministry The Gospel Institute
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Women’s Ministries
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Discovering Church Membership Adult Soccer RESOLVEDto Singles Worship Team First Prayer A Community Christmas Kickoff
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Small Groups Family Campout
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Saturday Night Worship Celebrating Children’s Ministries