A church with a great name but no pulse: Jesus exposes dead reputation and calls Sardis to wake up, strengthen what remains, remember the gospel, keep it, and repent. He warns of sudden accountability and promises the faithful white garments, a secure name in the Book of Life, and acknowledgment before the Father. Stop leaning on image; return to vigilance and obedience.
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MdoPoWF_ngK7dscnImBXrkolbWKpKHko/view?usp=sharing
A letter to a hard-working church with a blind spot. Jesus commends Thyatira’s love, faith, service, and perseverance, yet confronts their tolerance of a seductive, self-appointed teacher “Jezebel” who pulls believers toward idolatry and sexual sin. The call is clear: repent, refuse harmful compromise, and hold fast to what is true. For those who endure, Jesus promises shared authority and “the morning star.”
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wb3Eb34-XFpP-g9ylE_jHZCoeYJH1LiG/view?usp=drive_link
Jesus asks three churches whose table they’re eating from. Smyrna is called to fearless faithfulness under suffering. Pergamum is warned to reject compromise with idol-feasts and sexual immorality. Thyatira is rebuked for tolerating destructive teaching. Conquerors receive the crown of life, hidden manna, a white stone with a new name, and the morning star.
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12d8n7m4vDIQbD237y0CYpzV3NeVD6kQH/view?usp=sharing
Jesus walks among his churches and calls Ephesus to return to their first love. In a world the Bible calls “Babylon,” disciples resist seduction not by mere activity but by affection for Christ. Revelation uses sharp contrasts—Lamb vs. Beast, Bride vs. Prostitute, New Jerusalem vs. Babylon—to expose disordered love, distorted teaching, corrupted worship, and compromised living. The call is simple and urgent: remember, repent, and redo the works of love.Practice this week:• Confess your sin.• Conquer your lusts and audit your loves.• Keep Christ’s commands by loving one another.
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T7bBS-3kFHmMkhsOI9jbHe4VqZ_35XTb/view?usp=sharing
When John turns to see the voice speaking to him, he encounters the risen Christ—majestic, holy, and near. This powerful vision reminds us that Jesus isn’t distant from His church; He walks among the lampstands. He sees, sustains, and strengthens His people.
Even when the world feels unstable, Jesus reigns as the Living One who conquered death and holds the keys of Hades.
🌐 Learn more: www.bethlehemchurch.cc
📝 Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xWfdu5zyrUoenD-ikpnEMEEzkzZhKZyl/view?usp=sharing
Revelation isn’t just about the future—it’s about seeing reality as it truly is. In this message, Pastor Matt unpacks the opening verses where Jesus reveals Himself as the Alpha and Omega, the One who rules history and holds the future. Revelation draws back the curtain on the spiritual battle, reminding us that even when the world feels chaotic, God is on the throne and Christ has already conquered.
🌐 Connect with Bethlehem: www.bethlehemchurch.cc
👍 Like, share, and subscribe for more messages.
📝 Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jjXmXa7HkeWxPr92ERkWvb54LOgdbxlR/view?usp=sharing
Judges ends with a nation in chaos: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Israel longed for a king, but even their best leaders failed. This message shows how Jesus, the Lion of Judah, is the true King who breaks the cycle of sin and establishes an eternal kingdom of justice and peace.
Scripture: Judges 21:25; 1 Samuel 8:19–20; Hebrews 7:14; Revelation 5:5 (CSB)
🌐 Connect with Bethlehem: www.bethlehemchurch.cc
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uMZ4wXRz4YiTU63gACp88riGdIEDQvlN/view?usp=sharing
The closing chapters of Judges are some of the darkest in all of Scripture. A horrific atrocity in Gibeah sparks civil war, leading Israel to the brink of wiping out one of its own tribes. What unfolds is not justice but chaos, not holiness but depravity. The people of God have become indistinguishable from Sodom itself.
In this message, Pastor Matt unpacks:
• The atrocity at Gibeah and its echo of Sodom (Judges 19)
• Israel’s civil war and the dangers of religious language without true submission to God (Judges 20)
• The tragic resolution that reveals Israel’s corruption (Judges 21)
Yet through all of it, the gospel hope shines through: while Israel rejected God’s kingship, we have a true and better King in Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah, who gave His life willingly for His people.
For more from Bethlehem, visit www.bethlehemchurch.cc
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XnMZLeksuewy9QH8ZhXsiYSsakH4Whrb/view?usp=sharing
In Judges 17–18, we see Israel’s religious decline on full display through the story of Micah, his household idols, and the wandering Danites. What looks like worship is actually compromise—God’s name attached to man-made religion. This is the danger of syncretism: blending God’s truth with the world’s lies.
Pastor Matt unpacks how Israel’s “do what is right in your own eyes” mindset led to corruption at every level, from households to tribes. The result is a sobering reminder that sincerity in worship doesn’t equal obedience to God’s Word.
Key Themes:
• God’s will is always in line with God’s Word.
• Sinful motives corrupt even religious acts.
• God desires obedience, not impressiveness.
• Compromise in worship leads to spiritual decay.
📖 Judges 17–18 (CSB)
🙏 Have you given your life fully to Jesus? Today is the day. Instead of scheming, start praying. Instead of blending in with the world, set your heart fully on Him.
🌐 Learn more about Bethlehem: www.bethlehemchurch.cc
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rg1_16dYde7mtUoXPW0_Q31kMwlfEjJK/view?usp=sharing
The story of Samson is one of the Bible’s most well-known — and most tragic. Chosen by God before birth to begin delivering Israel from the Philistines, Samson’s life was marked by compromise, self-indulgence, and wasted potential. Yet even through his failures, God’s purposes were never thwarted.
In this message, we explore:
• The quiet but powerful faith of Samson’s mother
• The danger of compromise and temptation
• How God’s Spirit empowers His people for His mission
• The hope found in the greater Deliverer, Jesus Christ
No matter our failures, God’s purposes prevail — and His grace meets us where we are.
📖 Key Texts: Judges 13–16 (CSB)
For more from Bethlehem, visit www.bethlehemchurch.cc
.
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x7-QesV3vj7vl5fXXphqmH5mesjmJs7c/view?usp=drive_link
Jephthah’s story is one of rejection, redemption, and radical faith. In Judges 11–12, we see God raise up an unlikely leader to deliver His people—and a vow that would shape the rest of Jephthah’s life.
In this message, Pastor Matt unpacks one of the most debated passages in Judges, showing how Jephthah’s vow wasn’t about death but about full dedication to the Lord. Through this story, we’re reminded that purpose and contentment aren’t found in success or status, but in faithfully walking with God—even in life’s messiest moments.
🔗 Learn more about Bethlehem Church: www.bethlehemchurch.cc
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15iOdxcwnoVPRVpQo3G4HP1zihtG2f302/view?usp=sharing
Not every moment in God’s story is filled with dramatic miracles or epic battles. In Judges 10:1–5, we meet Tola and Jair—two little-known judges whose leadership brought peace and stability after a season of chaos. Their lives remind us that God is just as present in the quiet, ordinary seasons as He is in the extraordinary ones.
In this message, one of our church Elders, Mike Beard, shows us how God’s faithfulness is steady, even when it’s not loud, and how we, too, are called to live with faithful consistency in the everyday moments of life.
📖 Key Themes:
• God provides stability even in ordinary seasons.
• Faithfulness doesn’t require fame or dramatic acts.
• Serving God means being steady and consistent over the long haul.
Message Notes:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g6pFCEJhm6uQfSbz3u87xaLgYucMvwzn/view?usp=sharing
Abimelek’s rise to power is one of the darkest chapters in Judges—a self-appointed king who murders his own brothers, leads Israel into idolatry, and ultimately meets a fitting end. In this message, Pastor Matt unpacks how Abimelek’s life warns us against leadership without God’s calling, worship without God’s glory, and legacies built on pride instead of faith.
📖 Main Text: Judges 8–9
💡 Theme: Improper balance and perspective lead to tragedy and idolatry—and it’s often the next generation that bears the weight.
🔑 Key Takeaways:
• God is present even in political chaos and will bring justice in His time.
• Leadership without character ends in ruin.
• Your legacy will be one of new creation or desolation—choose wisely.
🌐 Learn more about Bethlehem: www.bethlehemchurch.cc
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jlTj5AavKJqDD3QMijTW4OYsTPZ-iaQF/view?usp=sharing
In Judges 6–7, the story of Gideon reveals that before God brings external victory, He first calls for internal revival. This week, Pastor Matt walks through Israel’s cycle of disobedience and fear under Midianite oppression—and how God raises up Gideon not in strength, but in surrender. We’re challenged to tear down our own idols, shift from fear to faith, and let God work privately before we expect Him to move publicly.
🔥 Featuring insights from Michael Heiser and Carmen Imes, this message reminds us: revival doesn’t start with victory—it starts with repentance.
Message Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rrwTd_KbyYO37wzZN6WNJS-OOto4pf93/view?usp=drive_link
God often works through the unexpected. In Judges 4–5, we see how He brings victory through a courageous prophetess, a hesitant general, and a foreign woman with a tent peg. Pastor Matt unpacks how God uses surprising people and supernatural power to accomplish His purposes—reminding us that deliverance doesn’t come from human strength, but from the Lord.
💡 Key takeaway: The battle belongs to God, and His help often comes from unexpected places.
Watch more from Bethlehem: www.bethlehemchurch.cc
This week at Bethlehem, Pastor Matt taught from Judges 3:7–31, highlighting how God empowers unlikely people—like Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar—to break cycles of oppression through His Spirit.
These deliverers weren’t superheroes. They were simply available and obedient—used by God to bring freedom in surprising ways. Through their stories, we’re reminded that the Spirit who empowered them is the same Spirit living in us today. Will you step into what God has gifted you for?
📖 Scripture: Judges 3:7–31
🌐 Learn more: www.bethlehemchurch.cc
Israel’s story is our story: forgetting God, falling into sin, feeling the sting of discipline—yet always finding His grace waiting to restore. In this pivotal passage from Judges, we see the cycle of rebellion and mercy unfold, reminding us that God’s discipline is never abandonment, but an invitation to return.
Theme: God's grace remains even when His people repeatedly fall, but rebellion always brings consequences.
Structure:
📖 Knowing — Understand how God works through discipline, deliverance, and grace.
🙌 Serving — Recognize the patterns of sin in your life and actively teach the next generation about God's faithfulness.
🙏 Praying — Seek God's mercy to break the cycles of idolatry and strengthen your allegiance to Him.
Key Takeaways:
✔️ God's people forgot Him—and worshiped other gods.
✔️ God allowed trials not to punish aimlessly but to train His people in faithfulness.
✔️ The same patterns persist today, but so does God's mercy through Jesus.
Relevant Scriptures:
Matthew 23:37–38 • Colossians 2:15 • Revelation 12:9
Reflection Question:
Where do you see this cycle—disobedience, discipline, deliverance—playing out in your own life today?
When God's people move from covenant to compromise, the result is spiritual decline. In Judges 2, we witness a sobering moment where disobedience turns worship into weeping. Pastor Matt unpacks Israel’s pattern of apostasy and God’s gracious response. Be reminded: God's past victories are meant to fuel present obedience. Will you pass the test Israel failed?
📖 Scripture: Judges 2:1–5, Joshua 23:15, Judges 2:21–23
🙏 “Lord, make my life a reflection of Your grace.”
In this message, Pastor Matt continues unpacking Judges 1, where Judah's early victories give way to troubling compromises. From mutilating Adoni-Bezek to partnering with Canaanites, we see how small ethical choices lead Israel away from full obedience. What begins as a promising conquest ends with incomplete victories and spiritual decline.
Are we doing the same? Have we replaced God's commands with cultural convenience? Learn what it means to serve God with undivided loyalty—and why obedience matters more than outcomes.
Key Themes:
• Trusting God vs. relying on alliances
• The danger of tolerating what God says to remove
• True obedience over apparent success
• Raising the next generation to serve the Lord
📖 “God doesn’t need your win or your work. He wants your obedience.”
What kind of book is Judges—fiction or history? In this message, we explore the textual foundations of Judges (MT, LXX, Qumran), the genre of prophetic historiography, and how God remains the true hero of the story. From conquest narratives to poetic calls for faithfulness, Judges critiques cultural compromise and challenges us to live in covenant loyalty today. Discover how this ancient book still speaks powerfully to our modern moment.