Sermon Series | Goshen Baptist Church

"Faith Journey: Life Stories of Bible Characters"

Spring 2024

The Word of God introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters. And we can gain much by following their stories. We see models of confident faith, but we also encounter those who stumble. We meet men and women whose biographies help us learn to walk by faith in the Lord—both positively (from examples of courageous trust) and negatively (through the Bible’s honest pictures showing “warts and all”). Come and meet these Bible brothers and sisters as we follow Jesus together! (By the way, you can access past sermons in our worship service archive at YouTube.)

April 14, “Faith Journey: GIDEON” (Judges 6-7)
April 21, “Faith Journey: JOB” (Job 1-2; 42)
April 28, “Sent by Jesus into a Hostile World” (Matthew 10) – guest preacher, Rev. Duncan Olumbe, regional director with Interserve
May 5, “Faith Journey: RUTH” (Ruth 1-4)
May 12, “Faith Journey: SOLOMON” (1 Kings 3-11)
May 19, “Faith Journey: JOSIAH” (2 Kings 22-23)
May 26, “Faith Journey: HEZEKIAH” (Isaiah 36-39)
June 2, “Faith Journey: HABAKKUK” (Habakkuk 1-3)
June 9, “Faith Journey: ESTHER” (Esther 1-10)
June 16, “Faith Journey: MARY MAGDALENE” (Luke 8:1-3)
June 23, “Faith Journey: TIMOTHY” (2 Timothy 1-4)

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RECENT SERIES:

Sermon Series (2022-2024)

"God with Us: The Gospel According to Matthew"

Pastor Peter Nelson

With Matthew's Gospel as our guide, we embark together on the adventure of a lifetime following Jesus through every challenge that comes our way! The newborn Jesus is "Immanuel, God with us" (1:23); and in his Great Commission, the risen Jesus assures us that he is "with us" always, even to the end of the age (28:20). Join us as we listen, learn, walk, and serve together in the presence of Christ!

We are planning to conclude this series, which began in late 2022, during the month of March 2024:

Mar. 3, "The Pursuit of Excellence" (Daniel 1:11-20), guest preacher Andy Young, Athletes in Action
Mar. 10, "Is It I, Lord?" (Matt. 26:1-56)
Mar. 17, "You Will See the Son of Man" (Matt. 26:57-27:26)
Mar. 24, Palm Sunday, "The Temple Curtain Torn" (Matt 27:27-66)
Mar. 29, Good Friday Communion Service, 7:00 p.m.
Mar. 31, Resurrection Celebration, "He Is Risen!" (Matt. 28:1-20)
April 7, "The Big Story" (Matthew's Gospel)

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Sermon Series (Jan.-Feb. 2024)

"What's On Your Mind?"

Pastor Peter Nelson

This series is based on questions submitted by the people of GBC along these lines: Is there a Bible passage you struggle with, or a theme in Scripture that perplexes you? Are there aspects of Christian belief that are hard to understand? Are there facets of the Christian life that you find confusing? And are there issues related to following Jesus in a tumultuous world where you’re looking for help? (Thanks to all who provided input during Nov.-Dec. 2023.)

January 7, "Faith and Frustration" (Psalm 13:1-6) (How is honest lament in prayer different from complaining?)
January 14, "Rest Assured" (Matthew 11:28-30) (How can we find true rest and proper "Sabbath" in our multi-tasking, attention-grabbing frenetic world?)
January 21, "Fitting In and Standing Out" (1 Peter 2:11-12) (How can we relate to our friends and neighbors and yet remain distinctive as Jesus' followers?)
January 28, "What Is God’s Will?" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22) (How can we make sense of pain and suffering as part of God's good design for our lives?)
February 4, "Processing Predestination" (Acts 4:23-31) (How can we reconcile the Bible's teaching on divine sovereignty with its message of human responsibility?)
February 11, "The Afterlife in the Old Testament" (Daniel 12:1-4) (Why does it seem that the idea of eternal life and the hope of heaven are often absent in Old Testament passages?)
February 18, "The Dilemma of Denominations" (Ephesians 2:11-22) (With so many streams of Christian tradition, how can we be confident that we're worshipping God rightly?)
February 25, "The Smorgasbord of Religions" (Romans 3:21-31) (What makes Christianity unique when viewed against the backdrop of world religions?)

See this page (scroll down a bit when you get there) for some follow-up discussion, further comments, additional questions, etc., beyond what is actually covered during the above sermons.

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Sermon Series (2022-2024)

"God with Us: The Gospel According to Matthew"

Pastor Peter Nelson

Nov. 20, 2022, "In God's Presence" (Matthew 1:23 and 28:20)
Nov. 27, "Roots" (Matthew 1:1-17)
Dec. 4, "Appearances Can Be Deceiving" (Matthew 1:18-25)
Dec. 11, "We Have Come to Worship Him" (2:1-12)
Dec. 18, "Fulfillment of God's Word" (2:13-23)
Dec. 24, "Uncontainable Praise" (Luke 2:8-14)
Dec. 25, "Prolonged Hope" (Luke 2:22-38)
Jan. 8, 2023, "The Fruit of Repentance" (Matthew 3:1-12)
Jan. 15, "This Is My Beloved Son" (3:13-17)
Jan. 22, "It Is Written" (4:1-11)
Jan. 29, "The Kingdom of Heaven Is at Hand" (4:12-25)
Feb. 5, "The Life of Blessing" (Matthew 5 overview)
Feb. 12, "Your Father Sees You" (Matthew 6 overview)
Feb. 19, "Binary Reality" (Matthew 7 overview)
Feb. 26, "Authority to Heal" (8:1-17)
Mar. 5, "What Sort of Man Is This?" (8:18-34)
Mar. 12, Rev. Efraim Goldstein preaching on Matthew 9:9-17
Mar. 19, Guest Preacher, Jack Nelson, President of Worldlink
Mar. 26, Guest Preacher, Rob Atkins, Bible Teacher at DCCS
Apr. 2, “The Compassion of Christ” (Matt. 9:1-8, 18-38)
Apr. 9, ”More than Conquerors” (Romans 8:31-39)
Apr. 16, “Freely You Received, Freely Give” (Matt. 10:1-23)
Apr. 23, “Have No Fear” (Matt. 10:24-42)
Apr. 30, “Come to Me” (Matt. 11:1-30)
May 7, “Something Greater than the Temple” (Matt. 12:1-21)
May 14, “The Kingdom of God Has Come upon You” (Matt. 12:22-50)
May 21, “Seed, Soil, and Growth” (Matt. 13:1-23)
May 28, “The Day of Separation” (Matt. 13:24-52)
June 4, “Having Jesus Is Enough” (Matt. 14:1-21)
June 11, “Why Did You Doubt?” (Matt. 14:22-36)
June 18, "Honoring God from the Heart" (Matt. 15:1-28)
June 25, "Signs of the Times" (Matt. 15:29-16:12)
July 2, "Who Do You Say that I Am?" (Matt. 16:13-28)
July 9, "Beholding the Glory of Christ" (Matt. 17:1-27)
July 16, "Are You a Neighbor?" (Luke 10:25-37), Guest Preacher, Mark Huffman, Executive Director at Interserve USA
July 23, "Becoming Like Children" (Matt. 18:1-14)
July 30, "Radical Forgiveness" (Matt. 18:15-35)
Aug. 6, "God's Design for Marriage" (Matt. 19:1-15)
Aug. 13, "Wealth and God's Kingdom" (Matt. 19:16-30), Guest Preacher, Dan Steinfield, Head of School at DCCS
Aug. 20, "Faithful Servants for Our King" (Luke 19:11-27), Guest Preacher, Chris Cunningham, Cru, PSU
Aug. 27, "God's Scandalous Generosity" (Matt. 20:1-16)
Sept 3, “Ambitions for Greatness” (Matt. 20:17-34)
Sept. 10, “Your King Is Coming to You” (Matt. 21:1-22)
Sept. 17, "Trusting God When You Can't Do the Math" (Genesis 50:19-20), Guest Preacher, Andy Young, Cru/AIA
Sept. 24, “Questioning Jesus” (Matt. 21:23-46)
Oct. 1, “The Law of Love” (Matt. 22:1-46)
Oct. 8, “Woe to the Hypocrites” (Matt. 23:1-39)
Oct. 15, “The Future Coming of Christ” (Matt. 24:1-51)
Oct. 22, “Ready and Waiting” (Matt. 25:1-30)
Oct. 29, FALL FOCUS ON MISSIONS, Guest Preacher, Dr. Jim Tebbe
Nov. 5, FALL FOCUS ON MISSIONS, Guest Preacher, Wil Hall
Nov. 12, Guest Preacher, Dave Walton, "Jesus and the Interruption" (Acts 10)
Nov. 19, Guest Preacher, Shelby Abbott, "Counting the Cost: Three Reasons NOT To Follow Christ" (Luke 14:25-33)
Nov. 26, "How We Treat Jesus" (Matthew 25:31-46)

NOTE: The series in Matthew's Gospel was paused from Dec. 2023 thru Feb. 2024. Our plan is to cover Matthew 26-28 during March 2024:

Mar. 3, "The Pursuit of Excellence" (Daniel 1:11-20), guest preacher Andy Young, Athletes in Action
Mar. 10, "Is It I, Lord?" (Matt. 26:1-56)
Mar. 17, "You Will See the Son of Man" (Matt. 26:57-27:26)
Mar. 24, Palm Sunday, "The Temple Curtain Torn" (Matt 27:27-66)
Mar. 29, Good Friday Communion Service, 7:00 p.m.
Mar. 31, Resurrection Celebration, "He Is Risen!" (Matt. 28:1-20)

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Click HERE to stream or download sermon audios from March 22, 2020, or earlier. For pre-recorded online worship service videos from March 29 thru June 28, 2020, click HERE. For our Sunday worship livestream that began on July 5, 2020, click HERE.

The timeless truth of God’s Word gives us vital encouragement. And we need a great deal of guidance, warning, and comfort as we follow Jesus in these chaotic times. Give thanks for God’s realistic and hope-filled word in 1 Peter. Be encouraged: the Chief Shepherd is with us and will lead us home! Here’s a glance at this ongoing sermon series