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What a year it has been! It hasn’t turned out quite the way we might have hoped, but good things have happened. We stand firm in the conviction that Our mission remains. In anticipation of great things to come, we have made some small property improvements with more planned for next year. Special thanks to John and Jay Gibson for providing for our new sign.
The highlight of the year was our outreach back in march. With help from our friends at the Dallas Baptist Association and the Send Relief organization, we held a community cookout to let our neighbors know that we are still active and welcome them to join us. Though heavy rains did put a “damper” on the event, we still had sixty visitors and 5 people pray with us to receive Jesus as Lord. We call that a success!
We are saddened to have lost a long-time faithful servant of the church this year, but happy to say that this time only to Arkansas. When Cathy finds a new church home, I hope they appreciate the treasure they have gained. Several of us have battled various injuries and illnesses, but we are all here, and thankful for it. As we prepare to roll into 2025, let us continually seek to know God and to make Him known.
How do we come to know God? I’m guessing all the church folk will have answers to that question ranging from a basic Gospel presentation to the thoughtful and very personal reflection of those who have known Him longest. They might all be correct. god is infinite. His own will be learning more about him forever.
A few months ago as I was praying, an idea occurred to me that I believe came from the Holy Spirit. It took some time and study to develop, but I am finally ready to share it with you. I am certainly not the first to explore it in this way, but it was fresh to me, and I think you will find it beneficial.
We may think of God as being somewhat remote. If we’ve been taught correctly, we know better. WE know that His Holy Spirit lives within us as believers,, that He hears us when we pray,, that He guides and protects us, and most of all that He loves us. But most of the time, we can’t feel Him. We can’t see Him. He usually doesn’t speak to us so that our physical ears Hear Him. How are we supposed to know Him?
Here’s a great place to start, assuming for our purposes that You have already chosen to follow Him. Look closely at the life of Jesus. We reveal ourselves through our emotions. I can tell you a lot about myself. most of us are really good at that. But it is in those times when the feelings come out that we really begin to know each other. What makes us sad? What makes us angry? What brings us joy?
As we read the accounts of Jesus’ life, we can see the kinds of things that moved Him. He told his disciples that if they had seen Him, they had seen the Father. He also said, “I and the Father are one.” So, if we look at the things that moved Jesus, we learn the heart of God. We learn what pleases Him and also what displeases Him.
I did not include a central passage this week because we will be all over the place. We will explore the Gospels as well as some other key passages to get to know God a little better. It is my hope and prayer that you will be blessed and encouraged to pursue your own relationship with Him to new depths.
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It was good to have all our regulars back last Sunday, and some beloved friends as well. Now let’s keep bringing them in! The stonework around the sidewalks was completed on Friday, and I’m told it looks very nice. I did not foresee that pulling out the shrubbery would lead to so much more work, but it does seem to have accomplished its purpose as our facility is no longer attracting the high levels of activity of questionable nature while we are away. Now we must choose what to plant next spring, and I trust that our planting will be of both earthly and heavenly nature.
For those constrained to join us from afar, I do apologize for the unpredictable sound quality from week to week. We really need better equipment and maybe software to do more professional feeds, and hands to run it. We keep trusting in the Lord and doing what we can with what we have.
That brings us to the message for this Sunday. The Gospel of Luke gives us two accounts of angelic visitations in the first chapter. The first is to Zacharias, a priest serving in the temple. The second is to Mary, a young lady engaged to be married who learns she’s about to be pregnant! Both receive news of a miracle, but their responses differ in one very important detail. They both ask questions, but one asks from doubt, the other from faith.
Few if any of us can expect a visit from an angel, but we are confronted with the same choice that Zacharias and Mary had. Will we choose to believe God even when what He says doesn’t seem possible, or will we question him in doubt. Mary’s question was one of faith and of curiosity. In other words, “How are You going to do that?” Zacharias’ question was one of skepticism, “prove to me that You can do that.” We all have questions, and that’s OK. Let them be questions from faith and not from doubt.
I have a question for you. Will you be there?
Love y’all!
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.40
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving celebration. Linda and I ended up spending a quiet day at home, and that was just fine with us. I am thankful just to have a little time to rest. Now, the Christmas season is in full swing. It gives us a wonderful opportunity to share the reason for the season and we should take full advantage of it. I look forward to working together as a church to see how we might go about that together.
“We’ve had a lot of folks out for sickness and other thigs over the past couple of months. I am looking forward to seeing more of you tomorrow.
Are there parts of the Bible you read just because you’re supposed to? Maybe you use one of those reading plans that takes you through the Bible in a year, and so you struggle through the numbers, the pages of prophecies of doom, or the long list of laws. You know it’s important, but sometimes it’s hard to stay focused. You might wonder what you are supposed to be getting from it all. I’ve been there, too. Allow me to take just one small passage from the first chapter of Matthew, and show you just how exciting a boring list of names can be when you know the history behind them.
Don’t miss out! Come join us!
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.39
This week, I want to offer you some comfort and encouragement if I can. We’re all facing trials. Some, if not most, are simply the results of living in a fallen world. Accidents happen. We age. We get sick. Eventually, we die. All of us to one degree or another have made our own trouble at times, and may suffer the consequences. Or, it may be that we suffer because we did something right. Whatever the cause, it is easy to become discouraged unless we work to maintain the proper perspective.
Consider the apostle Paul. Once a persecutor of the church, he became one of the most effective evangelists the world has ever known. As one of the Lord’s star witnesses, some might think his life should be pretty good. People were healed and even raised from the dead. He preached the Word everywhere he went. No one would question his faith. Actually some may have done that, as he writes in part to address false teachers coming against him at Corinth.
But Paul’s life was full of trouble. Almost everywhere he went, he encountered opposition. Sometimes that opposition was violent. He was slandered, beaten nearly to death, and put in prison on multiple occasions. He is believed to have been martyred in Rome. But Paul does not express anger or disappointment at these things. Instead, he writes in Colossians 1:24, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and I fill up what is lacking of Christ’s afflictions in my flesh, on behalf of His body, which is the church…”
In the second of his letters to the Corinthian church that have been preserved for us, Paul writes of the difficulties faced by himself and fellow missionaries. He defends the truth of the Gospel message, and points out that it is through the humanity of his messengers that God’s glory becomes evident. Twice he says in Chapter 4, “We do not lose heart.” The truth of the message, the certainty of the eternal promise, and the knowledge that the truth continues to spread through their efforts sustains them through every hardship.
They knew that a glory awaited them far beyond any trouble this life may bring. They could endure any hardship, secure in the knowledge that nothing in the world they could see could compare to the promises yet to be fulfilled. They might have remembered the words that David wrote, “In God, whose word I praise, In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?” (Psalm 56:4)
“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light affliction is working out for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
These men had the boldness to preach the gospel in the face of any opposition, knowing that not even death would stand in their way. They would eventually be taken from this world, but only to enter their rightful realm in Heaven. When we become that convinced that God is with us, we, too can step out in boldness into the mission that He has given us. We may also take comfort in the knowledge that every trial that we endure can be turned to our good and His glory. Yes, if you love the Lord, even your mistakes and their consequences will be redeemed. Do not lose heart.
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I’m sure glad we did not go full virtual for the service last week. I never like to do that, because even though we are small there is always the chance for someone to come that we were not expecting. If we start making the assumption that no one else will come, maybe it is time to close the doors for good. That time has not come! Our surprise visitor last week was Cathy. Lord willing, this Sunday we will be back at full strength and ready for more.
Election season is almost over. The official election day is this Tuesday. If you have not taken advantage of early voting, I strongly urge you to check your Bible, then check your ballot. A few months ago, the political parties met to select their candidates, take care of party business, and produce a platform. The platform is the set of core principles and objective of the party, and it provides a standard by which one may learn the supposed values of a candidate running as a member of that party. If you have nothing else to go on, this can help you make good decisions.
But there is a bigger question that needs answering before you go to the polls. What is your platform? If you had to write out the principles that you believe should govern your life, what would they be? Is your platform stable, or will it collapse under the weight of real life? There is only one foundation strong enough to withstand the storms. That is, the Word of God. (Matthew 7:24-27)
Come join us and bring a friend!
Love y’all.
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Hello, friends. I wanted to let you know that we will be having our service at the usual time today, but it will be a little shorter than normal due to key people being unavailable. If you can, join us at 2:30 as we pray together. We will begin the life feed for the message at 3:00.
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Do you know Jesus? Yes, I’m writing on a church blog read primarily by church people, so what kind of question is that? If asked, I think every one of us would reply in the affirmative. From what I have seen, I’m reasonably certain that those of you I know well would be right to do so. I see the fruit in your lives.
But what do we mean by that question? “Know” covers a lot of territory as we use the word. In casual conversation we might say that we know someone that we’ve never even met in person, but that’s a very superficial knowledge. Some bible translations use the word to describe the most intimate of relationships.
None of us have met Jesus in person, so what do we mean when we talk about knowing Him? How is it that any of us can say that we do? It is by the gift of His Holy Spirit and the power of His word. As we recognize His lordship and seek to obey, we become more aware of who He is and of the depth of His love.
The Word speaks plainly that a mark of those who know Him is obedience. The apostle John tells us that if we say that we know Him and yet do not keep His commands, we are liars. We will all fall short. We will all miss the mark. That’s why Jesus stands as our advocate, having paid the price for our sin with His own blood. But we cannot live a life of willful sin and claim to be His. Join us this Sunday as we consider His word from 1 John 2:1-6.
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It has been a tough week for our little congregation. Leann had her surgery, and Don spent some unplanned time in the hospital. Everyone’s going to be ok, but we’re all praying for a stretch of peace. Still, we choose to trust in God, knowing that this is all preparation for an eternity beyond our imagination. We worship the giver of all good things.
What is worship? That may seem like a childish question, but many of us may answer it differently depending on the traditions that are familiar to us. When we come to church, many people call that a worship service. So it should be. Whatever happens within the walls of our buildings should reflect reverence and service to our Lord. But worship is more than the songs we sing. It is more than the traditions we observe wherever they came from. Worship is a lifestyle. Worship comes from the heart. Worship flows out of the doors and into the streets, touching lives and offering hope.
Jesus said that “the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” (John 4:23) Why should a God who created everything and lacks nothing desire worship? He doesn’t need His ego stroked. He seeks it because he desires that we know Him. To know Him is to recognize who He is. As we come to know Him, we will worship Him because He is the only one worthy of worship. We offer it freely. We love him because He first loved us.
That worship will take the form of open expressions of praise and adoration. It will also take the form of service. We desire to please Him, so we treasure His word and obey His commandments, which are always for our own good.
I look forward to worshiping with you tomorrow. It is extra special when we do it together. Please join us.
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I felt like we all could use some encouragement this week. As I was praying, i remembered some of the instances when Jesus talked about our rewards. Even after studying it, I am not sure how to think about rewards from God. If you asked me, I would say that He is our reward. What more could we want but eternity in His presence, being involved in His next big thing. And besides, a reward is something you get for something you did. We all know that we cannot earn salvation, so what are these rewards? I still don’t have a clear answer for that, but I know that they exist, because Jesus talked about them, and His disciples did too.
I am certain of this. However small you may think your contribution to be, God see it. His accounting is different than ours, so you might be surprised at his assessment of what you have done. However you may feel that what you do goes unnoticed, God sees, and he will reward you. Besides, if you are doing it to be seen, Jesus says you already have all the reward you’re going to get.
Not even a simple act of kindness like giving someone a cup of cold water in service to our Lord goes unnoticed. We’re not necessarily working for the rewards, but they come as evidence that He is pleased with us, and that’s a wonderful thing. There is so much we could talk about, but since we don’t have all day, I’ll stick to Matthew 10:44-22 and bring in just a few other things.
Come join us. You will find it rewarding.
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We serve a good God. In fact, He is the very definition of good. I am so thankful that He loved us so much that He made a way for us to be part of his family. As His children, we can come right to the throne of almighty God! ! Do you ever stop to think how amazing that is? For us still living here, that’s metaphorical, made possible by Holy Spirit, but some day it will be actual! Lord, may that day soon come!
We could save ourselves so much disappointment and heartache if we could grasp this one thing. Prayer is not a tool to get what we want from God. If Jesus’s instruction through what we call the Lord’s prayer is taken as example, the first priority of prayer is to recognize the holiness of God, and the second is to align ourselves with His will. Only then do we come to the petition part. We tend to make prayer more complicated than it is. Just open your heart and talk to Him. He already knows what you need and everything about you, and He still loves you! This Sunday, we’ll take a closer look at the “Lord’s prayer” and the other things Jesus said as He gave it to us. I’m praying that you will be blessed by the message.