The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.7

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Good day, friends.  I pray for you this week that you experience the love that God has for you.  It is greater than any other.  He knows what you are feeling.  Take comfort in that, and in the sweet union to come.

It was good to see everyone again last Sunday.  I’m so glad you chose to overcome whatever obstacles may have been in your path to come and be with us.  Good things are happening.

I think our series on the kingdom of God has come to an end, but as I search the rest of the scriptures I find related topics that will be of value for us to explore.  Today I was reading from Luke 9:57-62.  Jesus is making His final journey to Jerusalem, and on the way He holds conversations with three people that seem to want to follow Him, but in each case something holds them back.

His answers sure don’t seem designed to encourage them.  To the first He points out that He has no permanent home.  To the second He seems to show a calloused disregard for the death of the man’s father, and to the third, who just wants to say goodbye to his folks, he says, “”No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” By this time we should know Jesus well enough to understand that His words are more than what they seem.  His purpose is always redemptive.  So let’s dive in and see if we can learn what He is teaching us.

Come join us and bring a friend!

Love you all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.6

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by

Hello, loved ones.  I pray you are doing well.  Our little freeze turned out to be nothing more than we often see at this time of year, and that’s a good thing.  Hopefully all the hype has dried up with the last remnants of the snow and we can go on with life.  I know we did at BBT, and it was a joy to see you all there on Sunday.

Many of you will have seen the prayer request from Cindy for her sister’s 3-year-old great grandchild in the hospital with meningitis.  Cindy called me with the rest of the story.  She was injured in a sledding accident where she cracked her skull on Sunday.  She seemed to be recovering then crashed, and they found she had meningitis.

Keep the Gibson family in your prayers as well.  Jay is slowly improving.  Jacob is still having the seizures and has had a couple of falls.  June is not doing well but they have gotten rid of the infection.

This Sunday, we’ll be in Matthew 25:31-46.  This ends the teaching that Jesus began after the disciples asked Him for signs of the end.  It is not an analogy in the same way as the previous parables that He has used to illustrate kingdom principles…or is it?  This is one we hear a lot, usually to scare us into doing what someone thinks, rightly or wrongly, that we should be doing.  Certainly we aught to care for the needy, but is that really the primary message of these verses?  Does our salvation hang in the balance?  Let’s take a look.

See you there!

Love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.5

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by

Blessings to you, loved ones.  Are you ready for the big freeze?  I confess that after what happened at my house last year I’m a little nervous, but I trust in the Lord and everything will be fine.  At this time there are no plans to cancel or go virtual for church on Sunday.  It will be chilly, but the roads should have cleared.  We will inform you if that changes.

I hope those of you who were able to be there on Sunday enjoyed it as much as I did.  I would like to continue doing the communion ceremony with our meals like that.  I wish the whole message had been recorded.  It seems that when my phone puts up the low battery prompt the sound cuts off and doesn’t come back.  On top of that my digital recorder also flaked out for some reason so we don’t have anything.  I ordered a new phone, so hopefully that will not happen again.  There are better ways to capture the service.  We’ll get there in His time.

This Sunday we’ll pick up with our study of Jesus’ references to the kingdom of Heaven.  A couple of weeks ago we covered the parable of the ten virgins at the beginning of Matthew 25.  Jesus is still speaking when we come to the well-known parable of the talents starting in verse 14.  He continues to expand the themes of readiness and diligence, and He reinforces the “long time” before the master comes.  When he gives a similar parable recorded by Luke (Ch. 19)  we are told it is in response to those who thought the Kingdom was to be established in an earthly sense immediately.  A few years back we looked at the parable in Luke.  This week we will focus on the one in Matthew, which has some differences but a similar message.

Keep lifting each other up this week, and I will see you Sunday!

Love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.4

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Blessings to you, loved ones.  I sure am looking forward to being with you this Sunday!  I’m so blessed that everyone wants to be together and to share in our Fifth Sunday Fellowship.  This one’s going to be extra special.  We’re going to begin with a communion ceremony.  You’ve often heard me say that our time of eating together is more like what the early church would have done, but because we don’t attach the same level of importance to it as they did, we engage the ritual as a way of honoring Jesus and doing what He instructed us to do.  Some churches have taken this all the way, having a traditional Passover meal.  We’re just having chili dogs, but we’ll begin the meal with a time of reflection and taking the elements together.

In this week’s message, I’ll review what we’re doing and why we are doing it.  I’ll talk about what was happening on that night when Jesus celebrated the last Passover with his disciples before He Himself would become the sacrifice. I’ll talk about how the early church remembered it, and why it remains significant today.

And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”  And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. (Luke 22:19-20, NASB 1995)

Last Sunday we had a couple of families exposed to covid-19, so we decided to revert to Zoom for our service.  I’m sorry to have to report that there’s no recording for that service.  I set up Zoom some time back with the default setting being to record meetings, or so I thought.  If I did, it didn’t stick.  If we ever have to do that again, I’ll know better, and I’ll also know that someone else needs to be designated as a moderator so that the meeting can run more smoothly and no one gets left out.  I do apologize to those affected.

Keep praying for each other and encouraging each other.  I say “keep” because I know you do.  We are building a strong foundation from which God will build a new and glorious work.

See you there!

Love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.3

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by

Good day, friends.  I hope you are all staying warm.  It certainly warms my heart when I think of your love for each other and your faithfulness to the body.

I exchanged messages with Priscilla yesterday and they were improving.  Debra asked that we pray for her family as someone has come down with covid.  Debra is feeling better.  Hopefully we can all be back together soon.

This Sunday, our study continues with another wedding feast.  Jesus gives this illustration after he has been asked about the end of time and his coming.  We will be in Matthew 25:1-13, but we’ll briefly cover chapter 24 for context.  Much controversy surrounds the meaning of Jesus’ words in that chapter, but one message comes through loud and clear.  “Be on the alert!”  The unprepared will find themselves under judgment.

Throughout the centuries, people have tried to predict the date of Christ’s return.  In every case where the date has passed, they have been proven wrong, and there is little reason to think that this trend will not continue.  Jesus Himself said that only the Father knew the time.  But that is not to say that we should not try to understand the meaning of His words.  He instructs us to look for the signs.  That is part of being prepared.  So let us be wise and be ready.

Fear not!  Come join us!

love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.2

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Dearly loved ones, my prayer for you this week is that you experience the peace of God, which is beyond comprehension.   We missed those who could not be with us last week.  We decided to delay the planned communion service until this Sunday when hopefully everyone will be back.  Pray for Pris and Kimi as they are both sick.  Her sister did get to come home from the hospital.

We’ll continue our study with the next parable that Matthew records in chapter 22, verses 2-14.   It’s not clear whether this is part of the same discussion at the temple that we studied last week, but it does follow the same themes.

In this story, a king prepares a wedding feast, but the invited guests refuse to come.  Some of them even beat and kill the messengers.  In response, the king burns their city, and fills his hall with anyone he can drag in.  There’s a similar parable in Luke 14, but it is given at a different time and place.  Some of the same themes are present, but the stories have significant differences, so we will stick to this one.

The ending always puzzled me.  What is the significance of the man who is discovered among the guests without proper attire for the occasion?  He is thrown out, and Jesus uses references associated with Hell to describe his fate. I was not surprised to learn that there are competing interpretations of this passage.  I won’t promise to answer all the questions, but I will promise to lay out some truth that can be found here.

Come join us!

Love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2022.1

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Happy Friday!  Vacations are over.  The decorations are or soon will be back in their boxes waiting for the next season.  I hope everyone is rested and ready for the new year.  It feels like a better one already.  I don’t know what’s coming, but I trust our Lord to see us through and finish what He started.  I confess, though I have come to have a positive attitude toward all the festivities, I’m also glad when they’re over.  Let’s get to work!

we are still facing our challenges.  Pris and Kimi are fighting illness again.  They did get their truck running.  Brenda told us Don was having a little trouble this week but seems fine now.  Always lift each other up in prayer.

This week we will continue from the last message with a closer look at the next parable that Jesus gave while speaking to the Pharisees at the temple.  This one is even more pointed.  It was a message to Israels leaders, but there is much for us to reflect upon as well.  We’ll read from Matthew 21:33-44, but again it will be helpful to review the entire chapter for context.

Last Sunday, Cathy challenged us all to bring someone with us.  I know that’s harder to do these days, but I hope we can all accept the challenge.  We can’t make them come, but we can sure invite them.  The Holy Spirit will do the rest.

See you there!

Love y’all,

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2021.53

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by

Happy New Year!  It’s your choice.  I look forward to seeing the new things that God will do in 2022.  There may be tough times ahead, but often that is what causes us to look up for answers.  We need revival.  Pray for it, and ask for your part in it.

We had a wonderful day on Sunday.  I was so blessed to see everyone wanting to be there and share another meal together.   As you know, I think that is more like communion as the early church practiced it than the ceremony we call by that name.  Communion as usually practiced is one of only two “sacraments” for most Baptist churches, the other being, of course, baptism.  Raised almost to that level in practice is the potluck, so I guess we’re ok either way.  🙂  Having said that, we will have a traditional communion ceremony soon.

This Sunday, we’ll be in Matthew 21:28-32.  It’s another parable that Jesus gave with a very pointed message.  To understand it more completely, we need the context of events surrounding it, so it will be helpful to read all of chapter 21 beforehand.  Jesus is now in His last week of ministry, and he’s turning up the pressure.  Make no mistake, Jesus has been in control of this process all along, and he knows what will happen and when.  Now He puts the Pharisees on notice.  They have missed the very thing they hoped for while it was right in front of them.  Their pride and lust for power blinded them to it.  But the sinners, the tax collectors (considered traitors to their nation) and the prostitutes believed and it changed their lives.

Jesus makes an interesting statement at this point.  Speaking of the teaching of John the Baptist, He says, “and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.” (v. 32)  This is why I say that the lives were changed.  John had two major points to his message.  “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” (Mt 3:2, also part of Jesus’ message Mt 4:17) and “He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals;” (Mt 3:11)  The sinners believed.  For there to be anything to see here, something about those sinners must have changed, so that Jesus could say that upon observing their belief the Pharisees should have reconsidered.  He said in paraphrase, “These people whom you despise are getting into God’s kingdom ahead of you.” The greatest sign of God’s kingdom is a changed life.  We would do well to consider this as we plan our way forward.

The Bartimaeus Blog 2021.52

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Merry Christmas one more time.  I hope you are all able to enjoy your celebrations this week.  It was a small crowd last Sunday, but we did have a couple of visitors.  Do remember Priscilla’s sister Jo and the family in prayer.  She has been diagnosed with Leukemia.

Everyone seemed eager to be back in church on the 26th, so we will be having services as normal.  That sure does bless my heart.  I’ll pick up where we left off last month before all the excitement. We will cover Matthew 20:1-16.  This is the story of the vineyard owner who hired workers at different times throughout the day and then paid them all the same wage even though some only worked for an hour.  This is another parable that Jesus begins by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”  Again, He contrasts the ways of the world with the ways of the kingdom.  It is a message of grace and of hope for all of us.

I figured everyone would be partied out, but there was some interest in sharing a meal again together.  We made no formal plans, but if people would like to bring something to share as we wrap up 2021, we’ll make time for it.  There is no expectation or obligation.

Love y’all!

Larry

The Bartimaeus Blog 2021.51

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by

Merry Christmas, friends.  I sure did enjoy our celebration last Sunday.  Everyone took part and it was a fun time.  Thanks to all of you for helping to make it happen.   I take it for a sign of better things to come for our church.

Priscilla was having a tough time.  Pray for her healing.  We also missed having Deedee with us.  Keep her in prayer.  I did get to talk with her for a few minutes yesterday.

Next week I have something to share with you that has caused me to question a belief I have had for years about Christmas.  Yes, I think I was wrong, and since I shared one side with you before, it’s only right to share the other.  It’s good news.  It will strengthen your testimony.  Does it change anything?  Maybe not, but I think you will enjoy hearing it.  There is no one central verse, for this message, but there are a couple that should inform our attitude and conduct regarding this as well as other issues.

Romans 14:5:  One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.

1 Peter 3:15:  But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence

Whether or how you celebrate is a matter of your own heart before God.  Whatever you do, be ready during this time of openness to share the good news with anyone who will hear it.

Y’all come!

Love you,

Larry