I hope you will be able to join us today at 2:30 for our Homecoming celebration. Our friend Jay Gibson of Harvest Oaks Church will give the message, and we will have a cookout-themed meal after the service. My apologies to anyone who should have been told sooner. We failed to send out invitations this year.
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.31
I have some cool news for you today. Our AC is fixed, and there was no cost to the church. I’m here behind this keyboard trying to come up with just the right churchified language, but I think a simple “thank you” will do, Yes, to God who is the ultimate source of all good things, but also to Mr. Javier Ramirez of Sunnyvale FBC who provided the labor and the part.
Now, we’re ready for Homecoming, which is just a week from tomorrow on September 8. It will be a less extravagant celebration than we have had in years past, but a celebration just the same. Whether you’re looking for a blast from your past or a new home to come to, I hope you’ll join us. But why wait? Come on in this week and let’s worship together.
A few years ago, I was praying, writing it down as I sometimes do, looking for inspiration for my next message. I started thinking about what I would do if things changed in the future. There was a good chance I could be laid off. How would I care for Linda? What about the church?
I sat there for a minute, then the story of Martha and Mary from Luke 10:38-42 came into my head. I started to write down my thanks for the idea for a message, but that it didn’t have much to do with what I was just praying about. Then it hit me. It had everything to do with it. The circumstances are different, but the message is the same. In that moment He might have said to me, “Larry, Larry, ‘you are worried and distracted by many things; but only one thing is necessary.”
Our lives are full of distractions. It’s not that they aren’t important. Jesus didn’t say that what Martha was doing didn’t need doing, though I wonder if she felt that way at the moment. The truth is, we wouldn’t function very well without the Marthas among us making sure everything gets done and practical needs are met. Martha was a faithful servant, and Jesus loved her as much as He did her sister Mary and brother Lazarus, whom he would later raise from the dead.
The question that came into my mind as i read this story was, “why did Luke, lead by the Holy Spirit, feel it important that we read about this incident. We have so little recorded of what Jesus said and did. Every detail has been given to us for at least one reason. I think there are several here, but to put it in a few words, it might be that we know more about who Jesus is and know that there is no better think than to be His disciple. Only one thing is necessary. Let us choose the good part.
I did lose that job, and the one after that, but we were provided for and now I have an even better one. The time off was put to good use. I didn’t need to worry about anything. I just needed to listen to Jesus.
Can you hear Him calling you? Come join us! We meet at 2:30, so you don’t even have to get up early.
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.30
First, I would ask that you all pray for Priscilla. I spoke with her today and she is still not feeling well at all. The doctors have been running tests and she has another appointment on Monday morning. She said she would try to join us tomorrow but doesn’t know if she will be able.
We also need to address the rear air conditioning before Homecoming in a couple of weeks. The breaker will not stay on. It is probably a simple fix at least to get it back to working as well as it will. The sanctuary is fine, and I’m looking forward to seeing you there tomorrow.
How often do you hear the word, repent. It just doesn’t come up in normal conversation. We mostly hear it in church, and even there in many cases not as often as we should. One of the ladies who used to attend would stop me every time I used the word to ask me what it meant. I don’t know if because of her condition she truly could not remember from the last time or if she was making another statement entirely, but some questions only God can answer.
It is something we can all use reminding about from time to time. Repentance is an essential part of the message. We better know what it means. We love to share, and rightly so, of how Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. We urge people to accept Him, but if we leave out repentance, we have accomplished nothing at all. The hearer is left in the same condition as we found him, destined for Hell. Many people who attend church and do all the “right things” are in no better condition. They have never truly changed direction.
Once when Jesus was teaching, some people came up and told him about how King Herod had killed some worshipers even as they were making their sacrifices. Jesus asked them if they supposed these people to be worse sinners than everyone else. He says, “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3) He then offers a second example with the same conclusion. Jesus preached a message of repentance. His disciples preached a message of repentance. So did John the Baptist, and so did the early church. God is good and full of mercy. He will wait, but He will not wait forever. Our passage this week is from Luke 13:1-9.
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.29
I am looking forward to seeing you all today, though I am not sure who will be there. At last report Pris was not feeling well. Keep her in prayer. It may be a little warm today as I can only be so early. So bring your cool spirit and we’ll worship our Lord together and be thankful we can.
We see the world spiraling downward around us and think the end is surely near, but is it? We wouldn’t be the first to think so. Throughout the centuries, others have been just as certain, and they’ve all been proven wrong. Our modern day “prophets” aren’t having any more success in their predictions. I am beginning to question some of the beliefs common in today’s evangelical circles regarding the end times. That questioning for me only drives home even more forcefully the words of Jesus as he calls us to be alert and “stay awake!” We should not presume to know the things that we are explicitly told that we cannot know, but we are exhorted to observe the season. We must stay awake, vigilant, and ready to welcome our master home. Our text this week will be from Mark 13, focusing on verses 33-37.
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.28
I have already mentioned how blessed I feel to be a part of this body. I realized something else as I was thinking about you all this week. There is not one of us who regularly attend services who is not involved in some way with doing good for others. I know there are just a few of us right now, but that level of participation is a rare thing. It brings me great joy.
Yet i know, if for no other reason than that we are all still in the sanctification process, that we all have areas in our lives where we fall short. Some things we think we just can’t do, but when our source is the power that created the universe, is there ever room for “I can’t?” Maybe, but not when it comes to doing what He wants you to do, whether it involves something He’s given you specifically or simply doing what is right.
Let’s take a closer look at a passage that contains one of our favorite verses, Philippians 4:11-13. Verse 13 is the one we all know. I’ve included the others to provide some context. The context is key to our understanding. Paul’s letter to the Philippians contains some very useful advice for changing the way we think so that through the power of God, “I can’t” becomes “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
I do feel the need to point out that I am focusing very narrowly on some helpful concepts in this text and not attempting to fully explain the primary lines of thought in this letter. For that, we will need to begin at the beginning and make a careful study, which we may do at some future date.
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.27
It’s hot outside, but there are cool things happening at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple. I feel so blessed to have such a faithful church family. This wouldn’t be the place to call out exactly who you are and what you’re doing, but I think you’re awesome, and it’s because you serve an awesome God.
Last week I spoke to you abut the importance of fruit in our lives. We’re expected to produce good fruit, and we can gain insight into those who would lead us by examining the kind of fruit they produce. One of the passages we read was from Matthew 12:33-37. This week, I want to dive a little deeper into that passage. They say talk is cheap, but Jesus says otherwise. Your words matter. They reveal who you are. They can do great harm, and they can do great good. Jesus went so far as to say, “by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” That should make us think before we speak.
There’s one thing I know I have no problem saying. That is that i want to see you there on Sunday!
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.26
This is an election year, and unless you’ve been living in a cave somewhere, I didn’t need to tell you that. We are perpetually pelted with political proclamations of how one candidate is the best and the opposing candidate is the worst. You can’t escape it. It’s in your mail box, on your TV, on your social media feeds and even in your text messages! I report all of the texts as junk, even for the candidates I like, as there’s no way to tell the difference between what might be a legitimate message and a scam designed to part you from more than a small donation.
So, how do we know what to believe? That question isn’t limited to politics. We have so many denominations in part because every little detail of Christian theology has been magnified by some group or other into a pivotal issue that defines who is really Christian or at least faithful and who is not.
Please understand, I believe the truth is knowable and cannot be disputed once established, but I do not suppose that I or anyone else on this earth knows all of it. Only God is that smart. He defines what truth is. We’ll always have disagreements, and probably one of us is right or maybe all of us are wrong. But Jesus did give us a way to help determine who is telling the truth. It works on profits, preachers, and politicians too!
He said they will be known by their fruit. Is what they say demonstrably true or false? Do their words stir up strife or bring peace? Do they inspire good works? When the spotlights are off, are they the same person? What about our own lives? Are we producing good fruit or bad fruit? By what measure do we judge it? We will start reading in Matthew 7:15-20 and explore the scripture to answer these questions.
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.25
Who are you? It’s a simple question that may have a very complicated answer. If we don’t know each other, I might simply be asking your name. If we do know each other, you might find the question invasive, offensive, or both, but it is a question we all need to answer for ourselves. The way we perceive ourselves will affect the choices we make, and the way we react to people and circumstances around us. Much about who we are may change as we mature and experience life, but there are some things that should never change.
We all begin life as sinners. The Bible is pretty plain about that (Romans 3:10,23.) Every one of us would be without hope if Jesus had not paid the price for us. But we know that He did, and at the moment we give our hearts to Him, we are reborn. We have become, as Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 5:17, new creations.
Why, then, do so many Christians still refer to themselves as sinners? Paul writes in Romans Chapter 6 that we are dead to sin. Howe can we be dead to sin and still be sinners? No one honestly believes he stopped committing sins at the moment of salvation. In fact, the more we come to understand what it is to live a holy life, the more of our own sins we discover. We will struggle against the desires of our flesh as long as we inhabit these earthly bodies. But when Jesus becomes our Lord, we get a new identity, and that is not as a sinner, but as a saint.
It is important for us to internalize this truth, because it will strengthen our ability to withstand temptation. If you think of yourself as a sinner, you will be more likely to come to an accommodation with sin. If it’s who you are, then what’s the use of fighting it? We are defeated before we even join the battle. But if we think of ourselves as saints, sanctified not by our own effort but by the blood of Jesus, we can stand firm against the attacks of the enemy and the perils of living in a fallen world. Do you know who you are?
Whoever you are, I would be delighted to have you join us as we gather to worship our Lord and study His word. We meet at 2:30 on Sundays, so you don’t even have to get up early. See you there!
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.24
This week, we celebrated our independence as a nation. I hope that we also took a moment to reflect on what that freedom cost, and the continue cost of keeping it. Each of us is charged with defending that freedom. It was bought with blood and bullets. It is maintained with brains and ballots. Please be educated and prepared when the time comes, and don’t forget your Bible.
We consider freedom a core value in the United States, but what does freedom mean? Is it absolute? That would be chaos. With freedom comes responsibility. It is as true in our public life as it is in our personal lives. As Christians, we often speak of our freedom in Christ. We are not in bondage to sin. We are not in bondage to a set of rules that could never save us. But does that mean we can do as we please? Paul would disagree. In Chapter 14 of his letter to the Romans, he addresses this issue as it relates to some of the controversies of his day. We may not struggle with the same specifics, but the principles that he teaches will certainly apply to us.
I hope you can join us as we continue to celebrate this great country in which we are blessed to live, thank God, who made it possible, and pray that we will return to Him before it is too late.
love to you all
The Bartimaeus Blog 2024.23
I love our Fifth Sunday Fellowship. We talked last month about not doing it this time because we did something around Memorial Day last month, but I’m glad we decided to go ahead. Our time together is limited, and that makes these times more precious. It’s also a great opportunity to invite a friend. After the service, we’ll move the the back for communion as the early church knew it, minus the actual wine. 🙂 Well, I guess they probably wouldn’t have had spaghetti either, but they did share a meal, so we will too.
When you hear the phrase, “mind control,” You might think of one of the various cult leaders that have made the news over the years. Or, if you’re a sci-fi geek like me, maybe you think of any number of dystopian societies envisioned by authors wishing to make a statement of their own through the medium of fiction. We speak of people being brainwashed. We know that what we believe to be true affects how we think and act.
It is very important for us to understand that we are the ones who must be in control of our minds. We can choose what and how to think. The seeds we cultivate in our minds will produce fruit in our lives, so what will we choose? Will we choose truth or lies, good or evil, that which builds up, or that which tears down? Paul writes of being transformed by the renewing of our minds. We’ll read from Romans 11:33-12:2. We will focus our attention on 12:2, but a little context is necessary to show just how vital this concept is for us.
So, think about joining us at 2:30 on Sunday! 🙂