Bartimaeus Baptist Temple

Blessings to you, family and friends.  My prayer for you during this time is that you take courage from the knowledge that our God is still in control.  We have nothing to fear.  Our meeting this Sunday will be online only.  Read on for details.

I was so excited to have Priscilla and Kimi back in church last week!  We’ve missed them.  She’s not cleared to drive the bus just yet, but soon we’ll have everyone back!  She was able to bring Anita.  we also got to see Sandra.  It was heartening to see us back on the way up.

Many churches had already stopped meeting, but I wasn’t ready to give in.  You all apparently weren’t either and for that I am glad.  Fear will not take control of our lives.  Nevertheless, things have changed this week.  Cases of the virus continue to rise, though part of that is from the fact that we have more testing available and thus more positive diagnoses.  Our governor has issued an executive order limiting groups of people to no more than 10.  I learned after having already spoken to most of you that he may not have intended it to apply to churches out of concern that it would be beyond his authority.  I am not at all sure we know the whole truth about what is going on right now, but until we know more, we will comply.  At this point in time, I think that is in line with Biblical teaching.  We do have quite a few people who are already facing health challenges and certainly do not want to expose them to something that could be fatal for them.

We will have an abbreviated online service beginning at our usual time of 2:30.  We will have a time of prayer, and I will deliver a message.  I will live-stream from our Facebook page.  Linda will be available to help with taking your online comments if you would like to interact with us during the prayer.  You may also submit praise reports and prayer requests directly here on the web site or even from the Facebook page.  This will be our first try at live interaction, so please forgive us if things don’t go as planned.  If you know someone who might not be comfortable accessing us online, maybe you could call them and let them hear over the phone.  If this situation continues, we’ll look into a conference line option that might work better in light of our particular challenges.

As we look around us right now, we see a lot of fear.  People are cleaning out store shelves as if preparing for the apocalypse.  Restaurants are closed, events are canceled, and the media breathlessly covers each new revelation with no sense of proportion.  How much of this is warranted?  The answer depends on who you ask, but I wonder if we are not seeing an illustration of the disabling power of unchecked fear writ large across the whole world.

Is there reason for concern?  Absolutely!  The virus is real and it can be fatal, especially for those who are elderly and/or already facing health challenges.  Apparently people can carry and spread it without showing any symptoms themselves.  To ignore these facts is to be irresponsible and perhaps to “put the Lord our God to the test.”  But what is a reasonable response?

I’m not sure shutting down the society and ruining the economy was really necessary.  I suspect that our fear has caused us to overreact.  I could be wrong about that, but one thing I do know.  We who trust in our creator have no reason to fear.  Remember the story of the disciples crossing the lake when a storm came up?  This is the one where Jesus was asleep in the boat.  They were afraid they were going to die.  That fear would not seem unreasonable under the circumstances, except for that one little detail.  God Himself was with them in that boat!  That changed everything!  (Luke 8:22-25)

We may be headed for some hard times.  I hope that this is no more than it seems, the danger will pass, and we will recover, but I have not been given any insight into the future.  But whatever storm we face, Jesus is in our boat and we have nothing to fear.  Let the wisdom of His Holy Spirit guide you.  Be a source of strength and love to those around you.

I hope you will join us on Sunday at 2:30 and be encouraged.  If you need to talk, call me.

Love y’all!

Larry

Blessings to you, loved ones.  My prayer for you this week is that you are filled with the peace of God and that you do not lose heart, but trust in our good Father to do all that He has promised.  Here’s what’s coming up.

I always try to be mindful of people’s privacy when sharing online.  Forgive the vagary, but I think this says too much that is good about what God does in this little church to remain completely silent.  Readers will have gathered from last week’s post that something must have happened that was not good.  It made me angry, and I was ready to administer swift justice, but as I prepared the message, God began to show me the real nature of “tough love.”  Then I saw it in practice by the actions of those who were wronged.  I am humbled and honored to be among people of such strong conviction  and determination to do what they believe is right regardless of what others may think.

What is justice?  Who defines it?  We all have our own ideas about it, but we hold much in common with people around the world.  That sense of justice comes built into all of us.  It is part of being made in God’s image.  This Sunday, we will turn our attention to one of those passages that may bring comfort or consternation depending on our belief and experience.

I’m pretty sure we all have them, those verses that we read and we know they are truth because we believe in God’s word, but the reality we are in doesn’t seem to match.  Luke 18:1-8 is one of those passages for me.  It is the parable Jesus told of the unjust judge.  Luke writes that Jesus shared this story, “to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” (v. 1)  In the story, the unrighteous judge grants justice to a persistent widow because she will not stop pestering him until he does.  Jesus concludes with this, “now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (7-8)  The implication is, if even an unjust judge will do the right thing because of someone’s persistence, how much more will our good Father in Heaven!

How many of us have been frustrated, even angry with God because He did not conform to our idea of justice?  How many of us still wonder when the trials will end?  If this is “quickly,” please don’t tell me something will take a long time!  How can we take Jesus at His word here?  What about those prayers that never got an answer?  What about the injustice we’ve already endured?  I wish I could answer all of your questions, but only God has all the answers.  He will reveal them or not on His own time.  But clearly He meant for us to be encouraged by these words, so let’s take a closer look at them.

Don’t forget to move your clocks forward on Saturday night.  See you Sunday.

Love y’all!

Larry

Good day to you, loved ones.  Here’s what’s new.

We sure miss all of you who have not been able to come.  Things really are not the same without you.  The ride was a little rough, but we got through the service last week and trust that the Lord accomplished His purposes.  The podcasts are up and the video is on Facebook if you would like to catch up on the lessons.  I’ve left messages but haven’t connected with anyone yet for updates on the various challenges we’re facing.

This week, the message should sound familiar.  That’s because we say it all the time in various ways.  I like to end the service with it, “You have been blessed. Go be a blessing.”  It’s on the closing slide of just about all of our overheads.  we often close the prayer request posts with it.  What are we saying?  What does it mean?

I remember when I heard it for the first time.  It was introduced as a concept in a Bible study I was attending.  The text was Genesis 12:1-3.  This is god’s commission to Abraham, still Abram at the time, calling him out to the place that God would show him.  God promises to bless him and make of him a great nation, but that’s not the best part.  He says that through Abram all the nations of the world would be blessed.  That is the purpose of God’s blessing.  Sure, he delights in giving good things to His children, but He has a higher purpose in mind.  He blesses us so that we might in turn be a blessing to others.  It’s part of His grand design.  It’s because we are made in His image and thus find our fulfillment in doing the kind of thing that He does and loving as He loves.

It would bless me to see you tomorrow.

Love y’all!

Larry

Blessings to you, loved ones.  I pray this finds you well, rejoicing in the Lord and pursuing that for which He created you.  Here’s you’re weekly chronicle.

Last Sunday was the first time since I began preaching every Sunday that I didn’t make it to church, and it felt so wrong, even though I think it was the right decision.  I wish I didn’t have to do that again any time soon, but it is likely the same situation will occur on May 3.  I hope you all enjoyed Steve’s message.  I have had another very busy workweek so I have only heard a few minutes of it myself, but I appreciated what I heard and look forward to hearing the rest of it.  Thanks to Cindy and Tim, the video is on Facebook and the podcast is here.  The audio is enhanced on the podcast to make it easier to hear.

Thanks to everyone who helped keep things moving in my absence.  Thank you, Brenda and Don, for stopping by to pick up the handouts.  I understand we had some unexpected technical difficulties, but I am encouraged that everyone pitched in.  I don’t know where we stand this week, but I’ll come prepared with backup plans.

This Sunday, i want to revisit a topic which may have been the subject of my first ever message at BBT.  I;m going to say some things you’ve definitely heard me say before, but I think these concepts are worth repeating, because they can change your life.

When God created Adam and Eve, Genesis 1:27 tells us that he created them “in His own image.”  What does that mean?  If we truly believed that of ourselves, how might it change the way we think and the things we do?  To say that we are like God sounds blasphemous.  Isn’t that the lure used by Satan himself in the garden?  Yet John the disciple tells us that we will be like Jesus (1Jn. 3:2.)  It was Satan’s sin to imagine that He could be God’s equal, but being like and being are two different things.  I am like my father in many ways, but we are not the same person.  He will always be my father and I will always be his son.

Let’s explore what it means for us that we are created in the image of God.   I am really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Love y’all!

Larry

Blessings to you, friends and family of BBT.  I pray this finds you drawing closer to our Lord for strength to overcome life’s challenges.  I sure would like to see you at church on Sunday.  God never meant for us to do this alone.  Keep reading to find out what’s coming next.

WE sure missed Priscilla and Kimi last week.  Keep Priscilla in your prayers as she has several weeks of recovery ahead of her.  She will not be able to drive for at least three weeks,.  As things stand right now, that means the bus won’t be running for some time.

Last Sunday, Linda shared with us a treasure from our past.  It may well be the only recording we have of Arvella as she taught what we think was her last lesson.  Linda and I had not yet been at the church a year when that was made.  We have a lot fewer people now, and one might wonder if we have a future.

I believe we do.  I believe that God gave us a special message a couple of weeks ago.  I believe He will raise us up and that we will begin to see new and better things.  But one might be forgiven some doubt, looking at us now.  So, how do we know if a message is truly coming from God?  Does He even do that anymore?  Certainly enough people have claimed to hear Him.  How can we know?

We have always taught that everything should be checked against God’s word.  That goes for anything a preacher tells you.  That goes for anything you read, and anything that you think that god might be telling you.  It especially goes for someone telling you that they have heard directly from the Lord.  If it contradicts the written word, it is not from God.

If it passes that test, there is still a question whether it is in fact a word from god for the moment we are in.  Truth will always serve us well, but to know what God is saying right now, we need a relationship.  We need to be able to hear from the Holy Spirit, who will guide us “into all truth.”

I can’t do that for you, but I can put my own words under the microscope of God’s word.  Will they hold up?  Did they really come from Him?  If I didn’t think so, I would not have said them, but let’s see if the written Word will provide them with any foundation.

We’ll take our queue from the Bereans.  When Paul came to their Synagogue and began sharing the good news that their promised messiah had come, they eagerly searched the scriptures to see if what Paul was telling them was true (Acts 17:10-12).  As a result, many of them believed.  Now we already have the gospel, but this is the same attitude that we should have when someone brings us a message.  Check the book.  If it checks out, rejoice in the truth that God has revealed to you.  If it doesn’t, you have a false prophet in your midst, though possibly well intentioned.

I hope you’ll be joining us as we seek to hear from the Lord and act on what we hear.

Love to you all,

Larry