Tomorrow will be a nice day but the building may be a little cooler than you are used to. You may want to bring a sweater if you think you might want it. We’ll get it fixed for next week.
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Blessings to you, chosen and beloved of God. My prayer for us this week is that we grow strong together, never getting too comfortable with where we are and always seeking to know and do His will. Here’s what’s hot this week.
The big surprise last Sunday was getting to see Teresa. It’s a bit of a challenge for her to come but she always brings her smile. Priscilla was home sick. Keep her and Kimi in your prayers. Linda shared an inspiring Sunday school lesson based on the story of Charlotte Elliott, author of the well loved hymn, “Just as I Am.” It shows us that we never know how God is going to use what we do. Never think you have too little to offer or that your circumstances prevent you from contributing something big to God’s kingdom. That was part of my message as well. Give what you have, and you will not lose your reward.
That brings us to this Sunday’s topic. Jesus’s message to the church at Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) is one of the better known of the seven that we have studied over the past few weeks because of its stark symbolism and its relevance to the culture in which we live. I wouldn’t say we are particularly comfortable right now at BBT. It has been a tough season. However I believe better times are coming, and this passage serves as a warning. Don’t get too comfortable. Don’t get too proud. When things are going well, it’s time to be all the more vigilant. The temptation will be to relax and take it all in, thinking that somehow we deserve it. Everything we have had, everything we have, and everything we will have is by His grace. Let us never forget that.
Then He ends with another promise for the overcomer, and this may be the most amazing yet. “‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (3:21) That reads a little like something we’ve seen before, but on a whole new level. What does He mean? Let’s find out together!
Love y’all!
Larry
The Bartimaeus Blog 2019.41
Hey, all you overcomers out there! Look alive,because you don’t want to miss what’s coming up! Keep reading to find out.
Sometimes it’s nice just to have everything go as planned. I enjoyed that last Sunday. I also appreciated Priscilla’s quiet exhortation to listen for the Holy Spirit’s leading and then obey. That last worship song was great. I hope you were blessed by the message as well, because I was surprised by the joy I found in sharing it with you. Something special is beginning to happen among us, and I pray that we will come together in unity to accomplish His mission for our church.
When next we meet, Linda will have something special to share with us and I will be continuing our study of Jesus’s messages to the seven churches. We will examine the message to the church in Philadelphia. No, not the one in Pennsylvania. 🙂 This is the original Philadelphia, named for two founding brothers who showed uncommon devotion to each other. Thus comes the name meaning city of brotherly love.
This is one of the churches for which Jesus had no stern words. He praised them for having a little power, faithfulness, and obedience. Furthermore, he promises them reward. He does not make clear what specific form these rewards would take. Some scholars have interpreted this passage as a statement of things to occur just before His return, but to do so violates the consistency of the broader text. The messages we have already considered were clearly meant for the time in which they were given. There is no reason to change direction here other than the difficulty of understanding the text in the same light. Finally, he ends as before with a promise to the overcomer. It is a message of permanence and belonging. Come explore this with us and be blessed! The text is found in Revelation 3:7-13.
Remember each other in your prayers as we finish the week. Let each other know that you care. The prayer requests will give you a chronicle of all that we have faced lately. I also know that Priscilla is not feeling well right now. Remember the Potts family and their current house guests and pray for a resolution that is good for all.
See you Sunday.
Love y’all,
Larry
The Bartimaeus Blog 2019.40
Good day to you, loved ones. My prayer for us this week is that we grow in love and unity. Here is your scoop.
I was so glad to see almost everyone back last Sunday. I’m looking forward to the rest being able to come back and to adding more! We had some challenges, but I appreciate how Priscilla worked to bring peace and focus us on the Lord we came to worship. Everyone is facing tough situations right now. Let’s pray for and encourage each other.
Our next study contains a warning concerning what will happen if we forget what we’re about. I haven’t looked into the statistics, but i think it is probably how most churches that cease to exist come to that place. There’s no dramatic event, no catastrophe, no scandal. They just fade away and die. There comes a point when it isn’t sustainable anymore and the church closes its doors for the last time. That is not going to be us!
The church in Sardis apparently had a good reputation. It was thought to be alive and thriving, but Jesus didn’t agree. He said, “but you are dead.” Unlike the messages we’ve studied so far, He doesn’t provide much in the way of specifics. We only know that he did not find their “deeds completed in the sight of My God,” (Rev. 3:2) and that they had been tainted by some kind of sin (Rev. 3:4). Yet he holds out hope if they will repent. It is the hope of all who are His. There’s much more here, and I hope you’ll join us as we look into it. We’ll be in Revelation 3:1-6.
Love y’all!
Larry
The Bartimaeus Blog 2019.39
Heads up overcomers! Here comes your news from BBT! My prayer for us this week is that we grow to know our Lord for who He truly is. His judgment is right and true. His love is beyond measure.
This week began with our 5th Sunday Fellowship. Again thank you everyone for helping to make it happen. Let’s not miss these opportunities and make the most of the limited time we can share with each other. When we share a meal together this way, we are participating in something much more like the “Lord’s Supper” of the early church than when we break out the cups and crackers. Let us consider these events in that light as we read the relevant passages in our studies. May we show one another the same love that He has shown to us.
It was good to have Priscilla back among us. Keep praying for Kimi. I don’t know anyone in the church right now who is not facing some kind of challenge. Let’s encourage each other and pray for each other. We will see the victory. God is not finished with us yet.
On Sunday I will continue our study from the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation with Rev. 2:18-29. By now we should be noticing some recurring themes in these messages to the seven churches. Among them are faithfulness in the face of adversity or persecution, Strong warnings against toleration of elements in the church that lead people to sin, and reward for those who remain faithful to the end. In His message to the church at Thyatira, Jesus delivers a strong word of warning along with an an extravagant promise. Come and explore with us the implications of both for us today.
Love y’all!
Larry
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Greetings overcomers! My prayer for you this week is that you stand firm against evil and embrace truth. Here’s the news from BBT.
Keep Priscilla and Kimi in your prayers. Priscilla was already planning to be away last week to attend a memorial for a family member, but I don’t know that she made it because of her knee pain and Kimi’s needs. As of this writing I don’t know if we will see them tomorrow or not because she didn’t, but she was going to try to resume some activity last time we talked. Kelvin misses everyone and keeps checking in to see if he will be able to come. I just spoke with Lupe and she seems to be doing well. She is hoping to be able to come to church on Sunday.
We got a treat last week when Luigi Mathilda gave his testimony during the Sunday school session. He is our latest assistant from DTS’s Agape program. There were many good life lessons to be learned from what he said. You can see it on Facebook but the podcast audio is much better.
This Sunday, we’ll continue with our study of Jesus’s messages to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. The third message is found in Rev 2:12-17 to the church at Pergamum. Jesus acknowledges the church’s faithfulness in the midst of intense persecution, but then he delivers a warning. Put another way, it might read, “Remove the heretics from your church, or I will!” Then he says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.” (v.17) What does that mean? Is it literal? Come find out!
This is also a 5th Sunday and you know what that means. We’ll be sharing a meal after the service. I hope you’ll be joining us and bringing a friend.
Love y’all!
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Blessings to you, brothers and sisters in the Lord. My prayer for you this week is that your faith remains strong in the face of adversity. Here’s what’s happening at BBT.
We were missing several people last week. Priscilla was out because of her knee problems. She had the surgery and it went well. Kimi, however, had another seizure and was taken to the hospital on Thursday. As of this morning I do not have an update. Cindy kept Tim home to make sure he was up for his appointment this week. Keep them in your prayers as well.
Linda shared with us a way to deepen our devotional time. I hope we’re all making time each day for communion with the Holy Spirit. I began a short series based on Jesus’s messages to the churches found in Revelation, chapters 2-3.
This Sunday, we’ll be in Revelation 2:8-11. This is the message to the church at Smyrna. This is one where Jesus did not have anything bad to say about the church, but he did have what we might call bad news. They were in for some heavy persecution. His message to them, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” There are just a few verses here, but there is much to learn from them. I hope you will join us as we continue our study.
Pray for each other, encourage each other. Come be with each other. We are incomplete when you are not with us.
Love y’all!
Larry
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Blessings to you, loved ones. My prayer for you this week is that you find new strength in your first love, holding on to that which is good and restoring the things which have been broken. Read on to find out what’s coming up.
We had a wonderful time last week with our homecoming celebration. We saw some old friends and made some new ones. Special thanks to everyone who pitched in to make it a success. Because of Cindy’s efforts and those who brought additional desserts and sides we had plenty of food with some to spare for the 5th Sunday fellowship. We are also grateful to Still Blessed for providing the music.
My dad, Larry Thacker Sr., brought the message. That was a special moment for both of us. I asked him to speak on the Biblical foundations and purpose for the form of corporate worship often seen in nondenominational churches. Having grown up listening to him, sometimes more than others, I had some idea what he was going to say, but I really appreciated the way he did it this time. He not only described the purpose and symbolism, but the reason why we are able to experience the presence of the holy Spirit in this special way. The next time we have a service like that, we’ll all understand what we’re doing and why. We have the entire service on Facebook and in the podcast.
Can you imagine getting a letter straight from God? Yes, we do have lots of them in the form of our Bible, but what if he wrote a letter directly to you? What do you think it would say? What about our church? What would a letter from Jesus look like if it were written to us? That’s exactly what happened to the seven churches named in the book of Revelation.
This Sunday I plan to begin a short series of messages from Revelation, Chapters 2-3. Here John writes down messages to seven churches, delivered from the mouth of Jesus Himself! Most contain both praise and warnings. Others contain only praise. Each ends with a promise “to him who overcomes.” In order to understand these promises, we must understand the context provided by each message. They will guide us as a church and as individuals.
We begin with the church at Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7.) Jesus has many good things to say of this church, but one big problem. He says, But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” The people are given a choice, “Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.” In other words, if they did not repent, they would no longer be allowed to exist as a church. The Lord would personally see to it. These other things are good, but good things are not enough. If they returned to doing the works they did at first, but without love or repentance, it would still not be enough. It is relationship that He seeks, and the works come out of that relationship.
Then we have the promise. For those who overcome, for those who stay true, there is the promise of eternal life. You might remember the tree of life from the book of Genesis. It was in the garden of Eden and was denied to man once he fell (Gen 3:22-23). Jesus promises here restoration, back to the way it was supposed to be from the beginning. He is the one who made it possible.
I hope you’ll join us as we learn and grow together. Keep praying for each other. See you Sunday.
Love y’all!
Larry
The Bartimaeus Blog 2019.35: Happy Homecoming!
I’m so happy! Read on to find out why!
This Sunday will be Homecoming. I’ve been looking forward to this almost since the last one. It’s going to be special for me because my father, Larry Thacker Sr. has agreed to preach our message. Lord willing, he’ll be speaking on the topic of worship. He will explain the scriptural foundations and purpose of corporate worship that is conducted differently than many of us are used to. We’ve had people come in and try to lead us in that direction before, but it helps when we all understand the goal. Many of us, regardless of preference or background, are just doing things the way we always have, but there are reasons behind every tradition. Usually they are good ones, but the further away we get from their origin, the more likely we are to forget why we have them. We need not discard one in favor of the other. We can engage in all of them as the Spirit leads.
But wait! There’s more! Thanks to Cathy, we will have special music for this special day. Local southern gospel group, Still Blessed, will be providing our music for the afternoon. And as always there will be good food after the service.
Don’t forget that we’ve moved the start time to 2:00pm for this Sunday. Adjust your transportation plans accordingly. This way more people who would usually be involved at their own churches can come and join us. Don’t miss out! Come and be blessed!
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Blessings to you, loved ones. My prayer for you this week is for a new revelation of God’s mercy and love. Don’t be the last to know what’s going on at BBT. Keep reading.
It was good to see some folks back with us that we have been missing. We miss all of you when you’re not with us. Don and Brenda did get in touch with Anita. She is alright but has not been feeling well. Keep Kimi in your prayers. I misunderstood where she was in the process last wee, but she did see a doctor and hopefully more tests will be done soon to identify the scope of the problem. Our prayer is that by the time that gets done there’s nothing to see and the power our God is revealed to all involved. I was encouraged to hear Priscilla speak in the midst of this, affirming trust in God and encouraging us all from the scriptures as she so often does.
Last Sunday, I shared from the story of Jesus’s interaction with the man we know as the “rich young ruler.” In Mark’s gospel, the narrative ends with this statement, “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.” (10:31) But Matthew adds more. The same phrase is found in Matthew 19:30, and Chapter 20 begins with the parable of the vineyard owner who keeps going out and recruiting more workers, then settles with all of them at the end of the day in a way that makes some of them upset.
Jesus begins by saying, “the kingdom of heaven is like…” This opening is found in many of the parables recorded by Matthew where He taught key principles of God’s kingdom. Verse 16 of Chapter 20 repeats 19:30. Jesus is further illustrating the same point we explored last week. So let’s look at it from this new angle and see what else we learn. Our text is from Matthew 20:1-16.
Come join us and bring someone with you!
Love y’all,
Larry