Bartimaeus Baptist Temple

blessings to you.  Here’s your weekly update.

We had a delightful homecoming celebration last Sunday.  We had a good crowd and as always good food.  Our homecoming speakers this year came from the home team, and they did a great job.  Sticking with the theme, Priscilla taught us from the story of the prodigal son and Pastor David showed us how we need to remember the good that God has done for us and let that strengthen our faith.  Keep ruth in your prayers.  I do not have an update on her but we sure missed her.  A couple of us had prepared blessings especially for her.

Last week, I was reading from the book of Job.  Those who have read it know that it is not one of the easier things in the Bible to read.  You might remember that it gives the account of a man named Job who was righteous and also very prosperous.  God gave Satan permission to take away everything, including Job’s health.  Most of the book is a long conversation between Job and the friends who came supposedly to comfort him.  As you read, you find that they were not much comfort.  In the end, Job is restored to even more than he had before, but the book raises hard questions.  Some are obvious.  Others only become apparent when the text is studied.  This is one of those times when a key verse is difficult to choose, but I’ll begin with the passage that prompted one of my questions.  It’s from Job 42:7-10.  In verse 7, God rebukes Job’s three friends because they have not spoken of Him what is right as Job has.  However, when you read their words, it is difficult to find fault with the things they actually said about God.  You can read very similar statements in the psalms and the proverbs.  So what is the problem?  I endeavored to find out.  In the process, I found something amazing.  I think I understand what their problem was, but more importantly, I found Jesus!

I hope you’ll come and join us.  Don’t let the subject scare you off.  I think you’ll be surprised.

Larry

Blessings to you, family and friends.  Here’s your weekly update.  If you wonder why I always start that way, it’s because of the way our posts get sent to Facebook.  It’s helpful to start out with something that lets the reader know what the post is about.

Last week was great!  Not only did we find Kelly, but also Kelvin.  It was good to have them back with us.  Ruth was feeling much better and surprised me by jumping out of her seat to get my bag when I asked where it was.  Kim was also moving better.  Debra has rejoined us too! It just felt like we are coming back after a really tough season.  Once Linda and John are back it’ll really feel like we’re recovering.  Priscilla showed us things that we can do to please God.  Pastor David taught us that when we fear God we don’t need to fear anything else.

This week I want to speak from a passage and especially a verse that we can all probably quote.  I bet most of us have also had it quoted at us, and may have had less than righteous thoughts toward the person quoting it.  It’s one of the favorites of the suffering and of those who hope to offer some comfort to them.  It tells us that ” God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Now if we quote that whole thing, we might get a sense of what it is really saying, but how often have we heard just “all things work together for good”?  That turns the truth into a dangerous lie.  To provide context for this verse, we really need several chapters, but in the interest of time we’ll just read Romans 8:28-39.  “All things” is a recurring concept in these verses.  Let’s look at what that means.  Come and be encourage, and don’t let anyone discourage you from hanging onto the truth in that first verse.  I recall it frequently when I need help..

We were contacted on the web site by someone who used to come years ago and they would like to come back.  I got a chance to invite someone I met by chance, yeah right, this week who lives near the church and seemed interested in coming.  You come too and let’s fill up that sanctuary!

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Larry

Blessings to you, family and friends.  Here’s your weekly update.

We had a wonderful time last week!  We saw some faces we haven’t seen in a while.  It was especially good to have Debra able to be back with us.  Kim was also able to join us!  Some friends of the Pastor, John and Nancy Vargas,  came to visit and brought along cookies to share with everyone.  We spent time praying for each other during Priscilla’s Sunday school lesson and Pastor David spoke about the necessity of repentance.  We were still missing some people.  Peep everyone in your prayers.  I don’t know anyone in the church that isn’t facing some difficulty right now.

This week Linda and I have the honor of speaking to you again.  I want to talk about King David.  I don’t know, but I think he’s probably the best known Bible character besides Jesus Himself.  From childhood we hear about how he killed Goliath.  He is called a man after God’s own heart.  He becomes the king of Israel and God promises him that His kingdom will last forever.  Yet his record is not without blemish.  We also know the story of Bathsheba.  He was a warrior, prophet, singer-songwriter, musician, shepherd, and king.  I think anyone alive today trying to claim “most interesting man in the world” faces some stiff competition from King David.  His bio reads like an adventure novel.  But what makes David so important is not the life he lived.  It is that God chose him to fulfill the promises He made to Israel.  Our theme is drawn from 2 Samuel 7:8-16.  King David pre-figures Jesus for us in some very special ways.  I hope you’ll come and join us as we look into the awesome work of God through his story.

Larry

Blessings to you, family and friends of Bartimaeus Baptist Temple.  Here’s your update for this week.

We had a short service last Sunday because Priscilla was with Kim after her fall and Pastor David wanted to get back to them.  Keep praying for her recovery.  Pastor David taught us about the goodness of our Father God through the story of Hagar and Ishmael.

This Sunday, I want to continue a series of lessons I’ve been working on over the past couple of years that show us how the stories of many of our Old Testament heroes point to Jesus.  I am going to talk about Samuel.  I struggled a little with how to present his story in light of the overall theme.  Though he did preside over a defeat of the Philistines after the nation repented in the pattern of the judges who came before, that is not how most would remember him.  If you grew up in Sunday school, you probably learned how he came to the temple as a young boy and heard the call of the Lord, first thinking it was Eli the priest.  As long as you stop before the actual message, where the children’s story typically does, it’s a cute story.  It is found in 1 Samuel 3:1-10.  I think it illustrates Samuel’s defining virtue.  He learned to hear the voice of God and to speak what God told him.

Are we listening for the voice of God?  Are we willing to obey?  Are we willing to share the message He gives us, even if it isn’t pleasant?  Join us as we examine the life of Samuel.

Blessings to you, friends and family of Bartimaeus Baptist Temple.  Here’s your weekly update.

It was great to have so many back with us last Sunday.  We were still missing a few, but we’re thankful for all of you.  We miss you when you’re not with us.  Priscilla and Kim spoke on the difficult subject of suicide.  They reminded us of God’s love for us and that this is never the answer.  Pastor David encouraged us to take up the mission that Jesus gave us before He ascended back to Heaven.  We wrapped up the service with a prayer of blessing for Shannon, who has completed her time of service with us through the Agape Program at Dallas Theological Seminary.

I’m looking forward to sharing with you this weekend.  To tell the truth, I’m not sure yet exactly where my study of Matthew 5:21-24 will lead us.  Every time I have read it over the years, it kind of scared me a little.  Verse 22 seemed like a really harsh thing for Jesus to say.  I didn’t set out to address that particular passage, but it came to mind as soon as I set out to explore my original subject, so I read it.  I think the Lord is bringing me to a better understanding of what He is saying here.  As always, we need to consider the context to  understand.  This is about what is in our hearts.  Jesus shows us how we can progress from offense to contempt to complete rejection of those whom we aught to love.  This is becoming a very personal study for me, and I pray that the fruit of it will strengthen you as well.

Remember those who need our prayers and support.  Keep an eye on the site for updates as they come to us.  And as I always say when I post the prayer requests, let God show you how to be an answer to someone’s prayer.  He can certainly step in and do miracles, but he gives us the honor of performing His work.  What a joy to be a carrier of God’s blessing!

See you Sunday!

Larry