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Message for October 18: The Free Gift that Costs You Everything

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on October 14, 2015 by LarryOctober 14, 2015

Blessings, friends and family of BBT.  It was so good to see you last Sunday!  We had some folks back with us that we hadn’t seen in a while.  The church is missing parts when you’re not there.  We were still missing others though.  I’m looking forward to the day when we are all able to gather again.

Linda gave us a little refresher on how we can share our faith, reminding us that we’re here to make disciples and that’s where it starts.  Pastor David spoke on the importance of our motivations.  God is looking at our hearts.  We can do all the right things for all the wrong reasons.  We should be doing them out of love for God.

Last week I was reading a book about Christians around the world who are living their faith in the face of extreme persecution.  It started me thinking about what it really means to follow Jesus.  We have it pretty easy here in America, at least so far.  But even here we may be called upon to die for our faith like those people in Oregon who were shot to death for saying they were Christians.  The truth is that the call on all of us is the same.  Jesus said this in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16.

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and ‘will then repay every man according to his deeds.’”

Salvation is a free gift (Eph 2:8-10.)  The thief on the cross who believed at the last moment is hanging out in Heaven with the likes of the apostle Paul.  None of us can earn it.  None of us deserve it.  Yet when we accept it, we are making a choice that changes our lives.  Jesus has called us all to a life of sacrifice.  We don’t live for ourselves anymore.  We live for Him.  We die to ourselves that we might have life eternally.  this is what it means to follow Him.

I hope you’ll join us this Sunday.  Pray for each other.  Pray for us.  And let God use you to be an answer to prayer.

Be blessed to be a blessing,

Larry

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Message for September 27: A Real Whodunit

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on September 23, 2015 by LarrySeptember 23, 2015

Blessings friends and family of BBT.  I pray this finds you well and fully engaged in the ministry that God has called you to.  We do all have one.

Last Sunday we had a small crowd.  If you weren’t able to make it do check out the podcasts.  Linda continued her lesson on transforming ourselves and our guest Might Justice taught us to see Jesus for who he really is and put our trust in Him.

Next week, Debra is going to share with us during the Sunday school time her story and the things God has put on her heart.  This is something we hope to see more of.  Each of us should be continually growing and learning, sharing what we learn for the good of the whole body.  I’m looking forward to hearing from her.

My text will be from 2 Samuel, chapter 24.  Last week I was looking through my old blog entries and found something I wrote about it several hears ago.  Since then I have not been able to get it out of my mind.  It’s a troubling story and one I’d really rather not address at any greater depth.  Yet every time I ask the Lord what I should speak on, I keep coming back to that chapter.

So there we will go, and we’ll answer as best we can the mysteries it contains.  Along the way we’ll learn some valuable lessons about the nature of God and man, the consequences of sin at a personal and national level, and the willingness of God to forgive if we will only ask.  Come join us!

I spoke with Pastor David on Sunday morning.  He was hoping to be back starting next month.  I know we’ll all be glad to have him back.  Keep praying for him and for all of those who have made requests.  And don’t forget, God just might plan for you to be an answer to prayer yourself.  Like Linda shared with us, be still and listen for His voice.

With His love,

Larry

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Guest Speaker this Sunday, September 20

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on September 16, 2015 by LarrySeptember 16, 2015

What a great day we had last Sunday for our homecoming celebration!  The weather was perfect.  The lawn was green, the message was great, and our special music was extra special!  The recording doesn’t do justice to it, but you can hear the entire service here.  Jerry Gibson brought in a couple of friends and they took it to the next level.

This Sunday we have another treat for you.  Linda and I met Michael Justice at a meeting of the Dallas Christian Fellowship of the blind, which meets every fourth Saturday in our building.  He has a Masters in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, which he obtained while blind.  Since I’m pretty close to blind myself and know that people do what they have to do, I’m usually not that impressed when someone simply lives life as we all should, doing what is necessary.  But I’m impressed by anyone who can get through Greek and Hebrew through the additional challenges that blindness poses.  I haven’t and I’m not sure I could.

Now that I’ve sufficiently embarrassed him, I hope you’ll all come and hear him speak.  You will be blessed.  Join us!

Do keep our people in your prayers.  Pastor is recovering well but he wasn’t able to be with us.  We definitely missed him.  Only he can give that Victory March speech the way it should be given.  We look forward to getting him back.

Be blessed to be a blessing!

Larry

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Join us for Homecoming Sunday!

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on September 9, 2015 by LarrySeptember 9, 2015

Don’t forget!  We meet early this Sunday at 10:00am for our Homecoming celebration.  Jay Gibson will be back again this year to preach the message.  We’ll have lots of special music and good barbecue after the service.  This is a great time to reacquaint with old friends and make some new ones.  Join us and bring a friend!

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Message for September 6: Blessed Are the Merciful

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on September 2, 2015 by LarrySeptember 2, 2015

I’m so glad I was able to get back in time to enjoy the service last Sunday with you.  In our Sunday school time we had a little fun with some Bible trivia led by Cindy.  Tim challenged us to respond properly to the knowledge of our sin by contrasting Judas and Peter.  Then after the service we celebrated little Jane’s birthday with cake and punch.

This Sunday I’m going to share with you the second message that I delivered while at the TCCB retreat.  In Matthew 5:7, Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”  A few weeks ago we talked about our need for mercy.  Now we’re going to talk about how to show mercy.  The word in this context is active.  It is more than a feeling.  It is more than words, though it might take that form.  Let’s explore His word together, learn to be merciful, and be blessed.

We’ll also meet this month’s honored member.  Come and get to know a llittle more about another precious member of our body.

Keep Pastor David in your prayers today as he goes in for his surgery.

Larry

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Message for August 16: We Need A Merciful God

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on August 12, 2015 by LarryAugust 16, 2015

It’s always good to be together!  Each Sunday that we are able to get to church and worship the Lord is a blessing.  We especially know that when something keeps us from being able to come.  I know Linda feels that way and appreciates the concern you show when she isn’t able to make it.  We were missing a few others too, and I want you to know that we notice when you’re not there.  We’re not complete without you.

There’s always a blessing in store for us when Priscilla shares from her heart, and last Sunday was like that.  When things get personal we don’t put it online, but you can here the teaching part on the podcast.  Pastor David gave a great message on how our church, though small, can do great things through the power of God using the story of Gideon from Judges 7.  Check out the podcasts and let us know what you think of the change in sound quality.  I purchased a new recorder because the old one was becoming unreliable.  It produces better files but I’m not sure they really improve on the audibility of the speaker.

In preparation for another engagement later this month, I’ve been studying the topic of mercy.  What comes to mind when you hear that word?  Doubtless many of us who have been in church for years will think of God’s mercy toward us, or maybe Jesus’ words from Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”  Depending on the version of the Bible you read, you may find the word used in several different ways.  The King James often uses it where newer translations use “lovingkindnesss, faithful love, or loyal love.  So we’re going to focus on the most prevalent meaning and the one most precious to us as children of God.

God offers us mercy.  That is, we are spared the punishment we all deserve.  Mercy doesn’t mean much to us until we come to the place where we realize we need it.  Sometimes even after we have been there, we get caught up in the life of the church and we forget we still need it.  We learn all the right things to do, and if we think we’re checking off the to-dos at least most of the time we think we’re doing alright.  I don’t say that we need always be in fear of judgement.  God tells us there’s no condemnation for those that are in Jesus, but when we forget how much mercy we have been shown, we lose the capacity to truly show it to others.  We can only appreciate the mercy of God when we understand that we need His mercy.

Read Ephesians 2:1-10 and let’s explore God’s word together.  See you there!

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Perry Fleeman

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on July 21, 2015 by LarryJuly 21, 2015

We received the news today that Perry Fleeman went to be with Jesus some time after Cathy and Ruth saw him on Sunday. He has been a friend of our church for a long time and is responsible for much if not all of the work that has been done on our building in recent years.

There will be a memorial service at the Heights this Saturday at 2:00pm.

Heights Baptist Church
201 W Renner Rd
Richardson, TX 75080

Link to obituary

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Message for July 19: Gods Good Gifts

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on July 15, 2015 by LarryJuly 15, 2015

Thank you to all who expressed concern and contacted Linda this week after she wasn’t able to be with us on Sunday.  She’s fine now and we look forward to seeing you next week.  I tried to fill in for her during our Sunday school time but I don’t make a good Linda so I’m glad she’ll be back for the series finale.

I was happy to hear Pastor David’s message on trusting God through our troubles.  I believe God is speaking to us.  I had already planned the message that I will be bringing and it is an extension of the same subject.

Have you ever considered your suffering as a gift?  I admit that’s a tough concept and I’m not even sure I am comfortable with it.  How can a bad thing be a gift?  How can a good God give a gift like that?  We can argue about whether he does or allows something, but He is the all powerful and all knowing God.  Therefore nothing is beyond His knowledge or control.  If we truly believe what He said through Paul, that He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Rom 8:28,) then we must believe that any bad thing that happens to us will ultimately be used for good.  This is how we can look upon our suffering as a gift.  It will lead to something good.

We can see this in the Bible.  I’ve chosen three people who will help us to see it: Joseph, Paul, and Jesus Himself.  I hope that by the end of the day we can all be a little further on our journey to that place where we can ask God, “How can I glorify You in this suffering?”  I am beginning to think of my blindness as a gift that opens doors for me to spread the love of Jesus in places where I would not otherwise have opportunity.  What opportunity might you find through your disability?

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Gen. 50:20 NASB)

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Sunday School with Larry Thacker Jr., Summer Series 2015: When Helping Hurts #5

Week 5 of our discussion from this material produced by Lifechurch.tv and based on the book, When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Yourself by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett.

I don’t make a very good Linda, but I did my best in her absence.  Below is the audio portion of the session.  You may wish to pause on queue and watch the video, then resume playing the audio.

Audio Player
https://bbtemple.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2015-07-12-Sunday-School-by-Larry.mp3
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Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DIDFymIU-I

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July 12, 2015 by Larry Posted in From Pastor and Staff Reply

Message for June 21: We Call Him Daddy

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on June 17, 2015 by LarryJune 17, 2015

If you missed the service last week, go check out the Media page.  We had a lively discussion during Sunday school as we discussed the reality that there is brokenness in all of us.  In his message, Pastor David provided perspective on the miracles of Jesus.

We received the sad news this week that Frances Guerrero passed away on Monday evening.  I say it is sad news because we’ll all miss her, but she is not sad.  She has her health and her mind back and she has seen the face of Jesus!

Arrangements have been made at Restland Funeral Home.  The link will take you to the obituary page for Frances where you can see the details and post memory or encouragement.   Visitation is from 6:00-8:00pm on Friday.  The funeral service will be at 3:00 on Saturday.  Details have not been finalized but I am sure we will also have something at the church soon for those who will not be able to go to the funeral.

On this Father’s Day, Frances will be with her Heavenly Father.  Does that sound distant to you?  When we refer to someone as father, we are usually speaking in a detached or formal way.  It is a word that seems to put some distance between us.  Most of us, when we are addressing our fathers or even speaking to friends about them, don’t call them Father.  We call them Dad.  It’s a term of familiarity and suggests a relationship that is special or at least should be.

Daddy is something else.  We have usually dropped the “dy” before we get very old, but it’s still there in our minds.  It’s the name of our childhood, symbolizing the love and and trust that characterizes a relationship with a good father.  Maybe it’s a different word for you, but the relationship it evokes is the same.  Daddy is the one who loves us, who protects us, who guides and advises us.  He’s the one who held you in his lap, carried you in his arms and on his shoulders.

This Sunday, we’re going to read from Romans 8:10-17.  In verse 15 we encounter a strange word, “Abba.”  It’s one of those words that doesn’t really get translated.  It’s just brought over into English letters.  we call that transliteration.  Even the Bible versions that attempt to add meaning to the word usually do so through a footnote and only one dared use the familiar “daddy” to explain it.  Even thay made sure to point out that it is Daddy in a loving and respectful way.  It’s just hard for us to think of God as Daddy.  He is after all the power of the universe, so vast and unfathomable that no words can ever describe Him.

How can we possibly relate to that God as Daddy?  Paul explains how.  We can, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, and the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.  But just like any relationship, it isn’t very deep if we don’t work on it.

I hope you’ll join us as we learn together why and how we call Him Daddy.  I recognize also that many of us don’t have that kind of relationship to draw from here on earth.  Your father may have been distant or completely absent.  My prayer is that your Daddy in heaven will fill that void for you and that we in the church will learn to be spiritual fathers and mothers to those who need them.

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