Message for May 31: Hope Remains

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The rain just keeps on coming, but I’m thankful that it didn’t stop us from coming to church last Sunday. Linda encouraged us to find better ways to help each other and others in need and urged us to explore the gifts that God has given us. Pastor David showed us that we can find joy in the lord despite the suffering that comes to us. God didn’t promise us a life of ease, but He did promise to be with us.

This Sunday, Linda will lead us as we honor Jerry Patton, who passed on a couple of weeks ago. We are hoping that some of his family may join us. We only knew him for a short time, but he will be missed. One would think our church as seen more than its share of grief. Between us Linda and I counted eleven people whom are part of the church or related to our members in some way who have gone Home just since we have been a part of it, and those are just the ones we are aware of. I didn’t include our own friends and family in that number. It would be more than twice that. Death is a part of life on this earth, and because of the nature of our congregation, we are seeing more of it than most.

Why then are we not broken? Yes, we miss our friends and family. We grieve, but we do not do so without hope. That is the message I want to bring to you this Sunday. If we have our hope in Jesus, we know that our separation is only temporary. Our loved ones have only gone before us like immigrants to a new and much better country. When our time comes, we will join them there. We will rejoice together like never before, because we will not only see each other again, we will all see Jesus! Join me this Sunday as we remember the hope we have in Him.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

In His love,

Larry & Linda

Message for May 17: Honestly!

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I don’t have a lot to say about what happened last Sunday since I wasn’t there.  Linda and I spent the time celebrating Mothers Day with my parents.  I did get the recorder to Pastor David, so when I get it back I will upload the podcasts and transcribe the prayer requests.  That’s why we do them, so that no one has to miss out whatever the reason they can’t be with us.

A couple of years ago, the city of Richardson where I live had it’s first mayoral election.  Up to then the mayor had been chosen by the members of the city council from among their number.  I went to the candidate forums to try to learn who would be the best for our city.  Just about every time one of the candidates would answer a question, she would say something like, “to be perfectly candid with you…”  I thought to myself at the time that if you have to keep telling me how honest you are, maybe it’s because you’re really not.  As it turned out, it appears that she really wasn’t.  You might have seen her on the channel 8 news recently.

What does it mean to have integrity?  We all know it’s wrong to lie, but then we’re faced with that uncomfortable situation.  One little “white lie” would make it go away, or so we think.  What about the way we do our jobs?  What about the way we fill out our tax forms?  The world will tell you there are all kinds of situations where it’s okay to be less than honest, but that perspective quickly changes when we are on the receiving end of someone else’s  dishonesty.  What is God’s standard?

Our launchpad this week will be Colossians 3:9-10.  Come and let us explore God’s word together!

Message for April 19: The Strong Deliverer

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I really appreciate what Pastor David is doing with our honored member feature.  So many of us have been told we’re inferior, but God says otherwise!  These segments help us to get to know each other better and see each person as a unique and precious creation of God.  We vary in ability, but not in value.  Last week we got to learn a little more about Teresa Bradley.  We have the podcast up and Linda has put video on our Facebook page.  I’ll get that up on the site too very soon.

Priscilla encouraged us all with a message from her life and heart, and Pastor David reminded us how important it is that we be obedient.  Just like rebellious children, we don’t always want to do what we know God wants.  Just like a good father, He instructs us for our own good.

This week I’m going to continue talking about the deliverers of Israel.  With each person, I try to draw out lessons we can learn from their lives and also show how God used them to represent Jesus.  Our deliverer for the day will be Samson.  You can find his story in the book of Judges, chapters 13-16.  Here we have another example of what not to do, yet God used him.  In fact, God chose him before he had a chance to do anything right or wrong, announcing his birth with an angelic visit.

When the Holy Spirit enabled Samson, he was probably the strongest man who ever live, yet in terms of character, he was one of the weakest.  It seems like God went through every possible flaw a man could have in the people he chose, but He used them all to accomplish His purpose.  Come and join us as we learn about the strong deliverer and see why Jesus is the only one who could truly deliver.  See you there!

Message for March 15: The Power of the Promise

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What a delightful time we had last Sunday!  We heard some great messages from Priscilla and Tim, and we got to learn a little more about some of the people in our church. Debra Price was our honored member this month and we learned a little more about her as she answered Pastor David’s questions.  Then we got an extra!  Tim spent some time getting to know John and helped him to tell us a little about his life.  We really appreciate that.  It’s part of why we’re here.

This week I want to share with you the next in a series I have been working on about the Old testament deliverers, what they can teach us and how they foreshadow the coming of Jesus.  Some of them are harder than others, and this Sunday’s star is one of those.

Jephthah was a judge in Israel.  He was chosen to deliver them from the Ammonites after they had once again fallen into sin and begun worshiping idols.  His story is found in the book of Judges chapter Ten through the first few verses of 12.  If you remember his story, you know it is marred by a tragedy of his own making.  He made a very foolish promise, and he kept it.

When we read the Bible, we should remember that it is in part a book of history.  Not everything found within its pages is there for us to emulate.  Why then do we have this record?  Why didn’t God stop this from happening?  I may not be able to satisfactorily answer those questions for you, but there are some important things we can learn from Jephthah’s story.  I hope to see you there.

Service for today, February 22 is canceled

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We have reports of sleet in the area of the church already.  It seems the weather may be coming early and we don’t want to endanger anyone on the way home even if we could all get to church safely.  We’ll miss you and look forward to next week.

Message for February 15: The Meaning of Love

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Valentine’s Day is coming up this Saturday.  I hope all you men are appropriately prepared.  If I don’t see you on Sunday I’ll know what happened.  🙂  Seriously, take the opportunity to make her feel special.

Since it will be fresh on everyone’s mind and because I know what Linda wants to share with you, I think this is a good time to revisit some ground we’ve covered before and maybe dig a little deeper.  Love truly is at the center of everything God has done.  Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 13 together and see what He will show us.  In addition to examining the topic of love, we will also consider the chapter in the context of Paul’s letter.

See you there!

Message for January 18: Excuses, Excuses!

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I sure missed all of you last Sunday.  I am looking forward to being back together and the weather will be much better.

Yesterday I found out from Pastor David that Richard Blake has been in the hospital this week after a bad fall coming out of his apartment.  His injuries include several broken ribs.  Pray for his recovery and comfort

This Sunday I want to share with you from the book of Luke, chapter 14.  Most of the chapter covers what happened at a dinner that Jesus was invited to at the home of a prominent Pharisee.  After Jesus has given several illustrations that addressed the particular failures of the Pharisees and of many of us, one of his listeners says, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”  In response, Jesus tells this parable in Luke 14:16-24.  He seems to be saying, “Is that what you really think?”  The reality is something else.

Jesus has just given some instruction on how we should live, but in this story the king has done all the work.  He has incurred all of the expense of putting on a feast.  All he is asking of the guests is that they come.  But they don’t want to come and offer up poor excuses for why they can’t.  There’s a lesson for us here.  We get comfortable amidst the trappings of our religious practice, but Jesus says that’s all wrong.  He is looking for relationship.  He has invited us to join Him, but if we keep making excuses, the invitation is eventually withdrawn.  We must come to a place where our livelihood, our possessions, and our relationships are not as important as our relationship with the King, Jesus.  An we see that He will have his guests, even if he has to go out and compel them to come in.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday.  Linda is also excited to share with you an encouraging message during the Sunday School time.  Come join us!

No Service Today, January 11

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We are getting reports of ice in the area.  Rather than risk an incident do to the special transportation requirements some of us have, we are cancelling the service for today.  See you next week!

Message for December 21: The Gift of the Season

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Merry Christmas everyone!  We had a great time last Sunday at our celebration and dinner provided by our friends at The Heights Baptist Church in Richardson.  We are thankful for the food and generous gifts.  Special thanks also goes out to Diana Stevens who again made the elaborate Christmas baskets for everyone this year full of all kinds of good things.  I was afraid I would have to deliver this Sunday’s message early and without any real preparation when the van got stuck in traffic, but everyone made it just in time.  Pastor David read the Christmas story and encouraged us to believe it and listen for the angels singing.

This week I want to share with you something that God is doing in my heart and that I think will bless you too.  Most of us really enjoy this time of year, but it can also be hard.  Maybe we have sad memories.  Maybe we feel overwhelmed by the expectations that we feel are placed on us.  Maybe we just don’t like what we see happening to the season, or maybe we even have some conscientious objection to celebrating it.  The truth is that the timing is wrong and many of the trappings are adopted from pagan practice.

What God is showing me is that we have been given a gift, and we should rejoice in it and make full use of it.  Have you considered that even amidst the commercialization and even anti-Christmas attitudes that we’ve seen in recent years, this is still a time of year when people are more open to hearing about Jesus than at any other time?  Though less often than we might like, you can still be out shopping and hear Christmas carols in the stores.  People who are normally uninterested in anything to do with Christianity will attend Christmas presentations, put up manger scenes, and maybe even go to church!

We have a wonderful opportunity here.  Howe will we use it?  Will we get all wrapped up in the trappings and forget the purpose, which is to celebrate the coming of the Savior of the world?  Will we shun it entirely as I confess I have wanted to do in the past?  Or will we take advantage of the gift of this season to share the real Gift of the season?  Let’s do that!

But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Pet. 3:15 NASB)

Message for November 30 – Love in Disguise

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What a delightful time we had last Sunday!  Harvest Oaks Church came and ran the whole service, then served us dinner.  We were blessed to hear the teaching and testimony of Mark and Marie Cimino.  It is always a joy to see how God changes lives.  I think we can learn from the example that Harvest Oaks set for us.  True gratitude expresses itself in more than words.  They served us in the name of the Lord.  We, to whatever degree we are able, aught to be doing the same.

This week I’m going to share with you from the story of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha whom Jesus raised from the dead.  There’s something remarkable in this story beyond the obvious.  Check out these verses in the Gospel of John, chapter 11,

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.

I checked a few versions to see if that little work “so” was consistently translated.  It is.  Jesus loved them, so He stayed away.  Would we not think that love demanded the opposite response?  But he had something greater in mind.  I’m sure Lazarus didn’t enjoy being ill and dying from his sickness.  Certainly his family would not have wanted to go through the grief.  Both sisters even say to Jesus basically, “You could have prevented this.”  John doesn’t give us the emotion behind these words, but the question comes through, “Where were you?”  “Why didn’t you come in time?”

We have numerous accounts of people who have supposedly died and come back.  What happened to them is between them and God.  I will not presume, unless their accounts are in clear conflict with the Bible, to criticize their claims.  I wonder if there is significance in the fact that we don’t have such accounts from the people who were resurrected throughout the Bible.  We’re given prophetic visions from various sources, but nothing from these who presumably got a glimpse of Heaven, or Paradise, for themselves.  Why?  Because the focus remains on Jesus.  The Bible isn’t about Heaven, it’s about Jesus.  What makes Heaven great is that Jesus is there.  All of that to say that even though we have nothing from Lazarus himself, I suspect that his perspective was radically different coming out of that grave than it was on the way in.

Jesus waited, so that the blessing in the end was far greater for those involved than it would have been if He came right away.  He loved, so He stayed.  He gets the glory, and everyone around Him benefits from it.

Sometimes it seems that God has forgotten us.  The Psalms are full of such feelings.  But we know that He said that he is always with us.  We may wonder if He really loves us, but sometimes love does things we don’t expect.  Sometimes, love waits.  Come and be encouraged!