Sunday February 23, 2014 “You are Blessed part 2 “

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We had a great time in church last week, I hope you were able to be there.  Larry and Linda both did a great job on helping us understand that we can ALL hear God just in different ways.  They reminded us that we all are important in the Kingdom of God and we all have been called to do great things.  I hope you will find that thing God has called you for and I hope you will go after it till you are called home.  You will never have peace, you will never be really content and happy till you are doing the things God has called you to do.

This week I am going to continue with the scripture in Matthew the 5Th Chapter talking about how God calls us “Blessed” in the beatitudes.  We looked at the first two (1) Blessed are the poor in Spirit (2) Blessed are those who mourn last time. I hope to get through several more this week but it is important that we know what God is looking for in all of us.  I think sometimes we just read things and we just don’t really get it. Like Linda said last week sometimes we have to read a scripture over and over to really understand what God is saying to us.  I think it is important enough for us to understand these verses that we spend the time to go over them very carefully trying to see what it is that God wants us to get out of it.  All scripture is there for a reason.  I hope you will be with us this week as we meet again at 2:30 on Sunday afternoon.

I want to thank you all for your prayers for Pris this week.  She is feeling much better and will be back in church this week.  It was nice to see Mickey back last week, as she had been sick for the last two weeks.  I hope all of you are enjoying this beautiful weather and I hope you are practicing on how to hear God this week.  We Love you all so much and we are excepting great things from you, because you have a great God.

We love you,

Pastor David & Pris

 

Message for February 16 – Your Disability is No Excuse

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I am so excited to share with you next week after hearing what Pastor David and Priscilla had to say yesterday.  I think God is preparing us for great things this year!  It was good to be back after missing last week.  We were glad to see Jerry back with us.  Let’s take time to thank God for answering our prayers as several good reports came in yesterday regarding folks we’ve been praying for.  Keep the Breedloves and the Terrells in your prayers as they deal with losses in their families.

I felt like God was confirming what He wants to say to us through Priscilla’s lesson yesterday.  To introduce the message, I’m going to share with you something I wrote in my personal blog a few weeks back.  I can hardly wait to see you again next week!
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If you grew up in Sunday School, you probably know the story of Moses at the burning bush. You can look it up in Exodus, chapters 3 and 4. Moses had, or at least felt that he had, some level of speech impediment. When God has overcome each of his prior objections, he comes to this. Was it the root of his fear all along? We are not told. What we are told is that God finally becomes angry with Moses.

10 And Moses said to Yahweh, “Please, Lord, I am not a man of words, neither recently nor in the past nor since your speaking to your servant, because I am heavy of mouth and of tongue.” 11 And Yahweh said to him, “Who gave a mouth to humankind, or who makes mute or deaf or sighted or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? 12 So then go, and I myself will be with your mouth, and I will teach you what you must speak.” 13 And he said, “Please, Lord, do send anyone else whom you wish to send.” 14 And Yahweh was angry with Moses and said, “Is there not Aaron your brother the Levite? I know that he certainly can speak, and also there he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart. 15 And you will speak to him, and you will put words in his mouth, and I myself will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you must do. 16 And he will speak for you to the people, and then he will be to you as a mouth, and you will be to him as a god. (Ex 4:10-16 Lexham English Bible)

This is pure speculation, but I wonder if Yahweh would have established the Levitical priesthood through Moses rather than Aaron if it had not been for Moses’ reluctance to do what He asked. What we can definitely learn from this is that when God calls us, we should answer without hesitation. Whatever the challenge you are facing, He is able to overcome it. If He has given you a mission, don’t delay in carrying it out.

You might say that He has never spoken to you in a burning bush or in any discernable way for that matter. I do believe that we should be in the kind of relationship with Yahweh that involves some level of discernable communication. I believe that we cannot be very effective without it. Having said that, we already have His written word. Start there, and as you meditate on His word , you will find His Holy Spirit guiding you. Act on what you find there. Don’t let your perceived shortcomings get in the way. God says to Paul, “”My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.“ (2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB)

 

Sunday February 9 2014 “You are Blessed”

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Mother Nature has once again played havoc with our services.  We were unable to meet last week but I am hoping this is the last time this year we have to cancel our services.  I really miss our fellowship each week and I know that my week is dragging because I missed getting to worship with you.  The good news is Sunday will be here before you know it and I can’t wait!

I am going to bring the message I had prepared for last week.  We are going to see why Jesus calls us Blessed. We will be in the book of Matthew the 5Th Chapter reading vs 1- 12.  We are going to go through all 9 of the Beatitudes but this week we are going to do the first two. I hope you will join us on Sunday.

Last Saturday I was waiting for a deliveryman to make a delivery to my house. As I sat in the living room I notice my lights flicker but did not think much about it. The deliveryman called me and said did you know the house next door to you was on fire?  I ran out side and sure enough the house that is lest then 10 feet from my house was blazing.  The fire department pulled up as I ran outside and I saw my neighbor’s wife huddling behind my truck holding her baby. Everyone was out of the house but the house was destroyed.  As I watched these fireman and firewomen risk their lives to put out this fire I grew a greater respect for what they do.  I felt so sorry for my neighbors but was thankful no one was still in the house.  Please pray for this family as they try and restore their house and the belongings they must have lost.

We also need to keep Jerry Gibson in our prayers each day as he begins his new intense treatment of chemotherapy.  Jay Gibson’s son Jake is also in Children’s hospital going through some tests as well, keep them in your prayers as well.  If I hear any news on Anita I will pass that along as well.  Keep doing good things keep praying for those that need our prayers and keep sharing your faith with the people you meet.  We love you and will see you on Sunday!

We love you,

Pastor David & Pris

 

Sunday February 2, 2014 “You are Blessed”

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I hope you are having a great week and I hope you feel blessed.  I am looking forward to seeing you again and sharing God’s word as we meet on Sunday.  Last week we talked about how do we see God.  Are we living our lives as defeated, overrun, scared Christians or are we taking the gifts God has given us and we are using them for his service.  I hope you have had a chance to share your gifts this week.

This week I want to follow up on this line of who we are by asking you how do you measure up?  What makes you happy or are you ever happy?  I know many people who have not  felt joy in years.  Who’s fault is that?
They blame the economy they blame the government they blame other people they even blame God, but they never understand why everything in their lives is miserable.  It is never their fault, they are a victim of their circumstances.  I am here to tell you that is not how God created you.  You can be going through life defeated on every side or you can claim victory even in the face of defeat.  It is up to you.  If you are a child of the King it is time you stood up, quit feeling sorry for yourself and claim the blessings God has for you because he has caused you BLESSED.  I am going to read the scripture in Matthew the 5Th Chapter starting with vs 1-12.  You want to be happy? Follow these instructions.  I hope you will be with us on Sunday as we begin the new month and New Year with an attitude that we are blessed and we can be happy regardless of our circumstances.

Continue to pray for those that need our prayers, help those who need our help and let’s do great things in the name of  Jesus.  We love you and hope to see you on Sunday.

We love you so much!

Pastor David and Pris

 

Sunday January 26, 2014 “Don’t be afraid”

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We had a great day in church last Sunday at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple.  Linda read from Ecclesiastes the 3rd Chapter about a time for everything.  As we start this New Year what is it time for us to do, what changes do we need to make. Larry brought his message about hearing God.  Do we ignore him when God speaks to us or do we just not hear him?  I think we all need to be better listeners and then be bold in doing what he has for us to do.

I am going to speak about being afraid of God this week.  I know what it is like to be afraid. I know you do also.  We have all been afraid at times in our life.  We are born into a new world as babies and we are afraid of everything.  It takes loving parents to teach us that we don’t have to be afraid of everything.  The older we get we lose that fear. Do you remember some of the things you did as a teenager?  It is only by God’s grace that we did not kill ourselves.  Then as we get into our senior years we start becoming afraid all over again.  That is just the cycle of life.  It is good to be afraid and careful in some things, but we need not fear our Heavenly Father. We need to respect him but He loves us with an everlasting love that we may not understand but we do not have to fear it.  I am going to read a parable that is Matthew the 25Th Chapter vs 14-30.  It is a story of three servants that were given a duty from the master to look after what he gave them while he was gone.  In this story one of these men is so afraid of his master that he takes the Gold (talents) the master gave him and buried it.  There is no way we can be the kind of person God has for us to be if we are afraid to step out of our comfort zone and be BOLD for God.  We will need to be able to, like Larry spoke about last week, hear God.  We cannot blame others we must be responsible for our actions and our failure’s to act.  I hope you will join us this week as we look at how we can lose our fears and go places we have never gone before.  Like Linda said last week, it is time.

Please continue to pray for the fireman from Lindale we spoke about last week and continue to remember Jerry and Perry as they continue to battle with cancer.  Anita is doing better and we hope she will be able to leave the hospital this week.  Join us Sunday as we finish up the first month of the New Year and invite someone to come with you. Keep doing good things in Christ name and hear God this week.

We love you,

Pastor David and Pris

 

Message for January 19 – Are You Ready to Hear His Voice?

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Hello family and friends. What a delightful time we had at church yesterday!  Priscilla reminded us that our hope is in Jesus and Pastor David showed us how we should see Him.  But the best thing of all, the thing that makes the angels in Heaven rejoice, is that Shelly has decided to follow Jesus and has been welcomed into our church family!

This Sunday, I have the honor of sharing with you again.  I want to ask you a question that was asked of me once as a teenager.  I had gone through a time of questioning, thinking that serving God was just more than I could handle, but I came back and repented at the altar.  I told God and the man who was praying with me that I just wanted to hear His voice. I may never know whether the man truly spoke for God or not, but I think he did.  He asked, “Are you ready to hear My voice?”

What a question!  How many of us have said to the Lord, “Just tell me what You want and I will do it.”  Would we? Are we truly ready to hear from Him? He said, “… From everyone who has been given much, much will be required…” (Luke 12:48)  Are we ready for the cost, the responsibility and the reward that comes from that kind of relationship with Him?  If we’re really followers of Him, do we have a choice?

27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

Join us this Sunday!

 

Sunday January 12, 2014 “How to you see Jesus?”

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We had another great day worshiping the Lord in Church last week.  We had several people back who had been out for a while but there were some still out sick.  Our prayers are with those who are still suffering.

Last week we looked at how God sees you. We talked about how God is for you, how he loves to do new things and how he has new names for all of us who feel like we are losers or we just don’t amount to anything.  This week I want us to go over how do we see God? How do we feel about Jesus?  The scripture verses for this week is in the Gospel of Mark the 1st chapter verses 9-11.  This is when Jesus is beginning his ministry and he comes to John the Baptist to be baptized.  We see what God thinks about Jesus but how do you see him?  Do you see him as the Messiah or do you just see him as just a genie in a bottle that you that you can rub and get your wish? Do you talk about God, you use his name but how do you treat him?  These are questions we are going to look at this week and I hope we will leave with a love for Christ like the kind of love he has for us.  We will start right at 2:30 so come early and visit and bring someone with you!

Please continue to pray for Anita as she is still in Parkland Hospital but she is still in ICU. She is just now on the 10Th floor in room 1008. You can only visit her at certain times so call before you go.  Please continue to pray every day for Jerry Gibson as he is fighting his battle with throat cancer.  Pray for Cindy and Tim as they are trying to recover from the flu.  If you have a prayer request please call me and we will get the pray line going.  I appreciate all of your hard work but we can’t stop now.  Do GREAT things in God’s name and be blessed!  We will see you on Sunday.

We love you so much

Pastor David & Pris

 

Sunday January 5 2014 “All things new”

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We made it to 2014.  God has blessed us to still be here and to be able to look forward to the future.  I hope you are excited as I am for this New Year.  A lot of good things happened in 2013 and there were some challenges as well, I believe we can look back after every year and say the same thing.  My prayer this year is that we learn how to love God more and learn how to love each other more.  When we do the first the second will come easier.  Last week Larry and Linda brought in the New Year reminding us that we have been given a great gift and we need to remember the sacrifices made to give us this gift.  It was very moving and just what we needed to hear.

As we start this first Sunday in 2014 I want to stay with that idea to remember who we are and what we can do.  I want us to see ourselves and each other in a new light in 2014.  God sees you differently than we see ourselves.  We have the idea that because we see ourselves as failures that is how God sees us as well.  Many people beleive this new year will just be another year of disappointments and heartache.  We don’t give ourselves a chance to succeed.  God does not see as that way.  If we are a Christian he describes us as he sees us in Ephesians 1.  I am going to read these scriptures this week (Ephesians 1 : 3-14) and several others to try and get us to see ourselves as God sees us.  This year can be a great year but don’t depend on the world to bring your happiness, make a choice to see yourself as more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.  I hope you will be with us on Sunday and I hope you will invite someone to come with you as we start the new year with a new perspective on who we are.

Keep praying for Anita as she is still in I.C.U. at Parkland hospital.  We pray that she will get better each day and that soon she will be able to be back with us. Continue to pray every day for Jerry Gibson as he is batting with this cancer and remember to pray for this ministry as we move forward to meet new challenges in 2014.  There will also be blessing every day so don’t be discouraged because you are loved.  Do good things in Jesus name and we will see you on Sunday.

We Love you so much !!!!!

Pastor David and Pris

 

Message for December 29 – In Remembrance of Me

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Hello family and friends.  What a joy it was to celebrate the coming of Jesus with you on Sunday.  I hope we are all thinking about the things in life that are really import and asking God for those things this Christmas.  We also took time to commemorate the sacrifice that He came to make on our behalf with a communion ceremony.

As I was preparing for the communion service, practicing over and over the verses from Luke 22:19-20 that we traditionally read as we take the elements together, I reflected on that phrase, “do this in remembrance of me.”  What was Jesus saying?  I think it is much more than what we might read today in light of our traditions.  The context of this passage in which Jesus instituted what we call depending on our backgrounds The Lord’s Supper, communion, or the Eucharist, expresses the whole of who He is and what He came to do.

After all that rehearsal in preparation for being in a setting where I wouldn’t have a free hand to read a Braille page with, I still didn’t get it quite right.  I think I mixed in a different version or maybe even a different passage as I repeated those verses.  I was so worried about messing up that I messed up.  How often we do that in our walk with the Lord.  We try to remember everything we’re supposed to do and we try so hard to do it, yet in the process we miss the point.  It is the communion with Himself that Jesus wants from us.  It is the fellowship and sharing together that should mark our walk with Him.

In our modern society, we seem more than ever to be slaves to our calendars.  There have always been special days, but now with the help of our technology we can schedule our lives down to the minute.  I’ve never quite understood it.  We’ve turned a tool for marking time into a taskmaster that dictates when we rest, when we rejoice, and when we remember.  As the arbitrary New Year approaches, we typically take time to remember.  We evaluate the year past and make resolutions about what we want to do in the year to come.  That’s not a bad thing.  It is good to evaluate where we’ve been and where we want to go from time to time.  It is good to resolve to do those things we know we ought to do.  I would say that if you know there’s something you need to do, don’t wait on the calendar.  Make that resolution today!

But let us not forget that it is relationship that our Lord seeks.  When we learn the meaning of communion with Him and thereby with one another, we will find joy, life, peace, and love.  I hope you will join us this Sunday as we explore communion together.

 

Sunday December 22,2013 “What I want for Christmas”

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What A great day we had in church last week.  I am so grateful for Heights church for the food and gifts and thanks to Diana Stevens for the Christmas bags she donated with all the good stuff inside.  I am so thankful for all the loving, caring and thoughtful people that care so much about Bartimaeus.  God is using them to bless us and then they are blessed by doing it. God is good all the time!

This week we will have our service just 3 days before Christmas. I decided I wanted to go back to my child hood and make a list of what I wanted for Christmas.  I feel so blessed and full of Joy but there are some things I would like to have. These things are not gifts I want from Santa but things I want in my life that come from God.  Between now and Sunday I am going to put a list together and share it with you on Sunday. We will also be having the Lord’s Supper; Pastor Larry will be presiding over this part of the service. Also on Sunday I want to read the Christmas story we read before opening gifts every Christmas with our family (Luke 2 1-14  K.J.). I want this to be part of our tradition as well.  Who knows maybe I will see if I can find the poem from last year and read it as well.  Sunday will be a time of sharing with each other as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I hope you will join us and invite someone to come with you.  Last week Mickey brought 8 people with her to the service she was so excited to have them come and so were we; hopefully they will get to come back each week.

This week Pris’s Dad had to be rushed to the hospital again but he is doing better now and has gone back home but Glenn and Mary need you to keep them in your prayers.  We got a good report from Jerry Gibson it seems the chemo has started to shrink the cancer in his throat and we are hopeful that they will be able to get all of it.  They are holding off of chemo for a couple of weeks to let him get his strength back.  Please remember to pray for him everyday.  I am excited to see you this week and my prayer for you is that you see how blessed you are and what a blessing you can be to others. Do good things in Jesus name.

We love you so much!!!!

Pastor David and Pris