Sunday July 28th, 2013 “What is your Thorn?”

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by
I really did miss being with you last week, but I am feeling much better and I am excited to be back in church on Sunday.  Pris told me how well it went and I am so thankful that I have so many people who are more than willing to him me when I need it.

Joel won’t be able to be with us this week as he is still traveling all over, playing his music and spreading the gospel.  I miss him but he is following God’s call and I praise him for that.

Last week as I was home alone on Sunday I ask myself why is that this is happening to me.  I was reading in 2ND Corinthians and I read about the thorn in Paul’s side.  It does not matter who you are trouble come your way.  God’s answer to Paul is the same answer he had for me and it is the same answer he will have for you when you question why is this happening to me? That answer is “My Grace is sufficient for you.”  I am going to read this scripture with you on Sunday from 2ND Corinthians 12: 7-10. I want you to thank about the thorns in your life right now, what is it that is hurting you? I hope we can see by the end of the day that God’s Grace is enough to get us through what ever we are going through.  Come join us on Sunday and invite a friend to join us.

This week I lost my close friend Kathie Judkins as she passed away on Monday afternoon.  We had been praying for her every Sunday.  I am going to be holding her service this Saturday at 2:30 pm at the New Hope Funeral Home in Mesquite.  I know she is in a better place but we will still miss her.  Pris dad is still struggling but he is hanging on and back at home with his wife.  Pris and her sister will go back to Tyler this weekend.  I really do appreciate all you prayers last week and I know that is one of the reason’s I got better so much quicker this time.  I love you and I love what you do.  I am excited to see you on Sunday to celebrate another Sunday praising God.  We will see you then!!!

We love you
Pastor David and Pris

 

Special Guests this Sunday

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by

During the Sunday School time tomorrow we will hear from Stacy Hodge and Bonnie Banker of Joni And Friends Texas about what they are doing.  Come and learn about opportunities to get involved.

I look forward to seeing all of you and sharing with you about the Holy Spirit.  We love you and pray for you often.

 

Message for July 21 – Investigating The Holy Spirit

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by
Hello family and friends.  It was good to see you all yesterday back in the nice cool building.  The rain may have kept a few people home, but we still had a good group.  Linda helped us to look for the peace of God even in the face of unexpected trials and Pastor David urged us to consider carefully the questions we are asking.  We missed Priscilla.  Keep praying for her father Glenn and all of the family during this time.

A couple of months ago on Pentecost Sunday, we looked into the significance of the coming of the Holy Spirit to all believers and touched on some of the issues raised by the account in the second chapter of Acts.  This Sunday, I would like to help us to gain a greater understanding of the Holy Spirit.  To do this we’re going to ask some questions similar to those any good investigator would.  Who is He?  What does He do?  Where, when, how, and why does He do it?  I hope that by the end of the day we will all have a deeper knowledge of and openness to this person of the Trinity who is often misunderstood, misrepresented, or ignored.

7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. 12 I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” (John 16:7-15 NASB)

 

Sunday July 14, 2013 “What kind of questions are you asking?”

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by
I enjoyed our time at the park last Sunday.  It is good to be doing some things that are different and this was surely different. We had a good group and lots of good food.  Thanks to everyone that came and was a part of our annual church at the lake.

This week we get back to our usual schedule, back in the afternoon and in our air-conditioned church.  I am going to preach from Luke the 10Th chapter vs 25-37. In these scripture a lawyer comes to Jesus and ask him a question.  It was a question that was asked to trap Jesus by his answer. The lawyer knew the answer but he was hoping he could get Jesus to say something that would upset the people listing.  Jesus knew the motive behind the question and turned around and asked a question of him.  The question’s we ask say a lot about who we are.  Good questions deserve good answers and some questions we just don’t know the answer to but they still need to be asked.  Dishonest questions are the ones we ask to try and make other people look stupid are in most cases to make us look smarter than others.  I want us to think about the questions we ask and why we are asking them.  It really does say a lot about who we are.  I hope we can answer some questions this week, and I promise you they will be honest questions and hopefully we can find the answers.

I am hoping you are trying to be the person God created you and that you are asking honest questions looking for honest answers.  One of greatest gifts we can ask for is wisdom, but the greatest gift is love.  I hope you will see how Jesus answer the questions asked by him in these scriptures, and how we need to truly Love the way God ask us to love.  We will see you on Sunday and I hope you will love somebody enough to invite them to come with you.

We love you so much,
Pastor David & Pris

 

Sunday July 7 2013 “Church at the lake”

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by
Sunday was another great day at BBT.  Linda did a great job sharing with us, when we go through a hard time we need to come out of it changed and changed for the better.
Larry brought his message on the lies that we have accepted as the truth.  It was the truth that we needed to hear.

This week we are going to have Church by the lake.  This has become an annual thing.  I am praying this cool weather will continue to hold out till Sunday.  I know we will have a great time and great fellowship. I hope you will come and worship with us at Paul Jones Park in Garland.  We will be starting about 10:00 AM and be finished around 1 PM .  Invite a guest and enjoy good food, fellowship and friends.

Love You
Pastor David & Pris

 

Message for June 30 – Can You Handle the Truth?

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by
What a wonderful time we had in church today!  Priscilla’s prayer sessions are always special.  I hope you take the time to let her know how much you appreciate the care she shows to all of us.  I hope we will always remember the pastor’s admonition to stay true to the One who created us.

It was during that special prayer time that it seems God changed my message.  Over and over again I felt led to pray for the power of the enemies lies to be broken in the lives of those I was praying with.  Maybe that was just because of what I had been reading before church, but I think it was more than that.  I believe that the Lord wants some healing to go on in our church.  I am not talking about physical healing, though He certainly may do that as well.  What we need more is healing on the inside.

I think that we all carry around lies that we believe because of things that have happened or been told us in the past.  It doesn’t necessarily take a traumatic event, but it often happens that way.  However it happens, the forces of the evil one inject a lie into our thoughts.  We believe that lie, and it begins to bind us.

We’ve all heard the famous movie phrase, “You can’t handle the truth!”  Oh how Satan wants you to believe just that!  And he will make sure that the truth you think you can’t handle is one big Hellish lie!  We’re going to examine some of the lies you may have been told and counter them with the truth of God’s Word.  Jesus said, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32)  I hope you’ll join us next week and find your freedom in His truth.

 

Sunday june 23rd 2013 “Joel is back in the house”

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by
What a great day we had in Church last week at BBT, celebrating our earthly Father’s as well as our Heavenly father. Linda brought Jim Wise as a quest last week and he shared with us all the things available to us for people with disabilities and phones.  Mr. Wise had a lot of information for us and we all very thankful he would come and share this with us.  Larry brought a message about the blessings of a Father.  It was very encouraging and uplifting!  I hope you got as much out of last Sunday as I did.

This week Joel and his group will be back with us. I am so excited and so thankful they would take time out of their busy schedule to be with us, and I know we will be blessed, as they will be also.  It has been awhile since we have seen them and I can’t wait till Sunday.  I hope you will be there and invite someone to come with you.

I hope you are praying for the prayer request that were mentioned on Sunday and if you weren’t their they are listed on our website. Please continue to pray for those that need our help and do whatever you can to meet the needs of the people you meet.  You never know what a life changing moment might take place with just a kind word or simple act of kindness.  Don’t miss an opportunity to make a difference because you are too busy or you don‘t think it matters. You matter to God, so does that person he has put in front of you.  As Larry said last week, the words you say and the curses and the blessings you speak are powerful tools to build a person up or tear them down.  Speak the blessing of God and we will see you on Sunday!

We Love you so much
Pastor David & Pris

 

Message for June 16 – The Father’s Blessing

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by
Hello family and friends.  I pray this finds you well and engaged in the special purpose that God has for each of us.  It was great to see so many people back with us last Sunday.  Pastor David spoke of our need to trust one another.  I’ve learned something about trust.  It has to be given before it can be earned.  It is part of loving and being love.  When we first learn to trust God it becomes easier to trust others because we know that whatever happens in our earthly relationships God is always faithful.

This Sunday I want to share with you the Father’s blessing.  We’ll start with a story that isn’t pretty, but it illustrates a desperate need that we all have for the affirmation of our earthly fathers.  Far too many of us didn’t get it.  I am thankful that I did.  There is an even deeper need that we have, whether we know it or not.  We need the blessing of our Heavenly Father.

Back in the days when the events of Genesis were unfolding, the father’s blessing was understood to be very important.  It was not only a sign of a father’s good will, it was prophetic in nature.  Perhaps this was part of the culture or maybe it was a special understanding passed down through the line of Abraham, but we can see in the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis chapter 27 how important this blessing was considered to be.  It was typically reserved for the oldest son, but over and over we see this tradition upended as God works out His purposes.  We’ll start by reading verses 27-40, but I urge you to read the context on your own.

Maybe you didn’t feel like you had your father’s blessing.  Maybe he wasn’t around at all.  I hope that when we’re finished on Sunday, you’ll see that your Heavenly Father has more than enough in store for you.  If you belong to Him, He has a special plan and a special blessing that is customized just for you!  Come and join us as we rejoice together in the Father’s blessing.

 

Sunday June 9th, 2013 “Who do you trust”

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by
We had a great day in Church to start off the month of June!  I can’t believe the year is almost half way over.  It is really exciting to be part of the new life that is developing at BBT.  I spoke to Kelly this week and she is back in Mesquite and looking for an apartment.  She wants to come to church on Sunday and see everyone. I hope she can make it.

This week I had an experience where I have paid some money on line and never got the product.  It made me think, who can you trust?  Do we, as American people trust our Government, or our banking system our education system even our friends, do we trust anybody anymore? Maybe our money is right we trust in God but it ends there.  Do we still trust God?  We cannot live in this society without trust in something, but if someone hurts us we may forgive them but it is a whole other thing to ever trust them again?

This week’s scripture is found in Galatians 1 vs 11-24.  Paul is running into this problem with people trusting him after they learn about his past.  There are some people who will not trust us ever again no matter what we do but face it we have all made mistakes; we can change with God’s help.  Paul is trying to convince them why they should trust him now.  I hope you will be with us in church on Sunday and lets discuss when do we know a person has changed.  I hope you will invite someone to come with you and lets look at this lesson together.

Please continue to pray for this ministry ever day.  We are going to see what God has for us and when we do we will receive the blessings that go along with all our hard work. For the rest of this week I want you to try to be more trusting.  You may find that a person has changed and just needs someone to believe in them.  Be that person!  We love you all so much and I can’t wait to see you on Sunday, till then keep doing the good things in your life and ask God to help you remove the bad. He loves you so much!

Pastor David & Pris

 

Sunday June 2nd 2013 “What moves Jesus in our Lives?”

Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Posted on by
We had a great day in church last week.  We missed Joel and his group as they were not able to come, but we are looking forward to them getting to come on the 23rd of June.  I am so excited about what God is doing but I know we have to be available to be used by God.  I am sorry this is so late this week but I have been in bed since Monday with an infection in my leg.  I wish I could say this is getting better but it seems it is happening more and more as I get older.  This is truly my thorn in my side.

It was really nice to see Luann back last week after being out for so long, she has grown into a beautiful young lady.  It was nice to see Larry’s mom and dad visiting with us again as well. I hope you had a thankful Memorial day.

This week I want to talk to you about how our Faith can heal us.  We know God wants the very best for us and his desire is not for us to suffer but to prosper.  What must we do to cause God to pour out his mercy?  I am going to read from Luke the 7Th chapter in verses 1-10. This is the story of a Roman centurion who is pleading for the life of his servant.  I want to look at these versus on Sunday and see what Jesus is trying to show us in these scripture.  Why was this servant healed? Of course Jesus willing it is what healed the servant, but why?  I think the caring, the character and the confidence of the centurion are what moved Jesus to answer his plea’s.  I think we need to look at this formula and apply this to our lives as well. Please join us on Sunday and invite a friend to come with you.

I certainly hope I am going to be better by Sunday and I can share this message with you.  Please pray for me that I will get over this quickly.  Remember to pray for the ones mentioned in our prayer request last week and if you have a special prayer request please call me and let me pray with you. Keep doing good things and we WILL see you on Sunday.

We love you so much,
Pastor David & Pris