September 9th 2008

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Well it is here!  The 50th Anniversary of Bartimaeus Baptist Temple.  I hope each and everyone of you are as excited about this as I am.  I can hardly believe how blessed we are and how many good friends we have had over the years, that have helped us achieve this Anniversary.  God has really showed his Power and his Mercy to a small group of people who just want to be involved in God’s business.  You inspired my Father and Mother through the years and now you are the inspiration to me and my family.  I hope you feel like you are a part of this Church weather you are able to be in service every week or you just pray for the People of this Church.  We have many people who send a tithe check to this Church who attend other Churches just because God has laid this ministry on your heart and for that we are truly grateful.  I want everyone who has been a part of this ministry to be proud of what God has done and will continue to do through this Church.

Jay Gibson called me Sunday night and he has made arrangements to be able to be here this Sunday and we are looking forward to seeing him and his family as he brings the message on Sunday morning.  What a blessing he and his family have been to this ministry.  I know how mush the Trustees of this Church meant to my parents and my parents would be very proud to see how they continue to support this ministry.

I hope to see a lot of familiar faces and a lot of new faces this Sunday as we prepare to celebrate this “Homecoming”. Remember we will start at around 9:30 on Sunday morning and we will have dinner afterwards and we want to see this Church filled to the brim with people who have been a part or want to become a part of this wonderful ministry.  Matt 10: 40-42:  “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent me.  He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward.  And he who receives a righteous man in the name of of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”  Let’s receive what Jesus has for us this week.  Lets help those who need our help and lets celebrate on Sunday the 50th Anniversary of Bartimeaus Baptist Temple.  I and my family love you all very much and we hope to see you on Sunday

Pastor David

September 03, 2008

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Greetins to all I hope you have had a great Labor Day Holiday and a great week.

I have some good news on Laurie,  We have not heard back on the EEG yet but the nurses say she is moving her arms and hands and has opened her eyes.  Lets pray that God will continue to heal her.  I will let you know as soon as I know more.

This weeks sermon is about Building Relationships. The scripture for this week is Matthew 18: 15-25.  It has gotten so hard to build close relationships nowadays as we all tend to wear our feelings on our sleeves.  We have a hard time trusting people and we seem to think everyone is out to get us,  and that is a shame.  Building and keeping relationships is something we as Christians need to be able to do.  It requires have a forgiving spirit and trusting God to help us give and receive criticism.

When our relationship fail it is hard for us a Christians to not feel like we have failed.  My family and especially my daughter Kim is going through this right now.  As we will learn in our lesson this week, sometime relationship have to be broken in order to go in the direction God is calling us.  Not every relationship can be healed or even should be healed.  This is where we have to trust God to help us overcome our feeling of failure and help us not to be afraid to start new relationships.  We are not perfect and the people around us are not perfect but God is.  We have to be able to change the things in our lives that need changing and we have to be willing to help others change as well.  That is what Jesus wants us to understand from the scriptures this week.

I hope to see you at church on Sunday and I hope you will have a testimony as to how you have done something good for someone this week and have began the start of a new relationship.  I and my family love you all!

Pastor David

August 27th 2008

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Greetings members of Bartimaeus Baptist Temple.  As I am writing this today my heart is very heavy over the recent turn of events in our sister Laurie Genola.  Yesterday she was preparing to move to a rehab center when she was found not breathing.  She has been placed in ICU on the 7th floor at St Paul Hospital and she is unable to breathe without a respirator.  I know everyone in the church is praying for her and we are claiming a miracle for her to pull through this situation.  I will keep you posted on any turn of events.

This week we will be in Matt 16: 21-25

The question is who side are you on.  Are we stumbling blocks or do have in mind the things of Jesus. We will see that it takes lots of faith to follow Jesus but God gives us lots of Faith if we will just use it.

I was really blessed last week with the Praise and Worship of Summitt Church and the word given to us by Joel.  I saw you as a Church minister to each other and I know that the only way we will be able to accomplish the things God has for us is to do it as a body.  Keep asking God to show you where you can minister and then go where he sends you.  Start by inviting someone to come to church with you Sunday and do a good deed this week because we need to show others what we believe.  Remember to keep Laurie in your prayers over the next few days.  See you on Sunday!!!!

Brother David

Sunday August 25th

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I hope you really enjoyed the encouraging words from Dr. Larry Waters last Sunday.  I think this may be a real link to reaching outside our body and being able to reach people who never felt like they belonged in Church.  I have nothing against T.V. Evangelist but I think everyone needs to have a Church home where they can come and fellowship with other brothers and sister in Christ.

This week Summit Church will have service for us this week.  I hope you are as excited about this week as I am.  Joel and his group will lead us in Praise and Worship and Joel will bring a message on some of the basic of the Kingdom of God here on earth.

I encourage you this week to prepare for Sunday by reading  several scriptures, to Pray fervently for God to do a mighty work in you and in our body.  It will take all of us working togeather to accomplish what we want to see in our lives and the life of this Church.

One last request we really are going to get a directory of the members into everyone’s hand but till then call someone this week encourage them, tell them how much they mean to you and pray for them.  Nothing builds a closer bond between two people then to have someone pray for you.  I f you need someone’s number call me and I will get it for you

See you on Sunday and remember to do something good for somebody this week.  I love you and God especially loves you!!!

Pastor David

This week we will be going Old School in the Old Testament

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in Isaiah the 5th Chapter Vs 1-2

We will be talking about Christians with a conflict of interest.

We have spoken many times about how the choices we make in life help determine who we are.  It makes a difference what we do but it also makes a difference why we do it.

We have to set priorities in our life and stick to them.  We have to make the right choices for the right reason.  We don’t always make the right decision but we should be striving to have the right reasons for the things we do.

I am excited about the future of our church but we are going to have to make some commitments and choices over the next few weeks and months they will take us in the direction God is leading us.  To make these decisions we will need to be praying and reading the scripture God is laying on our Hearts.  We don’t want to just look like the sweet grapes on the vine we want to be sweet taste in God’s mouth.

Invite someone to come to church with you on Sunday and make this week a special week by making the right choices and honoring the commitments we have made to each other and to God.  Do something Good for somebody and I will see you on Sunday!!!

David Whitmore
Pastor

This week we will be in Matthew 14: 22-23

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This week we will be in Matthew 14: 22-23

We will be talking about Fear and the hold it has over us.

The very first sermon I ever preached was on this Chapter and Peter walking on the water.  Believe me I was as afraid as Peter to go out into that auditorium and preach to a congregation full of preachers.  I stayed in the Pastor study waiting for them to come get me while they waited for me to come in.  Finally the pastor came and got me and said they had sung all the songs they knew and I needed to get in there.  I will never forget that feeling or that sermon.

I have overcome my fear of standing up in front of a congregation but I am still in awe of how God will give me new insights into scripture even in the middle of my sermon.  I hope you have felt the power of the Lord as you were praying or reading your Bible and you have had this same feeling.

As we talk about fear and the disciples on that boat I remember a story I heard about a man while sports fishing off the Florida coast, capsized his boat. He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned craft.
Spotting and old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouted, “Are there any gators around here?!”
“Naw,” the man hollered back, “they ain’t been around for years!”
“Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming leisurely toward the shore.
About halfway there he asked the guy, “How’d you get rid of the gators?”
We didn’t do nothin’,” the beachcomber said. “The sharks got ’em. The lesson be careful what you ask for.

I hope you have a great week and do something good for somebody and I will see you on Sunday!!

David Whitmore

This Sunday

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This week we will be in Luke 15 vs 1-10.

We will be talking about how God never gives up on us.

I hope you were able to attend last Sunday when the ministry of Summitt Church blessed us.  We were challenged to allow the Holy Spirit to indwell us and go out and make a difference in the world.  We can’t do that if we are afraid to allow God to use us.  Let’s make the commitment this week to pray for someone that God puts on our heart, to go where he leads us to go and to read our Bible every day.  Listen God fed the multitudes with a few loaves of bread and few fish and he can also use a little Church in Pleasant Grove to reach out and touch this city.  We just need to make ourselves available.  Invite someone to Church with you on Sunday and remember to pray for those on our prayer list.