Tallowood

Pulpit guest Chaplain John Neesley explores what it means to truly live in the light of the Good News. He surveys the transitory nature of earthly joys, the steadfast hope offered by the gospel, and the eternal perspective that guides our journey through life's trials and triumphs.As we reflect on our own experiences—be it the fleeting euphoria of a World Series win or the everyday dings and disappointments like a scratched car—we'll contrast these with the everlasting good news of Christ’s gospel. We'll consider Paul’s teachings and his example of finding meaning amidst suffering and chaos, understanding that even in our darkest hours, there's a message and testimony waiting to emerge.John Neesley's message is based on Philippians 1:12-21.Quotes:Mark Buchanan: On earth everything falls short of some hoped-for ideal. Everything good down here has a tragic brevity and a funny aftertaste to it. It all falls short and shortly falls apart. None of it possesses any ultimacy.John Neesley: G

Explore the Bible with Pastor Larry BertrandTo discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist

Pastor Duane Brooks offers a stirring reminder that our worst moments don't have to define us. He speaks on the transformative power of Jesus' forgiveness, focusing on the story of Peter's denial and subsequent redemption.Drawing from John 21:15-19, Pastor Duane explores how Jesus doesn't leave us at our lowest points but instead offers a chance for a "resurrection recall," an opportunity to rise beyond our past through His grace. He emphasizes the need for accountability in our love for Jesus, challenging listeners to consider how they are doing in their relationship with Him.He stresses the importance of not only individual discipleship but also investing in the spiritual nurturing of our own families and communities. Pastor Duane ends with a powerful prayer, inviting his listeners to accept the grace offered by Christ and to commit to following Him closely.Listen to the full episode "The Feast of Forgiveness" for a full dose of hope and encouragement in walking the p

Explore the Bible with Pastor Larry Bertrand.To discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist

Simon had always known how to fish. After he was sifted by Satan, he denied Jesus three times. Simon decided to head back out on the Sea of Galilee to fish. Then he saw the Lord, along with the other disciples. Jesus enabled them to catch a great number of fish, then he fed them on the beach. Spending time with Simon, Jesus continued the process of strengthening him to become the one who would preach at Pentecost. Again and again, we see Jesus feeding people and eating with his disciples. Today we begin to restore the awesome power of intentionally and regularly eating with the people we love. Message based on John 21:1-14.Quotes:N. T. Wright: Jesus’s resurrection is the beginning of God’s new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven.Dave Stone: What if you don’t die tonight?  Where will the spiritual path you are on right now take you?N. T. Wright: When Jesus himself wanted to explain to his disciples what his forthcoming death was all about, he did

Explore the Bible with Pastor Larry Bertrand.To discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist

Do you remember when you had hope? What happened? Is there any hope for hope? Two disciples hung their hopeless heads as they walked along the road. But the risen Christ met them and changed everything. It could happen again. What if Jesus is alive? He is risen. He is risen indeed! Message based on Luke 24:13-32.Quotes:B. Simpson: Easter is the New Year’s Day of the Soul.Jurgen Moltmann: Easter is a feast and is celebrated as a feast of freedom.  It is the beginning of the laughter of the redeemed, and the dance of the liberated. Lewis Smedes: Hope is to our spirits what oxygen is to our lungs. Your spirit dies when hope dies. They may not bury you for a while, but without hope you're already dead.Dr. Carl F. H. Henry: Jesus planted the only durable rumor of hope amid the widespread despair of a hopeless world.Rollo May: I was seized then by a moment of spiritual reality: what would it mean for our world if He had truly risen?Pew’s research: survey of 11,201 respondents conducted in the summer of 2023, s

Explore the Bible with Pastor Larry BertrandTo discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist

Let's walk through Holy Week with intention, recognizing the majesty of Jesus and dedicating our hearts to Him.  “What shall I do then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” (Matthew 27:22) Pontius Pilate asked. How do we answer? Pilate was not the only one who asked. The crowds of disciples shouted and sang as he entered the city. Religious leaders grumbled about the parade. All of Jerusalem was perplexed by his coming.  Pilate was right to ask.  We have to do something with Jesus?  What will we do?Message based on Luke 19:28-48.Quotes:What makes a thing holy?  Addison Road: “What do we know of holy?”Anigo Montoya in the Princess Bride,: “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.” Duane Brooks: Jesus still is our Savior.  Jesus is our only Savior.  Lots of people can help us, but only One can save.Alan Redpath: We can never pray your kingdom come until we are willing to pray my kingdom go.Ken Langley: There was another one who long labored in obscurity: unheralded, humbly serving the peopl

Explore the Bible with Pastor Larry Bertrand.To discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist

Jesus invited his followers to count the cost. As a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus likely knew the prices of his day. But he counted the cost when salvation came to his house and found the greatest treasure of all. The cost of discipleship may seem high. But the cost of non-discipleship is so much higher. Message based on Luke 19:1-10.Quotes:Oscar Wilde: The cynic knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.I. The God who sees us wants us to see him! Luke 19:1-5Revelation 1:7: Every eye will see him.II. The God who speaks to you wants you to call on him! Luke 19:5-6Duane Brooks: You have a point of view. I have a point of view. God has view.Benjamin Mee: We Bought a Zoo -- "Sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”Duane Brooks: Jesus knows our names. Jesus knows our needs. Jesus knows our address.III. The God who seeks you wants to save you! Luke 19:7-10Romans 10:13: Eve

Explore the Bible with Pastor Larry Bertrand.To discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist

The anxiety epidemic is in the air. Nothing new here. To the anxious people in the first and twenty-first centuries, Jesus offers hope. What is the answer? He is! Message based on Luke 12:22-34.Quotes:Ben Patterson: Whatever we have, we have because God in his grace and generosity has given it to us. When we realize this, there comes into our lives a joyful gratitude for what we do have, and we are freed from resentment and anxiety over what we don’t have.Corrie Ten Boom:  Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.Benjamin Mays:I have only just a minute,Only sixty seconds in it.Forced upon me, can’t refuse it.Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it.But it’s up to meto use it.I must suffer if I lose it.Give account if I abuse it.Just a tiny little minute,but eternity is in it.C.T. StuddOnly one lifeTwill soon be pastOnly what’s doneFor Christ will lastWhat is the answer to our anxiety?  Jesus is the answer.  What is the question?Whatever the question:  Jesus is the answer.To discov

Explore the Bible with Pastor Larry Bertrand.To discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist

Matthew tells us two stories about Jesus' interaction with Gentiles. In both the story of the Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman, Jesus makes an oblique reference to the table and Gentiles. Since most of us are Gentiles, we may take for granted Christ’s invitation to his table today. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, God now welcomes people from every tribe and tongue to come to his table. Message based on Matthew 8:5-13; 15:21-28.Quotes:John 12:32: And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.  He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.John Claypool’s young daughter with leukemia: Have you asked God to heal me of my cancer?  Yes.  What did he say?The Canaanite woman was an outsider: Tom Long says she was “on the border” – the boundary between the old and the new, between male and female, between Jew and Gentile, between friend and enemy, between the holy and the demonic.”Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A year and a half before his death, in solitary confine

Explore the Bible with Pastor Larry BertrandTo discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist

As the church grew in God's grace, the Holy Spirit spoke to them in their times of prayer, fasting, and worship. They obeyed his instructions and sent out missionaries to take the good news to the ends of the earth. The Holy Spirit is at work all around us.  Today we listen and obey. Message based on Acts 13:1-5.Quote:Margaret Thatcher:  Ideally, when Christians meet, as Christians, to take counsel together, their purpose is not--or should not be--to ascertain what is the mind of the majority but what is the mind of the Holy Spirit--something which may be quite different.Frederick Faber wrote, “There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us well-nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear, because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.Daniel Vestal: Maybe the measure of the church is not how many are coming

Explore the Bible with Pastor Larry Bertrand.To discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist

Discover the incredible strength of earnest and unceasing prayer as we explore Peter's miraculous escape from prison—a testament to the church's fervent prayers. Learn why prayer should be a priority in our churches and lives, and how, through prayer, the impossible becomes possible. Remember, when you feel alone or face insurmountable challenges, Pastor Duane Brooks reminds you that prayer not only connects us to God but can also lead to miraculous deliverance. Have faith, and let your prayers be heard.Message based on Acts 12:1-19. Quotes: Karl Barth: To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.  God is not deaf, but listens; more than that, he acts.  God does not act in the same way whether we pray or not.  Prayer exerts an influence upon God’s action.  That is what the word “answer” means.Duane Brooks: As long as the church is praying, the world has a prayer. Ephesians 6:10-12: Finally brothers and sisters, be strong in the Lord and in his might

Explore the Bible with Pastor Larry Bertrand.To discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist