Good Morning from Pastor Vic

Good Monday morning to you. I do hope you had a good week since we visited last.
I had a really good week. Last Wednesday, my secretary, Teri Clementi, called me about 10:00pm and asked if I could use some good new. I told her I definitely could use some and she told me that her daughter Lisa had my laptop fixed. I nearly jumped for joy! I told you about it going down about six weeks or so ago. I do all my homiletics on it. Homiletics is preacher talk for sermon preparation. I like to use the big technical terms so that you think I have some intelligence! Anyway, for the last six weeks, I have had to go back to the old way of doing things. I thought it would be a snap! WRONG! WRONG!! WRONG!!! I did not realize how much I’d come to depend on my laptop. I have several Bible study programs that I use, and not having access to them really crippled me. I got by, thank the Lord, but I really struggled. I’m the one who used to fight computers and said they were not necessary. I even used to say, “The church of the Lord Jesus Christ has gotten along quite well for the last two thousand years without a computer. Let it go for another two thousand, and then we’ll discuss it again.” It sounds pretty silly as I look back on it. Remember that old saying, “The words you say, make ‘em sweet, for they’re the words you might eat?” O.K. with egg on my face I eat my words concerning those dear electronic darlings. The laptop is fixed but it is different. It is quite old and very slow. I'm told I can speed it up by adding more memory, but it would not be worth the cost on a computer this old. However, I can use what I have until I can afford better. Even though it is different than it was due to new programs that were added out of necessity, I'm glad to be able to get into my Bible Study programs again, even if it takes a while. I'm gettin' old and slow too, and I could use more memory, so I know how the poor contraption feels!

We finished our study in 1 Thessalonians last night. Paul was writing to a church that was for the most part a good church. You might say they had it all together. They were by no means perfect; no church is, but they were doing the best they could with the Lord’s help.
Paul told them to “abstain from all appearance of evil.” We decided that this verse means exactly what it says. Abstain means to hold yourself back. If it even looks bad, keep back from it. Consider it dangerous. As you hold yourself back from evil, you can then be sanctified wholly and be preserved blameless. Blameless means no legitimate accusations can be made against you. Anyone can accuse you of anything, but if it’s groundless, it’s not a blame, it’s an absurdity. The point is live your life in such a way that Christ is honored and exalted so that if anyone accuses you of anything, Jesus, defending you says, “No, not true. You are making a false accusation.”

I hope you have a good week. It is so hard to believe that July is nearly past and August is upon us. The contest has just a few weeks to go. Please contact the people in your inbox and ask them to subscribe to this blog. All they have to do is go to www.preachercooper.com and sign up. Then they go to the bottom of the page, click on comments, and tell me your name as having referred them. Whoever has signed-up the most, wins a real nice prize. There can be up to four winners. I sure hope you are one! Speaking of comments, feel free to click on comments yourself and let me hear from you. Two-way conversation is always preferable. I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic.

Cold milk with pastor Vic

Good Monday morning to you once again! Pour yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of juice and we can enjoy it together. I believe I'll have a glass of milk. Can any of you remember milk from the farm? I grew up a city boy from Cincinnati, but my aunt and uncle, Margie and Ed Blevins, lived outside London, Kentucky in a community called Swiss Colony. We would go there and visit each summer. Theirs was a rural community where farmers still milked cows and sold the milk fresh. I remember going with my aunt Margie up the road about a mile to purchase some milk. The man sold her two gallons in large glass jars. It was fresh - about four hours from the cow. I even got to meet the cow and pet her. To a city boy, this was a treat given only out of God's grace. She also bought butter and eggs and boy what a breakfast we had! To this day milk is my drink of choice. Unlike farm milk, I now drink 1%. I've learned to tolerate it, but what I'd give for another glass of good cold right from the farm, fresh from the cow, loaded down with cream, milk. And please, do not put mine in plastic - I still say glass is best. Yum!

My Sunday morning message was "Salt and Light." It came from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. The text can be found in Matthew 5:13-16 where Jesus tells believers they are salt and light. Notice, He did not say we should be or are to be, but that we are. Salt and light are both beneficial to man kind. Salt adds flavor, acts as a preservative, and heals wounds. As Christian salt we add flavor to this world: we improve it. This world in which we live is at least tolerable due to the Judaeo-Christian influence. We act as a preservative because we, through the Holy Spirit, are what is holding this world together. Take the believers out of this world and you have a chaos known as tribulation. You certainly do not want to stick around for that! As salt, we heal spiritual wounds by pointing those poisoned by sin to the only cure, our Lord Jesus Christ.

As light, we are actually reflectors for that Greater Light, Jesus. We are not to let our light become obstructed - it becomes useless. I told you I was a city boy from Cincinnati. Cincy sits on seven hills. At night there are places where you can see the city lights for miles and miles: it is a very beautiful sight. The light is unobstructed and it leaves no doubt that there is a large city there. As believers our light is to shine as to leave no doubt that we love and serve Jesus. It is so that others can see our good works (as salt and light), and glorify our Heavenly Father. (v16)

If the light is obstructed, it is of no value. If the salt looses its saltiness, the only thing it is good for is to be walked on, and God never calls His children to be a doormat for this world. If you are a born again believer, you ARE salt and light. How good is the salt in your shaker? How clean are the reflectors of your life?

Last week I mentioned our little puppy Frazier. He sure has brought a lot of joy into our lives. He is a 7 month old miniature schnauzer. He is a handful, I must confess. As a matter of fact, I have decided at the age of 56 he is my last puppy. I'm having trouble keeping up! This little dude is keeping me active just trying to follow him around. Bess is teaching him tricks: he can sit, shake, lay, and come. They are still working on roll over and catch. Dog experts say roll over is tough, but that they can learn it.

The poor dog has also had to learn all his names. Bess calls him "Freddie Fray." Shelly calls him "Little Mister" and Kevin calls him "Freezer." I call him "Fray-Fray" and off hand I can't recall what Jason calls him, but you can be assured it is anything but Frazier. Some of his other names are "Frazier No!" "Frazier Quit!" "Frazier, get out of there!" Oh the joys of living with a puppy! Actually, we thank the Lord for sending him into our lives. He is such a treat. Maybe next week I'll have Shelly post a picture of him. I do not know how to do such as that. She has tried to teach me, but do you remember that old saying about teaching old dogs???

I do hope you have a fantastic week. Be sure to let me hear from you. It's kinda nice when someone talks back. You can send me an e-mail or scroll down to the bottom of this blog and click on comments. I enjoy what you have to say. My e-mail address is preachercooper@hotmail.com. Its been good chattin' with you, and I look forward when we get together again on Monday Morning With Pastor Vic.

Chattin' With the Preacher!

Good Monday Morning To You! Grab yourself a cup of coffee, or a glass of juice and lets chat. I hope you've had a good week since we met last Monday. I sure am grateful that you have invited me to spend this time with you. I appreciate your time, and I promise to try and use it wisely. If you're new to Monday Morning With Pastor Vic, let me say "Welcome to you." I appreciate you for signing on.

A few of you asked me how my car is doing. It is chugging along on 7 1/2 of its 8 cylinders. It runs rough and I am loosing coolant through the manifold crack, but it is running. I saw the car of my dreams the other day. A few weeks ago on this blog, I told you about a Jeep that I wanted. It is a 4-door hardtop that looks like a mini Hummer. I saw one in a parking lot the other day, so I walked up to it to see what kind it was. It is a Wrangler X. This one was bright yellow and I believe I started to drool. Now I know I'm not supposed to covet my neighbor's ox or his mule, and I do not. His Jeep Wrangler X, might be another issue, though.

My son, Kevin, has a Jeep. His is the kind that the doors lift off, the entire top and upper half comes off, and the windshield lays down. To me this sounds like too much work. I've seen him literally wrestling with that green machine to get it back together again. If I was 26 instead of 56, maybe I'd think differently.

Did I ever tell you about my kids? I have five children; one is in Heaven safe and healthy with Jesus. His name is Davey. Michele is my oldest daughter and she is an on line college student who also own her own business. She started doing it to earn money for her school books, and it took off. She makes wristlet key chains, camera straps, purses, and all kind of hand made items. You can see her work at www.sweetirie.com.

My other daughter, Amanda, her husband Tim, and my two grand kids that I am so graciously allowing them to raise for me, just moved to Arizona. She has told me where, but I keep forgetting. It is near Tombstone. As a lover of Westerns, Tombstone grabs my attention and sticks with me. Tim is in the United States Army and they were just stationed there. I believe his actual first official day on duty at this new post is today. I'm very proud of him. My grands are Nathan (15) and Layne (11).

Our son, Kevin, the Jeep owner, is an over the road trucker. He travels the 48 states with his little dog, Bubba. Bubba is a miniature schnauzer. He makes our family's third and my fourth. We have a 7 month old schnauzer puppy named Frazier. I'll tell you more about him at a later time. We got him in February, a month after we lost our ten year old schnauzer, Kaiser, to Cushing's disease. Losing him has been hard; he was a fine dog. I also had a schnauzer when I was a teen named Peppy. She was a great dog and whenever you came home, she would jump right into your arms. You'd better be prepared to catch her, because she WAS coming.

Our youngest son, Jason, lives in Ft. Myers and has a Patterdale Terrier named Bella. I actually have four grand dogs. Frankie and Dakota, (Amanda and Tim) Bella, (Jason) and Bubba (Kevin). Jason has been in the hardware business, but was laid off last Friday. He was the assistant manager, but ran the store on a day to day basis. Their store catered to the building industry, and the economy has crippled the builders here in SW Florida. He held this job for 6 years and has extensive hardware knowledge. Pray for Jason, he is now classified a displaced worker. With his hardware knowledge, you'd think another job would be a cinch, but those days are gone. It's not Obama's fault, nor is it the fault of George Bush. I believe it's part of God's judgment on America. The leaders and people of this country need to fall to their knees and cry out to Almighty God for forgiveness and direction. However, that's just my opinion.

Yesterday's sermon title was, "If John The Baptist Could Preach In An American Pulpit." The question was posed, "What would he say?" When John preached in the Judean wilderness it was the time of the first coming of Jesus Christ. John preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" His message today would be the same, because Jesus is coming again. Here is my outline from Matthew chapter 3. You may use it for your Bible study, and you preachers may use it or adapt it to fit your needs.

I. Prepare the way of the Lord. Make His paths straight. (v3)
A. The people in John's day would prepare the roads upon which the king would travel.
B. They would straighten crooked, twisting roads.
C. We must prepare our hearts and straighten our lives. They are the roads upon which our King travels.

II. Who warned you to flee God's wrath. (V7)
A. If you could flee, where would you flee to?
B. Wrong answerers:
1. to man.
2. to religion.
3. to a Bible believing Church.
C. Right answer:
1. To Jesus. Peter said in John 6:68, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life."

III. You claim to have repented - prove it! (V8)
A. Bring evidence. Example: A man may tell you that he can grow lush, meaty, good tasting tomatoes. The proof is when he brings one for you to see and taste.
B. What evidence would you bring if called upon to do so?
C. The evidence would have to be (back to V3) a straightened out life i.e. a life of righteousness. Righteousness means right with God.

Thanks for this time together. I hope your coffee didn't get cold or your juice get warm while I preached a bit. When I get to talking about the Scriptures, I loose all sense of time. I love them and love teaching them so very much. Don't forget about the contest; please help sign up new readers for the Monday Morning With Pastor Vic blog. Click on the contest button for more info, or scroll down to the end of this article to where it says "comments." Click on that and ask any question, or leave any comment you'd like. It is more fun when conversations are two-way.

May the Lord bless you this week and I look forward to seeing you again next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic.

Let Freedom Ring

Good Monday morning to you.Welcome to this abbreviated version of Monday Morning With Pastor Vic. I know you are busy with your long holiday week-end, so I'll try to not tie up a lot of your time. Did you get to enjoy America's 234th birthday? How was your 4th of July? It was terribly soggy down here in South West Florida. Granted, we needed the rain, and thanked God for it, but I hated to see people's pic-nic and fireworks plans ruined. The Coopers really did not have any plans, so being shut inside listening to the rhythm of the falling rain was not so bad. We rented a movie called, "The Box." Weird. Very weird. We dismissed evening services at church so people could spend time with their families and friends. Again, it's too bad about the washed out plans, but that family time is precious time, and should not be about what you are doing, but who you are doing it with. It is that together time; that's what is important.

My Sunday morning message was titled, "Let Freedom Ring." The sermon points were:
I. Freedom rings means I can have the joy of Jesus in my heart.
II. Freedom rings means I can love Jesus.
III. Freedom rings means I can walk about the Kingdom of Heaven with my head held high.

I can have joy in my heart because the penalty of sin is gone, the pain of sin is gone, and even though the persuasiveness of sin is still there, I can overcome.

I can love Jesus because sin no longer blocks the light of Jesus. As the moon blocks the sun's light from the earth during a solar eclipse, sin blocks the light of Christ during a spiritual eclipse. This eclipse is where unbelievers live, but Christians can also experience them. Are you in one right now? Jesus' light will shine through, but you must get that sin out of the way. That is called repentance, ie changing direction.

I can walk about the Kingdom of Heaven with my head held high because just as Jesus told the woman in John 8:11 He told me, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more." I was just as guilty of my sins as she was hers, but Jesus took the awful stain of my sin away. I'm free! Let freedom ring!!

Don't forget the contest. For more information scroll down and read about it, or click on the flashing contest sign. There will be four winners and I'd love for one of them to be you. It's just my way of saying, "Thanks for the help." It will help increase readership of these Monday Morning articles, thereby allowing more people to hear about Jesus. Won't you help? Thank you so much.

Good bye for now and I'll see you again next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!