David, What Were You Thinking???

Good Wednesday Evening To You1

It seemg a bit weird writing that. It’s usually Good Monday Morning To You!! I am still not feeling the greatest, but at least I can function. Have you ever felt bad but could not specify why? Sometime you just feel yucky and you cannot explain it. If you asked me where I felt bad, I couldn’t be specific; sometime you just feel horrible. Oh well, listen at me going on. How are you? I hope each of you is doing well and feeling fine..

I was going to tell you why I lately am being called the duck man. No, I do not waddle nor quack. It’s a good story, but I’d rather write it this coming Monday so that I can do the story justice. Instead, I’ll post the notes for last Sunday’s message and leave it at that.

The sermon is also now on youtube, or you can access it easier from my facebook page. Either way, I hope you’ll watch it. Perhaps you can print out the notes and follow along. To view the message on YouTube go to www.youtube.com. From their home page type in Friendship Harmony Baptist Church and hit enter. Then simply scroll to the video you would like to see. As I said, you can also view it from facebook, but I do not know how to tell you to do it. I’ll find out and let you know next time we meet here in the blog.

David, What Were You Thinking?
2 Samuel 11-12 :various
By: Vic Cooper

After all David had experienced with the LORD, the closeness, the blessings, what was he thinking when Bathsheba first came into his sights?

David would say:

I. “I thought she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen“.
11:2
A. 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
B. Lust tempted him. James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. [15] Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
1. Lust can only tempt you if you allow it.

II. “I was the King. I could have anything, or anybody I wanted.”
11:3,4
A. In sending for Bathsheba, David was following a tradition
of his time.
1. People of that day would get up at sunrise, then
usually take an afternoon nap, and get back up in the
cool of the evening.
B. Bathsheba wanted to be wanted.
1. She knew David’s routine, bathed in a spot where she
knew he would see, and wrote a real life script for
As The World Turns.
2. “… the pride of life…” 1 John 2:16
III. “I knew for both our sakes this had to be swept under the
rug: at any cost” 11: 8-17
A. His reputation was at stake.
B. They would be killed. Adultery was punished by
death.
1. Executing the King would be difficult if not impossible,
but he would have been known as “a son of death”
which would have rendered him ineffective, especially
when he ruled in capital cases.

IV. “I thought everything was done” v26,27
Nathan approached him a year later.
A. Numbers 32:23 “…be sure your sin will find you out.”
B. What made “the man after God’s own heart” do it?
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
1. ACC Who can know it?—It even hides itself from itself; so that its owner does not know it. A corrupt heart is the worst enemy the fallen creature can have; it is full of evil devices,—of deceit, of folly, and abomination, and its owner knows not what is in him till it boils over, and is often past remedy before the evil is perceived.

V. “Finally, I came to my senses.” 2 Samuel 12:13,14
A. David acknowleged his sin.
B. God commutes the death sentence on David, but exacts
it on his son.

VI. “I repented” Ps 51
A. David uses four words in the first four verses to confess
what he had done.
1. transgressions = rebellion
2. iniquity = perverseness
3. sin = offence
4. evil = wickedness


VII. David, what were you thinking after your rededication to the
LORD?
A. Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. [2] Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
B. He would again turn his heart to God and say, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.” Psalm 119:37

Hopefully we will get back on track and have the blog posted next week when it is supposed to be. Have a good rest of your week and I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!!!

I'll See You On Wednesday

Monday Morning With Pastor Vic will be available this coming Wednesday due to Pastor Vic being under the weather. We’ll see you Wednesday morning!

Danny's Revenge

Good Monday Morning To You!

For the past several weeks I have been telling you about my seminary days. I guess I have been thinking back to that time because in August I’ll be a freshman again: a brand new, freshman professor of Geography at the South West Florida Bible Institute in Port Charlotte, Florida. Last week I told you about the time I caught my buddy sleeping and told him the professor had just called on him to dismiss in prayer. I promised that this week I would tell you how he got even.

We had just had our English class, and it was two hours before supper. We all decided to crawl into our bunks for a brief nap. Our dorm room was full with four boys. We took our nap and Danny tapped me to awaken me. He said, “Wake up Coop, it’s supper time.” I got out of bed, put on my shirt and shoes and we walked across the campus to the cafeteria. While my friends and I were heading to eat, people gave me some very dirty looks. I was totally bewildered at their strange behavior. I said, “Hello” to several, but they quickly turned away like I had some exotic disease. As I went into the line inside the cafeteria, people literally shunned me. Even the cafeteria lady looked at me and shook her head, grinning all the while. We found an empty table and I got nothing but the evil eye. I could not figure out what was happening. All the while my room mates seemed totally oblivious to what was occurring. All I knew was people I considered friends glared at me in wide eyed disbelief. When we returned to our room, it was dark and time to get ready for bed. I gathered my shaving kit and went into the shower room. When I looked into the mirror, I saw what all the scorn was about. While I had been asleep, my “buddies” had taken a black magic marker and had put 666 on my forehead. That’s right! I was walking the halls and sidewalks of a Baptist Seminary with the “mark of the beast” plastered all over my forehead. For those of you who do not understand, to a Baptist, this is the worst act of blasphemy one can perform. It is unthinkable for someone to accept the mark of the Anti-Christ. Danny and the roomies were standing behind me laughing so hard I thought they would pass out. I laughed too. I might be a practical joker, but I can take it, and enjoy it as much as I can dish it out.

Yesterday was a good day at Friendship Harmony. We honored the dads present by giving them a small gift, and the singing was roof lifting. I continued our Sermon Series, “What Were You Thinking?” This week we asked Moses, who had just disobeyed a direct order from God, “What Were You Thinking?” Moses had been told by God to speak to the rock, but instead he hit the rock. What was he thinking? The notes are below, and the video should be ready by Tuesday morning. To view it, go to www.youtube.com. From their home page, type in Friendship Harmony Baptist Church and hit enter. Then simply scroll down to the video you’d like to see.

Moses, What Were You Thinking
Numbers 20:1-13
By: Victor Cooper
11/04/06

Moses, after all your experiences with the LORD, when He explicitly told you to speak to the rock, you disobeyed and hit it. What were you thinking?

I. “It was a very hard time for me.”
A. My sister Miriam died. We were very close. Num. 20:1
B. We had been lost forty years. The people and animals
needed water and they looked to me for it. It turned into
a mob scene. 20:2,3
C. This was how this outfit had behaved in the past. They
were rebels. 20:10”

II. “But, you’re right. I had such a close relationship with the
LORD. He had shown Himself faithful throughout my life.
A. By Divine providence after Pharaoh Seti had ordered
all Hebrew boy babies under age three to be killed,
my mother put me in the Nile in a little reed-boat.
Exodus 2:3
B. My sister Miriam “arranged” for Pharaoh’s daughter to
adopt me, and pay a Hebrew mother to care for me --
it was to be my own mother! 2:8,9
C. I was then to be raised in Pharaoh’s home and raised
and educated as Egyptian royalty. Acts 7:22
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.”

III. “I remember one of my meetings with the LORD. It was
certainly memorable. Exodus 3:2
A. I was literally in God’s presence! 3:4-6
B. He told me He was going to deliver Israel from Egypt.
3:7-8
C. Then He dropped a bomb-shell on me. He told me I was
to be His instrument in that deliverance. 3:10
D. Interestingly enough, He told me He was going to lead
the people out of Egypt and into the Promised land, but
I was only to be involved with the Exodus - not the
entrance.”

IV. “I well remember our travels through the wilderness, and
God’s presence with us.
A. He led us by day and night with His pillars. Ex. 13:21-22
B. The LORD told me Pharaoh was coming after us, but that
He would protect us. Exodus 14:1-4
C. When they were chasing us, He hid us from them with
that pillar of cloud. 14:19-20
D. By the way, lest I forget to mention it, that yammering
outfit I was leading was murmuring all the way.
14:11-12”

V. “What was I thinking? I was thinking I needed to let these
people know who was in charge. I had forgotten that God,
not me, was in charge.
A. BKC The Lord told Moses only to speak to the rock for its flow must not be attributed to his own efforts but to the Lord’s miraculous provision. Moses, however, at the breaking point of his endurance and patience (he called the people rebels), drew attention to his own authority as covenant mediator by striking the rock twice with his staff. The water came because of God’s beneficent grace, but because Moses and Aaron had drawn attention to themselves rather than trusting in the LORD they were denied entrance to the Promised Land. The principle here is clear: “…For unto whomsoever much has been given, much shall be required…” (Luke 12:48).

Have a good rest of your week. Next week I’ll tell you why lately I have become the duckman. We’ll discuss that when I see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!!!

Antics Of a Seminary Freshman

Good Monday Morning To you!!!

I always enjoy our Monday morning visits. I cannot begin to tell you how honored I am that you would take the time to read this blog. Blog. That was a word that did not exist when I entered the ministry way back in 1972. Back then, if you would have told me that I would have a web delivered blog reaching across the globe to over seventeen thousand readers, I would have thought you had gotten into Uncle Bob’s corn squeezings. Once when I was in my teens, I did find the home made moon shine, but that is another story for another day.

For the past two weeks, I have told you about some of my antics in seminary. I was a prankster living in a dorm room with three other pranksters. It was a riot! I’ve got to tell you about a prank I pulled on my buddy, Danny Jones.

One of the classes we attended was called, “The Life of Paul.” The professor was a man named Lee Payne. Brother Payne was one of the finest teachers I have ever had the honor to learn from. More often than not, he would break out into a sermon, and could he ever preach. You would leave his class feeling like you had been to an old fashioned revival. The classroom where we were seated held nearly a hundred people. Danny and I had seats assigned in the back. The classes were about an hour and fifteen minutes long, and after twenty minutes into the class, I looked over at Danny, and he was sound asleep. I didn’t want Professor Payne to discover his little nap, so I did what any good friend would do: I reached over and woke him up. I told him, “Danny, Danny, wake up. Professor Payne just called on you to dismiss in prayer.” Danny promptly stood and prayed the nicest dismissal prayer I have ever heard. Brother Payne stood there in wide eyed amazement. When he finished praying, Professor Payne said, “Now that Brother Jones has his prayer life back in order, we will resume our class about the life of Paul. Danny sat back down with the most bewildered, hang dog look on his face. I did not know a human being could turn that many shades of red. Of all the stunts I had ever pulled in both high school and seminary, this was my crowning achievement. However, before you get all teary eyed over poor Danny, next week I’ll tell you how he got even: it had to be his crowning achievement in prank pulling. When I begin teaching classes in mid August, I pray I do not have any students like me. God does, however, have a delicious sense of humor. Time will tell.

Yesterday at Friendship Harmony was an awesome day. I hope you don’t get sick of hearing me say that from week to week, but it’s true. Friendship Harmony services are alive, vibrant, and a joy to experience. As I’ve said on many occasions, you do not attend Friendship Harmony, you experience Friendship Harmony. Yesterday was no exception. The day started with the beginning of a new Sunday School class for people aged 15 to 20. What a blessing it was. Several of those have been attending regularly for the last six weeks. I am so proud of them.

During our morning worship time, we were honored to have in our service a missionary and his family. Bobu John and his family are from India, in the state of Delhi. They are active in operating homes for unwanted children as well as starting churches. They stayed for our fellowship meal afterward. It was a joy getting to know them.

As I said, we had our monthly fellowship meal after the service. The theme this month was, “My Favorite Casserole.” As always, our ladies rose to the occasion. We had a variety of wonderful casseroles. Our pianist, Karin Barry, made the best potatoes I’ve ever eaten. Perhaps I need to include some recipes from time to time.

For our morning message, I continued our sermon series, “What Were You Thinking?” This week we met Stephen and asked him, “What were you thinking when the stones were pounding against your body, beating the life out of you?” Below are the notes. I hope they are a blessing to you. Don’t forget, on Tuesday you can visit www.youtube.com and see the sermon as it was preached. To do so, from their homepage, type in Friendship Harmony Baptist Church and hit enter. Then, simply scroll to the message you would like to see.

Stephen, What Were You Thinking?
Acts 6 & 7: various
9th in a series of 12 By: Victor Cooper

Today we meet Stephen, one of the first deacons of the Church. Stephen was a man who loved Jesus, talked about Jesus and stood for Jesus; even though it cost him his life. We would ask him, “Stephen, what were you thinking when the stones were pounding against you, beating out your life? Why didn’t you just give up and give in?”

I. First, lets meet Stephen.
A. He was a man of honest report, (good reputation) full of
the Holy Ghost, (filled = controlled) full of wisdom,
(prudence) and faith (conviction of religious truth).
B. He was a man who was opposed, v9, spoke with power,
v10, and was falsely accused v11-15.

Stephen, what were you thinking?

II. “When I was brought before the Sanhedrin, I answered the
High Priest’s question. 7:1
A. He wanted to know two things.
1. Was Jesus going to destroy the Temple? 6:14
2. Was Jesus going to change our customs? 6:14”

III. “I reminded them of Jewish history beginning with Abraham.
7:2-50
A. I told them their fathers were guilty of unbelief and they
were no different. :51-54
B. Your modern churches are good about telling people
Jesus loves them, and that’s true, but it’s only part. You
forget to call a sinner a sinner and remind people that
God hates sin and will judge sinners!
1 God hates sin! Psalm 5:4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
2. God judges sin. The Bible abounds with many
examples of God’s judgment falling. ex Egypt,
Jericho, Assyria, Babylon etc…
3. JFB Commentary we should view this {section} as the summing up, the brief import of the whole Israelitish history—grossness of heart, spiritual deafness, continuous resistance of the Holy Ghost, down to the very council before whom Stephen was pleading.”

IV. “I knew God was pleased with my testimony - I saw right
into the throne room of Heaven.
A. v56 I was already in that place of being part here and part
there. ex. Ruth Strimlan
B. What Moses asked for in Exodus 33:18, and was denied,
Stephen saw in verse 55.
C. The Bible does not say that the Heavenly sight ever left
Stephen’s sight.”

V. “As they were stoning me, I remembered how my Saviour
had responded on the day of His crucifixion. I wanted to be
just like Him - even in death.
A. I asked God to forgive them. :60
B. You’re wondering if it hurt. Probably, but I really do not
remember it, ‘for the former things are passed away” and
‘all things are become new.’
C. Revelation 21:1-5 {READ}
1. Pulpit Commentary His prayer indicates superiority to bodily suffering. There is no petition for relief from pain or even for speedy release. Exactly what was God’s will for him he would bear right through.”

For you ladies on or near Pine Island, this coming Thursday, June 13, at 1:00pm at the Island Grill, your Ladies Luncheon is scheduled. Also, our Bible study, “The Basics of Christianity” will meet at 6:30 on Wednesday Evening. The address is 4764 Flamingo Drive, and is the home of Shirley Jean. I hope you can be with us.

I hope you are enjoying your summer. For many of you who plant gardens, they should be just about ready to begin yielding their delicious crops. I hope you have a successful garden this year. Regardless of how you are spending your summer, stay safe and well, and I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic.

Snowballs And Flying Hats!!!

Good Monday Morning To You.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee, or a glass of juice and let’s visit. I hope you are having a good and healthy Spring. I suppose for our readers in Australia, and other southern hemisphere dwellers, you are having Fall. Wherever you are, I appreciate you for taking the time to read the blog. Have you had the chance to visit our videos on YouTube? You can see them by going to www.youtube.com. From their homepage, type in Friendship Harmony Baptist Church and hit enter. Simply select the video you would like to see. Sunday’s message, “Peter, What Were You Thinking?’ will be available tomorrow. Until then, there are other videos available now.

Last week I told you about a time in my life when I decided to use my middle name. It was while I was in Bible College. I also mentioned that I knocked the dean’s hat off with a snowball. Several people have asked me to tell more. I will gladly tell it. To me it is as funny now as it was then.

I attended school in Missouri, and lived in a dorm room with three other boys. One afternoon it started to snow heavily, and in no time, a heavy, wet snow about three inches deep totally covered everything in sight. There were three dorm buildings in a row spaced about thirty feet apart. Each dorm had four floors, and I lived in the middle dorm on the fourth floor. Each dorm had an outside staircase with a decent sized landing. That snow was just laying there asking to be packed and thrown. Off all four landings snow balls were flying from all directions, including upon people on the ground. I had nearly used the snow the LORD had allotted me, and I had enough for one more good sized ball. The students down on the ground had an unlimited supply to work with. I spotted a young man who was picking people off at will, and I decided to nail him. I was a baseball pitcher, so hitting him would not be difficult. As a pitcher, I’ve hit many batters – some accidentally. That’s another story for another day. I took aim and let my snowball fly. I could tell from the moment I released it that my target was a sitting duck. Suddenly from the side of the building, Dean Harper appeared. He was wearing a nice dressy hat and my snowball nailed him in a perfect spot: his hat went flying. The only thing that moved faster than his hat flying through the air was Vic Cooper flying back into the dorm. For days that was the talk of the campus. Secretly, nearly everybody loved it. No one ever knew who threw that ball, and since I was never into bragging, I never told it either. Several days later, I passed him and his hat on the sidewalk and greeted him. He spoke and walked on by. As he passed me, I had a grin on my face that a surgeon could not have removed. By the time I reached the cafeteria, I was in full blown laughter. What I wouldn’t give for a return to those carefree days of my youth.

Yesterday was a good day at Friendship Harmony. Our visitors continue to come, and my prayer is that the Lord will unite them with our church. They are already part of us as far as I’m concerned.

The sermon series, “What Were You Thinking?” continued as we asked Peter what he was thinking when he walked on water. The notes are below. I hope they are a blessing to you. Tomorrow, you should be able to see and here the message on YouTube.

Peter, What Were You Thinking?
Matthew 14:28-31
2nd in a series By: Victor Cooper
11/11/06
updated 5/13

Peter experienced something no other human being on earth, with the exception of Jesus, ever experienced: he walked on water! The Bible doesn’t indicate how long he walked, just that indeed he walked on water. We would ask him, “Peter, what was it like? What were you thinking when you walked on water?”

I. Peter would say, “I wasn’t thinking about the water or the
walk. I just wanted to be with Jesus, regardless of the
obstacles. (text)
A. I already believed He was the Messiah. John 1:41
B. I would soon declare Jesus was the Messiah.
Matthew 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
1. Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. When we call
Him Christ, we use the word as a pronoun or a noun.
The word “Christ” is a verb. It describes the noun which
is Jesus.
C. I had gladly accepted His call to be an Apostle.
Matthew 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
1. We had had a miserable night fishing, then Jesus came
and told us to try again. We had the greatest catch we
had ever had. I knew our catch of the souls of men
would be just as good. Luke 5:1-7 He was our
Master.”



II. “I thought when you asked me ‘What were you thinking?,’
you were going to ask me what was I thinking when
I denied Christ.
A. I was ashamed. I had been warned I would, and I boast-
fully told Jesus He was wrong. I would never deny Him.
Mark 14:29-31.
B. I did repent, and He restored my relationship with Him.
John 21:15-17.”

III. “You think walking on water was a miracle, you should have
been with me at that Church Council meeting when I
revealed the Gospel was going to be delivered to the
Gentiles. Acts 15:7-11
A. I had told them Acts 10:34 …Of a truth I perceive that
God is no respecter of persons:
1. The statement, We are saved, just as they are, is amazing. A Jew under the Law would say the opposite and in reverse order (“they are saved as we are”), but one who knew God’s grace, as Peter did, would not say that. Salvation for anyone— Jew or Gentile—is by God’s grace (v. 11) and is by faith.”


“What was I thinking when I denied Jesus? He forgave me. I’d rather think about that. What was I thinking about when I walked on water? I was thinking about, loving, and desiring to follow my Lord. The best thing to ever happen to me was meeting Him. Do you love Him, too?”

For those of you with us here on Pine Island, our monthly fellowship meal is this coming Sunday morning after church. The theme is, “My favorite casserole.” If you are in the area, come by and share what our ladies, and some of the men, can do with a casserole. It’s going to be delicious. Also, don’t forget that each Wednesday evening, our small group, “The Basics of Christianity” will continue at 6:30. Call me for more information if you’d like to go. May the LORD bless your week, and I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!!!