Praying For Your Safety

Good Monday Morning To You!

I understand that most of you in the United States are fighting some nasty winter conditions. Wherever you are, please stay safe and warm. If you have to get out in it, please use extra caution, regardless of if you are riding OR walking. One slip on the ice could be very bad, so please be careful. I would much rather be praying for your safety than the healing of broken bones. I would like to make one observation however. It seems like when December is nasty, January is not too bad. When December is descent, January is miserable. That is how it is back in my hometown of Cincinnati. Hopefully the worst of winter will be out of the way before too long. Does that seem true for where you live? How about some of you from places like Green Bay, Baltimore, and Detroit. Send me an e-mail and let me know about the winter habits of where you live.

Yesterday at Friendship Harmony was a tremendous day. The attendance was excellent, and the congregation sang like a choir. It was such a joy to be in the house of the LORD. The Holy Spirit was surely there with us. The message was about the second Sunday of Advent: Proclamation. The notes are below and the video will be ready to view Tuesday. To watch simple go to www.facebook.com/friendshipharmony. You do not need a facebook account to view it. Be sure to let your friends and family who might not be able to make it to a church know we would be honored to have them join us by way of video. Here are those notes.

Second Sunday of Advent - Proclamation ©
Isaiah 7:14
2nd in a series of 4 By Victor Cooper
11/29; 12-7,8/13

Intro: Advent means “coming.” The birth of Jesus was the first advent; the first coming of Christ. Although most Baptists do not use the term “advent,” they certainly believe it. We call it Christmas.

Why the proclamation?

I. There was an expectation.
A. Adam and Eve had been told to expect a deliverer.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
B. Jacob reiterated it when prophesying concerning his son Judah. Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

II. The people needed to know who and what to look for.
A. A virgin shall conceive --- an impossibility without a God sent miracle.
1. Liberal theologians tell us that a virgin is simply a young lady They claim that it is young ladies that bear children; certainly not miraculous.
2. The Hebrew word ‘almah translated virgin indicates otherwise. It means a young unmarried woman of marriageable age who has had no relations with a man.
B. His name will be Immanuel, meaning “God with us.
C. His attributes were given. Isaiah 9:5-7For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace

III. The proclamation was clear.
A. A son would be born; not a child, but a son --specific.
1. Not only was it impossible for a virgin to conceive, but in that day predicting the sex of an unborn child was a 50/50 guess.
B. A prophet would b e given Deut. 18:15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
C. An intercessor was coming. Isaiah 59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
1. A current function of Jesus.
Romans 8:34 (NKJV) Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Conclusion: The expectation is hereby proclaimed. He is coming!

May the LORD bless your upcoming week. As Christmas draws closer, be sure to enjoy the season, but do not fail to remember whose birthday we celebrate. I enjoy our weekly visits, and I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!!!