I hope you had an excellent weekend and that all is well with you. The Cooper family here in Southwest Florida is doing fine. Did your pick win the super bowl? As of the time of the writing of this blog, The Seahawks are ahead 43-8, and I am thrilled. My grandson, Nathan, is a Seahawk fan, so I’m sticking with him. Either way, when the sun comes up in the morning, and it surely will, life moves on. It is fun to have something to root for and to cheer about. It makes life more bearable. However, when your team loses, shrug it off, move on, and “wait until next year.” Believe me, I know. I’m from Cincinnati!
I want to take this opportunity to announced to you that the changes we had planned for the video ministry have been made. As I previously explained, I realize that gazing into a computer screen for 30 minutes tends to be a bit difficult. We hope we solved that dilemma for you. We no longer record the morning message live. After everyone leaves, we record a 10 minute synopsis of the sermon. The same notes are used, it is just cut down in length. I do hope this helps. You can view the video at www.facebook.com/friendshipharmony. Would you please view it and let me know what you think? Your feed back is of great value to us. Remember, you do not have to have a facebook account to see the video. Just click onto the link provided.
The service at Friendship Harmony was super. Our pianist was not in attendance, so we sang a-capella. Eleanor did a fine job of leading us and sang a beautiful solo on the song, “He Touched Me,” We are so blessed to have her and Allan with us.
Friendship Harmony is truly a team ministry. Many people perform many ministries that make this church successful. I am blessed as the Pastor to only have to wear one hat. I do my job, everyone else does theirs, and it clicks. That is how it is supposed to work.
Here are the notes from yesterday’s message. It is titled, “The Fox In The Hen House,” and it is the parable of the wheat and the tares. Why not copy the notes, then follow along with the video. The video should be ready by Tuesday morning.
The Fox In The Hen House
Matthew 13:24-30
By Victor Cooper
02/01/14
Intro: Parable comes from the Hebrew word Mashal and means defining what is unknown by using what is known. It is a mini drama with a cast of characters. By knowing the cast of characters, it is easier to see the meaning of the story.
Three points to remember concerning parables:
1. Every parable has a point.
2. A parable will push for a decision.
3. A parable is a picture of reality.
The Cast Of Characters
The land owner Jesus
The field The Church
Sleeping men Church members
Servants Pastors
The Enemy Satan
Place of burning Hell
The Barn Heaven
I. V24 The field
A. In general, the world
B. Specifically, the church
II. V 25 Sleepers --- lukewarm; won’t take a stand
A. Examples: Churches of Pergamos, and Thyatira from Revelation 2.
While the church sleeps, the devil works overtime.
B. “went his way” sneering, smugness of Satan
III. V 26 Wheat and tares together
A. You could not tell one from the other until the wheat bloomed.
B. By then it was too late to weed the fields; the wheat and tare roots were intertwined.
IV. V 27 The question: How did the weeds get in in the first place.
A. This is stupid question #1.
V. v 28 There has been a fox in the hen house.
A. Stupid question #2: Shall we weed the field?
B. Illogical question: they knew better.
C. The servants are showing a complete lack of reason.
VI. V 29-30 The day of reckoning awaits.
A. Both must grow together.
1. This protects the wheat
2. The wheat has value.
B. The burning tares would be used for heat as there was limited forest land.
C. The wheat was safe and secure in the barn.
May the Lord bless your upcoming week, and remember, your comments are always appreciated. E- mails can be sent to preachercooper@hotmail.com. I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!!!
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