Church news
i
Sunday school lesson?
The kingdom of
heaven is revealed
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like
unto a merchantman, seeking goodly
pearls: who, when he had found one
pearl of great price, went and sold all
that he had, and bought it." (Mat
thew 13:45-46)
In the thirteenth chapter of Mat
thew Jesus revealed the nature of
God's Kingdom. Apparently He was
visiting in a home, perhaps Peter's,
and had gone out to sit by the Sea of
Galilee. A great crowd of people be
gan gathering about Him, so much
so, that it was necessary for Him to
enter into a boat in order to preach to
them. As was His custom. He spoke
to them in parables. In fact, nearly
the whole chapter is a sermon that
Jesus gave in parables. Each of these
parables teaches a significant truth
concerning the Kingdom of Heaven.
The text of today's study is taken
from three of the parables.
THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT
AND THE TARES. (Matthew 13:24
30)
This is the second parable of the
sermon. The first parable also con
cerned sowing grain. The grain rep
resented the gospel and the ground
represented the people on which the
seeds were sown. Some were fertile
and receptive while others were
rocky and hard. In this, the second
parable, the good seeds represented
the good people whom Jesus had be
gotten through His Word. However,
after the good seed was sown, some
thing bad happened. According to the
parable, while the workmen slept,
the enemy came and sowed tares
among the wheat. When the seeds
germinated and began to grow, the
discovery was made. The question
that the servants put to the master
was, "What should be done about the
tares? Should they go in among the
wheat and pull out the tares? The an
swer was, "No." The roots of the
wheat and tares had become so inter
twined that to pull out the tares would
also destroy much of the wheat. The
master said, "Wait until harvest. The
tares will be gathered first, bundled
together and burned. The wheat then
will be harvested and put into the
barn." The disciples asked, "What is
the meaning of the parable?"
THE PARABLE EXPLAINED.
(Matthew 13:37-43)
"Then He answered and said unto
them. He that soweth the good seed is
the Son of Man." (Verse 37)
The godly people and the wicked
people will live together in this world
until the time of judgement. The
godly people will be saved to a heav
enly home, the wicked will be cast
into the fire and burned.
"...When le had found one pearl of
great price, went and sold all that he
had and bought it. (Verse 46)
Following the parable of the wheat
and the tares, Jesus told two brief
parables concerning the Kingdom of
Heaven. This is the first. Can a per
son place a value on one's eternal sal
vation? Can words adequately ex
plain it's value? The answer to both
of these questions is certainly, "No".
When Jesus spoke these parables He
spoke in colloquial terms that His lis
teners might better understand in
that day. One person discovered a
hidden treasure in a field. He sold ev
erything he had in order to buy the
field and obtain the treasure. An
other, a business man, a pearl mer
chant, in fact, found a pearl of great
value. He too determined to own this
treasure and sold everything he had
to buy it. Can either of these exam
ples give us more than just an inkling
of the value of becoming a citizen of
the Kingdom of Heaven; the treasure
of salvation? No, but they may help
individuals to come to some conclu
sions. Salvation is available to all
persons and it is an individual re
sponsibility. It cannot be bought but
can only be received as a gift from
God. It requires changes in one's
live.
Progressive care
unit reopens at
Chowan Hospital
Edenton, N.C.? The five-bed Pro
gressive Care Unit at Chowan Hospi
tal, closed temporarily on November
18 due to a staff shortage in that de
, partment, reopened February 1,
according to Head Nurse Cindy
Coker, K.N., B.S.N.
"We are now back to full staff,"
said Coker. "We had lost a number of
, our I.C.U.-P.C.U.? trained nurses
. due to family moves, transfers to
other departments, and other rea
sons, and they have now been re
placed."
The P.C.U., an adjunct of the Inten
sive Care Unit, serves as a step-down
level for the treatment of critically
and seriously ill patients. It requires
, an around-the-clock staff of regis
tered nurses and licensed practical
nurses. With the impact of a national
< nursing shortage, both rural and
metropolitan hospitals feel the
crunch when openings occur on their
staffs. Normal leaves of absence,
transfers, and nurses moving from
the area can especially affect a rural
hospital because, "it simply takes a
little longer to hire replacements,"
said Coker.
"Our administration backs us up
when we tell them we need to close
some beds," she added. "Even
though the hospital may lose some
revenue, they will close the beds
rather than compromise the quality
of care our patients receive."
"Some hospitals will pull nurses
from other departments, or run dou
ble shifts, in order to keep a unit
open, but we feel that these practices
would jeopardize our patients' wel
fare," Coker, a five-year veteran at
Chowan Hospital, concluded.
CLASSIFIEDS SELL!!!
CARD OF THANKS
The Family of the late
Katie Marie James Bragg
Express sincere appreciation to everyone who
comforted and supported us during our time of
bereavement. May God continue", to bless all of
you..
Children
Barbara, Robert /
and Pete
SPAGHETTI SUPPER and BAKE SALE
Let's All " Chime In " and enjoy the
Supper and the Fellowship.
HERTFORD METHODIST CHURCH
Time: 5:00 - 7:30 PM, Feb 19
$3.00 A Plate
Sponsored by the
Crusader's Class
COME ON OVER! - You'll be glad
you did!
IT'S A BAKE SALE TOO!
Former teacher Grace Coston instructs students in rules of
the upcoming conservation poster contest. The contest is cur
rently going on in our area schools, and is sponsored by Albe
marle Electric Membership Corporation.
Conservation program
underway in schools
unce again tne Albemarle Soil &
Water Conservation District and the
Albemarle Electric Membership
Corporation are sponsoring their an
nual poster contest in grades 4th, 5th
and 6th throughout schools in Perqui
mans. The contest gets underway the
first week of February and will con
tinue on through the 19th.
Mrs. Grace Coston, retired school
teacher, better known to the students
as the "Conservation Lady" is once
again assisting the district by going
into the schools and explaining the
rules of the contest while she also de
livers a conservation message to
each class. She urges each student to
do his or her best in representing his
class and school.
District secretary, Ginger O'Neal
will be presenting materials and a
film show to each grade hoping to en
hance the students knowledge of our
natural resources and encourage
each student to participate in the con
test.
The posters will be judged and a
first and second place winner will be
selected from each grade along with
a classroom winner from each grade.
The first and second place winners
will be entered in the District Contest
which will be held on March 3rd at
Angler's Cove Restaurant.
Area church calendar
Bay Branch schedule
Bay Branch A.M.E. Zion Church
Sunday School begins at 10 a.m. with
Mrs. Esther Hunter, Superintendent,
in charge.
Morning worship begins at 11:15.
Music will be rendered by the Senior
Snag Harbor sch<
Snug Harbor Community Church
holds a Worship Service Sunday at 9
a.m. followed by Sunday School for
all ages at 10:15 a.m.
In the evening at 7 p.m., there is an
Adult Bible Study; Youth Group
Meeting (6-12 yrs.) and a Teen Group
Meeting.
We are an Interdenominational
First Baptist
schedule
The First Baptist Church Sunday
School will be at 9:45 a.m.
Morning Worship will be at 11:00
a.m. Pastor London will be preach
ing from the subject: "What Does It
Mean to be a Christian", Acts 11:26.
The Young Adult Choir will be sing
ing under the direction of Bro. Don
ald McClain, Organist.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
TO ALL RESIDENTS OF THE
TOWN OF HERTFORD
1988 Town Tags and Stickers are on
sale as of January 1, 1988.
at the HERTFORD TOWN OFFICE
Residents are required to purchase
a tag or sticker
for each vehicle owned.
1988 TAGS OR STICKERS MUST BE PURCHASED
AND DISPLAYED NO LATER THAN FEB. 1 5, 1 988.
COST OF TAGS OR STICKERS - *5.00
Choir. Mrs Barbara Shannon is the
organist.
At 6 p.m. Steve and the New Birth
Harmonics will be in concert.
The public is invited to attend.
edule
Church. All are welcome to join in
our activities and fellowship.
AIRLINE TICKETS
CRUISES . . . TOURS
hucx4. W (taotl
117 S Water St 33S-2272
Dear
friends,
Increasing knowledge
and information is being
published about bereave
ment, grief, and mourn
ing. Caregivers have
learned that sharing
grief with someone who
has been thru a similar
loss can have a healing
effect. It is wise for
newly bereaved persons
to seek out and welcome
a support group to aid in
surmounting your grief
and despair.
Respectfully,
. .y
g>urinbell
JFuneral
Home, 3nt.
509 Dobbs Street
Hertford, N.C.
426-7311
"When We See Gethsemane"
Matthew 26:36-46
Lawrence C. Higgins, Pastor
New Hope - Woodland United Methodist Church
All of us, at some point in our lives have been at a crossroad
where we must make a decision. A decision that has often
changed the focus of our lives. In the Garden of Gethsemane we
find that Jesus had come to a crossroad where a decision was
required. It was time when more than ever we were apart of his
decision-making.
In the serenity of the garden, Jesus made his decision to go to
Calvary. If only we could have been there, if only we could have
seen with our eyes and experienced in our hearts what this
crossroad would involve. Let us look in his garden and see Jesus.
What do we see?
First, we see the agony of Jesus. His time in the garden was
one of struggle. He could have very well turned his back to the
garden, to his disciples, to Jerusalem, to us, but he also was fully
aware he was apart of God's plan to bring redemption to the
world. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begot
ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but
have everlasting life." (Jn. 3:16).
Secondly, we see the trust of Jesus. He knew that the hours
before him were not going to be pleasant ones. But he also was
fully aware of the source of his strength, and peace. That source
was God, so he began his prayer with "Abba, Father." "Abba"
was an everyday word that a child would use to address his
father. By Jesus using this word, he was acknowledging his de
pendence upon his heavenly Father to be with him through the
dark hours ahead.
And finally, we see the courage of Jesus. "Rise" said Jesus,
"let us be going". The moments for prayer and the moments in
the garden are over. Now is the time for action. Jesus knew that
he could not spend his entire life praying in a secluded garden.
But there was a task for him to do. And through the strength and
power of God he will finish the work God has laid before him.
May we remember, the next time that we are in our own
"Gethsemane" that we can turn to the One who is able to do all
things - and who says to us "Rise", let us be going. Amen.
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426-5246