Bulletin Announcements March 22, 2020
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: Ps. 142:5 – “I cry to you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.’ ” The Lord is our portion, our refuge, our everything. His mercy preserves us through all our days in the land of the living. This confidence frees us from the fear that so often leads to sins of greed and coveting. We have the Lord, we have a Father, and He is in control. We can follow His Word in confidence.
FAITH IN ACTION OF BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL: One ride, one visit, one Senior at a time. Need a ride? Want to volunteer? Need more information? Call (309) 827-7780; or email: office@bnfia.org or contact Barry Hamlin at (309) 750-9424.
TODAY is the deadline for items to be submitted for the APRIL NEWSLETTER. Any announcements you want to be published in the Newsletter should be submitted via email to: office@goodshepherdblm.org, mail, hand-delivered, or you may call (309) 662-8905. Thank you!
FOOD COLLECTION: We will collect food for the Home Sweet Home Mission until Easter Sunday, April 12th. The newly decorated box is in the narthex. We will continue our food collection for Thanksgiving/Christmas later in the year, but this gives us an opportunity to help out when donations are not as prevalent.
PORTALS OF PRAYER: The April–June 2020 Portals of Payer are available on the bookrack in the narthex. Pick up your free copy today.
THE LENTEN DEVOTIONS BOOKLETS Titled: “DELIVER US: JESUS SETS US FREE” is available on the table in the narthex. Pick up your copy today.
MY DEVOTIONS: The March—May 2020, My Devotions, the Daily Readings for Young Christians are available on the table in the narthex. Pick up your free copy today.
LUTHERAN WITNESS: It’s time to renew your subscription to the “Lutheran Witness”. If you are currently receiving the Lutheran Witness and wish to continue; or if you do not wish to continue; please notify the church office. Also, if you are not currently receiving the Lutheran Witness and would like to subscribe, please notify the church office. We must notify Lutheran Witness Circulation prior to Monday, April 20, 2020. The cost to receive the magazine for one year is $15.96. Please make your check payable to: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and include it with your contribution. Please indicate on the memo line: “Lutheran Witness”. Thank you.
FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: We have two separate sign-ups: Donut Pick-up and Coffee Set-up. We would like to encourage you to sign-up for one or the other. You may also sign-up for both if you wish. The sign-up sheet is by the door by the north stairwell.
CAN YOU HELP: Good Shepherd is once again privileged to minster to International Students at Illinois State University. We will provide a meal for them and their guests at Wittenberg Lutheran Center on Saturday, April 18th, at 6:00 p.m. If you can provide food and/or help serve we have a sign-up sheet on the table in the narthex. Thank you.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “Labors Of Love” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Exodus 10. The speaker will be Reverend Ryan Tinetti. Hear his message on The Lutheran Hour on WGN (720) at 6:00 a.m.; WJWR (104.7 FM) and WJWR (90.3 FM) both on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Also, if you can receive Lincoln, IL radio station WLLM (1370 AM) the program is broadcast two times on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tune in! You can also listen to The Lutheran Hour on your personal computer at RealAudio, www.lhm.org.
FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE: If you miss church, please be reminded that copies of the previous week’s sermon are available on the table in the narthex. Also, the sermon will be available on our web site at www.goodshepherdblm.org. Thank you.
INFORMATION REQUESTED: Please notify the church office if someone in the congregation or any family or friends are ill or hospitalized.
PRAYER CIRCLE: If you have a prayer request please submit them by email to Mary Anne Kirchner at makirchner@yahoo.com or you may phone a Prayer Request to Mary Anne; her cell phone# is (309) 532-2582. The Prayer Request box is on the table in the narthex for any written requests.
Sermon Text 3.22.2020 — In the Spotlight
March 22, 2020 Text: John 9:1-41
Dear Friends in Christ,
Are you a spotlight person? Do you crave attention? When the pressure is on do you perform at your best? In my observation of the many humans here at Good Shepherd most of you are non-spotlight people. You do your job and move on. In the church we are not applauding for the work of the altar guild and ushers. We don’t give medals to the acolytes and financial counters. We don’t shower Mary Anne with roses for her beautiful work on the organ. And we don’t pat the elder on the back just because he got that tricky Old Testament person or town pronunciation right.
In today’s gospel the spotlight is going to shine on many people. But what does it reveal?
“IN THE SPOTLIGHT”
In the spotlight to begin our text is the man blind from birth. He has no light in his eyes. We know light, so we can see. This man had no concept of light. Whether he wanted it or not this man is thrust into the spotlight because of the miracle of Jesus. His neighbors saw him and he told the story of Jesus’ healing.
Being in the spotlight sometimes brings things that make us uncomfortable and this happens here. The Pharisees are brought in. Interrogation time from these know-it-alls. Was this healing from God? This man who knew no light has the spotlight of investigation put on him.
The Pharisees are now in the spotlight, and as they put the man in the spotlight, they are blind to the divinity of Jesus. The man claims that Jesus is a prophet. The Pharisees now turn the spotlight from the man born blind to Jesus. They claimed that since Jesus healed on the Sabbath, he was not from God. But the man in the spotlight in verses 35-38 comes to see Jesus in the true light – “Lord, I believe.”
The spotlight shines on you and I. It can be uncomfortable as are sin is revealed. We are born spiritually blind. We are enemies of God. God is light but we turn away – “get me out of this spotlight.”
Like the Pharisees, we put the spotlight on Jesus to examine him. We do it according to our terms. We listen to his words but only listen to the words that support our opinions. We do not want to be enlightened by Him. We are lost in the darkness of death.
In the spotlight is Jesus. But you see He is always in the spotlight even in this story. He is the eternal spotlight because we know that God is light. The light of Jesus is what we need to see. It shines brightest on Him when He goes to the cross. Jesus obeyed His Father perfectly. He did not shy away from the task that put Him in front of the world. In His Words they enlighten us and let us know that the sins of the whole world and our individual sins are forgiven. Darkness wiped away – light has come.
The brightest of lights was shone on Easter morning. The light of the resurrection was casting out the darkness of death. His resurrection light can now shine on the darkness and uncertainty of our world.
Through baptism, Jesus’ light shines in you. Jesus says in verse 5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus is still in the world administering baptism through his called Shepherds so that those born in darkness can see the light. The Holy Spirit has enlightened you with Baptism, so that Christ’s light now shines through you.
This will come as no surprise to most of you, but I am a spotlight person. When I competed in sports I always had my best games in front of the biggest crowds. The Lord has blessed me to not shrink when the big moment comes. We are living in a big moment. Some see fear and anxiety. I see opportunity. Some see darkness and drear. I see light and Jesus. What do you see? The Lord has put a sinful world in the spotlight with a sickness that can scare us. As His people we live in the light of Christ. It is a prime opportunity to put Jesus in the spotlight. His Word can calm anxiety. He listens to our prayers and gives our heart peace. The Holy Spirit leads us to help our neighbor, not be pushy or hoard products that we all need and for the world to see the light of Christ in us when we look outside ourselves. Step into the spotlight because the eternal spotlight of Jesus Christ our Savior shines in you.
Amen.