Bulletin Announcements November 17, 2019
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: Luke 21:6 – “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Everything in this world is headed for the graveyard, but some things are also destined to rise from the grave. On that Day of Resurrection, as we look back on our earthly life, what will we see? What will have really mattered? This is a good question to ask ourselves in this season of the Church Year that focuses on the Last Things.
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.
OUR SUNDAY SCHOOL meets at 9:15 a.m. in the Choir Room which is located on the 2nd level (the west side).
THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS meets in the basement at 9:15 a.m. In Pastor’s absence, Steve Parry will be conducting the class.
TODAY: We would like to thank Reverend John Hafermann of Trinity Lutheran Church in Bloomington for preaching and leading our worship service this morning.
PASTOR’S SCHEDULE: Pastor, Toni, and Karson are spending the weekend and worshiping with Holden this morning.
TODAY is the deadline for items to be submitted for the DECEMBER NEWSLETTER. Any announcements you want to be published in the Newsletter should be submitted via email to: office@goodshepherdblm.org, via mail, hand-delivered, or you may call (309) 662-8905. Thank you!
FOOD COLLECTION: We will be collecting food for the Home Sweet Home Mission through today. You may leave it in the box in the narthex.
THE “SHARING TREE” is up and ready. Please consider helping The Baby Fold’s foster children. Choose an item from the tree and return to Church by Wednesday, December 4th (Midweek Advent Service). If you are buying clothing please include a Gift Receipt. Any questions can be directed to Toni Lueck or Paula Hardy. Thank you.
THANK YOU: The LWML would like to thank everyone for their donations for the School Kits and Quilts. We delivered 75 School Kits and 36 Quilts to Lutheran World Relief on Saturday, October 26, 2019.
FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: In order to get more people involved in our Coffee/Donut Fellowship for 2019 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.
YOU ARE INVITED: Hymn Festival entitled “Praise and Thanksgiving” will be held TODAY at 3:00 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, Normal, IL. As a part of the festival, there will be Devotional Readings on ten Lutheran hymns from the Lutheran Service Book (LSB) followed by singing each hymn along with special accompaniments. Following the Hymn Festival there will be fellowship and dessert in the Parish Hall. Please come and join in learning more about our Lutheran Hymnody in word and song.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “Loved and Sent: God Is Love” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from 1 John 4:7-12. Love can be a frustrating and confusing word. We use it to describe so many different things, many of which aren’t really love, at all. Jeff had grown tired of hearing the word-until he learned that real love is not that we had loved God, but that God loved us and sent His Son. Reverend Jeff Cloeter is the speaker. 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 OFFICE: The church now has a new email address. Our new email address is: office@goodshepherdblm.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 Stewardship Sunday — I Shall Not Want
November 10, 2019 – Stewardship Sunday Text: Psalm 23:1b
Dear Friends in Christ,
“I Shall Not Want.” Are you in want? Are you in distress or dire need? These are a few of the synonyms for the word “want” in its usage in our text.
Can we be in want knowing that if you make $40,000 a year you are in the top 4% of earners in the world? Bump it up to $48,000 a year and now you have made it to the top of the world – you are in the highest stratosphere – the 1% of all human beings on earth who make that much money. Can we be in want when we find out that there are 52,000 storage facilities worldwide and 46,000 of them are in the United States? We love our stuff. We are so rich in so many ways yet we seem to have stress upon stress. Maybe we are in want but not in the way many of us think.
Today is stewardship Sunday and the Psalmist has given us a wonderful title for our exploration of this subject . . .
“I SHALL NOT WANT”
How can the Holy Spirit be so bold as to base His assurance to you that you never need to live in worry and want? How about this: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give you all things.” (Romans 8:32)
The Holy Spirit is not asking you to believe in something that might happen. The Holy Spirit’s promise to you is based solidly on a fact of history. This historic event has already happened. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is God’s evidence and guarantee that “You need never want.”
God the Father gave up His Son publicly for you and your sins. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) Solid evidence of God’s love for you. His second act of grace is that He will give you everything else you need. This is a divine promise.
Do you have friends who are puzzled at your contentment? You don’t want this or that. You have confidence in your future. The next time it happens point to the cross on your neck or your finger or your lapel or your dorm room. And then say, “I believe what the Scriptures say. God did not spare His own Son who went to the cross to pay for my sins. If He did that great act of love I know He will provide everything I need.” Speak with joy. Let people see you are not in want.
Why is it so important to remember this daily? Because Satan is working to destroy you and your family and your loved ones. He works subtly in trying to confuse your thinking. He wants to confuse what you want with what you actually need. You may want many things, but you may actually need very few things. Look to our Epistle lesson where Paul writes, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”
Oh, how we need that strength. Satan is like the spider that uses a web to capture hearts and minds. On television, on our phones and other media platforms, the Prince of Lies uses advertising and programming to confuse our wants with our actual needs. Once Satan can twist your mind you are like a helpless fly caught in His web. Companies spend billions to get you to believe that what you want is what you need.
Once you get caught in this web of confusion then Satan can really go to work. He will then tempt you to reject the Christian faith. Why? In your confusion of your wants with your needs, you begin to believe that God is not really giving you what you need each day. You are trapped and Satan moves in for the final kill. Satan is working hard every hour to destroy your faith and your soul.
We throw it back at Satan today – “I Shall Not Want.” Why? Because “The Lord is my Shepherd.” As our Shepherd, we His sheep are led to where we need to go. Green pastures and still waters. The Lord restores my soul when I get confused about wants and needs. His righteousness leads our path. We don’t fear death or evil or devil because His rod and staff comfort us. Our enemies cannot harm us. We are so blessed that we are not just given a cup but we have one that overflows. Do you see the overflow in your life? The treasure you have been given. The talent you can use for the Lord’s Kingdom. The time He allows you to live on earth to make a difference in your corner of the world. And then once that time comes to a completion you “shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
What a joy and a blessing. May your heart and mind see it this day and every day.
Amen.
Bulletin Announcements November 10, 2019
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: Luke 20:38 – “Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” We are people of the Resurrection. We know our future. And this knowledge colors all our actions in this world. Since we know we are destined to live in God’s kingdom forever, what kind of lives ought we to live? Where should our priorities be?
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.
OUR SUNDAY SCHOOL meets at 9:15 a.m. in the Choir Room which is located on the 2nd level (the west side).
THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS meets in the basement at 9:15 a.m.
TODAY: We have three things happening today: 1) Annual Voter’s Meeting. This will take place in the church basement after the 10:30 Worship Service. We are having a Potluck Meal with the congregation providing the chicken. (If you want another meat bring it along.) You may pick up the Slate of Candidates and Budget on the table in the narthex. 2) Stewardship Sunday. If you did not get your Stewardship Envelope, please pick it up today. 3) Door Offering for our Seminary Student.
NEXT SUNDAY is the deadline for items to be submitted for the DECEMBER 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 be collecting food for Home Sweet Home Mission for the next two Sundays, November 10th, and 17th. You may leave it in the box in the narthex.
GOOD SHEPHERD will be serving a meal at Wittenberg Lutheran Center for the International Students this coming Saturday, November 16th, at 6:30 p.m. Food sign-up is on the table in the narthex.
THE “SHARING TREE” is up and ready. Please consider helping The Baby Fold’s foster children. Choose an item from the tree and return to Church by Wednesday, December 4th (Midweek Advent Service). If you are buying clothing please include a Gift Receipt. Any questions can be directed to Toni Lueck or Paula Hardy. Thank you.
THANK YOU: The LWML would like to thank everyone for their donations for the School Kits and Quilts. We delivered 75 School Kits and 36 Quilts to Lutheran World Relief on Saturday, October 26, 2019.
FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: In order to get more people involved in our Coffee/Donut Fellowship for 2019 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.
YOU ARE INVITED: Hymn Festival entitled “Praise and Thanksgiving” will be held next Sunday, November 17th, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, Normal, IL. As a part of the festival, there will be Devotional Readings on ten Lutheran hymns from the Lutheran Service Book (LSB) followed by singing each hymn along with special accompaniments. Following the Hymn Festival there will be fellowship and dessert in the Parish Hall. Please come and join in learning more about our Lutheran Hymnody in word and song.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “The Dawn Wall” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Genesis 22. Genesis Series – Sacrifice is acting on the hope of a better future by offering up something valuable in the present. Reverend Dr. Michael Zeigler is the speaker. 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 OFFICE: The church now has a new email address. Our new email address is: office@goodshepherdblm.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.