Bulletin Announcements December 1, 2019

THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP:   Matthew 21:3 – “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’and he will send them at once.”  Just a colt and her foal.  How significant could they be?  Could they really be used by the Lord for some great, heavenly purpose?  This is one facet of stewardship we often forget: it is a blessing to us to be of service in the Lord’s kingdom. What honor the Lord bestows upon us by using our gifts for His goals.

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 following the 10:30 Worship Service we will decorate the church for Advent/Christmas.  We will enjoy lunch, deck the church and be jolly!

MIDWEEK ADVENT SERVICES:  Our Midweek Advent Services begin this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.  The theme is: “Advent Calendars” and this week’s message: “Advent Calendars: Time”.  The fellowship begins with a meal in the church basement at 5:30 p.m.  You may sign-up for food in the narthex.  Each week there will be a free-will Offering and this week it goes to Wittenberg Lutheran Center at Illinois State University.

THE ADVENT DEVOTIONS titled “Call His Name Jesus” are available on the table in the narthex.  Pick up your free copy today.

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 this coming 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.

POINSETTIAS SIGN-UP:  There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex for poinsettias that will be on the altar for Christmas.  The cost is $10.00 each and you will need to sign-up by Wednesday, December 18th.   There is an envelope on the table in the narthex for your check or cash.  Please make your check payable to: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and write Poinsettia on the memo line.  If you have any questions, please contact Jackie Kwasny at (309) 662-4995 ot Luanne Huth at (309) 829-6897.

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 to “Journey To The Manger” at Christ Lutheran Church, 311 N. Hershey Rd. in Normal next Sunday, December 8th from 5-7:00 p.m.  Free “Tours” include: Live drama and animals; singing and music; indoor and outdoor scenes and hot chocolate and cookies.  Meals are available for purchases from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.  If you have any questions please call the church at (309) 452-5609.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR:  “God’s Yes” is the topic for next Sunday.  The sermon text will be from Romans 8:18-39.  (Loved and Sent Series.)  If we say that God’s purpose is simply to take our souls to heaven when we die, we might miss God’s bigger ‘yes’ . . .God’s ‘yes’ to putting bodies and souls back together again in the resurrection, God’s ‘yes’ to creation as He intended it to be.  The speaker will be, Dr. Michael Zeigler.  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.

Stewardship Corner December 2019

                                                              Stewardship Corner

Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, is teaching those who follow Him that worrying about the necessities of life is idolatry: worshipping a false god.  This is because worry and anxiety show what we care about.  Our anxiety reveals what we love and to what we’re devoted. It reveals what we trust in.

This is why our Lord begins this section with an overarching principle: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and money.”

But you say: “I must eat and drink. I must have clothing to wear and have a home in which to dwell.”  Yes, all these things you need.  And Jesus says that your Father in heaven will ensure that you have them.  He demonstrates this with a simple argument.

Your Father in heaven feeds the birds of the air, who neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns.  He clothes the lilies of the field, who neither toil nor spin but are arrayed more luxuriously than Solomon in all his glory.  If, then, your Father in heaven feeds the birds and clothes the lilies, how will He not also feed and clothe you when you are worth more than they are?

For you know that you are worth more than them You are worth infinitely more.  You are worth the price of the eternal Son of God.  Did the Son of God come down from heaven and become a lily?  Did he descend and take on the form of a bird?  No!

He came down from heaven and became a man: flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone.  He is one of us, our brother.  And what did He do when He became flesh to dwell among us?  He gave His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death, that you might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom forever.

God became man in Christ Jesus.  He lived the life we failed to live, and He died the death we deserve because of it.  He was raised again on the third day to overcome sin and death … for us.  He was crucified for our transgressions and raised for our justification.  So, if your Father in heaven has given His Son to die for us in order that we might live with Him eternally, how will He not also give us all things to support this body and life?

To be anxious about the necessities of life, to devote yourself to food and clothing, to care about this and find security in it, is to serve another god.  It is to deny that you will live forever because Jesus, the Son of God is risen from the dead, lives and reigns for all eternity.  It is to believe that God – who created you, redeemed you by the death and resurrection of His Son, and sanctifies you by His Spirit – will not keep His promises of sustaining you in this life.

Jesus says this: Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness.  God’s kingdom is His rule among us.  His rule among us comes when our Father in heaven gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.  This is what we ask God to do for us in the prayer Jesus taught us.

Your Father in heaven knows what you need – food and clothing, house and home, etc. – and He promises to give it to you.  Chief of the things you need is His grace and mercy in His Son,  Jesus Christ.  So, seek after that.  Those who seek will find.  And all the necessities of life, our Lord says, will be added to you.

Celebrating December 2019

Birthdays

Matthew Culp   12/3
Jacob Piper   12/3
Eli McNeely   12/6
Kaitlin Culp   12/7
Brian Hitch   12/7
Kimberly King 12/10
Jason Williamson 12/11
Bill Nelson 12/13
Johana Kirchner 12/14
Katie Kleiboeker 12/15
Karson Lueck 12/17
Mo Dale 12/19
Matthew Holland 12/19
Heidi Doddek 12/20
Devin Kemp-Golden 12/24
Tanner Hitch 12/28
Audrie King 12/30

Baptismal Birthdays

Karen Dale   12/1
Theron Noth   12/1
Caleb Evans   12/4
Abby Biddle 12/16
Gordon Schroeder 12/18
Jeanette McNeely 12/20
Payton Biddle 12/23
Katie Kleiboeker 12/23
Jacob Piper 12/23
John Campbell 12/25
Marie Kirchner 12/28
Heidi Doddek 12/29
Karson Lueck 12/29

Pastor’s Notes — December 2019

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

            Recently Toni and I with an assist from Karson painted our bedroom.  The preparation to paint took as long as the painting on that first day.

            Karson and I first had to move some of our furniture out of the room.  Then it was taking the electrical outlets, the cable outlet and the phone outlet out of the wall.  This was followed by dusting and wiping down walls – oh my the dust!  Then the vacuum got to see parts of our bedroom it had not been to in awhile.  It was now time to commence taping – the two windows, the three doorways (bath, closet, hallway) and the baseboards.  Was it time to paint?  Not so fast, my friend.  Preparations for what all were needed for this project still had to be done.  Do we have the roller and the brushes and the newspapers and the cloths for spills and the bucket of water and the toolbox and the music?  Oh, did someone get the paint?  Don’t forget the most important part.

            Don’t forget the most important part.  Advent is a time of preparation.  It is time to repent and meditate on the Word of God.  Isaiah and John the Baptist and others share this message with us.  Are you ready to paint/celebrate the Christ child?  Painting, as most of you know cannot be done unless you prepare first.  Advent prepares us for Christmas.  But don’t forget the most important part.

            Toni and I would have looked rather silly if after all this preparation we didn’t have the paint – the main thing for what we were doing.  In the same way, if all of our preparations for Christmas are secular and not Christ-focused we lose the main thing.  Prepare and worship the Christ child.  Meet Him in the manger and understand that Jesus was born to save us from our sins.  He comes to you in Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and in His Word.

            When painting you need to wait until the paint dries to see the end result of what was taking place.  Looks good dear!  Christmas affords us that opportunity.  The Advent prep becomes the Christmas reality.  Looks good Lord! 

            Come All Ye Faithful joyful and triumphant to worship your Lord and Savior.

In Christ,

Pastor

Elder, Usher, and Acolyte Schedules for December 2019

Elder and Usher schedule

Date
8:00
Elder
10:30
Dec 1Craig Culp, Gerald Semelka, Nick HitchNathan KluenderTheron Noth
Dec 8Gene Fuller, Richard RossBrian HoopBob Love, Greg McNeely, Will McNeely
Dec 15Barry Hamlin, Jeff Piper, Lucas PiperMike FieldBrian Dirks, Mike Huth
Dec 22Craig Culp, Steve ParryPaul GerikeHolden Lueck, Karson Lueck, Randy Reinhardt
Dec 24
Christmas Eve		6 PMPaul GerikeCraig Culp, Gerald Semelka, Nick Hitch
Dec 25
Christmas Day		9 AMPaul GerikeGene Fuller, Nathan Kluender, Richard Ross
Dec 29Barry Hamlin, Jeff Piper, Lucas PiperCraig CulpGreg McNeely, Will McNeely, Theron Noth
Dec 31
New Year's Eve		7 PMCraig CulpMike Field, Randy Reinhardt, Steve Parry

Acolyte Schedule

Date
8:00
10:30
Dec 1JT PiperPastor/Elder
Dec 8Pastor/ElderMatt Williamson
Dec 15Chloe HitchPastor/Elder
Dec 22Pastor/ElderJustin McNeely
Dec 24
Christmas Eve		6 PMTanner Hitch
Dec 25
Christmas Day		9 AMLueck family
Dec 29Clayton PiperJessica Isaac
Dec 31
New Year's Eve		7 PMLuke Piper

Sermon 11.24.2019 — GOD’S FUTURE IS THE REAL WORLD

November 24, 2019                                                                      Text:  Malachi 3:13-18

Dear Friends in Christ,

            In the early editions of Lutheran Worship, what many of you know as the “blue hymnal” they made a mistake.  In the beloved Thanksgiving hymn “Come, You Thankful People, Come,” they printed that the fruitless ears Christ would store in his garner evermore.  The copy editors missed it and folks sang right on through it as if nothing were amiss.  Being fruitful in faith, or being fruitless, didn’t seem to make much difference.

            God’s people, like those in Malachi’s day, can become discouraged when it doesn’t seem to make much difference whether we are faithful to the Lord or not.  “It is vain to serve God.  What is the profit of our keeping his charge?” (v. 14)

            As we live in this world let’s find some encouragement this morning.  There is something far greater than this present world.  This moment in time and all that our eyes see is transitory and will pass away.  Only . . .

“GOD’S FUTURE IS THE REAL WORLD”

            Sometimes we think we know what is real and substantial by looking at the world around us.  The people of Israel looked around and saw that the wicked were doing just fine.  The Lord confronts them but they say, “How have we spoken against you?” (v. 13)  The Lord then rattles off their complaints – the arrogant are blessed, evildoers prosper and those who put God to the test escape.

            What do you see when you look at our real world?  Do your eyes focus on the same things?  Arrogant blessed – entertainers, sports figures, politicians, a neighbor or boss?  Evildoers prosper – the immoral people’s rights seem to be more important than the Christian, those who rebel against the church are held in high-esteem.  Even the church is at fault.  The arrogant that water down the gospel of Jesus, the wolves in sheep’s clothing just out for themselves.  Do you ever confront God with these complaints like the people in Malachi’s time?

            Some in Malachi’s time heard the Word of God and believed.  We are told, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.  The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.” (v. 16)  From the tragic mass of rebellious Israel, God called forth his faithful ones.  They saw with their eyes the same things others saw.  But they knew that the Lord had a greater reality – a reality defined not by sight but by faith.

            What about you and I?  Is the world around us all there is?  When we are called to repent, do we process it through our human experience in this world?  Or do we hear, believe, and confess to each other a more powerful reality than this world has to offer?

            We are called to faith by things misunderstood by this world though they are things of this world.  Have you heard a Pastor with his all-too-human voice say, “Your sins are forgiven?”  Have you been touched by the water of baptism?  Have you knelt at the altar and received bread and wine while fully believing they are the very body and blood of Jesus?  Then you have experienced in this world the very promise of God’s future.

            All this is based solely on the magnificent grace of God.  It was His grace that sent His Son into this world to share our humanity.  It was His grace that led Jesus to Calvary, where He, the Lamb, was slain once and for all of humanity.  It was His grace that raised Jesus on Easter morning, granting freedom and forgiveness and hope, beyond this world for all humanity.

            It will be revealed in the end.  Listen to the text, “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.” (v. 17)  We are the Lord’s treasured possessions.  Sons and daughters of a loving father.  But that is not all.  The Lord also says, “Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (v. 18)  In this world, that distinction seems blurred; in the reality of God’s future, there is no blurring for them or us.

            Last weekend we spent Sunday with a seminary classmate of mine and his family.  He Pastors a church in the Northern Illinois District.  As we are apt to do in this profession “we talked shop.”  He told me he had been at a recent Pastor’s Conference where his District President gave an update on their district.  He said it was like being at a funeral with all the bad news of churches on the verge of closing and others who were struggling.  We thanked God for the churches we serve and the hope that our Lord gives us.

            What our eyes see can be difficult to turn away from.  But we can see our future.  It is filled with the redeemed of Israel.  We will see the Blessed Son of God who redeemed us through His holy, precious blood.  We will see the new heaven and new earth as we stand in the midst of those whose robes are made white in the blood of the Lamb.  This is your future because it is God’s future.

            Our reality is greater than that granted by this poor world.  By His grace it goes beyond our eyes to what our heart believes.  Come, Lord Jesus.         Amen.