Bulletin Announcements May 19, 2019
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: Rev. 21:1 – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” The things of this world are passing away. We are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth that has been promised to us in Christ. This knowledge is foundational for our stewardship of what God has put into our hands. What is truly important? What is worthy of our support? How has God called us to use “unrighteous mammon” for the good of our neighbor and His kingdom?
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 is the deadline for items to be submitted for the June Newsletter. Any announcements you want to be published in the Newsletter should be submitted via email to goodshepherdblm@frontier.com, via mail, hand-delivered, or you may call (309) 662-8905 or (309) 838-1552. Thank you!
ASCENSION DAY WORSHIP WITH HOLY COMMUNION will be on Thursday, May 30th at 7:00 p.m. The message based on Ephesians 1:15-23 will be: “In A World Of Fear, The Church Is Sustained By The Ascended Lord”. Be there, aloha!
HELP NEEDED: On Sunday, June 2nd, between worship services, your help is needed to load the RV to deliver donated items to Fort Wayne, IN. As they say, “many hands make light work”, so your help would be greatly appreciated. This is also the last day to bring items to church for delivery to Ft. Wayne. Thank you! John & Paula Hardy
NEW MEMBERS, FAMILIES/INDIVIDUALS: When we did our Picture Directory a few years back we obtained an option to update the Directory. We have a sign-up sheet in the narthex for new members, families/individuals wanting a picture or anyone else interested. For Lifetouch to come out we need 15 individuals/families to sign-up. We will have this available through May and see if we meet the number. Thank you.
FROM THE OFFICE: Copies of the updated Church Directory are available on the table in the narthex. Pickup your copy today!
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Please get these two dates on your summer calendar: Good Shepherd Blood Drive on Saturday, July 20th. Note: in order to be eligiable for our Blood Drive you must give your next donation by Saturday, May 25th. The Annual Good Shepherd Picnic will be on Sunday, August 25th at Tipton Trails Park.
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.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “Sculptor Spirit” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from John 16:7-15. The Holy Spirit is the Sculptor. Our lives are His medium. The image of Jesus is His goal. The speaker will be Reverend 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 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.
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 5.12.2019 — Wandering Sheep – Who’s your Shepherd?
May 12, 2019 Text: Psalm 23
Dear Friends in Christ,
Before worship today I help up a sign where the letters were altogether. I wonder what you saw? Many of you saw, “God is no where.” But I wonder how many of you saw, “God is now here.” Too often we focus on the negative. When things go wrong in our life we figure God is no where. We think He doesn’t care about us.
Our Psalm for today – Psalm 23 is that wonderful reminder that God does care for us. God is here for us and always will be. Sure, there are times we go our own way, drift from the Lord. But the Good Shepherd doesn’t just let us roam freely doing whatever we want. With the Psalm as our backdrop, it is a good day to ask . . .
“WANDERING SHEEP – WHO’S YOUR SHEPHERD?”
For many of us this part of Scripture is a calming influence. We hear, “I shall not want…lie down in green pastures…still waters…fear no evil…comfort me…my cup overflows…dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Doesn’t the heart stop racing? The anxiety grinds to a halt. The nerves relax.
But why do we need this calming influence? Because we are dirty sheep. Laura Ingalls Wilder in her book Farmer Boy had a chapter called “Sheep Shearing” in which the protocol is described. First, the sheep need a good washing. What comes to us as nice, soft wool starts out as filthy and muddy. Once cleaned you better shear them right away or they are going to get dirty all over again.
That is because sheep love to wander. Sheep can also be headstrong and stubborn and not too keen on listening.
Does any of that sound familiar? Aren’t we as Christians good at picking up dirt? How often do our actions and words reflect our non-Christian neighbors? Instead of being content with our green pasture, we want bigger lawns and a nicer house on a beautiful street where all the neighbors are friendly. We value our friends’ envy above our Lord’s goodness. Instead of trusting God to vindicate our enemies, we smear them and speak evil against them and gloat when they stumble. This why we confess our sins daily and weekly in the public worship. As sheep we keep getting dirty and dirty again.
We also wander. We wander from God’s truth when influenced by friends or media or interest groups. We push God away when a hurtful death occurs or a loved one rejects us. We wander from His Word and Sacrament because we just cannot understand how this is the richest table anyone could spread before us. Wandering sheep – Who Is Your Shepherd? Isaiah said it well, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” (Is. 53:6)
In order to solve this for you and I God had to do something radical. The Shepherd of Israel, took on flesh and became the Lamb. Jesus – the Lamb of God washed our dirt away with His blood. When we wandered away, He searched for us. His search took Him to a lowly virgin in Nazareth, to a humble cave in Bethlehem, and to a lonely Friday afternoon outside Jerusalem where the Shepherd died. He conquered our willfulness by yielding his own will to that of the Father.
The Shepherd became a lamb. With His resurrection on the third day, the Lamb has become our Shepherd. We might even say at our congregation – He is our Good Shepherd! He feeds us in the pasture of His Word. He leads us by the still waters of Baptism. Our cup runneth over as He feeds heavenly bread and the cup of life. Sheep, who could be in want, with the Shepherd providing all of this?
To think this Shepherd loves us in spite of Him knowing us so well. Our horrible thoughts, reactionary behavior and the stink of sin that surrounds our person. Pew wee! This wonderful Shepherd still feeds us and leads us and guides us through all the up and down spots in our life.
Little by little, as we feed on his love and stay with his flock, He breaks our wandering and our stubbornness. He makes us His servants who love and obey and trust in the Shepherd above all things. We give so others won’t be in want. We act as a calming agent for friend or family because of our faith. We display goodness and mercy in a world that seems to love the opposite.
Hopefully the next time you see a sign like I held up earlier, you will notice right away that “God Is Now Here.” As we come together as His flock, the Shepherd is here now. He speaks, we listen. He leads, we follow. We have His promise that He will keep leading “all the days of our life” until we “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Amen.
Bulletin Announcements May 12, 2019
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: John 10:27 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” On their own, sheep are in great danger. They need a shepherd to guide them. The sheep know the Shepherd’s voice, and we delight to go where He leads. Of course, the world, the devil, and our own sinful flesh want to pull us in another direction. Namely, they want to pull us in the direction of death. But following the Shepherd means life. So, no matter how difficult the path is that the Shepherd points out, let us follow Him!
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.
SEMINARY STUDENT CALL: Joseph Schlie received his call to serve as Associate Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville, MO. TODAY, May 12th, we will have our last door Offering for Joseph.
YOU ARE INVITED: The family of Karson Lueck cordially invites you to a College Graduation Open House TODAY, May 12th from 2-4:00 p.m. The festivities will take place at the Reverend Chad and Toni Lueck abode (house) located at 2707 Essington in Bloomington. Take Mom out and then have dessert and drinks with the Lueck’s.
GOOD SHEPHERD FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES is this coming Friday, May 17th, at 6:30 p.m. The movie that will be shown is “TORTURED FOR CHRIST”. Be inspired by love and forgiveness that conquered Communist prisons. Pastor Richard Wurmbrand suffered 14 years of imprisonment and brutal torture, while his wife, Sabina, was treated as a slave in a labor camp. Their only “crimes” were their faith and witness for Jesus Christ. Through it all, they loved their enemies and sought to win their torturers for Christ. Join us for a powerful, inspiring and historical movie. There will be plenty of good food and wonderful fellowship. See you there!
EASTER LILIES: If you purchased an Easter Lily you may take it home TODAY following either the early service or late service. Thank you.
NEXT SUNDAY is the deadline for items to be submitted for the JUNE NEWSLETTER. Any announcements you want to be published in the Newsletter should be submitted via email to goodshepherdblm@frontier.com, via mail, hand-delivered, or you may call (309) 662-8905 or (309) 838-1552. Thank you!
NEW MEMBERS, FAMILIES/INDIVIDUALS: When we did our Picture Directory a few years back we obtained an option to update the Directory. We have a sign-up sheet in the narthex for new members, families/individuals wanting a picture or anyone else interested. For Lifetouch to come out we need 15 individuals/families to sign-up. We will have this available through May and see if we meet the number. Thank you.
FROM THE OFFICE: Copies of the updated Church Directory are available on thetable in the narthex. Pickup your copy today!
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Please get these two dates on your summer calendar: Good Shepherd Blood Drive on Saturday, July 20th. Note: in order to be eligiable for our Blood Drive you must give your next donation by Saturday, May 25th. The Annual Good Shepherd Picnic will be on Sunday, August 25th at Tipton Trails Park.
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.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “Up Close and Personal” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from John 15:26—16:4. You cant’s get to know a person from a distance. The same is true for knowing God. The speaker will be Reverend 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 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.
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.