Bulletin Announcements
July 8, 2018
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.
NEED A RIDE? If you are unable to drive to church, we have an option that is available. Please speak with Pastor who has the details. Thank you.
THIS WEEK: Pastor Lueck and Steve Parry will be attending the Central Illinois District Convention tonight and all day tomorrow. Please keep the business of the convention in your prayers.
GOOD SHEPHERD’S RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE is this coming Saturday, July 14th, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. is Good Shepherd’s Red Cross Blood Drive. You may sign-up on the table in the narthex or online at: redcrossblood.org. Put in our zip code (61704), find our drive and get your arm ready to give the gift of life. We are serving breakfast that morning as well. Also, posters and place cards are available if you can put them up at your place of business or work. It would be appreciated. Thank you!
CAN YOU HELP: We need your help this coming Saturday, July 14th, at 11:00 a.m. to help carry and setup chairs under the tent for our Special Worship Service the following day. Thank you!
NEXT SUNDAY, July 15th, we are having one worship service with Holy Communion at 9:00 a.m. on the north lawn under a tent as we give thanks to our gracious Lord for blessing us with having half our mortgage paid off. We are having a congregational breakfast before the service from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Adult Bible Class and Sunday School will follow the worship service and will be held back inside. To God Be the Glory Great Things He Has Done!
FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES is this coming Friday, July 13th at 6:30 p.m. “GOD’S NOT DEAD” is the mov ie that will be shown. When an atheist Philosophy professor (Kevin Sorbo) plans to forego “dusty arguments” in his class, he insists the new students declare that “God is dead.” Unable to do this, Josh (Shane Harper) is challenged to defend his faith and prove to the class that God’s Not Dead. Against all odds, Josh stands up for his faith and takes on the challenge. LET THE DEBATE BEGIN. Join us for a great entertaining movie, good food and wonderful fellowship. See you Friday night.
GOOD SHEPHERD’S GROUP OUTING: The Group Outing for the Normal Cornbelters Baseball Game has been rescheduled for Sunday, July 29th. Details are available on the table in the narthex. Please contact Randy Reinhardt at (309) 826-0448 or randyreinhardt1@gmail.com if you did not previously buy tickets and would like to go.
CORNBELTERS TICKETS AVAILABLE: Linda Lange has three CornBelters Tickets available for July 29th, when our church group is going. We can’t use the tickets due to a prior engagement. If interested please contact Linda at (309)339-9930.
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: 2 Corinthians 12:10 – “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.” Paul found contentment in Christ. To be content means to accept what the Lord gives us at any given time as somehow being from the hand of the Father who wants to bless us. Sometimes it’s hard to see how things like hardships, calamities, and insults will turn out for a blessing: but that is why Paul found this contentment in Christ and not in his own wisdom.
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES is in need of a new member. If you are interested please speak with Mo Dale (309)830-6552 or Bob Love (309) 664-2716. Thank you!
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: The date for our Annual Church Picnic has been set! It will be held on Sunday, August 19th. More information to follow.
FROM THE OFFICE: The congregation received a letter from Reverend Jacob Hercamp and family. Jacob was one of the seminarians that we have supported over the years. The letter is on the bulletin board outside the church office.
PORTALS OF PRAYER: The July – September 2018 Portals of Prayer are available on the book rack located in the narthex.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “My Feelings, Meet God’s Word!” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Mark 6:14-29. Emotions often drive our lives. When we think about our feelings in light of the Word of God, we are led to Jesus our Savior, but ignoring God’s Word makes life a soap opera mess. The speaker will be Reverend Dr. Dale Meyer. 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 CHAIN: 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.
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Celebrating July 2018
Birthdays
Rylynn Doddek Jul 2
Gracie Mosier Jul 3
Joann Nottingham Jul 4
Inba Joseph Jul 8
Bob Love Jul 10
Nick Henson Jul 14
Joann Hart Jul 22
Katey Parry Jul 24
Andy Benjamin Jul 25
Stephanie Schempp Jul 25
David McEleney Jul 27
Mary Hall Jul 29
Baptismal Birthdays
Isabella Kessler Jul 8
Richard Ross Jul 11
Keyyon Pleasant Jul 12
Kathy Hitch Jul 13
Summer Sheley Jul 13
Jennifer Cloyd Jul 16
Ruth Gerike Jul 20
Anna Holland Jul 21
Rylynn Doddek Jul 23
Finley Mosier Jul 24
Eugene Fuller Jul 28
Erin Dirks Jul 31
Stewardship Corner July 2018
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).
We celebrate this month because of the freedoms and liberties our country has afforded us. We are right to do this. We should be thankful for these liberties: the freedom to gather together to worship and to live out what we believe in our daily lives.
But freedom and liberty in our age has devolved. It has become a freedom from duty instead of a freedom for it. Indeed, freedom and liberty in our age has turned into licentiousness: a license to do what we want, when we want.
This license is a submission, again, to a yoke of slavery. For freedom as license to do what we desire when we desire it means we are slaves to our desires, slaves to our passions.
Christ died to set us free from our sinful desires. In Holy Baptism, our Old Adam is drowned and put to death along with all sin and evil desires so that a new man may arise and live before God in righteousness and purity.
In Christ, we are a new creation. We are set free from the passions of the flesh so that we are free to do our duty and bear fruits of the Spirit.
Our duty is what God calls us to do as members of a family, society, and the church.
God calls us to believe in His Word and gladly hear and learn it. He calls us to pray for all people. He calls us to live in faith toward Him and in fervent love for our neighbor. He calls us to put the gifts He gives to us in His service. God calls parents to provide for their children and raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. And God calls children to honor their parents and provide and care for them when they are no longer able to do so themselves.
God calls the government to punish those who do evil and to reward those who do good. He calls citizens to pay their taxes and honor the governing officials as God’s servants. He calls pastors to preach and teach the Gospel as well as repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And He calls hearers to support those who teach them with every good thing.
Christ died to set us free from the works of our selfish flesh, giving us the freedom and liberty to do our duty. Stand firm, then, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Pastor’s Notes July 2018
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is always a blessing to be able to celebrate milestones. It reminds us how our Lord has been good to us and how His grace and mercy and love pervade our lives. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and baptisms and retirements and graduations.
This month we are giving thanks to God for half of our church building paid for. Is this something to celebrate knowing that we still have $1 million left on our mortgage? I believe it is. For those of you who have been around since we built what were your thoughts when you saw a $1.8 million building with cost overruns of $200,000? Did you freak out at $2 million? Did you quietly ponder the enormity of it with the size of our congregation? Did you have faith in our Lord and His gracious hand to provide? A combination of all of these?
If you have been an adult for any length of time you know debt. College debt. Mortgage debt. Car loans. Credit cards. You know I don’t like debt. Unfortunately to live in the world it is almost unavoidable. On the other hand I know the blessings the Lord provides. A vehicle to get around in. A home with a hot shower (most of the time!). A future for our boys because of college. We could look at this upcoming year two ways: 2 kids in college –yikes! Or we can see how the Lord has provided for one and how He will lead us with two. We just studied this recently in a family gathering and we can move forward with trust in our gracious Lord.
That is what Good Shepherd did in 2000. We moved forward with trust in our gracious Lord. It hasn’t always been easy or without some minor challenges but I hope we all see the bigger picture here. It takes time and patience to pay down debt. This is the beauty of Jesus. He is patient with us. He could have demanded something from us, but He didn’t. He took all of our debt of lack of trust and other sins and paid for it with his bloodied body on the cross. He then promises an eternal future with no more payments of any kind. The eternal home is ours – debt free and for eternity!
I’ve said this in a sermon before, but what I want on my headstone is this: “He never paid a finance charge.” Not just financially but theologically as well. The Lord paid it all for me. He paid it all for us.
What about the $1 million left? We can look forward to that celebration. The Lord knows – oh, He knows. His plans are greater than ours. Trust that.
In Christ,
Pastor