Bulletin Announcements
– Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018 –
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: John 20:1 – “Now on the first day of the week …” All is made new by the Resurrection of Jesus! Even the day of worship has transitioned from the Old Testament’s Saturday Sabbath to the Lord’s Day of the New Testament. For the Lord has made all things new: He has begun a new week for a new creation in rising from the dead as the New Adam. We are also made new in Him – a new heart, a new life, new desires, a new outlook toward God: all this comes from our Risen Lord’s grace.
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.
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. As we celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we continue studies on that time period. We are studying “A Man Named Martin”, a video-based study on the reformer Martin Luther.
FROM THE OFFICE: It is time again to renew our Lutheran Witness subscriptions. If anyone is not currently receiving Lutheran Witness and would like to do so, please contact the church office. There are 11 monthly magazines for an annual fee of $15.96. Please renew by TODAY! Thank you.
FROM OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Because we no longer have the Soccer Club our lawn mowing budgeted for 2018 is $500.00 short of the bid the Board of Trustees have been working on. If you would like to contribute to this, mark your contribution accordingly and thank you!
APRIL FAMILY MOVE NIGHT: “The Stray” tells the true story of a dog who saves a struggling family in more ways than one. “Pluto” comes out of nowhere and quickly makes himself at home with the Davis Family, who are on the brink of falling apart. In just a short time, Pluto the “wonder dog” manages to save a lost toddler, bring comfort and companionship to a hurting nine-year-old boy, helps to restore a marriage and repair a broken father-son relationship. Pluto is not only a guard dog – he’s a guardian angel. Join us Friday, April 13th, for another great movie, fine food and wonderful fellowship.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Good Shepherd is once again privileged to serve a “Talk Time Meal” to International Students on the campus of Illinois State University. We will do this on Friday, April 20th at 6:30 p.m. To sign-up to prepare and serve the meal look for the sign-up sheet in the narthex.
“WALK FOR LIFE”: Pastor and Toni will once again participate in the Pregnancy Resource Center’s “Walk For Life” on Saturday, April 21st. The Walk will be held at Christ Church, PCA in Normal. If you would like to pledge a dollar amount to their walk or if you would like to walk please speak with Pastor. Thank you!
OUR CHURCH DIRECTORY: It’s time once again to update everyone’s address, phone numbers, email, etc. Please check the reports on the table in the narthex and make any changes necessary to the listing. Thanks!
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR for a Special Service scheduled this summer. On Sunday, July 15th, we will have one worship service at 9:00 a.m. outside on our north lawn, under a tent, to give thanks to God for having paid off half the cost to build our church! What a blessed milestone. We have a few other things planned that weekend and we will get those details to you as they become available.
PORTALS OF PRAYER: The April – June Portals of Payer are available on the book rack in the narthex. Pick up your free copy today.
FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: In order to get more people involved in our Coffee/Donut Fellowship for 2018 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 is by the door by the north stairwell.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “It’s Really Real” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from 1 John 1:1-3 Here’s the deal. If Jesus actually rose from the dead, it would be wise to believe in Him because there will be salvation in no one else. If He didn’t rise, we’re all toast. Hear why you can be confident Jesus’ resurrection is really real. Reverend Dr. Ken Klaus 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.
INFORMATION REQUESTED: Please notify the church office if someone in the congregation or any family or friends are ill or hospitalized.
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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Sermon Text for Palm Sunday Sermon, March 25, 2018
March 25, 2018 – Palm Sunday Text: Zechariah 9:9-12
Dear Friends in Christ,
Legend tells us that once upon a time there was a city named Troy. Troy was located on the coast of Asia, across the sea from the Greek city-state Sparta. Walls were built around cities back then to protect the people. Gates were built into the walls to allow people to enter the city. During times of war, the gates were closed and people could not enter.
For years the people of Troy and the Greeks fought. The Greeks had been trying to get over the walls of Troy and couldn’t. Year after year, neither side won.
One day, a Greek general, Odysseus, had an idea. “Let’s pretend to sail away,” he suggested. “We’ll leave a gift for Troy, a gift to announce the end of the war, a large wooden horse.” That is how things were done back then, when you admitted defeat you supplied a gift.
Could this really trick the Trojans? The Greeks thought it was a brilliant idea. Their best artists built a magnificent horse. When it was ready, the Greeks brought it as close to the gates of Troy as they could without it being shot full of arrows. Then the Greeks pretended to sail away while playing the music of Styx!
Anyway, the Trojan archers could not believe that the Greeks were sailing away. Had the Greeks finally given up? Had the Trojans won? It appeared that way. The Trojans dragged the horse inside the city gates, closed the gates and celebrated.
But this horse had a little surprise for the Trojans. Hidden inside were thirty Greek soldiers. Later that night, as sugarplums danced in the heads of the Trojans, the thirty Greeks snuck out of the horse, opened the gates of Troy, and let the Greek army inside. That was the end of Troy.
Palm Sunday is the Trojan horse of the Church Year.
“YOUR KING COMES (TO TROY?)”
Like the Greeks and the Trojans we have all been engaged in a prolong battle. People we don’t care for. Situations we make worse with our tongue. Misjudgments in tweets and Facebook postings. The battle in our mind that plays out with the devil. Sin is a force that controls our lives. We may be thousands of years removed from “the chariot of Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem” (v. 10) but we know the consequences of sin and the brokenness of our lives. We’d like to hide in the wooden horse because of our shame.
As with the Greeks – and God’s people of Zechariah’s time – it seemed as if our battle was lost. Like the exiles in Babylon who could not free themselves, we are unable to defeat our enemy of sin. “The wages of sin is death” and we are trapped in the grave of despair.
But the Lord has a plan and oh what a brilliant plan. His humble King rides a donkey into Jerusalem and the crowd goes wild. But then, the city and all it stands for is besieged from within as the King does battle with sin. Jerusalem will fight back, and by the end of the week, the humble King will hang in shame on a cross. For a short period of time it will look like evil has won. The gift of a wooden horse given to the Trojans, but this is also part of the plan. What could be next?
Satan is duped. He is asleep in supposed victory and the Trojan horse arrives. Before He knows it, the King will appear in power – alive! – in Satan’s own fortress. The King only appears weak and helpless. His humility is actually His most powerful weapon. Jesus never exalts Himself. His weapon in war against sin is his own active righteousness – His perfect obedience to God’s plan.
He takes our punishment on Himself. He sheds his blood and died. And then He rises again and presents himself in hell as the victor over Satan. Like the Trojans, Satan had to be quite surprised. “It can’t be, He is supposed to be dead.” Not so fast, you wily and perverted prince of darkness.
This was God’s plan all along. This was the covenant he made with his people long ago. He does cut off the power of Satan and He does set us free. We rejoice at the victory we could never win for ourselves. We jump out of the horse and sing to Satan, “Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Goodbye!” That is our chant in the victory waters of baptism and the continued joyful celebration of Holy Communion.
It is enough to warrant a parade. The hero selflessly rides into Jerusalem to become the victim. Hero and victim? We don’t think in those terms but God the Father did and Jesus achieved it. He is our hero because he is the victim!
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Amen.