Bulletin Announcements

February 4, 2018

THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP:   1 Corinthians 9:25 – “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”  Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit – for the desires of the flesh are at war with the desires of the Spirit. Having received the new life in Christ by his grace, he now calls us to follow him deliberately, with self-control, with intention.

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.

TODAY:  Stop by the display table in the narthex and choose a handful of Booklets to take with you.  Booklet Titles include: “Prayer/Contentment; “Grief”; “Depression”; “Stress”; “Hope and Healing” and many others.  Help support Lutheran Hour Ministries.

NEXT SUNDAY, February 11th, will be our door Offering for our Seminary student.

LENT BEGINS on February 14th with our Ash Wednesday Worship with Holy Communion at 7:00 p.m.  There is no meal that evening.  The meals will be on the following five Wednesdays: February 21st and 28th; March 7th, 14th and 21st.  We will once again do the Imposition of Ashes in our Ash Wednesday Service.  If you have any questions about this practice, please speak with Pastor.

WE NEED YOUR IDEAS for our new church sign.  Sheets are available on the table in the narthex.  We will take submissions until NEXT SUNDAY, February 11, 2018.  You may drop them in the box in the narthex.  Thank you!

THE BOARD OF ELDERS would like to remind the congregation of our winter weather protocol if worship needs to be cancelled.  We will send an e-mail to members and let WJBC Radio and TV Stations WEEK and WMBD know.  If we do not have your e-mail and you would like to be included please call the church office (309) 662-8905 or sign-up at: http://www.goodshepherd blm.org/about-us/contact-us/.

FEBRUARY FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT:  Friday night at the movies will be on February 16th at 6:30 p.m. The movie is “MOUNTAIN TOP  – A JOURNEY OF FAITH”.  Sometimes, the best place to see the future is on a mountain top.  That’s where lawyer turned preacher Mike Andrews life changed, and he has no intention of going back.  The last thing he wants to do is return to the courtroom and represent an eccentric old man whose mind is filled with obscure visions and confusing dreams.  But when Sam Miller’s visions get personal, Mike discovers there are paths that lead higher than earthly mountains. And roads, more dangerous than an icy hairpin turn on a moonless night.  Join us for another great movie, wonderful fellowship and good food!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR:  Wittenberg Lutheran Center’s Speakers Forum is THIS COMING SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Schroeder Hall, Room 130 on the Illinois State University Campus.  This is a FREE event with lunch served.  Speaking will be Tim Goeglein an LCMS Laymen who worked in the Bush White House.  His topic will be “Faith In The Halls Of Power”.  The other speaker is family psychologist John Rosemond who will discuss “50 Years Of Parenting Babble (With No End In Sight”).

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:  “Was Blind, But Now I See” is the topic for next Sunday.  The sermon text will be from 2 Corinthians 4:3.  Would you rather be blind or visioned?  That’s an easy one.  But, how does a spiritually blind person become seeing? Reverend Dr. Dale Meyer 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 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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Stewardship Corner February 2018

“I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:8-9).

Without commands or even arm-twisting, St. Paul encourages, even challenges, the Church in Corinth to demonstrate the sincerity of their faith by their generosity in giving. He does this because giving generously is a gift of the Spirit given to us through the Gospel.

St. Paul wrote: “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7). In other words, just as we grow in faith and speech and knowledge of eternal things by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, so also do we grow in giving from the same Spirit through the same Word.

The problem is that the grace of generosity often grows cold in us. It’s not so much that we stop giving, but we don’t put it first. We treat it like all the other bills that must be paid. It becomes a chore, just one more thing to check off a list of things to do. That empties it of its spiritual power and robs us of the joy that Christ and the Scriptures assign to it.

On top of that, since this generosity is linked to faith and knowledge of divine things, a lack of excelling in giving is a sure sign that our faith and knowledge of God are under attack as well.

Thus St. Paul points to the foundation of generosity: the generosity of Christ Himself. Even though He was rich, He became poor so that we who are poor might become rich. Thus, the incarnation, suffering, and death of our Lord on the cross is the reason, source, and driving force for our generosity in giving to the church.

And since Christ who was rich became poor so that we might be rich in His grace—of which generous giving is part—so we also who are rich in His grace can excel in pressing His grace into service toward the gracious work of the church.

Pay attention to what you give to the church so that you may excel at it. And if you find that your heart has grown cold or indifferent toward it, immerse yourself in God’s Word. Read it at home. Attend Bible Class. Hear and listen to it preached in the Divine Service.

Be reminded of what Christ has done for you in His incarnation, suffering, and death. For this will strengthen your faith and knowledge. And where that excels, so will the grace of giving excel also.

Pastor’s Notes February 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute, Frank Koch illustrates the importance of obeying maritime laws.  Two battleships had been on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days.  The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.

Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow.”  “Is it steady or moving astern?” the captain called out.  The lookout replied, “Steady, Captain,” which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.  The captain then called to the signalman, “Signal that ship:  We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.”  Back came the signal, “Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees.”  The captain said, “Send:  “I’m a captain, change course twenty degrees.”  “I’m a seaman second-class,” came the reply.  “You had better change course twenty degrees.”  By that time the captain was furious.  He spat out, “Send:  I’m a battleship.  Change course twenty degrees.”

Back came the flashing light, “I’m a lighthouse.”

Jesus Christ is the lighthouse.  There are a lot of captains and battleships that would tell him this, that, and whatever.  But, all of these captains and battleships that do not submit to Christ are essentially from man.  Jesus is the one from heaven who died and rose victoriously for us.  Who’s the boss?  The answer:  He who is considered nothing but a seaman second-class.  The lighthouse!  He cannot be moved, and he will vindicate all those who believe in Him, because He is in charge.

As Paul writes, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

In Christ,

Pastor

Sermon Text for Sunday, January 28, 2018: “Raises Up A Prophet.”

January 28, 2018                                                       Text: Deuteronomy 18:15-20

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Those of us of a more vintage generation may remember the kids game Telephone.  You would sit in a circle on the floor; a person would whisper a message into the ear of the person sitting next to them.  It would go all the way around the circle.  Even if people were trying to be faithful to the first message, most of the time by the time it got to the last person it was something completely different.

In this generation it could be texting or facebook or twitter.  As the message gets passed on it changes and usually not for the better.  People embellish or change the words to fit their agenda.

In our text for today, Moses, the man God has used for the last forty years to pass along his words, is about to die.  So the question is:  whom should they listen to now?  Would the Word so faithfully passed on by Moses still be passed on faithfully to future generations, even ours?  To whom should we listen?

God gives us the answer today when He . . .

“RAISES UP A PROPHET”

As with Moses, we must listen to this prophet.  Moses warned of many false prophets – fortune telling and consulting the dead were all ways the people were seeking a word from the gods to get an advantage in life.  Today it would equate to horoscopes or Ouija boards or séances.  But it could also be the slick Pastor down the street proclaiming such false teachings as giving your heart to Jesus, accepting Jesus in your heart or believe in Jesus and you will prosper.

They may be sincere and believe what they are passing on is faithful, but either way, words not from our Lord are false and dangerous.  Do we really want to give Jesus our heart, which at times is cold and uncaring?  Scripture is clear that it is Christ who has first chosen us; we didn’t ask Him onto our hearts! (Jn. 15:16)  And the promise of prosperity.  How does that square with people struggling to pay the mortgage, keeping the heat turned on and feeding their family?

God raised up a prophet and He is Jesus.  Every Word He speaks is God’s Word.  Moses clearly had Jesus in view even though He wouldn’t come for another 1,400 years.  Jesus’ earthly ministry demonstrated that he was the very Son of God.  This morning’s Gospel is evidence of that.  Jesus spoke with such authority.

Just a few weeks ago at the Baptism of Jesus, God the Father announced that all were to listen to His Son.  We listen to Him because He is the way of salvation.  He has the words of truth.  He has the words of eternal life.  He has the Word of faith.  No other prophet but Jesus was raised up to free an entire world from sin, to proclaim eternal life to all believers.

As with Moses we can listen to this prophet.  Israel asked for God to speak to them through someone they could receive.  Jesus is God but He is also our brother.  He speaks to us gently, lovingly, in way we can hear.  He can only do that because that voice once cried out in agony on a cross.  That sacrifice reconciled us to God and we can approach Jesus.  Jesus’ words from the cross “It is finished!” are the words we most want to hear.  God raising Jesus from the dead is His Word to us that we are forgiven.  We still hear the Word today when Scripture is read, the Absolution is pronounced and we receive Christ’s body and blood at this altar.

What do you think is the most efficient item in and around your house, especially when compared to the price?  I thought about this and did the math.  We have had two dryers, two refrigerators, three hot water heaters, numerous toasters and a myriad of vehicles.  Our furniture has changed, mattresses don’t last forever.  As I stated on our 25th wedding anniversary, we have had the same washer since we said, “I do.”  It is now at 26 ½ years.  Only one repair.  We paid $350.  If we ran it every day it would be over 9,000 days.  We probably have since children, but not before then.  Let’s say conservatively 8,000 days.  It costs us, taking the water and electricity out of the equation – 4 cents a wash.  Our freezer is even better.  We have had it for over 5,000 days at a cost of $125.  That is 2 cents a day.  But the winner at our house is the microwave.  It was a gift from my vicarage congregation back in 1990.  It sits proudly in the corner of our kitchen and still gives us a steaming bag of popcorn in three minutes.  What is your answer to this question?

Even with all of that being said, the most efficient item in our house and your house is – drum roll, please – your Bible!  Think of what those inspired words have done for you.  There is no price we can put on the reminder that our scarlet sins have been washed as pure as snow.  Every day since Genesis 1:1 the words have been there for man’s use and our use.  When things are inefficient we look to this most efficient resource.  It doesn’t stop working.  It saves.  It comforts.  It gives hope.  Everything will come and go but the Word of the Lord stands forever.

God raised up a prophet . . . Listen to Him.

Amen.

Celebrating February 2018

Birthdays

Charles Nottingham        Feb  3

Betty Bier                         Feb  4

Emily Field                      Feb  4

Ryan Hitch                       Feb  6

Cruz Kleiboeker               Feb  7

Toni Lueck                      Feb  7

Jennifer Parry                  Feb  7

Marvin Lester                  Feb  8

Justin McNeely                Feb  9

Herb Renken                   Feb 10

Mollie Hitch                     Feb 12

Cassandra Fortney          Feb 17

Nicole Galante                 Feb 17

Luanne Huth                    Feb 23

Lucas Schempp              Feb 28

Baptismal Birthdays

Cruz Kleiboeker               Feb  3

Mary McEleney               Feb  4

Cannon Kleiboeker          Feb  6

Brian Hitch                       Feb  8

Nicholas Hitch                 Feb  8

Greg McNeely                 Feb  9

Tanner Hitch                    Feb 10

Matthew Culp                  Feb 14

Beth Mosier                     Feb 16

Robert Hanner                 Feb 17

Georgia Boriack              Feb 18

Kaitlin Culp                      Feb 19

Travis Henson                 Feb 20

Elder, Usher, and Acolyte Schedules for February 2018

Elder and Usher Schedule

Date
8:30
Elder
10:30
Feb 4Craig Culp, Daryle Schempp, Nick Hitch Randy ReinhardtBob Love, Holden Lueck
Feb 11Gene Fuller, Richard RossBarry HamlinBrian Dirks, Mike Huth, Randy Reinhardt
Feb 14
Ash Wednesday		7PMBarry HamlinJeff Piper, Lucas Piper, Mike Field
Feb 18Joshua Parry, Nathan Kluender, Steve ParryNathan KluenderBud Kessler, Curt Kessler
Feb 25Craig Culp, Daryle SchemppMike FieldBob Love, Greg McNeely, Theron Noth

 

Acolyte Schedule

Date
8:30 AM
10:30 AM
Feb 4Tanner HitchPastor/Elder
Feb 11Pastor/ElderJessica Isaac
Feb 14 (Ash Wednesday)7PMLucas Piper
Feb 18JT PiperPastor/Elder
Feb 25Pastor/ElderWill McNeely