Bulletin Announcements
July 30, 2017
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: Matthew 13:45-46: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Indeed, Jesus redeemed us, purchased us back from sin and death, with all that He had. We belong to Him now. And this is foundation for our own generosity: imitating the outsized generosity of Jesus.
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. In conjunction with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we are studying about that time period with “The Word Endures: Lessons From the Lives of Powerful Politicians”.
NEW CHURCH SIGN: In celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation and with inspiration from Martin Luther, Good Shepherd will be “posting” a new church sign on the south side near the lower parking lot. Parts will be interchangeable and can be used for Outreach to our community. Congregation involvement will include creative ideas for the signage and gifts toward the purchase. The second collection of monies is TODAY, Sunday, July 30, 2017. We will then collect on the last Sunday of each month through September with a final collection scheduled for some time in October. If you do not have a jar and want to participate you may pick one up in the narthex.
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF SCHOOL KITS: It’s that time again for the LWML’s Project Lutheran World Relief School Kits. We need your help filling the School Kits with the following items for each School Bag: 4 Notebooks; 1 Ruler; 1 Pencil Sharpener; 1 Scissor; 5 Pencils; 5 Pens; 1 Box of Crayons; 1 Eraser; 1 Book Bag. If you have any questions, please see or contact Joann Hart (309) 310-9205. Thank you for your help!
QUILTING: We will start meeting again for Quilt Sewing in August. Due to the McLean County Fair being held the first week in August; we will meet on Thursday, August 10th from 1-4:00 p.m. Any questions please see or call Luanne Huth at (309) 829-6897.
CAN YOU HELP? We have a sign-up on the table in the narthex for Summer Sunday School. The dates and lessons are listed. We would like to have someone covering and to give Sarah Lange a break for the summer. Once you sign-up, please speak with Sarah who will have the lesson for you. Thank you for helping in this way.
FROM THE OFFICE: If your son or daughter is going away to college or they no longer live at home, please fill out an Information Sheet located on the table in the narthex. As their church home, we like to stay in contact during these important years by sending them Pastor’s Sermon and the monthly Church Newsletter. Please return the form to Sandy in the church office when completed. We lift our young people up in prayer as their spiritual journey continues.
FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: The sign-up for help with coffee/doughnuts is posted on the wall by the north stairwell. We need an individual/family to sign-up each week to pick up the donuts and make the coffee. If no one is signed up by Friday of each week, the order will be cancelled. We thank everybody who continues to help with this part of our church fellowship.
LUTHERAN HOUR MINISTRIES: Reminder: Don’t forget to stop by the Lutheran Hour Ministries Tent at the Illinois State Fair. This also is sponsored by the Central Illinois District Lutheran Laymen’s League. We give away Bibles, LHM Booklets on all topics, Children’s Bible Story Books; Coloring Books and free ice water. There is also a free craft to make. If you would like to volunteer, please call Deloris Blessman at (309) 361-1461 or email her at: delorisblessman@yahoo.com. The State Fair starts Friday, August 11th – Sunday, August 20th.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “On Thee the High and Lowly” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Exodus 20:10. It’s “Archives August” and we present a classic message from former speaker, Dr. Dale Meyer. Hear this Sunday’s 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.
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 for July 23, 2017: “What’s In An Anniversary?”
July 23, 2017 Text: Romans 8:19
Dear Friends in Christ,
A nation. A family. An individual. Each punctuates its life with anniversaries. They point to the past and define the present. When did you last observe an anniversary? Last year I had two milestones my 25th year in the ministry and our 25th wedding anniversary. I look back and find it hard to believe that I have been a called and ordained servant of the Lord for that long. Toni looks back at our anniversary and probably thinks, “How have I lived with this guy for 25 years!” These are happy moment in our life.
Anniversaries can also be sad. This past week on Monday my mom would have been 75. You have your own dates of loved ones birthdays or dates of death that you remember when the dates come and go.
This is an anniversary year in the Lutheran Church. The Reformation – 500 years ago. What do such moments mean? Are these moment’s in the church’s life no different than other anniversaries? Are they simply the church’s equivalent of 1776 or a 25th wedding anniversary? St. Paul, speaking as an apostle of Christ, calls us to a very different type of observance.
“WHAT’S IN AN ANNIVERSARY?”
Our text for this morning. “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” There is a different dimension to the church’s observance of the Reformation. More than just a remembrance or an observance it is a confession. A confession of Christ. Christ’s resurrection has changed everything. For those who are in Christ, there is a new calendar and a new creation.
This confession began in our baptism. “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we to may live a new life.” (Romans 6:4) When the church marks its moments, it confesses that every moment is now lived out in the light of Christ’s resurrection.
We still live though with the oppression of death. Luther knew about it. We know about it first-hand, up close and personal. Death touches each of us. It arches over all the structures of this world. The years teach us that creation is caught. Ultimately death devours every emperor and nation and family. Pride and self-indulgence is no match for its power. Our culture’s technological glitz and entertainment lifestyle can disguise the reality of death.
One of the most sophisticated of planned communities in Southern California, Irvine, has bicycle paths, golf courses, and swimming pools beautifully placed amidst the homes. But nowhere, nowhere, in this state of the art, planned city is there a cemetery. But, you and I know, the disguise doesn’t work. It too needs a cemetery.
The years, and months, and days envelope every project, even the planned community. Time can be managed. It can be spent wisely or foolishly. But, all too soon, it is gone.
Into this trapped world, however, comes another way to measure time. “In the year of our Lord.” A church anniversary is an affirmation that Christ has defeated death. And, now every year, and month, and day is a confession of His holy name and life.
United to Him in baptism, guided by His living voice in the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures, and nourished by His very body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, we confess His presence as the living Lord. As Luther wrote in a hymn, “Sin, death, hell are now undone.” This is why St. Paul can write, “The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”
Nations will come and go. Corporations and tycoons will fade. But the church, the body of Christ, will live life and “live it to the full” (John 10:10) because “Sin, death, hell are now undone.”
Join this confession. Join her Pastors who at the font, before the altar, from the pulpit, by the bedside, on the street, in the classroom, beside the casket make this confession with their lips by God’s grace: “In Christ, sin, death, and hell are now undone.”
“With angels, and archangels, and all the company of heaven,” that is our confession. With creation we wait with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed. We seek to bring this confession to the world. As we work and wait for His coming, confess Him in your observance of this Reformation anniversary. Confess Him in your prayer and your homes and your daily walk with Thee. Such a confession will not fade. Such an anniversary will not pass. Rather, this confession will continue until each child of God beholds the face of Christ.
Lastly, pray for your brothers and sisters around the world who make this confession in fear and silence. In the end as our Gospel lesson from Matthew 13 reminds us, all will be revealed, and God’s children will receive their reward.
May the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – grant such a life and confession of Christ our Savior.
Amen.
Bulletin Announcements
July 23, 2017
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” It is very easy to get caught up in the present and lose track of our ultimate destiny in the Kingdom of God. St. Paul encourages us to keep eternity in mind. This certainly has an application to our support for the Gospel – if we keep our focus on “the glory to be revealed” we will see our tithes and offerings in a new light.
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. In conjunction with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we are studying about that time period with “The Word Endures: Lessons From the Lives of Powerful Politicians”.
TODAY in our 10:30 worship the Sacrament of Holy Baptism will be showered upon Rylynn Jayne Doddek, infant daughter of Jordan and Heidi Doddek. Rylynn’s sponsors are Nate and Beth Hornig.
TODAY is the deadline for items to be submitted for the AUGUST NEWSLETTER. Mandy Kluender is our Editor for the church newsletter and any announcements you want to be published in the Newsletter should be submitted to her at mgkluender@hotmail.com or you may call her at (309) 838-9868.
NEW CHURCH SIGN: In celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation and with inspiration from Martin Luther, Good Shepherd will be “posting” a new church sign on the south side near the lower parking lot. Parts will be interchangeable and can be used for Outreach to our community. Congregation involvement will include creative ideas for the signage and gifts toward the purchase. The second collection of monies will be next Sunday, July 30, 2017.. We will then collect on the last Sunday of each month through September with a final collection scheduled for some time in October. If you do not have a jar and want to participate you may pick one up in the narthex.
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF SCHOOL KITS: It’s that time again for the LWML’s Project Lutheran World Relief School Kits. We need your help filling the School Kits with the following items for each School Bag: 4 Notebooks; 1 Ruler; 1 Pencil Sharpener; 1 Scissor; 5 Pencils; 5 Pens; 1 Box of Crayons; 1 Eraser; 1 Book Bag. If you have any questions, please see or contact Joann Hart (309) 310-9205. Thank you for your help!
CAN YOU HELP? We have a sign-up on the table in the narthex for Summer Sunday School. The dates and lessons are listed. We would like to have someone covering and to give Sarah Lange a break for the summer. Once you sign-up, please speak with Sarah who will have the lesson for you. Thank you for helping in this way.
FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: The sign-up for help with coffee/doughnuts is posted on the wall by the north stairwell. We need an individual/family to sign-up each week to pick up the donuts and make the coffee. If no one is signed up by Friday of each week, the order will be cancelled. We thank everybody who continues to help with this part of our church fellowship.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “Confidence To Face Whatever Comes Our Way” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Romans 8:28-39. No Matter what life throws our way, God promises that His eternal purposes can never be thwarted. Reverend Dr. Gregory Seltz will be the speaker. Hear this Sunday’s 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.
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.