Month: December 2015

“HANG IN THERE” (November 22, 2015, Text: Jude 20-25)

November 22, 2015                                                              Text:  Jude 20-25

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Sometimes there is confusion about “the good old days.”  In 1949 Chad Walsh wrote the following in the midst of boomers being born, the economy doing well and the Christian church was growing.  “Modern civilization which dates from the Renaissance, is now on its last legs.  This glum conviction is less startling than it would have been a few decades ago, when the doctrine of inevitable progress still had many adherents in both low and high places.  Today the funeral bell is being rung by a whole army of philosophers and social scientists.

“Perhaps we are headed toward barbarism and it will be permanent…Most of the advanced thinkers point out that the impact of Christianity has been on the decline for the past several centuries, and from this they frequently draw the conclusion that Christianity will shortly fade away completely.  An opposite conclusion can be drawn.  Perhaps the sad state of Western civilization arises largely from the watering-down and outright rejection of Christianity.  In that case, a return to Christianity may be the price a reluctant world will have to pay if it wants any civilization at all.”

Our Epistle from Jude this morning reminds of these days we live.  The church will continue to live until Christ returns.  How does one look – how does one act in these last days.  Are you depressed, saddened, or lifted up?  Through our text we are encouraged to . . .

“HANG IN THERE”

Hang in there as we live through these times of difficulty.  The world is corrupt and godless.  There is a culture of death.  There is a culture of self-indulgence.  There is a culture of immorality.  But the problem is not just the world it is more importantly the church.  Dr. Harold Senkbeil who writes wonderfully on this topic has said, “Our problem is not so much the secularization of society as it is the secularization of the church.  The marriage between the culture and the church was ill advised in the first place and it is no longer tenable.”

This was happening during the time of Jude.  The Church was infiltrated with those who would compromise the faith.  There were those who denied the lordship and authority of Christ.  There were those who saw the Gospel as permission to slip into sin.  In our time and our Church there are those who use the Church for their own purposes.  Those who keep the Church and their faith confined to Sunday.

Our personal lives are also filled with struggles.  From physical issues to finances to family battles to work woes.  We also deal with weak faith and attacks on the truth of the Gospel.

Jude says, “Hang in there and be faithful.”  Fight the good fight for the faith.  If we are to remain in the faith, the faith – the doctrine that we believe, must be preserved.  We contend for the faith that has been handed down to us by the saints and which we in turn hand down to the saints who will follow.

Persevere in your faith.  In the midst of these last days:  Build yourselves up upon your most holy faith.  Pray in the Holy Spirit.  Wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Carry out acts of mercy.  Be merciful to those who doubt – weak brothers and sisters in Christ.  Be merciful to those destined for hell fire – the unbelievers.  Be merciful, but be careful not to be stained by their corruption.

Hang in there.  The day is coming.  He is coming who has brought you into the faith:  By his sacrifice on the cross.  By his resurrection from the dead.  By the Holy Spirit working through the Word.  He is coming who strengthens and keeps you in your faith:  In order that you might be built up.  In order that you might persevere.  In order that you might carry out acts of mercy.  Christ has promised He is returning and He will.  Hang in there in these last days, because Jesus is keeping you strong and in the faith.

In our Collect for today we prayed that our Lord would enable us to hang in there:  “Lord Jesus Christ, so govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that, ever mindful of Your glorious return, we may persevere in both faith and holiness of living; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.”

And Christ does reign, powerful and gracious to answer our prayer.

Amen

Bulletin Announcements – December 6, 2015

†  Bulletin Announcements  †

December 6, 2015

THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: “As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’” (Luke 3:4 ESV)   God makes long range plans: Isaiah lived more than seven hundred years before St. John the Baptist preached by the Jordan River. Obviously God sees farther into the future than we do! That’s yet another reason to trust Him when it comes to how He tells us to live our lives: He knows what’s coming and we don’t.

THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS, led by Pastor Lueck and meeting in the church basement at 9:15 a.m. is studying “Lutheran Doctrine and Practice Today”.

TODAY’S SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON is “The Birth of John Foretold.” The children learned that God in His mercy promised to send John to prepare sinful people for the coming of the Lord. God in His Word calls us to repentance, declaring us righteous because of His Son, Jesus. In your family discussions ask, “When have you doubted God’s Word? How does God forgive and relieve our doubts?”

MIDWEEK ADVENT WORSHIP SERVICES: The 2nd of our three Advent Worship Services takes place this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The message: “Advent Faith”. The meal, a free-will Offering will be given to Seminarian Bradley Ferch from Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN. That meal begins at 5:30 p.m. and you can sign-up on the sheet in the narthex.

THANK YOU to everyone who helped decorate the narthex and Sanctuary for Advent/Christmas. It looks wonderful and we appreciate your help during this fellowship event.

VOTER’S DIRECTIVES: Following the directives of the voters following the recent meeting we have a sheet with Fund Balances available for pick-up on the table in the narthex. Please note the Organ Fund money will be used once the scheduled work is completed in early 2016. Also, there are Financial Statements in the church office for those interested.

 SPECIAL REQUEST – IT’S A CARD SHOWER:  In honor of her 100th birthday on December 17,2015, Pauline Hanner’s family would appreciate a card or note be sent to her. She is a charter member of Good Shepherd and has gladly served her church and community all her life.  Cards can be mailed to:   Pauline Hanner   C/O Apostolic Christian Home   610 W Cruger Ave   Eureka IL  61530

LUTHERAN ANNUAL: It’s time again to order copies of “The Lutheran Annual”. The cost is $28.00. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please contact Janet or Sandy in the church office by phone (309) 662-8905 or by email: goodshepherdblm@frontier.com, or even in person!

CHOIR PRACTICE: Choir is meeting every Wednesday from 7-8:00 p.m. and we always need more voices. If you would like to learn more about choir, contact Steve Parry at drparry68@outlook.com or (309) 533-5200. Come make a joyful noise until the Lord!

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.

YOU ARE INVITED to take a free 20-minute walking tour and experience “The Journey” that Mary and Joseph took so many years ago. This tour features indoor and outdoor scenes with live drama, live animals and singing. The “Journeys” begin inside every 10 minutes from 5-7:00 p.m. next Sunday, December 13th at Christ Lutheran Church, 311 N. Hershey Rd., in Normal. Free cookies and hot chocolate will be available. Meals are also available for purchase between 4:30 and 7:00 p.m. If you would like more information, please call Christ Lutheran Church at (309) 452-5609.

POSITION AVAILABLE: Christ Lutheran Church at 311 N. Hershey Road in Normal is seeking to hire an Office Manager. The list of Qualifications is posted on the bulletin board. You may submit a letter of interest and resume to Christ Lutheran Church, Attention: Employment Committee; or email to: clcms@frontier.com. For additional details see http://christlutherannormal.org.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “The Lord Is Near” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Philippians 4:4-7. God’s message is simple and straightforward: Jesus is near-put trust in Him! The speaker will be Reverend Gregory Seltz. 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 home # is (309) 661-6522; 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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Elder, Usher, and Acolyte Schedules for December 2015

Elder and Ushers

Date
8:30
Elder
10:30
Dec 2 / 7PMMid Week AdventBarry Hamlin
Dec 6Daryle Schempp, Gene Fuller, Mike Field, Richard RossCraig CulpBud Kessler, Curt Kessler
Dec 9 / 7PMMid Week AdventCraig Culp
Dec 13Gerald Semelka, Steve ParryCurt KesslerHolden Lueck, Ryan Kleiboeker, Theron Noth
Dec 16 / 7PMLessons in CarolsCurt Kessler
Dec 20Ben Holland, Jeff Piper, Joshua Parry, Nathan KluenderPaul GerikeBrian Dirks, Bryan Reichert
Dec 24 / 6PMChristmas EvePaul GerikeDaryle Schempp, Marvin Huth, Mike Huth
Dec 25 / 9AMChristmas DayCurt KesslerBen Holland, Gene Fuller, Richard Ross
Dec 27John Hardy, Paul GerikeNathan KluenderBud Kessler, Greg McNeely, Nick Henson
Dec 31 / 7PMNew Year's EveJohn HardyCharles Nottingham, Craig Culp, Mike Field

Acolytes

Date
8:00 AM
10:30 AM
Dec 6Katey ParryPastor/Elder
Dec 13Pastor/ElderWill Dowell
Dec 20Lucas PiperPastor/Elder
Dec 24 / 6PMChristmas EveAnna Holland
Dec 25 / 9AMChristmas DayPastor/Elder
Dec 27Pastor/ElderJustin McNeely
Dec 31 / 7PMNew Year's EvePastor/Elder

Stewardship Corner December 2015

Our Lord Jesus Christ healed the man with dropsy by His Word on the Sabbath (Luke 14:1–6).  He is the great Physician of both body and soul.  The paradoxical symptom of dropsy was an unquenchable craving for drink even though the body was over inflated with fluid, a craving that when indulged served not to ease but to feed the disease.  And so if a man drinks a great deal, but is never filled, he sees a doctor to inquire about what ails him, what is wrong with his body and how to remedy it. For that is not thirst but a disease (Seneca, Consolation to His Mother Helvia, 11.3).

But if the owner of five couches goes looking for ten, or the owner of ten tables buys up as many again, and even though he has plenty of land and money, he remains unsatisfied and desires yet more, losing sleep and always in discontent, does he not also require a physician to diagnose the cause of this distress?  For this is not want or lack, but a disease (Aristippus, quoted in Plutarch, Love of Wealth, 524b).  As St. Augustine of Hippo wrote, “we may rightly compare the dropsical man to a covetous rich man: For the more the one is swollen with excess of water, the more he thirsts; so also the other: The more he abounds in riches . . . the more eagerly he desires them” (The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, Vol. 4, 135).  Both require physicians.  Both require diagnosis and medicine applied from the outside to the inward being.  For these are not desires to be fulfilled but diseases to be cured.

This is why our Lord instructs us on taking care not to be overmuch consumed by money.  “No one can serve two masters . . . . You cannot serve God and money” (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13).  The point is that our desire for money, like the disease dropsy, is never satisfied.  We always desire more.  We always think, if I just had this much then I would be happy.  But even when that much comes, which God gladly gives, that happiness evades us.  For the desire for more of these things is never satisfied. It demands our constant energy–either in procuring more or protecting what we already have.  When this happens, God, in His mercy, shows us that the money that He has given is no longer serving us, but we it. We have another master.

To overcome this, we need a physician’s diagnosis and a physician’s remedy.  And our Lord, Jesus Christ, our great physician of both body and soul, like the man healed of dropsy, applies His Word to us.  He shows us how we have put our fear, our love, and our trust in our money and not feared, loved, and trusted in Him above all things.  In essence, He says, “Stop it!  Stop chasing after these fleeting things.  They are vanity.  They are the things that moth and rust destroy.  For you cannot have two masters.  Repent!”  And in seeing our great error, we are sorry that we have not fully feared, loved, and trusted in God above all things.  And, in the mercy and grace, that He earned for us on the cross, He takes away this sin, restores us to health, and bids us live.

But then what?  What do we do with this healing balm and care that our great Physician has done? Do we simply go back to our old ways?  “By no means!” St. Paul says (Rom 3:31; 6:2).  We do not just go back to the old ways.  That way is dead to us and leads us to death.  No, we live a new life, a life filled with the grace, mercy, and love of God toward us.  And God’s great mercy, grace, and love toward is so abundant that it overflows and pours out onto those around us.  So we no longer hoard money and possessions.  We no longer scrape and crawl our way to amass more.  We give to those around us, as God in Christ has given to us.  We press our money and possessions into service for those who need it: our family, our society, and our Church.  For money is God’s gift to us to serve us and others.  Not the other way round.  It serves us because it is a gift from our Father in heaven.