March 25, 2018
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: Zechariah 9:9 – “Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” No king ever rode to war like this. But no king had ever come to wage battle by dying. In His Passion, our Lord Jesus gives everything He has and is; He does this to bring us from death to life and to make us His own people.
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.
EASTER LILIES: If you would like to purchase an Easter Lily for the altar for Easter Sunday, there is signup sheet on the table in the narthex. Lilies are $10.00 each. You may pick them up after late service on Easter Sunday. Cash or checks made to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. On the memo line write “Easter Lily”. Contact Jackie Kwasny at (309) 662-4995 if you have any questions.
OUR HOLY WEEK WORSHIP SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS: Maundy Thursday Worship w/Holy Communion at 7:00 p.m. We continue our “Gospel In Seven Words” Lenten theme throughout Holy Week. The Message: “Jesus Comes to Feed My Hungry Soul”. Good Friday is our brief Tre Ore Service at noon. The evening Tenebrae Worship w/Holy Communion that is especially meaningful will have the sermon, “Jesus Is Lord, Even Over My Death”. On Easter Sunday, both the 7:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Worship Services celebrate Holy Communion. The Easter message is: “Jesus Christ Rose, So We Might Live”. Sunday School and the Adult Bible Class is 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Easter Breakfast served from 8:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
EASTER SUNDAY: One week from today is Easter Sunday (April 1st). In our 7:00 a.m. worship service the beginning of our worship will begin in the lower parking lot as we dedicate our new Church Sign. For those unable to traverse the incline we have made arrangements for transportation up and down the hill. Please speak with Pastor if you need this assistance. Thank God for our Church family as we keep everyone involved.
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 next Sunday, April 1st. Thank you.
CAMERA MALFUNCTION: Curt and Kyryth Kessler are experiencing technical difficulties with the Sanctuary camera used to record the weekly service and sermon for your viewing. For two weeks in a row, the camera failed to record and we are working to discover and correct the problem. We greatly apologize for the inconvenience to all of you who look forward to the weekly viewing of the service and sermon. Please be assured our priority is to get this fixed as soon as we can! In His Service, Curt and Kyryth (Kat) Kessler
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.
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!
PORTALS OF PRAYER: The April – June Portals of Payer are available on the book rack in the narthex. Pick up your free copy today.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “They Were Afraid, You Know?” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Mark 16:1-8. It takes a lot to overcome fear, a lot of words, in fact a lifetime of words. Let this Easter Day be a new beginning of trusting Jesus’ Words of resurrection and life! Reverend Dr. Dale Meyers 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.