Bulletin Announcements

October 28, 2018

THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP:  Romans 3:20 – “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”  The Law of God is good – it’s just that we sinners cannot save ourselves by the Law.  Salvation is a free gift of God because that is the only way we could ever be saved.  The Law shows us God’s holiness and thus our own sin.  And now in Christ we can look at the Law and see it in a new light as well – as a guide for how to live a godly life in thanksgiving to God for His gracious forgiveness in Christ.

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.

AN IMPORTANT DAY in the life of the Church will be on Sunday, November 11th.  We have a Voter’s Meeting that day following the 10:30 Worship Service.  We will be ratifying the 2019 Budget and electing Officers and Boards.  At this meeting we will also be discussing possible repairs to our roof and the inside of the Sanctuary (you have noticed the hole, right?)  Nominations for Synodical Offices will also take place.  Please look for a List of Candidates and the 2019 proposed Budget on the table in the narthex.  Before we fill ourselves with church business, we will break bread together in a church potluck.  Sign-up for this is also located in the narthex.

OUR FOOD COLLECTION FOR HOME SWEET HOME MISSION will continue through Sunday, November 11th.  The Food Collection Box is located in the narthex for Home Sweet Home Mission.  On Saturday, November 17th, from 2-6:00 p.m., we will prepare and serve a meal there and deliver the food.  If you are interested in helping, please speak with Pastor or Becky Love.  Thank you!

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 MUSICAL “Martin Luther A Beggar Before God” will be performed this weekend, October 26th – 28th at the Apollo Theater in Peoria.  For more information call (309) 369-0844 or by email: LutherplaysinPeoria@gmail.com.

YOU ARE INVITED:  Christ Lutheran Church of Normal invites you to join them NEXT SUNDAY, November 4, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. for a “Hymn Festival” as we sing hymns of the Church Year from our Lutheran Service Book Hymnal.  Fellowship and dessert will follow in the Parish Hall.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR:  “The Problem of Heaven” is the topic for next Sunday.  The sermon text will be from Revelation 7:9-18.  What if we get to heaven—and we don’t like it?  The speaker is Reverend Dr. Michael Zeigler.  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.

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 for Sunday, October 21, 2018: “Sense-Ational Reading.”

October 21, 2018                                                                    Text:  Hebrews 4:12-13

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Two reporters were assigned to do a door-to-door survey.  The question to be asked was, “What is the one thing that concerns you most right at this moment?”  They approached the first house, went up on the porch and rang the doorbell.  They asked, “Hello sir, we are conducting an opinion poll and would like to know what is the one thing that concerns you most right at this moment?”  The man looked at them and replied, “Well, the one thing that concerns me the most right at this moment is that you two are standing on my front porch, and I just finished painting it.”

How would you answer that question?  Most all of us have a concern or a worry right at this moment.  It might be our health, or our family situation, or financial challenge, or direction of our world and society.  We might be concerned about lunch plans or if we should have (had) that donut this morning.

We look for answers for all our cares and concerns.  The Lord blesses us with a reply and with answers.  It is in the Holy, inspired Word of God.  The Bible is the greatest and most exclusive guidebook on human living, one that needs no updating or is ever obsolete.  God’s Word is forever.  It is filled with . . .

“SENSE-ATIONAL READING!”

The emphasis for us is on the word “sense.”  Our text describes the Word of God in very real, physical terms.  It is not some hazy material, but rather it is dynamic and vibrant and alive!  “The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  The reality and effectiveness of God’s Word are made clear.  Neglecting God’s Holy Word can and will bring dire and eternal consequences.

We must involve ourselves in the reality of this Word.  We must see it, hear it, taste it, and touch it.  So much of our world is disconnected from the senses.  We can sit on our phones and computers and do most anything but we lose that interaction that is so needed.  How many times have you yelled into your phone, “I want to talk to a person!”  When I finally get a human being, I like to confirm this by asking their name and location.  It is like you’ve reached the mountain peak.

Let’s SEE the Word of God.  How does this happen?  Not just by noticing all the bibles in our churches or homes or motel rooms.  God allows you to see it at work in your life.  It is the unchangeable power of God for the salvation of all mankind.  You’ve seen the word in action through your children, through your spouse, through a friend with problems, through a co-worker and their kindness.  May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see the Word around you.

HEAR the Word of God.  “Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it.”  From the 3rd Commandment meaning we do not despise the Word, but we gladly hear and learn it.  This comes with great responsibility.  Sometimes we hear only what we want to hear from God’s Word.  Our bias twists the Word to make our sinfulness less than what it ought to be.  We don’t want to be convicted for our selfishness or our lusts or our greed so we look for a loophole or say, “I think Pastor said it this way.”  Hear the Word of God rightly.  Know your sin, repent of your sin, and then ask for guidance to do better next time.  Don’t run away from Scripture, cling to it for strength and purpose.

TASTE the Word.  It is placed on our lips and into your mouth.  The Word in the flesh –  Jesus Christ.  His body and blood strengthen us and remind us of sins forgiven and life everlasting promised.  Anger and tragedy and worry can sap our strength and drain us, but the message of God’s directives fill us to overflowing with power and peace and joy to face the world and sustain your Christian faith.

TOUCH the Word of God.  I wish my boys were here because they love the story when we were at a local bank setting up an account and the employee was explaining online banking.  I stopped him and said, “I won’t be doing that because I like to touch, I like to feel my money.”  Not my greatest choice of words but it makes for a lovely family memory.  God’s Word touches us.  It brings out feelings.  Hasn’t it touched you when a loved one died?  Haven’t you felt God’s hand upon you as you traverse the rough waters of this life?  Touch God’s Word and it touches you back.  There are so many opportunities to touch God’s Word, never let your lack of knowledge start you down a faithless pathway.

See it, hear it, taste it, and touch it.  We might add breathe it, bathe in it, revel in it.  The time is now people of God to search the Scriptures; this inspired inerrant Word of God, with all our senses, which address all our cares and concerns.  The Scriptures are truly “Sense-ational reading!”

Amen.

Sermon Text for Sunday, October 14: “Is My Confidence Wavering?”

October 14, 2018                                                                       Text:  Hebrews 3:12-19

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

In our Adult Bible Class we are studying the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.  They endured slavery, plagues, Passover, the parting of the Red Sea and wandering for forty years.  Led by Moses they were on the way to the Promised Land.  Along the way many of them lost the faith – fiery serpents and a bronze snake lifted on a pole.  They turned their back on the God who could rescue them.

As we look forward to our Promised Land – heaven – we too are on a journey.  Like the Israelites we endure setbacks, tragedies, and messes of our own making.  We need the Lord’s help to sustain us to the end.  In your daily struggles do you ever question . . .

“IS MY CONFIDENCE WAVERING?”

That is not such a crazy question because we all know people who sat in these pews over the years that in their wandering walked away from the faith.  Was it the influence of the world?  Did their priorities change?  Did they just get lazy?  Did they turn to some other god?  This is the warning this morning, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” (v. 12)

The people of Israel were partakers of the blessings that God gave.  When they grumbled against Moses they were grumbling against God.  Many died in the wilderness, short of the promised rest.  Had they remained faithful they would have seen God’s deliverance.  They would have seen God raise Joshua, in the Greek – Heseus – Jesus.  In Joshua, the guarantee of God came to its fulfillment; Joshua led the people of God to be partakers of, sharers in, the long-promised land of rest.

Are you remaining faithful?  Is your confidence wavering?  As people of all stripes question Christ and the Christian faith do you find yourselves wondering?  As society turns its back on many of things that Christianity stands for do you teeter on the edge?  As the Law of God is dismissed as ancient or not conducive to this new world thinking do you ever want to go along to get along?

The Israelites instead of encouraging one another in the promised joy that awaited them, inflamed one another in sinful passions, self-gratification, and various sins of wickedness and unbelief.  “Their bodies fell in the wilderness” (v. 17) and “we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” (v. 19)  St. Paul recounts the sad example they left for us, admonishing us, “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” (1 Cor. 10:6)

Hopefully we see them as examples this morning of what we don’t want to be and where we don’t want to go.  We look to Christ but not merely as example.  He is not the occupant of the house, He is the builder.  “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (Jn. 2:19)  “On this rock I will build my church” (Mt. 16:18), and again, “I go to prepare a place for you.” (Jn. 14:2)  Christ is the builder of the house.  He is the righteous substitute who endured all things in order that the promise would be guaranteed.  As the Son He is faithful over God’s house.  He is our confidence and hope as the Holy Spirit helps us to hold to the promise.  So heed the warning of our text, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (v. 15)

This is our encouragement so that our faith does not waver.  “For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” (v. 14)  The Holy Spirit is working tirelessly to bring all that is Christ’s and give it to us.  Christ took all the sin and bondage that is ours, the faith that wavers on the brink, and hung with it on a tree in our place and overcame it and paid for it.  He has given us all the riches and inheritance that are His, that we might be sharers, part-owners, in Him, according to the mercies of God.  Joshua means God saves so Jesus means God saves.  Christ has delivered you from the bonds of greater Egypt and leads you through this world’s wilderness.  He is the bread of heaven and the spring of living water that you need to be sustained.  He keeps the promise.

Do you ever just sit and think about that Promised Land that awaits you?  Could it be forty years?  Could it be tomorrow or next week or next year?  You wander and have your ups and downs but you have a hope.  You have a confidence that does not waver because the Lord has made that promise.  He is faithful and through your consistent worship and prayers and Scripture study the promise will not be taken away.  “Thus the Lord gave to Israel all that the land that he swore to give to their fathers.  And they took possession of it, and they settled there.  And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers…Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” (Joshua 21:43-45)

Amen.

Bulletin Announcements

October 21, 2018

THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP Mark 10.•29-30 – “Jesus said, ‘Truly, 1 say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.’ ” This is Jesus’ encouragement for every faithful disciple. Let it encourage you today.

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 2 level (the west side).

THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS meets in the basement at 9:15 a.m.

TODAY is the deadline for items to be submitted for the NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER. Any announcements you want to be published in the Newsletter should be submitted via email to goodshepherdblm@frontier.com, via mail, handdelivered, or you may call (309) 662-8905 or (309) 838-1552. Thank you!

FOOD COLLECTION FOR HOME SWEET HOME MISSION: Beginning today and running through Sunday, November 11 , we have our Food Collection Box out for Home Sweet Home Mission. On Saturday, November 17th, from 2-6:00 p.m., we will prepare and serve a meal there and deliver the food. If you are interested in helping, please speak with Pastor or Becky Love. Thank you!

NEXT SUNDAY. October 28th, we will have a Special Order of Worship as we celebrate Reformation/All Saints’ Sunday together. Holy Communion will be celebrated in both worship Services.

LWML LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF: It’s that time again to think about purchasing items for Health Kits. Items needed for each kit: 1) One Bath Towel (dark color); 2) Two Bath Size Bars of Soap; 3) One Comb (Sturdy; No fine tooth comb); 4) One Metal Nail Clipper; 5) One Toothbrush. There also is a list of items needed on the table in the narthex for you to take with you if you need. If you have any questions please see or call Joann Hart (309) 310-9205. Thank you!

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 MUSICAL “Martin Luther A Beggar Before God” will be performed the weekend of  at the Apollo Theater in Peoria. For more information call (309) 3690844 or by email: LutherplaysinPeoria@gmail.com.

YOU ARE INVITED: Christ Lutheran Church of Normal invites you to join them on Sunday, November 4, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. for a “Hymn Festival” as we sing hymns of the Church Year from our Lutheran Service Book Hymnal. Fellowship and dessert will follow in the Parish Hall.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “Stranger Than Fiction” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Romans 3:19-28. God is the Author Who becomes part of the story—our story. The Reverend Dr. Michael Zeigler presents his first message as Lutheran Hour 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. 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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Sermon Text for October 7, 2018

October 7, 2018                                                                          Text:  Genesis 2:18-25

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

We are living in a time of crisis.  At the core our present difficulty is a radically new understanding of sexuality, marriage, and humanity, with profound implications for our society, as well as our church.  Many of our young people have been led astray.  Sheep and shepherds are confused and afraid.  To those who are still apathetic, Erick Erickson and Bill Blankschaen have famously warned, “You will be made to care.”

It is the Gnostic view that human beings – living members of the human species – are not necessarily persons.  Having a human body does not define you as human.  This makes it easier to justify abortion, euthanasia and the use of human embryos.  If we are not fully human beings we can then define our own existence.  We must play along or get punished.  Sherif Girgis writes, “For the New Gnostic, then, a just society cannot live and let live, when it comes to sex.  Sooner or later, the common good – respect for people as self-defining subjects – will require social approval of their self-definition and approval.”  Whether the emperor is wearing no clothes or a dress, we must nod and smile – or else.

Make no mistake about it – the Holy Scriptures reveal God’s plan for the human family.  Marriage and family are not a social construct, something we dreamed up.  We don’t get to define them as we choose.  In our text for today marriage wasn’t Adam’s idea it was God’s.  He created the woman to be the helper for the man, so he would not be alone.  God brought Eve to Adam and he received her as a gift.  As people mess with this gift and screw it all up, it’s good to ask . . .

“WHAT IS THE PRICE OF A RIB?”

For God, the price of a rib is the start of the human family.  “Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” says Adam.  This is the Lord’s plan.  Male and female, man and woman, given to each other.  When the two become one the Lord blesses the union with more gifts – children.  We heard it in our Introit:  “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a real blessing.”

The Lord reminds us today of this crown of His creation.  Listen to these words from our Epistle lesson:  “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.”  Crowned with glory and honor.  If sinful man can get us to deny God’s wonderful creation and where man should be then the next step is to kill a child or old person while saving an owl or salamander.  If we mess with God’s creation, that beating heart in the womb is not a person.  Young and old forgo commitment and live together.  Divorce escalates because “happiness” is more important than God’s Word.  And the most dangerous of all – when we – in our own churches give tacit approval to some or all of this under a satanic twisting of our Lord’s words, “Judge not”?  What is going on?

All God-given relationships have been ripped apart by sin.  Satan’s angle has always been to have us fight, argue, disagree to those in whom we are the closest.  Adam and Eve against God.  Adam and Eve against each other.  Cain and his brother Abel.  Just in Genesis alone we have Noah and Ham, Abram and Lot, Sarai and Hagar, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers.

The most intimate relationship is that of husband and wife.  The only human relationship described as “one flesh.”  The price of a rib today is the sucker punch of Satan and his minions who want us all to turn on our back on this “one flesh union.”

The Lord saw this coming.  From that first rib came all of humanity until a Savior came in human flesh.  As God put Adam to sleep and took from his side that which he made the woman, so our Lord Jesus sleeps in death on his cross and his tender heart is pierced.  Then from that heart flows a fountain of blood and water.  In the church that is a picture of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, by which the Holy Spirit creates the Bride of Christ, the Church, and brings her to the Bridegroom.

And that Bridegroom, Jesus is faithful to you.  Jesus is faithful even when you have been faithless to Him.  He is not giving up on us but His patience goes only so far.  We need the Spirit’s help to turn from life choices outside the bounds of His creation.  We need the Spirit’s help to turn from rib-rocking cohabitation to the sociological bedrock of society – marriage between a man and a woman.  It was important to the Lord in our Gospel.  It is so needed now.  We need the Spirit’s guidance when we want to throw our hands up with “what else can I do?”

This is where our faith in the Lord of creation is such a blessing.  All of this, you see, is pictured in the way God – not we, not Adam, not society – long ago designed the institution of marriage and family.  God established marriage and family to be an image of His own unfailing commitment to you, his people.

Therefore, if there is anything in this sad world that can bring hope and a future to counter the mess we’ve made of trying to do marriage and family on our own terms, thinking we know better than God, it is the open heart of Jesus.  His patience and kindness is upon us.  He sends you forth forgiven and renewed to mirror in your families and neighborhoods the divine love of the Bridegroom, Jesus.  The price of a rib was His life.  Let us live for Him who has become one with you forever.

Amen.