Dear
Good Shepherd,
Good
Morning. There's alot of new and crucial bits of News below,
so please read the update carefully.
Also,
if you are wondering why I have decided to merge the two
Christmas Eve services into one this year, please read the
Weekly Article.
UPDATE
CONTENT
NEWS
GREENING
OF THE CHURCH
CHRISTMAS
EVE SCHEDULE
CHRISTIAN
EDUCATION THIS SUNDAY (DR. ROBERT CARLSON)
BIBLE
STUDIES ON BREAK
RABBI
RON GOLDBERG
EVANGELISM
WALKABOUT REPORT
BAPTISM
REPORT
ECW
THANK YOU
THANK
YOU TO ST. NICHOLAS
CHRISTMAS
PAGEANT PRACTICE
STEWARDSHIP
REPORT
GREAT
QUOTE
NOT QUITE “NEW ” NEWS
A
NOTE ABOUT SUNDAY SCHOOL
BIBLE
STUDY FELLOWSHIP
SHARING
BIBLES
STEWARDSHIP
NEWS:
GREENING
OF THE CHURCH:
Possibly the biggest thing going on this Sunday (aside from
pageant practice) is the greening or the decorating of the
church for Christmas. Directly after the 10:00 service,
there will be lunch and then we'll all get together and start
putting up the tree, hanging the greens, wreaths, lights, etc
so that things will be ready for Christmas Eve. This is
always a fun time of fellowship so I hope you'll join us.
We need all the help we can get.
Please
bring a covered dish for lunch!
CHRISTMAS
EVE SCHEDULE: Christmas
Eve is going to be a bit different this year because it
falls on a Sunday. That means there will be regular Sunday
services in the morning and then the Christmas Eve service
in the evening.
I
would be thrilled if you would go to both the morning and
evening services and I think you would get a lot out of
it. But if you must choose one please come to the main Christmas
Eve service at 6:00pm. The kids in the pageant and adults
in choir and who have planned the pageant have been working
their fingers to the bone for weeks now. There will be candles
and bells and carols and all the things you remember and
love about Christmas Eve, just a little earlier. Come and
let's worship the Lord together as we begin the celebration
of his birthday. Here is the schedule:
Sunday
Morning December 24th:
8:00am
Fourth Sunday of Advent: Holy Communion, sermon
Christian
Education will not be meeting
10:30am
Fouth Sunday of Advent: Holy Communion, sermon
6:00pm:
Primary Christmas Eve Worship: Music, Christmas Play, sermon,
High Mass, incense, candles…etc
10:30pm:
Christmas Eve Worship: Holy Communion, sermon.
CHRISTMAS
DAY:
11:00am
Christmas Worship. Holy Communion and Sermon
CHRISTIAN
EDUCATION: HEROES OF THE BIBLE: Now
that we have completed our discussion of Abraham, we'll
pick up with Samson in the book of Judges. This has been
a great class so far. Hope to see you all there!
BIBLE
STUDIES ON BREAK: All
the bible studies will take a two week break beginning next
week and ending the week after New Years. Have a good rest
and read the bible and pray daily to grow deeper in your
love and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
RABBI
RON GOLDBERG: Anne
and I (and the kids) will leave for Texas the day after
Christmas and return after New Years Day. Messianic Rabbi
Ron Goldberg will fill in for us while we are gone. He will
lead both services and Christian Education in between. It
is always great fun to have him with us, so please do come
and enjoy worship together with Rabbi Ron.
VESTRY:
The vestry
meets every third Wednesday of the month and the vestry
meetings are open meetings. I encourage everyone interested
to come and watch the deliberations. Also, the vestry minutes
are public documents as well. I would be overjoyed
to let you in on how decisions are made and what is said
at these meetings. If you would like to receive a transcript
please do not hesitate to let us know.
EVANGELISM
WALKABOUT REPORT: Thank you to everyone who volunteered
to help with this project. God may have used you to make
an eternal difference in someone's life. This was the last
community evangelism event for the year. In all, we have
gained 23 new members this year. Many of them heard the
gospel of Christ for the first time at Good Shepherd. Thank
you to everyone who shared your faith, invited guests, and/or
pointed your friends and neighbors to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The
Vestry will set new evangelism goals in January at the Vestry
retreat. Until then, keep remember the real meaning of Christmas
and when given the opportunity, do not hesitate to let others
know the good news.
BAPTISM
REPORT: Rita and Rowan were baptized last Sunday.
Rita's baptism by immersionwent off without a hitch. Congratulations
to both and welcome to the visible body of Christ.
ECW
THANK YOU:
ECW would to thank everyone helped with Dec.2
Christmas Bake Sale and Flee Market. Your efforts
help us have a profit of $677.00 which will be deposited into
the general fund!! We had many compliments on the
bake goods. Thank you again
THANK
YOU TO ST. NICHOLAS: For visiting us again this
year and bringing the chocolate. We hope to see you next
December.
CHRISTMAS
PAGEANT PRACTICE: This
is another important practice, the last beforeChristmas
Eve. Please be there.
STEWARDSHIP:
Okay, this is again taking longer than we expected. They
are being mailed out this Friday. At Good Shepherd, those
in leadership do their best to use your pledges and gifts
in a godly, faithful and generous way to support the poor,
further the Gospel, and maintain the gifts God has given
us. This is the work of the Body of Christ and all believers
are called to pitch in. I encourage everyone to commit to
the ten percent tithe in your pledge this year. But don't
take my word for it. Here's what the prophet Malachi says:
10
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may
be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD
Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates
of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not
have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring
your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their
fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the
nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful
land," says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:10-12)
GREAT
QUOTE: from an unknown author:
"Are
we to have a church in which everyone's judgment is equal
to everyone else's? That's not a church, it's chaos. Common
sense dictates that you keep the fox out of the chicken
coop.”
In
other words, the Word of God is the first and last Word
in the Church.
NOT QUITE " NEW " NEWS
CHRISTMAS
FLOWERS: If
you wish to have memorial or thanksgiving flowers for Christmas
this year, you will find a form in this newsletter for the
Christmas flowers to be placed on the altar. Please fill
it out and return it to the church by December 17th so that
your loved ones can be included. Please use full names and
not “Mr. or Mrs.” Sign your name to the form so that, if
there are any questions, we can contact you. This is a good
time to remember those who have passed away and to let our
living friends and family know how much we love them.
A
NOTE ABOUT SUNDAY SCHOOL: Thank
you to everyone for keeping Sunday School attendance up.
You simply cannot underestimate the importance of bringing
your kids to Christian education Sunday morning. The best
way to ensure that your kids know Christ and are not led
astray in the future is to insure that they are exposed
to and hear the gospel regularly and know the bible. Knowing
Jesus is so much better than anything else the world has
to offer. But how can they know him, if you don't speak
about your own faith and regularly put them under good biblical
teaching? It is vital, so much more vital in fact than any
sport or educational activity. While those may benefit your
son or daughter for a time, Christ and his Word are eternal.
BIBLE
FELLOWSHIP: If you are a man and having trouble
getting up at 6:30am for the men's bible study and breakfast,
there is another men's bible study that meets every Saturday.
This study is led by Bill Lane and meets between 4 and 6
pm . If you are interested can call Bill on his cell phone:
237-9232
HAVE YOU…. shared your faith with a friend? The vestry
has challenged all of us to share our faith in Jesus Christ
with at least one non-believer each month.
Good News for the Week
15 "We who are Jews by birth
and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified
by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we,
too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified
by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because
by observing the law no one will be justified. (Galatians
2:15-16)
Don't forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!
Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday December 17th, 2006
a
a
(Bible Study/Christian Education Opportunities in red
)
Monday:
Pastor's day off
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00
a.m. All bible studies
on break until the new year
6:30
p.m. All bible studies
on break until the new year
8:00 p.m. Choir Practice
Wednesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Thursday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
5:30 p.m. Shepherd's Bowl
6:30
p.m. All bible studies
on break until the new year
Friday
6:30
a.m. All bible studies
on break until the new year
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Pastor's sermon prep day
Saturday :
10:00am
All bible studies on break
until the new year
CHRISTMAS EVE Sunday December
24th, 2006:
8:00am Holy Communion II and Sermon
Christian Education for
all ages will meet again in the new year
10:30 am Holy Communion II, nd Sermon
6:00
pm CHRISTMAS EVE MASS
pageant, sermon, music, high mass, incense...etc
10:30pm
Christmas Eve service: Holy Communion II and Sermon.
Christmas
Day (see above)
God bless you all
In
Christ,
Matt+
