Seven
Mission Goals for 2007
1.
An active youth ministry in place by the end of the year
2.
Hosting a quarterly Friends and Family Sunday (where we
invite non-believing family and friends to church)
3.
100% parish participation in the Franklin Graham festival
(i.e. everyone gets trained and brings a non-believing friend
to the festival itself)
4.
The vestry is seeking100% participation in Bible Study.
5
At least 30 new believers by this time next year.
6.
An active discipling program by the end of the year with
at least 4 leaders in discipling relationships.
7.
gathering at least 100 people for worship every Sunday.
Dear
Good Shepherd,
I
hope all is well. I am working on an article and hoping
to get it out before Sunday so that we can put it in the
bulletin. But, in the meantime, here is the weekly Update....
UPDATE
CONTENTS
THE FIRES
WHY
STUDY WICCA
LITURGY
AND WORSHIP
ACOLYTES
SERMON
PREVIEW
DIGITAL
RECORDING
STEWARDSHIP
THE
THIRTY NINE ARTICLES
SCIENCE
AND THE BIBLE
FLOWER FUND
BIBLE STUDY
YOUTH
CALENDAR AND SNACK ROTATION
THURSDAY
NIGHTS
ANGLICAN
NEWS
NEW
AND POTENTIAL MEMBERS GATHERING (RESCHEDULING)
HERESIES
AND CULTS (ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL SERIES)
CHILDREN'S
CHAPEL
NEWS
THE
FIRES: I
wanted to encourage you to pray for those who have been
injured and/or displaced by the fires in California . I
can't imagine what it must be like for the families and
individuals who lose homes and loved ones. Let's pray that
God will heal, protect and provide for them.
If
natural disasters and crises like these cause you to question
or doubt God's love or his power, I'd like to pass on this
series of sermons (linked below) by pastor John Piper .
Piper makes a distinction between the sovereign will of
God and God's "commanding" will. God, for example,
in his sovereignty allows or permits natural disasters and
unnatural crises like wars because humanity has, as a whole,
turned from his protective embrace. He lets humanity, as
a whole, face the consequences of its decision.
At the same time he commands humanity to repent and
return to him and to love one another. He commands what
would, if we listened and heeded him, bring peace and relief.
Here's
part 1 http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Radio/PreviousBroadcasts/374/
Here's
part 2 http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Radio/PreviousBroadcasts/375/
WHY
STUDY WICCA? Some have asked why we are studying
wicca and other pagan expressions. First, it is important,
especially if you are over 50 years old, to note that there
is a fairly widespread resurgence of paganism among younger,
college age, and even high school-age youth. At Good Shepherd
four of the six college students I asked
last Sunday said that they knew someone involved in pagan
practice.
Second,
it is important to understand what wiccans say about themselves
in order to be able to effectively share the gospel with
them. I do not at all mean to suggest through this class
or by the distribution of material associated with paganism,
that wicca is anything other than a false religion. The
scriptures are clear that the "gods" others worship
are either nothing at all or, worse, demons disguised as
beings of light.
“
19 What do I imply then? That food
offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice
they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to
be participants with demons. 21 You
cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.
You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table
of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the
Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 st Corinthians
10:19-22)
I
think it is important to understand wicca not so that we
can make peace with it, but so that we can know how best
to expose the wiccans we love to the true Gospel of Jesus
Christ. God calls believers to plant seeds of faith in our
non-believing friends. That means forming relationships
with people who do not share in or agree with Christian
moral or spiritual foundations. But this is a necessary
thing if we are to obey the call to evangelism. This is
precisely Pauyl's point here:
“9
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate
with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all
meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy
and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to
go out of the world. 11 But
now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who
bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality
or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not
even to eat with such a one.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-11)
We
are to be very careful to guard the faith and purity of
the Church. But this necessary defense of the Church and
discipline with regard to those who stray from the Faith
does not imply an insular stance toward those who do not
believe in Jesus Christ. We have been given the divine charge
not to repel but to reach out to them and share the message
of salvation.
LITURGY
and WORSHIP: Why do Anglican clergy wear collars
and robes? What's with all of the prayers read from a leaflet?
Why do we have communion every Sunday? Why do we use real
wine? What do we think happens during communion? Do any
of these things have biblical warrant?
I'll attempt to answer any and all of these questions
during a Rector's Forum between services on the first Sunday
of November (the 4th).
ACOLYTES: Thank
you for a great practice last week. It looks like we'll
have about 6-8 acolytes this year and all of them have indicated
that they are ready and willing to serve with excellence.
We focused primarily on walking, standing, sitting, and
kneeling with reverence toward God and respect toward those
in the congregation at the last practice. There should be
no more slouching, yawning, shuffling, leaning etc. We are
servants of the Lord who hung and suffered on the cross
to save us from the consequences of our sin. The very least
we can do, out of gratitude for his love and grace, is offer
him the most excellent praise and worship we can possibly
give on Sunday mornings. I am confident, and I expect, every
acolyte to live up to the new standards of excellence we
have set.
The next practice will be Sunday November 4th
SERMON PREVIEW: This week's sermon text
will be Luke 18:9-14, the parable of the Pharisee and the
Tax Collector. To prepare for Sunday's sermon, I encourage
you to read, think and pray though the text and come ready
to think about what God is saying to you personally and
to us as a body.
DIGITAL RECORDING We
are coming very close, thanks to Micah, to being able to
digitally record sermons and lessons. When we get there,
and it shouldn't be long, we'll start posting audio files
on the website.
STEWARDSHIP:
Well, it's that time of year again. For those who
are new to the church or to Christianity “stewardship” generally
refers to your use of the material blessings God has set
in your care. These are generally categorized and referenced
by the phrase: time, talent, and treasure. All that we have
been given can fall within these three categories and all
are gracious gifts from God. Even those blessings that come
as a result of work remain gifts in the sense that we work
with the flesh, breath, and strength given by God's mercy
and grace and the things we make or produce are comprised
of elements of God's created order. So, the question is,
what are you doing with what God has lent you? Stewardship
campaigns generally focus on “treasure” with the assumption
that you are already tithing your time and your talent.
The same will likely be true during this year's stewardship
Campaign. It is, however, incumbent upon us all to employ
all three categories of blessing for the glory of God and
the upbuilding of the Body of Christ.
Bob
Shaller is the chair of the Stewardship Committee this year.
You will be hearing more from him soon. But in the mean
time, here is a link to last year's sermon on tithing. Enjoy
http://www.binghamtongoodshepherd.com/sermon10.29.06_000.shtml
THE 39ARTICLES: If
you are interested in what Anglicans believe, be sure to
read the Thirty Nine Articles. You can find them here
. You can find the first six commentaries I have
written on the 39 Articles linked from the homepage
under the “weekly articles section”
SCIENCE
AND THE BIBLE: Here a link to a series of
recorded lectures by theologian Dr. RC Sproul. If you
scroll down the list you will see a lecture entitled, "The
Bible and Science". It is very good. If you are struggling
with the connection or apparent conflict between the two
(and I use the word "apparent" purposefully) then
please do take the time to listen. It is less than half
an hour long. Here is the link.
http://www.ligonier.org/rym.php
The
other lectures on this site are just as good. Dr. Sproul
discusses biblical inspiration, the controversy regarding
the Apocrypha and various other issues related to scriptural
authority.
FLOWER FUND: Once
again we are coming back together after a very full and
busy summer to start our Fall flurry of activities. It is
now time to remember our loved ones who have passed away
as well as happy events such as Births, Baptisms, Weddings,
Birthdays or Anniversaries. You can express your feelings
by putting flowers on the altar to commemorate any event.
In the pew, you will find a form, which you can fill out
and send to the Church. This is an easy way to remember
our loved ones with flowers for the full year. You can specify
the flowers for specific weeks and also for the Christmas
and Easter holidays at one time. Of course, you can always
put flowers on the altar at any time during the year as
the need arises.
If you have any questions about the Flower Fund, please
feel free to call me at any time. Cookie Finch 775-2250
BIBLE STUDY:
All the bible studies are meeting this week and I will be
at every one of them (except the women's bible Study)
YOUTH
CALENDAR AND SNACK ROTATION (from Micah): Both
Sr. High and Jr. High youth groups are beginning regular
meetings. The Sr. High will meet Sunday, 6-8, and Jr. High
will meet Saturdays, 6-8. There will be a snack rotation
for parents bringing snacks. If you are unable to attend
that night, please switch with somebody else. Also, the
November schedule is complete (see below, the names in parentheses
following are the youth helpers). Be sure to get a copy
from me. Everything follows like normal except Saturday,
Nov 10th, the Sr. High kids will be going to a Binghamton
Senators game. Jr. High will switch with Sr. High and meet
on Sunday, Nov 11th. The next weekend Jr. High will go to
a Senators game on Saturday. Other than that, everything
follows the normal meeting schedule.
Good
Shepherd Youth Group Calendar
NOVEMBER
Saturday,
November 3 – Jr. High Bonfire! 6-9 (Matt)
Sunday, November 4 – Sr. High Meeting, 6-8 (IFE)
Saturday, November 10 – Sr. High(!), BSens Hockey Game,
6:30, meet at BC Veterans Memorial Arena (Christina)
Sunday, November 11 – Jr. High Meeting (notice the switch
with Sr. High) (Kellie)
Saturday, November 17 – Jr. High BSens Hockey Game, 6:30,
meet at BC Veterans Memorial Arena (Jeremy)
Sunday, November 18 – Sr. High Meeting, 6-8 (Jason)
Saturday, November 24 – Jr. High Meeting, 6-8 (Matt)
Sunday, November 25 – Sr. High Meeting, 6-8 (IFE)
THURSDAY NIGHTS: There
are going to be some changes in the New Beginners Bible
Study on Thursday nights. Since this study meets on the
night of the Shepherd's Bowl, I am going, beginning next
month, to change the format from that of a bible study,
to that of a discussion of common questions and challenges
to the Christian faith. In speaking to people at the Shepherd's
Bowl, I've found that so many of them question the existence
of God, question the inspiration of the bible, want to know
why God lets bad things happen in the world...etc. I think
this new format will be a good way to reach out to people
with doubts and questions. If you have similar questions/doubts
and are free on Thursday evenings at 6:30pm, this will be
an excellent opportunity for you as well. Again, this will
start in November.
ANGLICAN NEWS: Please pray for our ongoing negotiations
with Bishop Adams.
NEW MEMBERS and POTENTIAL MEMBERS GATHERING : Okay,
so the dates we had set aside didn't work for anyone. If
we have time this week, we'll call all our new and potentially
new members to try and find a better date.
ADULT EDUCATION SERIES: HERESIES
AND CULTS: This
week we will complete our discussion of wicca and move into
witchcraft. If you remember the difference between wicca
and witchcraft is that witchcraft only refers to the use
of “magic” as a craft whereas wicca is a spiritual/religious
system that sometimes calls for the use of “magic.” Our
discussion of “magic” will bridge into a discussion of druidism.
These sessions are intended to and aimed at finding ways
to share the gospel with pagans. If you have pagan friends
or neighbors this is an important series of teachings. I
hope you will be there.
CHILDREN'S CHAPEL: Just a note to parents. As soon
as the music starts for the Gospel procession, all kids
from the ages of 3 to 8 may be excused for children's chapel
downstairs. We'll train the acolytes and create a new system
for getting to chapel in a more organized manner, but for
now, this seems to be the best way to do it.
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
25
When they found him on the other side
of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come
here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly,
truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you
saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
27 Do not labor for the food that
perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the
Father has set his seal.” 28 Then
they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works
of God?” 29 Jesus answered them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he
has sent.” 30 So they said to him,
“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you?
What work do you perform? 31 Our
fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written,
‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'” 32
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven,
but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33
For the bread of God is he who comes down from
heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They
said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” (John 6:25-34)
Don't
forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH
Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday October 28th, 2007
Monday:
pastor's day off
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning Bible Study
6:00 p.m. First Light Bible Study
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. New Beginners Bible Study
Friday
6:30 a.m. Men's Breakfast/Bible Study
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Pastor's sermon prep day
Saturday:
10:00 a.m. Women's Bible Study
4:30
p.m. Hebrew Class
Sunday
November 4th, 2007 SUNDAY
MORNING WORSHIP (SEASON OF PENTECOST)
8:00am
Worship, Holy Communion and Sermon
9:15-10:15
a.m. CHRISTIAN EDUCATION FOR ALL AGES
10:15-10:30
a.m. Prayer in the Library
10:30am
Worship, Holy Communion, Music, Sermon
God bless you all
In Christ,
Matt+
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