| Update
November 25th, 2005
"My
kitty has fire on it!"
That is the way our Thanksgiving dinner began yesterday. Our
newest addition (Francis, a little black and white splotched
adolescent cat we picked up from a friend of Rebecca's) was
perched on the window sill in the dining room waving her tail
about as she watched the snow fall and plotted how she might
abscond with a slice of turkey.
Apparently, she waved her tail a bit too close to one of the
lit candles, also perched on the window sill, because, in
fact, when Emma spoke the words above she was not indulging
her post-toddler imagination, but accurately describing the
facts on the ground, or in the window to be more exact.
The cat did indeed "have fire on it." There Francis
sat still peering out the window, happily ignorant of the
fact that her tail was, as Emma said later, "like a candle".
There was quite a substantial flame burning brightly about
halfway down the length of Francis’ tail and spreading
outwards Anne leapt out of her seat toward the still ignorant
cat and lowering to within an inch or so of the flame began
to blow.
As an observer I thought to myself that this was likely an
unwise strategy. The flame had reached the point where, to
my mind, it might have been better to smother rather than
blow. But, happily, my unspoken armchair firefighting advice
proved incorrect.
After only one or two blows Anne succeeded in extinguishing
the flame.
The cat remained unaware and unconcerned throughout, annoyed
only at the sensation of having been blown upon.
And we, with a mostly unburnt cat, had one more thing for
which to be thankful.
Here is the news,
UPDATE CONTENTS:
ADVENT
STEWARDSHIP
TITHING
STEWARDSHIP REDIRECTION
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
BIBLE STUDIES
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT
CHRISTMAS BAKESALE
NEWS
ADVENT:
For those of you new to the Anglican tradition, you’ll
notice some changes this coming Sunday. 1. I’ll be wearing
blue instead of green. 2. The altar will have been moved back
to face the wall. 3. The service will boast a number of “thee”s
and “thy”s and “thou”s. All three
of these changes are related to Advent.
The blue reminds us of the dawn. Jesus’ birth marked
a new day in the history of God’s creation. God was
acting to save a fallen world and his fallen people. As believers
prepare themselves to celebrate the birth of Christ we do
so in the blue light of the coming dawn.
But Advent is not only a time of anticipatory joy, it is also
a time for self examination, repentance, and humility.
The altar is moved back to the wall so that the entire church,
pastors, leaders, and people, might humble ourselves before
God and recognize that the Lord alone is God and we all bow
before him. When the altar is out from the wall, sometimes
the pastor, standing behind it, can become the center of attention
and focus. That should not be. Moving the altar back for a
season, gives us the opportunity to refocus our hearts on
the Lord.
The traditional language of the Rite I service sometimes obscures
the meaning of the words. If you read through the service
carefully, you’ll notice that it places far more emphasis
upon both the holiness and majesty of God and the atoning
death of Christ for the sins of the world than does the Rite
II service. It is, therefore, most appropriate for Advent
and Lent, the two seasons of preparation and repentance.
Since Advent is the church season set aside to prepare and
anticipate the coming of the Lord, many of the readings will
take us back to the time before Jesus’ birth when the
prophets, the last being John the Baptist, predicted the coming
of the Messiah to rescue and redeem God’s people. Others
will remind us that we, here and now, should be living lives
of preparation because Jesus is coming again to establish
his Kingdom over all the earth. We should be ready to meet
him at any time.
How do we get ready?
If you look back at the ministry of John the Baptist you will
see that his message was pretty simple. The Lord is coming
so the people of God must… “Repent, for the kingdom
of God is at hand!” That, in short, is a great summary
of the purpose of Advent. “Repent and prepare“.
If you were to meet Jesus today, would you be ready? Would
your life please him? Would he look at you and say, “Well
done good and faithful servant”?
The best way to be ready, the only way in fact, is to invite
Jesus into your heart. If you have not done that, do it now,
today, so that you can begin living a new life with Jesus
today and when he returns you will continue living with him
forever.
If you have already invited Jesus into your life, this is
a great time to examine yourself and see if you have been
living faithfully as his disciple. Perhaps there are some
things God is calling you to let go of? Perhaps there is something
God is calling you to do? Spend some time in your daily prayers
asking God to show you what you can do to prepare for his
coming.
STEWARDSHIP: As I announced last week, there will
be a series of letters arriving in your mailboxes very soon.
Two of these letters will be from well-known members of the
vestry and the last one will be from me. They have been written
and sent to encourage you to support Good Shepherd financially.
They will include pledge cards where you may commit to give
a certain amount on a weekly, monthly, and/or yearly basis.
As you know, we are not a fabulously wealthy church. We have
bills, maintenance costs, and a long list of regular expenses
which can be difficult.
More than that, we have a mission. Good Shepherd is called
to 1. spread the saving message of Jesus Christ to as many
people as possible, 2. raise up and train believing disciples
through teaching, worship, and fellowship, and to 3. feed
the hungry on the south-side. All of this, unfortunately,
requires money. I pray that you all will commit to support
Good Shepherd financially this coming year.
TITHING: I also pray that those who are not
currently doing so will consider tithing. Believe it or not,
I say this not so much for the church’s benefit (we’re
doing fine thank you) as for your benefit.
In the bible, God calls believers to “tithe” their
income. A tithe represents ten percent of your gross annual
income (Deut 14:22-27). Tithing, like daily prayer, bible
study, and weekly worship, is one sign that you place God
first in your life.
It can be an extremely difficult decision, especially if you
don’t make a lot of money. But when you make the commitment
to do it, you place yourself under God’s protective
authority and trust in his provision. Listen to his words
to the Israelites:
"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. I will prevent pests from devouring
your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their
fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations
will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,"
says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3: 6-12)
From experience, I can tell you that Anne and I have never
been more financially stable than we have been since we began
to tithe. We do not make much money at all, but God has provided
for all of our needs sufficiently and abundantly. All those
at Good Shepherd who have made this commitment can say the
same.
STEWARDSHIP REDIRECTION: All believers are
called to be conscientious givers. All of our possessions,
including our finances, are given by God to be used to further
his kingdom in the world. Thus, when we give, we are to give
responsibly, faithfully and in accordance with the word of
God.
For this reason since the summer of 2003 when bishop Adams
and the diocesan delegation voted in favor of consecrating
a man living in an actively gay relationship to the office
of bishop and voted in favor of a resolution legitimizing
same sex unions in the church (in direct violation of Leviticus
18:22; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9 and other passages),
Good Shepherd has given every member the option of directing
their pledge money away from the general fund that we send
the diocese each year until such time as the diocese returns
to biblical faithfulness. This year we will continue to offer
this option.
1. If you would like to direct your
pledge for parish use only simply write “for parish
use only” on your pledge card. From that point on your
money will be kept separate from that part of our budget used
to pay the diocesan assessment.
2. These instructions do not apply to
you if you are already directing
your pledge in this way and would like to continue
doing so. We will continue redirecting your
pledge this year as we did last year until and unless you
direct us otherwise.
3. If you would not like to redirect
your pledge in any way simply return your pledge card as usual
and your pledge money will be placed in the general fund from
which the assessment is drawn.
All pledges received will be used for the diocesan
assessment unless YOU indicate or have indicated otherwise.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: As you may know we are nearing
the end of the family life series, about 3 more sessions,
but we are at a crucial point of the discussion where we are
talking about how to build a solid Christian foundation in
your home.
But, you may also know that we probably won’t have a
huge crowd this Sunday for two reasons. 1. Many have gone
out of town to visit relatives for Thanksgiving and 2. Many
of the men with families are going to the Buffalo Bills game
in Buffalo this Sunday.
If it turns out that most of the people with families are
gone this coming Sunday, we’ll hold off on the family
life discussion for the following Sunday and have a rector’s
forum.
After the family life series, we’ll move on to a new
series: “A Purpose Driven Church” based on a book
of the same name by pastor Rick Warren (author of “The
Purpose Driven Life”)
BIBLE STUDIES: All the Bible Studies will be running
as scheduled this week.
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT: Anne wanted me to remind you that
there will be Pageant practice EVERY SUNDAY after the 10:30am
service beginning this Sunday!
CHRISTMAS BAKE SALE: December 3rd!
GOOD NEWS FOR THE WEEK:
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are
neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I
am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich;
I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do
not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and
naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire,
so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you
can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your
eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.
So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door
and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I
will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who
overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne,
just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches." (Revelation 3:14-22)
Don't
forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!
Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday November 27th,
2005
Monday:
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning Bible Study
6:30 p.m. Tuesday Evening 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
7:30 p.m. Choir Practice
Friday
6:30 a.m. Men’s Breakfast/Bible Study
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Saturday:
10:00 a.m. Women’s Bible Study
Sunday November 27th: Advent 1 year B
8:00am Holy Communion I and Sermon
9:15 Christian Education for All ages
10:30 am Holy Communion I, Music and Sermon
PAGEANT PRACTICE
God bless you all
Matt+
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