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,
Question
and Answer: Why do you ask the congregation to have the
pew Bibles open?
A
parishioner asked a good question last Sunday. Why, he asked,
do I ask people to open their bibles during my sermon? There
are two answers or, rather, two reasons for this.
Before getting to them, I think that it is important to
understand the nature of a sermon. A sermon is not a "speech."
The objective in delivering a speech is to discuss a given
topic in either a persuasive or an informative way.
The objective of a sermon is first and foremost to “expound”
or “make plain” the scriptures in order to communicate
God’s Word accurately, fully, and in a way that the
listener can understand and apply. Sermons must be shaped
and formed by the scriptures themselves. A preacher cannot
and must not deviate from or leave out or obscure God’s
Word in any way. Otherwise he does not communicate God’s
Truth. He merely gives his own opinion.
No believer should give a care about a preacher’s
opinion. Your question, the question that the believer ought
always to bring to a sermon is: “What does the Word
of God say?” And we ought have that question in our
minds and in our hearts because if we have been changed
and turned toward Christ, the we’ll want nothing more
than to please him.
Think of it this way.
Imagine that a King issued a decree and sent heralds out
to read and explain the decree to all the people in his
Kingdom. The most important thing for the herald to do would
be to make sure that the people understood the King’s
message.
But what if the herald disagrees with the king and decides
not to deliver the message at all? Or, perhaps, the herald
doesn’t understand the message himself? Or, finally,
what if the herald were himself vying for the love of the
people and decided to proclaim his a message of his own
or to distort the King’s decree in some way?
The people would never know the truth about King’s
decree and, for lack of knowledge; they would not be able
to follow it or heed it or do what the King required
The purpose, then, of preaching is to expound the Word of
God in a way that his people can understand and apply. It
requires first and foremost a commitment on the part of
the preacher to understand God’s Word himself and
then, secondly, to communicate it fully and clearly.
And when that is done, when God's Word is clearly and carefully
proclaimed to the people, God acts to convict, nourish,
encourage, and transform every individual who listens with
an open heart and the desire to please God.
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned
and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned
it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with
the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture
is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every
good work. (2nd Timothy 3:14-17)
The Word itself is “living and powerful, sharper than
any two edged sword” says the writer to the Hebrews
(4:12). God uses it as his sword to cut deep into your soul,
cleaving away sin and death to make way for grace and truth
and virtue.
To the extent, then, that the Word of God is rightly preached,
the voice of God is truly heard.
But the responsibility of the preacher does not stop there.
Not only must he communicate God’s Word clearly, fully,
and effectively but he must also teach and enable, by both
explicit instruction and implicit example, his people to
study the bible and apply it for themselves so that God’s
Word can be the standard through which, by which, and under
which, and upon which they live their lives.
It is, then, not enough merely to say, “this is what
Paul is saying here…”, the preacher must also
be able to convey to his people how they can discover what
Paul says for themselves. That means they must be able to
follow his reasoning through a text, to see how he comes
to the conclusions he does and why he draws the inferences
that he does.
The preacher, in other words, must equip his people to do
what the Bereans did to Paul:
.10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away
by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into
the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble
than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with
all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if
these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed,
with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
(Acts 17:10-12)
If you do not know how to study the bible and understand
it, then you will never be able to “examine the scriptures”
to see whether you’re really hearing the King’s
message.
So, to answer the question above, as I preach through a
text, I encourage you to open your bibles so that you can
follow me. This will enable you, over time, to 1. grow in
your own ability to understand and apply the scriptures
in the same way on your own and 2. over time, it will equip
you to test what I say in light of what God has said.
The Responsibility of the Listener:
This, of course, implies that you care.
Last week’s sermon had to do with “spiritual
wisdom.” The chief sign of spiritual wisdom is a desire
for and a hunger for God’s Word. If you do not hunger
to know what the King says, it is likely that you are not
born again.
I do not say this lightly. The first thing a newborn baby
does is scream for her mother’s milk. Without nourishment,
the baby will die. No one seems to be more aware of this
than the baby herself. Babies let you know when they’re
hungry. They feel hunger intensly.
Newborn Christians are the same way.
“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual
milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3
if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
(1st Peter 1:2)
If there is new life, there will, necessarily, be a deep
and abiding hunger for the Word of God; for the study of
it, for accurate teaching, for expository preaching and
detailed discussion.
As Jesus says in Matthew chapter 4
““‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
(Matthew 4)
This hunger does not go away as you mature, but it ought
to deepen. The author of the book of Hebrew’s rebuked
his listeners for their negligence in this matter:
11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to
explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though
by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone
to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of
God. You need milk, not solid food…(Hebrews 5:11-12)
You’re desire and my desire must be to go beyond the
most simple and evident aspects of biblical revelation and
drink deeply from and feast on the more complex aspects
of God’s truth.
The author of the book of Hebrews continues:
…everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the
word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid
food is for the mature, for those who have their powers
of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish
good from evil. (Hebrews 5:13-14)
A believer’s hunger for God’s Word is,
from the moment of his new birth throughout the course of
his Christian life, strong, abiding…never completely
satisfied.
If you love and hunger for the Word of God you will not
look for sermons and bible studies that merely entertain.
You’ll want solid meat and it is vitally important
that you get it. You will atrophy otherwise.
This is why attending carefully to expository sermons, participating
in bible studies, and establishing a routine of personal
study is so important. These are the means God uses to guide
you, comfort you, convict you and fit your spirit to His
Spirit, your heart to His heart, your will to his will.
The leaders and teachers of the Church are tasked with teaching
and preaching the scriptures to equip believers for mature
Christian ministry. It is your responsibility to know, learn,
and inwardly digest the Word of God, to test what is said,
to apply it to your life, and then to “become teachers”
in order to pass it on to your children and other who are
just beginning in the faith.
I ended my sermon last Sunday asking you to examine yourself.
Do you hunger for Gods’ Word? If you are bored stiff
as it is being read, preached, and taught; if it holds a
secondary rather than primary place in your life, then it
may be that you have yet to be born again.
Babies crave mother’s milk. Adults need bread. Do
you feed on every word that comes from the mouth of God?
One of the great things about Good Shepherd has, over the
last five years, been a deepening love for and dependence
on the Word of God but we cannot grow complacent or negligent.
We must always strive to go deeper in and further up. And
I pray and believe that we will do so.
UPDATE CONTENTS
HEALING PRAYER WORKSHOP AT GOOD SHEPHERD
SUNDAY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT UPDATE
NEW SERMON SERIES AND PODCASTING INFORMATION
ADVENT
A
NEW BABY
ACOLYTE PRACTICE
STEWARDSHIP UPDATE
WALKABOUT EVANGELISM
CHRISTMAS FLEA MARKET AND BAKE SALE
BIBLE STUDY (NOT MEETING THURSDAY)
YOUTH INFORMATION FROM MICAH
JEANETTE RICKER
HOMEBOUND MINISTRY
HERESIES AND CULTS (ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL SERIES)
NEWS:
HEALING
PRAYER: The Reverend Nigel Mumford
from the diocese of Albany (a great diocese by the way)
will visit Good Shepherd at 7:00pm on Thursday evening
December 6th to lead a Healing service and talk
about “Healing Prayer”. Fr. Mumford is a very
well known Anglican priest who hosts and leads conferences
across the country. His ministry is based in Albany. Here
is some information from the website of the Diocese of Albany:
Fr. Nigel created a healing ministry in Gaylordsville,
CT in 1996. In June of 2004, Fr. Nigel and his wife Lynn
were asked by the Bishops of the Albany Diocese and Canon
Mathew Baker, Director of the Spiritual Life Center, to
oversee and lead the Healing Ministry at Christ the King
Spiritual Life Center in Greenwich, NY
I encourage everyone to be there and to invite friends.
There are a number of people coming from out of town so
it would be magnificent if we could have a full house to
welcome Fr. Nigel and our guests.
SUNDAY SCHOOL & ATTENDANCE:
Thank you to Anne, Chris Osgood, Linda Dean, Carmen
Swafford and Micah Towery and youth helpers for your service
and ministry to the children of Good Shepherd. The Sunday
School teachers, chapel leaders, and youth minister and
workers all work very hard during the week to prepare effective
biblical lessons for your children. I know this because
I live with one of them.
We have over 16 kids enrolled in Sunday School. Some
Sundays we have less than 4 in class.
Sleeping in, soccer, dance, basketball, or football…all
of these are wonderful but secondary to the everlasting
soul of your child. We are told in Ephesians 2 that all
human beings are "by nature objects of wrath".
By nature we are disobedient and rebellious toward God.
If we do not come to know Jesus Christ and give our lives
to him, we will suffer the consequences of our rebellion
for eternity.
How on earth, then, can anything more important than bringing
your children up to know the Lord? How can any secular activity
be more important than learning about Jesus on Sunday morning?
How can sleeping in an extra hour be more important than
the spiritual welfare of your kids?
Sure, sometimes they may be bored. That’s not a bad
thing. There is no need for constant entertainment. They
get bored at school too, but you still make them go. Is
God less important than school?
God holds parents responsible for the spiritual upbringing
of their children.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when
he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)
They will learn their priorities in life from you. If you
put God second or, worse, last, so will they. If you put
Church second behind soccer, or last, so will they. If you
treat Sunday School with contempt, so will they.
I know it is difficult to get kids to church. I wrestle
with four of them every Sunday morning. But there is no
legitimate reason not to have your children learning about
Jesus every Sunday.
CHRISTMAS
PAGEANT UPDATE: This
Sunday’s practice will not be for everyone in the
pageant, just for certain groups. Last year we practiced
in shifts so that not everyone would be required to come
to every practice. We don’t want burnouts.
Here is this week’s practice schedule.
Those with speaking parts will be practicing briefly after
church. There will be music practice in the library for
Sheep, Shepherds and Angels. Here is the proposed schedule
of practices.
11/25 Principles (speaking parts)/music practice in the
library for Sheep, Shepherds and Angels
12/2 Sheep, Shepherds, angels/ music practice in the library
for Principles
12/9 Principles/music practice in the library for Sheep,
Shepherds and Angles
12/16 Whole Cast, walk through with lines AND music
12/23 Dress Rehearsal
NEW SERMON SERIES & PODCASTING INFORMATION:
We’ve started a new sermon series based on
Colossians 1:9-20 that will last through Advent. The first
chapter of Colossians includes, in verses 15-20, one of
the most profound Christological (having to do with Christ)
declarations in the entire New Testament. Paul, inspired
by the Holy Spirit, reveals the divine majesty and cosmic
preeminence of Christ.
In last weeks first sermon, I explained the context of Colossians
1 and the necessity of Paul's prayer for spiritual wisdom
and understanding in verses 9 and 10 prior to his proclamation
of the nature and supremacy of Christ in verses 15-20. If
you missed it or want to hear it again, you can listen to
that sermon at the new podcast
site. We’ve already had a very good number of
hits and downloads.
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.
Both 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.
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.
A
NEW BABY: A
very healthy Sophia Corinna Lane was born Tuesday at 8:46am,
to Bill and Camille Lane. She is 9 pounds and 9 ounces and 20
inches. Thanks be to God and congratulations to Bill and
Camille!
ACOLYTE PRACTICE: The next Acolyte practice will
be THIS SUNDAY.
STEWARDSHIP UPDATE: Thank you to everyone
who has turned in their pledge cards. So far we have already
seen a great outpouring of financial support which in incredibly
encouraging to us. If you have not yet turned in your pledge
card, it is never too late ?
WALKABOUT EVANGELISM: This coming January
(not sure about the date yet) we’ll be scheduling
an evangelism walkabout day. For those who are new to Good
Shepherd, about twice a year we bake a few hundred small
loaves of bread and pass them out door to door to those
who live in the neighborhood. We put the bread in bags along
with a tract that gives the message of salvation and some
information about the church. God has blessed us with a
lot of growth this year, over twenty new members and consistent
guests. But of those, only two are converts. The rest are
already believers in Jesus Christ. It is a wonderful thing
to gain experienced and mature believers as we have. But
Christ came to seek and save the lost. And he has commissioned
us as his vehicles for that mission. The walkabout is one
at least way that we share the gospel, personally, to those
on the South-side. I hope you will volunteer to join this
effort. I’ll pass on more information as the time
draws near.
CHRISTMAS FLEA MARKET AND
BAKE SALE DECEMBER 8TH
We need all you wonderful bakers to help make the Bake Sale
a success. We need cakes, cookies, breads, muffins, or anything
you can think to bake. We have some great bakers in our
Church and we all love to eat good food so jump right in
and lend a helping hand to a very good cause (general fund).
There will be a sign up sheet for your donations or contact
Mary Lindsey or Pat Chaney. All items are greatly appreciated.
BIBLE STUDY: The
Thursday Evening Bible Study will not be held this week.
Everyone is encouraged to attend Nigel Mumford’ presentation
on healing prayer. All of the other Bible Studies will go
on as usual.
YOUTH INFORMATION FROM MICAH:
Junior high youth group will meet from 6-8 this Saturday.
Remember to bring friends and your Bibles!
Senior high will meet 6-8 this Sunday. Ditto on friends
and Bibles.
Be sure to look at the December calender and set aside those
particular dates and times! Be sure to check the website
for information
Good Shepherd Youth Group Calendar
NOVEMBER
Saturday, November 24 – Jr. High Meeting, 6-8 (Matt)
Sunday, November 25 – Sr. High Meeting, 6-8 (IFE)
DECEMBER:
Elementary
December 8 – Bowling, Laurel Bowl, 2-4 (Christina)
Junior High, Saturday Evenings
December 8 – Regular Meeting, 6-8 (Matt), Jason Bronson
December 15 – Regular Meeting, 6-8 (IFE), Meghan Sullivan
December 22 – White Elephant gift exchange and regular
meeting, 6-8 (Jason)
December 29 – Micah out of town
Senior High, Sunday Evenings
December 9 – Regular Meeting, 6-8 (Kellie)
December 16 – Regular Meeting, 6-8 (Jeremy)
December 23 – White Elephant gift exchange and regular
meeting, 6-8
December 30 – Micah out of town
As always, the contact info!
Micah Towery
3155 Broadway, Apt. 15
New York City, NY 10027
JEANETTE RICKER: Jeanette who is a 50 year
member of Good Shepherd is now residing at Marjorie Doyle
Rockwell Center near her son, David, who lives in the Albany
area. After breaking her neck (12/06) and suffering from
dementia it was necessary for her to leave Good Shepherd-
Fairview Home. David reports that the Center is very nice
and that Jeanette is happy. Please keep Jeanette in your
thoughts and prayers. ( The compete letter is on the bulletin
board downstairs.)
ECW CHRISTMAS BASKETS FOR THE HOMEBOUND: The
annual Christmas Baskets will be delivered on Dec. 11th.
If you have a relative or friend that you like to be included
in this program let Mary Lindsey know by Dec. 9th.
ADULT EDUCATION SERIES: HERESIES
AND CULTS: This week we’ll continue
our discussion of Pelagianism. Pelagius was a British monk
who taught the following:
1. Even if Adam had not sinned, he would have died.
2. Adam's sin harmed only himself, not the human race.
3. Children just born are in the same state as Adam before
his fall.
4. The whole human race neither dies through Adam's sin
or death, nor rises again through the resurrection of Christ.
5. The (Mosaic Law) is as good a guide to heaven as the
Gospel.
6. Even before the advent of Christ there were men who were
without sin.
He
was opposed, principally, by St. Augustine
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
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying
the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence
in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine,
and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty,
whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision,
why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense
of the cross has been removed....13 For you were called
to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an
opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you
bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not
consumed by one another (Galatians 5:7-15)
Don't forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH
Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday December 2nd,
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
7:00pm Fr. Nigel Mumford’s
Healing Eucharist
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
6:00pm-8:00pm Jr. High Meeting
Sunday
December 9th 2007 SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP (SEASON OF ADVENT)
8:00am Worship, Holy Communion and Sermon
9:15-10:15 a.m. CHRISTIAN
EDUCATION FOR ALL AGES
10:30am Worship, Holy Communion, Music, Sermon
6:00pm - 8:00pm Sr. High Meeting
God bless you all
In Christ,
Matt+
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