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,

Good Morning. Read the Update carefully this week. There are several important items.

 

WEEKLY ARTICLE

PENTECOST: WORKING WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

by The Rev. Matt Kennedy

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. It was during the feast of Pentecost 2000 years ago in Jerusalem that the Holy Spirit descended upon and dwelt within the disciples, made his home in their hearts, in accordance with Jesus’ promise that he would not leave his followers as orphans (John 14:18).

Ever since the day of Pentecost, God has sent his Holy Spirit to live with and within everyone who comes to faith in Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit used to be called the Holy Ghost, but the Spirit is not a ghost as we think of ghosts. He’s not the living soul of a dead human being. And he is a “he” not an “it.” God the Holy Spirit is just as distinct and personal as God the Son and God the Father. He is also, like the Father and Son, fully divine.

When he comes to live in your heart, God comes to live in your heart.

The Holy Spirit gave the disciples the courage and power to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ before both curious crowds and hostile authorities in the streets of Jerusalem. They were transformed from docile, passive, cowardly and somewhat inactive men to disciples ready to face humiliation, rejection, fire and death for the name of Christ…and to do so with joy

And yet contemporary believers, who have the same Holy Spirit, sometimes think it a sacrifice too great to skip out on a sitcom for prayer time or to read the bible for five minutes a day or to serve in some role at church. And setting aside the thought of actually sharing our faith, we are often afraid to even to ask our non-believing friends and neighbors to come to church.

What has happened?

The Spirit is still there but in many ways we have lost our trust and confidence that through the Holy Spirit God can and will give us all that we need. We really don’t believe Paul when he says that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). So instead of acting in obedience, rather than stepping out to evangelize or setting aside time to pray or to put bible study into our daily and weekly schedules, to volunteer at church or say “no” to some habit or addiction trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit to provide, we shrink back. We sit in our pews or in our homes and horde our strength, our time, and our resources. We think we don’t have enough.

And we do not.

But God does and he has promised to give you the strength and resources to do all that he calls you to do through his Holy Spirit. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Do you believe that? Do we believe that as a parish?

The promise stands and it is true whether we believe it or not. If we will simply put him first in our lives, giving him our best instead of what is leftover after we have expended our strength elsewhere, we will find that all of his promises are true.

But to discover this we must put away spiritual passivity, complacency, laziness and sloth. Paul often likens the Christian life to a marathon, a long distance endurance run. The goal is not simply to finish, but to finish well. We must run the race like a runner who wants to win the prize.

If you have fallen back, commit this day to get back onto the course. Pick up the slack and continue to seek first His Kingdom and his righteousness through the power of the Holy Spirit.

UPDATE CONTENTS
PENTECOST: THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
DISCIPLING COURSE
ONE OF OUR PARISHIONERS NEEDS HELP
OPERATION ANDREW INSTRUCTIONS
SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER
SOFTBALL AND PARISH PICNIC
HELP
WALKABOUT OPERATION ANDREW JUNE 2nd
THE WHOLE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR TOGETHER
ADULT EDUCATION: DOES GOD EXIST?
COMING ADULT EDUCATION SERIES: THE KINGDOM OF THE CULTS
BIBLE STUDIES


NEWS

PENTECOST SUNDAY: This coming Sunday, as I noted above, is Pentecost Sunday. It is the last major feast day of the Easter cycle. It is traditional to wear red on Pentecost and everyone is invited and encouraged to do so. It is an important Sunday to come and praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, to thank him for inestimable treasure of his presence and power in our hearts.

DISCIPLING COURSE: So let’s say that we all start inviting people to the Franklin Graham Festival and a lot of people go. And suppose we have an influx of new baby believers during the summer. What on earth would we do with them? Or, conversely, just suppose that we learned so much about Jesus Christ and how to share the good news of salvation found in him, that even without the festival, a number of new believers started attending Good Shepherd, how would we handle it?

We’ve had this problem before and while the bible studies have certainly helped introduce new believers to the scriptures and to a certain level of fellowship, there has been an element of one on one guidance, instruction, accountability, and friendship that has been missing. A one on one relationship between a more mature (spiritually speaking) Christian and one who is just starting out is called: “discipleship”. The more experienced Christian leads the inexperienced or new Christian into a deeper more consistent level of faith.

If you look at the seven mission goals listed above you will note that one of them is to have at least 6 disciplining relationships established and going strong by the end of the year. So far we have about three. But, hopefully, this will change in the very near future.

Anne has been discipling for some time now and knows a good deal about it. If you are a mature, well grounded believer, committed to a bible study, prayer, and worship on a regular basis, and think that the Lord might be calling you to disciple a new believer, please let Anne know. Men will be trained to disciple men and women will be trained to disciple women. She will be holding training sessions in the near future.

There will be a sign up sheet in the parish hall this Sunday. If you think this is an area in which you can server God, please sign up and Anne will contact you about times.

ONE OF OUR PARISHIONERS NEEDS HELP (second notice): The vestry received a note from a parishioner who is having difficulty paying an outstanding bill that assistance will not cover. There will be a basket near the front door of the sanctuary to receive contributions for this parishioner who is in need. We are leaving the donation basket out for one more week.

OPERATION ANDREW INSTRUCTIONS: Friends. People need Jesus. He is the only way to salvation. A relationship with him is the only relationship that will ultimately satisfy. God longs for the lost to return to him. He came down in the Person of Christ to find us. And he has given us the mission of bringing this news to the entire world. But right now, we’re starting with five each. Just five. Pray for them, ask God to give you an opportunity to speak to them and then invite them to the festival or to church or to some venue where they will hear the good news that God has come in Jesus Christ and that he died to take away the guilt of their sins and he has risen to give them eternal life.

Let's do it.

Write down 5 names, pray for them and then invite them to the Festival or to Church. Here are those three steps again.

Step 1 is to Look Around where you live, work, or go to school—this is your mission field. List names of individuals you know who need Jesus Christ, whom you will pray for regularly.

Step 2 is to Look Up because God changes people through prayer. Pray each day for those on your list, that God will give you opportunities to share His love with them.

Step 3 is to Look Out for ways to cultivate friendships with each person on your list. Spend time with them. An invitation to dinner or a sporting event will build friendships, which can open the way to talk about Christ.

If we want to grow as a church and as a people, if we want to reach out to the lost and bring them the hope of Christ, we must become fishers of men.

SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER: There is new prayer that meets between 10:15 and 10:30am in the library on Sunday Morning between services. Prayers are offered not only for the needs of the congregation, but also that God will be present through his Holy Spirit to transform hearts and minds; that he will, in this way, be glorified in the worship, proclaimed powerfully in the sermon, and received faithfully at communion.

Prayer is the means or the way God chooses to act in this world and, especially, in the Church. The All are invited to join them in the library.

SOFTBALL and the PARISH PICNIC: Rabbi Ron said that some of his people are interested in challenging us to a series of softball games this summer. I told him that we'd be happy to beat him. I also invited them to join us at the annual parish picnic where we can have our first game. The Picnic is scheduled for Sunday June 17th at Cole Park. The service starts at 11:00am. Lunch afterwards

Everyone is asked to bring drinks for themselves (non-alcoholic please) and a dish to pass.

HELP: There is something missing at Good Shepherd. It turns out that while there are more people in the parish than ever, there are fewer and fewer people willing to be readers, acolytes, take cleaning duties, work at the Shepherd’s Bowl, help count money on Sunday morning or serve in any way at all. We are missing people willing to serve.

We were not saved into the Body of Christ to sit in a pew every Sunday and then rush home. We were saved into a Body to share in the mission and work of Christ. Take a moment and read through 1st Corinthians 12.
If you are a member of Good Shepherd, you should have at least one volunteer service or role, something you do to help build up the body and to glorify God. If you are not sure what you should do or how best to help, the best way to figure this out is to look around, see what needs to be done, and then, rather than saying, “Gosh, someone really needs to do something about that...” try doing it yourself. :)

WALKABOUT OPERATION ANDREW Rabbi Ron Goldberg and I are looking for willing volunteers to help take some of the Franklin Graham material door to door. We have set the date for next Saturday, June 2nd, after his congregations meets. We’ll get the precise time out to you soon. The idea is to let people know that the festival is coming up and that they are welcome to come.

CANOE RACE: Darrell and I will be racing against Don and Jake in annual 70 mile canoe race that starts in Cooperstown and ends in Afton. If you'd like to celebrate with us at the finish line, call Anne to find out what time to be there. If you'd like to celebrate with Don and Jake just come an hour later.

THE WHOLE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR TOGETHER: You can find the readings on the website and in your bulletin and on the website. I hope you are all following along in the readings. I am finding it more and more difficult to write reflections as we approach the Franklin Graham Festival…but I hope to start up again afterwards.

ADULT EDUCATION SERIES: APOLOGETICS: DOES GOD EXIST? So far we have demonstrated the existence of God, demonstrated the historical fact of the resurrection, and investigated the claims of Jesus before his death. This week we will show that all of these things lead to the conclusion that the bible is not only a good read, but it is the infallible Word of God.

Hope to see you there. This is an especially good class for those who are having doubts about their faith.

NEXT ADULT EDUCATION SERIES: KINGDOM OF THE CULTS and other religious sects: Have you ever wondered how to speak to a Jehova’s Witnesses or what to think of the Mormon church? This class will provide an overview to the beliefs of several cults and religious sects and show how to speak effectively to those who are caught up in them.

BIBLE STUDIES: All of them are up and running this week.

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
1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. (1st Corinthians 2:1-5)

Don't forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!


Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday May 27th 2007 PENTECOST SUNDAY

Monday:
CANOE RACE

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
7:30 p.m. Choir Practice

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 May 27th, 2007 TRINITY SUNDAY
8:00am Holy Communion II and Sermon
9: 15-10:15 a.m. Christian Education for all Ages
10:30 am Holy Communion II, Music and Sermon

God bless you all
In Christ,

Matt+

 

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