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,
It
figures that the first week of our 365 day walk through
the bible should start off in Leviticus on Sunday and end
in one of the more, well, tedious sections of Numbers by
Saturday.
The
Old Testament can take some time getting used too, but it
is worth it.
The
books of Leviticus and Numbers are part of the “Pentateuch”
or the “five books” written by Moses. By the time Jesus
was born, the Pentateuch was referred to simply as “the
Law” because these books contain the laws and regulations
that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai . There were more
than ten. In fact, there were 613 in all depending on how
you count them.
The
book of Leviticus is largely made up of three sorts or types
of law: Moral, Ceremonial, and Civic.
Moral
laws are laws that deal with behavior. The Ten Commandments
are moral laws. They reveal our duty toward God, toward
other human beings, and toward the created order. Many of
the moral laws we follow today were revealed on Mount Sinai
but Jesus explained the meaning of those laws older laws
and revealed many more during his earthly ministry and through
the teachings of his apostles found in the New Testament.
Ceremonial
laws had to do with the proper way to approach God in the
Tabernacle and (later) the Temple . God gave Moses extensive
and complex regulations dealing with “purity” or “cleaness”.
A Hebrew could only approach the Tabernacle and enjoy fellowship
with God and the rest of the community if he were ceremonially
clean. Infection, disease, death, certain foods, animals,
and behaviors caused ceremonial "uncleanness"
or impurity.
As
you read these laws today you may wonder why God would care
about things like mold or skin disease or why he would make
people to go through so many cleansing rituals in order
to draw near him an experience his presence. But the purpose
of the purity laws was twofold.
First,
God used these laws to teach his people that the whole world
is fallen. God associated “uncleanness” with conditions
like sickness and death precisely because these conditions
exist as a result of humanity's original falling away from
God. The Tabernacle, as a clean or purified worship space,
stood as a living model or vision of restored fellowship
with God, a picture of the lost Garden of Eden and of the
restored Heaven and Earth that would one day be ushered
in through the final sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But In order
to approach this holy space and enter into this restored
fellowship, God required his people to be cleansed of all
impurity.
And
this leads to the second purpose of the ceremonial laws.
The Ceremonial laws require the sacrificial spilling of
blood to cleanse from sin and impurity. God used this system
to "foreshadow" or to point to Christ's final
atoning sacrifice on the cross. Every time a Hebrew gave
over a living animal to be sacrificed and, thereby, to be
cleansed of sin or of impurity, God provided an image of
his own death in Jesus Christ for the sins of the world.
Civic
laws were to be used by the Hebrews within the borders of
the Promised Land. As detailed in Leviticus, they were primarily
punitive, telling the leaders how to punish certain crimes.
The people of Israel were called to be holy, to shine the
light of God's glory to the nations and to reconcile the
world into restored fellowship with God by living lives
that reflected the beauty and goodness of God. The civic
laws were given to ensure the holiness of Israel.
The
punitive civic laws also pointed forward to the cross where,
ultimately, Jesus bore the penalty of our sins to the full
extent of the Old Testament law and by his death, ushered
in a New Kingdom, a new society or civil rule governed by
the love of God through the power of the Spirit.
Jesus,
in his death, fulfilled the Ceremonial and Civic laws of
the Old Testament. He purified us from all uncleanness and
bore all of our punishment. He became our living Temple
.
These
laws no longer apply to the Church. They have been fulfilled
in Christ.
But
Christ commanded believers to continue to obey the moral
laws. Unlike the civil and ceremonial laws, the moral laws
are reflections of God's own character and since God is
eternal so are they.
When
we are faithful, God is glorified.
The
Book of Numbers is part history and part, well, numbers.
The first chapters of Numbers are tedious, but they are
tedious for a reason. They provide details of the great
census that God commanded Moses to take right after the
Hebrews were redeemed from slavery in Egypt. God wanted
Moses and the people to know the full extent of his faithfulness.
400 years before the Exodus, God promised Abraham that his
descendants would outnumber “the stars in the sky and the
sand on the seashore”. The sheer size and multitude of those
escaping Egypt was a clear and evident fulfillment of God's
promise.
But
there was another reason for the census and for the ordering
of the tribes in camp and when they marched. I remember
my military training. Many days in basic training are spent
marching up and down the drill field. It is monotonous and
boring. But the drill sergeants are dead serious about training
recruits to march and move in units and to keep in step.
No one marches around like that on a battlefield anymore,
but the training is not useless. It teaches people to work
together, to think as a team, and to listen to commands.
The Hebrews coming out of Egypt had been slaves for 400
years. They acted and thought like slaves, not like servants
of the living God. Their trek through the desert was a lot
like boot camp. God put them in his own marching order so
that they might be broken down, brought together as a community,
taught to think as a unit and listen to divine commands.
How
on earth does all of this apply to us? Well, isn't this
precisely what Christ does both in your heart and in the
church? When you come to Christ, the Spirit moves in and
begins to reorder your thoughts, words and deeds. He puts
you through spiritual basic training, breaking down your
sinful nature and rebuilding you in the image of Christ.
In
the church, Christ brings together people from every walk
of life: enemies, friends, neighbors, family members, all
former slaves to sin. He unites us all to him and to each
other through His Holy Spirit whom we all share and then
he begins to mold us into One Body, one unit, and though
we are many, through his love, over time, we become one.
This involves a lot of disagreement and some pain, but,
like boot camp, he radically reorders us by breaking down
our pride, prejudice, and resentment until we become family.
Thank
God for reordering us and that in Christ he has counted
us among those brought out of slavery to sin and into this
new life of Grace.
UPDATE
CONTENTS
BAPTISM
OF ISAAC NJUKO
CHICKEN
BBQ AND RUMMAGE SALE
WOMEN'S
BIBLE STUDY
LIFE
AND WITNESS COURSE UPDATE
GRADUATES
OPERATION
ANDREW UPDATE
VOLUNTEERS
FREE
HEBREW CLASSES STARTING SATURDAY MAY 5 th
SPECIAL
FUND TO SUPPORT THE FRANKLIN GRAHAM FESTIVAL
CHURCH
WORK DAY THANK YOU
THE
WHOLE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR TOGETHER
ADULT
EDUCATION: DOES GOD EXIST?
FIRST
LIGHT BIBLE STUDY
NEWS
BAPTISM:
Be sure to be here this Sunday to welcome Isaac Njuko into
the visible body of Christ. Isaac
Njuko will
be baptized at the 10:30am service. For those of you who
have not met Isaac, he has been coming to the 10:30am service
and the adult education class on Sunday mornings for the
last three months. Isaac is from Nigeria but he has been
living in the United States for a some time now. He is neighbors
with Don and Linda Dean. Don met him and invited him to
church and, three months later, he's being baptized. This
is a great example of the way church families grow; neighbors
inviting neighbors to church. Isaac had already surrendered
his life to Christ before he met Don and came to church
at Good Shepherd, but he had yet to be baptized. Baptism
is the public initiation rite
of the Church. It is Christ's seal of Isaac's faith.
Please
do come and celebrate with us. The Baptism will be during
the 10:30am service.
CHICKEN
BBQ and RUMMAGE SALE:
This Saturday (5/5/07). Please come to help and to buy and
eat!
WOMEN'S
BIBLE STUDY:
There will be no women's bible study this Saturday due to
the BBQ and Rummage sale.
LIFE
AND WITNESS COURSE UPDATE: The
second session of the Life and Witness Course went
extremely well. We learned about the importance of good
habits in maintaining the Christian life: Bible Study, prayer,
worship, accountability and repentance when you fall off
course.
\
The
Lord has blessed us so very much with the opportunity to
both open our doors to Christians of every denomination
from all over the city and to be fed and nourished ourselves
through the course material and presentation. It is very
important for us to receive this gift from the Lord gratefully
and eagerly.
GRADUATES:
We
have at least a couple of college graduates this year: Rebecca
Kearey and Micah Towery. Congratulations. I am not sure
whether we have any high school grads…if so let me know.
OPERATION
ANDREW UPDATE: I know I keep reprinting this, but
it is so important. God could use you to change the eternal
destiny of a friend, neighbor or family member. Here, once
again this week, are the first three steps to Operation
Andrew .
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.
VOLUNTEERS:
Rabbi Ron Goldberg and I are looking for willing volunteers
to help take some of the Franklin Graham material door to
door sometime in May. The idea is to let people know that
the festival is coming up and that they are welcome to come.
FREE
HEBREW LESSONS
THIS SATURDAY (5/5)
: Rabbi Ron Goldberg
is offering free Hebrew lessons to his congregation and
ours. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn the language
of the Old Testament; the language spoken by Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, Moses and all the prophets. It is not only a
fascinating language but knowing it will provide you with
deep insight into the Old Testament.
Classes
will start this Saturday at 4:30pm and will continue every
Saturday thereafter. If you cannot make this first class
on such short notice you can pick it up any time in the
next few weeks. Please take advantage of this wonderful
opportunity.
SPECIAL
FUND TO SUPPORT THE FRANKLIN GRAHAM FESTIVAL
(third notice) :
God has used the Franklin Graham Festival to bring thousands
of people to faith in Jesus Christ across the country. But
there are significant overhead costs associated with this
ministry and they have asked for all Christians to give
their financial support. At Good Shepherd, we are setting
aside a special fund for this purpose. If you would like
to support the Franklin Graham Festival in Binghamton ,
please mark your check or cash donation for that purpose
and it will be given directly to the Festival from Good
Shepherd.
THE
WHOLE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR TOGETHER : Began
this last Monday. The daily readings are not only posted
in the bulletin but they are also on the homepage of the
website. I'll post each week's new readings every Sunday
afternoon and send out notice by email. If you can commit
to miss one sit-com or, in other words, to set aside about
30 minutes a day, you can read through the whole bible in
one year. Why? because the bible is God's way of showing
himself to you and giving you guidance and instruction for
life. It is essential for the Christian who wants to grow
to be in the scriptures on a daily basis.
ADULT
EDUCATION SERIES: APOLOGETICS: DOES
GOD EXIST? This
Sunday we'll review what we learned in the first session
and go on to discuss the nature of the self-existent “Source”.
You
might want to read over the interview with former Athiest
Anthony Flew that I sent around a week ago.
This
is a great class to invite non-believers and those searching
for or doubting their faith. We'll start again next Sunday.
FIRST
LIGHT:
Since all the participants in the Tuesday Night Bible Study,
FIRST LIGHT, are also faithfully attending the Life and
Witness Courses, we have decided to put the Tuesday night
bible study on hold until after the courses are completed.
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
1As
for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of
this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the
spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying
the cravings of our sinful nature[ a
] and following its desires and thoughts. Like
the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because
of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made
us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it
is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with
Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in
Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might
show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in
his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace
you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can
boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for
us to do. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
Don't
forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!
Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday May 6th 2007 Easter
V
Monday:
7:00 p.m. LIFE AND WITNESS
COURSE
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning Bible Study
6:00 p.m. First Light Bible Study (not
meeting until after the Life and Witness courses are complete)
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 13th, 2007
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+
