What’s Happening at Good Shepherd This Week
Dear Good Shepherd,
I pray this update finds you safe and well. As we move into a mostly digital platform for the near future, many things have changed. Matt sent out a preview earlier today with a list of new changes and ways to access materials.
The pastoral staff is going through the list of members and regular attenders and personally checking in with each of them over the course of the week.
One of the things we’ve been working on is trying to consolidate all of the classes, sermons and studies into one easy to access place where you can find everything. When you get to the website’s main page, you’ll notice that there are new buttons for ‘education’ and ‘bible studies’ at the top of the page. These links will take you to pages that have all previously posted Christian Education classes, Tuesday morning and Thursday evening Bible studies listed in order from newest to oldest. There are also new spaces on the main page that will get you to the most recent posting of each of those series.
Michael, Tyler, Jonathan, Matt, Chris Jones and others have been working hard to get the streaming issues from last week’s service fixed, and we pray that this week’s broadcast will be smoother.
Sunday Morning Worship and Christian Ed
Christian Education will begin at 9:15 and will be available at this link. This week will begin a new series taught by Mr. Scott Pineau focusing on three instances that either alluded to or directly spoke about Christ’s death, burial, ascension, and resurrection. This Sunday we will be looking at the story of Jonah.
Below you will find links to the relevant passages we will be looking at.
Main text: Matthew 11:25-13:2
Extra credit: Luke 11:14-32
More extra credit: Mark 3:20- 5:20
The 8am service will return when we can once again meet together. If you know someone who does not have internet, please let us know so that we can send a hard copy of the sermon and a bulletin to them.
The live-stream of the 10:30 service will be posted on Facebook each week. The stream will begin on Sunday starting at 10:20am but the service will not start until 10:30am. You should be able to access it at this link. If you don’t have a Facebook account, when the prompt comes up, click ‘not now’, and you will still be able to view all of the services, classes and studies.
You can watch the recording of last week’s service here.
You can download the bulletin, including helpful new links that will take you to the scripture readings if you click on this link. In the bulletin, you’ll notice that there are links in the offertory section to take you out to two different means of giving electronically. If you would like to send your tithe electronically, these are the best ways to do so. You can still send your tithe in by traditional mail as well. You will also notice that the front cover picture, as well as the congregational directions are now in color! This is a bright spot of enjoying a fully digital bulletin. The red is a close match to the traditional color of those directions in the BCP.
The readings for this Sunday are Ezekiel 37:1-14, Romans 6:15-23. The sermon will be based on John 14:12-17.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Shepherd’s Bowl teams are still serving meals, although they are being offered as pre-packaged take away meals at the door of the church. Dinner is now being served at 5pm.
MIssion groups are no longer meeting in person, although some may have decided to try meeting electronically. Please check with your group leaders to see what’s going on with your regularly attended group.
Youth Group will be meeting digitally again this week, although the gathering was a bit too large to manage last Sunday. This week the group will split into two seperate meetings. The middle school aged group will meet at 6pm and the high school aged group will be meeting at 7pm. If you’d like to find out more, or if you are unsure of which class your children belong in, please contact Tyler Van Fossen.
Bible Studies The Tuesday Morning Bible Study and the Thursday Evening Bible Study are both meeting digitally and are being led by Matt Kennedy. You can access last week’s recordings of those studies by clicking on the links.
The Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study is meeting via google hangouts. Please contact the office for more information about accessing that class.
All other groups and classes are cancelled until we have a better idea of what the coming weeks hold. As always, you are in our prayers.
Weekly Bible Readings
| Morning | Evening | |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Psalm 45, Lev 12.1-13.28, Matt 5.13-32 | Psalm 46, Isaiah 11-12, Acts 7.1-43 |
| Tuesday | Psalm 47, Lev 13.29-end, Matt 5.33-6.4 | Psalm 48, Isaiah 13, Acts 7.44-end |
| Wednesday | Psalm 49, Lev 14.1-32, Matt 6.5-24 | Psalm 50, Isaiah 14, Acts 8.1-25 |
| Thursday | Psalm 51, Lev 14.33-end, Matt 6.25-7.14 | Psalm 24, Micah 4.1-5.6, Luke 23.26-end |
| Friday | Psalm 52, Isaiah 15-16, Acts 8.26-end | Psalm 26, Micah 5.7-ch. 6, Luke 24.1-35 |
| Saturday | Psalm 53-54, Lev 15, Matt 7.15-8.4 | Psalm 55, Isaiah 17-18, Acts 9.1-22 |
| Palm Sunday | Psalm 24, Zech 9.9-12, Luke 19.29-40 | Psalm 77, Lam 1, John 14 |
Have an item for the Update or an Announcement?
Email the secretary at: gs.binghamton@gmail.com
by Monday night.