From time to time…
Scheduling Reminder If you need to make an appointment with Pastor Matt, please be sure to contact Stephanie directly at 607-723-8032 or at gs.binghamton@gmail.com.
Often when people come to speak with Matt after the service on Sunday, he’s already been working for over nine hours, and doesn’t always remember to put it into the calendar. This can cause double bookings, or forgotten appointments. Please keep in mind that the office is closed on Mondays and Fridays, but you can always leave a message. Thank you so much for your understanding.
Please be in Prayer As many of you know, Mary Lindsey was hospitalized a few weeks ago. She is currently in a rehabilitation center, but is getting stronger daily! We are prayerfully hoping for a speedy recovery. You can contact the Good Shepherd Office for more information.
A Celebration! On October 1, from 2-4pm, the ladies of Good Shepherd are all invited to come and join in the celebration of the much anticipated Donovan baby! There will be a baby shower for Kit Donovan, held at the Dreher home. Please see Lauren Kirst to RSVP, and see Christine Osgood for more information. They are registered at Amazon & Babies R Us (Kit Donovan).
What’s Happening at Good Shepherd
School Supply Giveaway and FREE Barbecue Thanks to so many who helped with the School Supply Giveaway and Free Barbecue. God truly blessed this event! We not only distributed over 255 backpacks and many additional school supplies, we also fed 380 people with delicious, nourishing food. There were also games, face-painting, live Christian music (thanks to Treasure), and the wonderful service dog Inca! In every backpack we included a flyer with COGS information and also a prayer for a blessed school year. May God bless each child who came and may He use our efforts for His purposes. Please continue to pray for these children!
And Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink”… There are bottles of water in the church refrigerator which are available to offer to anyone who is in the vicinity of the church. These are not for members of COGS, but are for those outside our walls. Please use this gesture to show others that we care.
Mission Groups Mission groups will return to regular format and schedule this week. If you are already part of a Mission Group, check the location and schedule of your meetings with your Mission Group Leader, and in the Week at a Glance section of this morning’s update. See Ben Murphy if you haven’t joined a Mission Group yet and need help finding one!
Update and Announcements If you have an item you’d like to have announced on Sunday morning, or included in the update, please be sure to forward the item to Stephanie by Wednesday afternoon, and specify if you’d like it announced or just listed in the updates. It will then be edited and forwarded to Anne/Ife to announce on Sunday and/or added to the paper and digital update.
Ongoing Ministries
“And as for your little ones…”
Children’s bulletins are available to help your children follow all parts of the service today. Please pick one up from an usher.
Bread and Wine If you are interested in joining a group of moms for a monthly supper and discussion of women in the bible, please contact Liz Hull.
Health and Wellness Our bodies are “the tents” that the Lord has given us to house our souls. Begin to take care of the body which God Has given you. Check your blood pressure, blood sugar, and weight every Sunday in the Parish Hall 9-10AM. Please see Dolly Shaller or Carmen Swoffer-Penna for more details.
Member Food Pantry Our member food pantry stock is getting low, and needs replenishing. With children back at school, families need our help more than ever. There are plenty of unhealthy things available in the pantry, but we’d like to stock it with nourishing foods that will truly help to feed the bodies of the people that need to use it.
For those of you that can help, please do, as every little bit makes a difference.
Needs: Soups and stews, one box meals, peanut butter and jelly, canned meats, tuna fish, gluten free and sugar free products, whole grain products, canned fruits and vegetables, condiments, salad dressings, cooking oils and sprays, cereal, rice, pasta, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, juices, and anything else you’d like to bring.
*Please refrain from donating flours or sugars.
Last Week
Last Week in Adult Christian Education: This is the ninth class session of our Christian education course on the 39 Articles. We began a discussion of Article 17, one of the most controversial articles dealing with the Doctrine of Predestination. You can listen in here: Article 17: The Doctrine of Predestination part 1.
Last Week’s Sermon: was called ‘The Shepherd Finds His Sheep’, and was based on Luke 15:1-7. You can listen to or download it here.
Mission Group Discussion Questions
Luke 15:1-7
Main Idea(s):
- God does, and has done, all the work necessary to rescue the lost.
- The repentance of each and every sinner brings God joy.
Read Luke 15:1-7
1) How did Jesus receive sinners?
- Did he ignore their sin or encourage its continued practice?
- What did, and does, Jesus always command of all sinners?
- What is a believer’s role in bringing another sinner to repentance?
2) How did the Pharisees and scribes consider themselves compared to others?
- Why did they grumble when Jesus associated with sinners?
- How often do you consider yourself more righteous or worthy than someone else?
- Are you justified in your estimation of yourself? Why or why not?
3) In the parable, why does the shepherd go after the sheep that is lost?
- Why does God choose to rescue sinners?
- How does God respond when someone who is lost in sin repents?
- What part does a sinner, or the one that is lost, play in being found?
4) Is there anyone righteous who needs no repentance?
- To whom is Jesus referring, then, when he mentions “righteous persons who need no repentance” in verse 7?
- Why does he refer to them this way?
- Which of the people to whom Jesus tells the parable (Pharisees and scribes or sinners) are you most like?
5) What applications can be made of the themes in this passage?
Tuesday Morning Bible Study: This Tuesday’s Bible Study was called ‘Paul’s Plans and Final Greetings’. You can view it here, or watch it below.
Missed a study? You can catch up on the last month of the Tuesday morning Bible studies you might have missed here.
Preventing Grace Podcast Did you know that Matt and Anne have a podcast? They talk about everything from church polity to rustic breads. In this week’s episode, ‘Purity, Modesty, and All That’ Matt and Anne Kennedy discuss what it means to “dress modestly” and how the biblical ideal of modesty can be twisted to extremes both by conservative Christians and liberal secularists. You can catch up on all of the older episodes here.
This Week
This week’s sermon is based on Luke 16:1-13.
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16:1-13 ESV)
Team Phillippians is working on the altar this Sunday with Michael Beauharnois.
Shepherd’s Bowl Team 1 is serving this Sunday with Carmen Swoffer-Penna.
Altar Guild Karen Berman is serving this Sunday.
The readings for this Sunday are: Amos 8:4-12 and 1 Timothy 2:1-7 .
The PDF Bulletin for this Sunday’s 10:30 service can be downloaded here.
Have an item for the Update or an Announcement?
Email the secretary at:
gs.binghamton@gmail.com
by Monday night.