From time to time…
Vacation! Steph is still on vacation. In fact, I’m writing this update from the kitchen table of a beautiful ocean front house on the banks of Topsail Island, NC. The office will reopen on Tuesday October 4th. If you have an emergency, please call, text, or email Ife, Anne, or Matt.
Scheduling Reminder If you need to make an appointment with Pastor Matt, please be sure to contact Stephanie directly 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.
A Message from Garry and Melissa Ingraham at Love and Truth Network
Hello Friends,
We have arrived in AZ and are settling into a new home and way of life here.
Garry is already beginning to meet with pastors about the ministry of Love & Truth Network.
We so appreciate your faithful prayers and financial partnership as you stand with us on the front lines of this vital work!
Please use the following address for future correspondence and donations:
Love & Truth Network
4410 W. Union Hills Dr., Ste 7 – #283
Glendale, AZ 85308
Thank you so much again for your continued prayers and support!
What’s Happening at Good Shepherd
A Celebration! On October 1 (this Saturday), 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. RSVP to Lauren Kirst. They are registered at Amazon & Babies R Us (Kit Donovan).
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 have returned to their regular meeting times. 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 When I looked in the member food pantry today, I found that the shelves were practically bare. If someone needed to use it, there wouldn’t be much to find! Please help to stock it with nutritious foods to help those in our community that can’t always provide for themselves, so that they can feed their families properly.
Needs: Canned meats and tuna, peaut butter and jam or jelly, one box meals, soups and stews, canned veggies and fruits, pasta and pasta sauce, cereal (other than corn flakes), kids foods, 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 tenth class session of our Christian education course on the 39 Articles. We conclude our 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 2.
Last Week’s Sermon: was called ‘Area Man Surprised to Find Himself in Hell’, and was based on Luke 16:19-31. You can listen to or download it here.
Mission Group Discussion Questions
Luke 16:19-23
Main Idea(s):
- Righteousness is not measured by prosperity.
- Suffering and hardship opens our eyes to our need for mercy and grace from God.
- We are without hope to save ourselves. We must trust in the mercy and grace of Christ for that.
Read Luke 16:19-31 (Read the entire parable, but this week’s questions only discuss up through verse 23)
1) Which of the men described in verses 19-21 would be considered by the first century Jewish culture to be righteous?
- What standards were used to measure righteousness and glory for first century Jews?
- By what standards do Americans measure the virtue, decency, and adequacy of others in our culture?
- Why are these standards so acceptable and valued by the world? Are these standards accurate measures of those things? Why or why not?
2) Which of the men described in verses 19-21 is righteous? How do you know?
- Which of them is more aware of their unrighteousness? Why?
- What blinds us to our own unrighteousness?
- How does God use our suffering and hardships to draw us to himself?
3) After death, why was the rich man sent to a place of torment while Lazarus was welcomed into a place of comfort?
- What did each man do (or not do) to end up where they did?
- What is learned about God’s mercy and God’s justice up to verse 23 of this parable?
Tuesday Morning Bible Study: This Tuesday’s Bible Study was called ‘Striving After Wind’. 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, ‘Race Relations, Officer Friendly and Children Who Do Not Interrupt’ Matt and Anne Kennedy discuss the politicization of just about everything, race relations in light of the recent shootings, Officer Friendly, and Raising Children who Do Not Interrupt.
This week, due to the presidential debate, we get a bonus cast, ‘Preventing Grace Podcast Special Debate Edition’, where Matt and Anne Kennedy discuss the first Presidential Debate of 2016.
You can catch up on all of the older episodes here.
This Week
This week’s sermon is based on Luke 16:19-31.
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31 ESV)
Team Corinthians is working on the altar this Sunday with Melissa Boeker.
Shepherd’s Bowl Team 3 is serving this Thursday (10/6) with Steph Warner.
Altar Guild Christine Osgood is serving this Sunday.
The readings for this Sunday are: Habakkuk 1:1-13, 2:1-4 and 2 Timothy 1:1-14.
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.