Acolyte Practice There will be an acolyte practice directly following the 10:30 service today. Please be sure that all acolytes and crucifers, and those in training meet at the front of the sanctuary.
Christmas Pageant The first Christmas pageant meeting will be today after the 10:30 service. Please go and see Mrs. Kennedy to sort out what part you’ll have in the pageant before going to acolyte practice.
Choir Rehearsal There will be no choir practice this week on 11/23. Practice will resume on 11/30.
Christmas Outreach: Again this Christmas we at Good Shepherd have the amazing opportunity to celebrate Christ’s birth by helping those less fortunate than ourselves. Needy children from Saratoga Youth Center have provided us with wish lists for Christmas. Please join the Outreach Team in surprising these dear children with some special presents (valued at $15-$20) this holiday. Select a child represented on the Christmas tree in the Parish Hall and record your name, phone number, and the child’s number on the sign-up sheet. Please gift wrap the present and be sure to place the number of the child on the wrapped package. Please bring it to the secretary’s office on or before Sunday December 18th. We will help Saint Nick deliver the gifts to the children on Tuesday December 20th. See Carmen to know the name(s) of the child/children whom you select. Thanks so much!
A Visit from St. Nick St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, who, you might remember, threw money into people’s windows at night and punched the heretic Arius in the nose, will be visiting Good Shepherd and giving out chocolate and little oranges on December 4th. This would be a marvelous Sunday to bring children as guests with you to church.
Greening the Church Traditionally the church is “greened” or decorated on the fourth Sunday of Advent, as close to Christmas as we can get. But this year, as last, Advent Four is awfully close to Christmas itself and we don’t want the whole church to be completely exhausted by Christmas Eve. So this year we’ll green on Advent Three, which is December 11th. There will be a Christmas themed potluck lunch. Everyone is invited to stay and decorate the Sanctuary.
*There will not be a potluck lunch on December 4th.
Christmas Pageant The Christmas pageant will be held on Christmas Eve at 5pm. Please see Anne Kennedy to find out how you can help.
Christmas Service This year Christmas falls on a Sunday. There will be one church service on Christmas at 11am
A Request for Help Can anyone lend ready-lit Christmas trees to help decorate our Huge Rummage and Handicraft Sale (which will benefit CHE, Nicaragua) at Christmas in Montrose? Dec 2nd and 3rd, at Bridgewater Baptist church, Church St, Montrose. Also, donations are very welcome. You can bring them to church on Sundays. Come and support CHE, and enjoy Christmas in Montrose.
Thank you, Anne, Bill, and Darling.
Trunk N Treat Thanks to all who helped with Trunk ‘N Treat! We hosted many children and adults who enjoyed Christian music, games, donuts, hot chocolate, and cider in the Parish Hall. Our antique/classic car friends also joined us with trunks of treats in the parking lot. There was also a gospel clown who made amazing balloon animals with a message about Jesus! There was prayer and there was conversation with those who otherwise might never learn to know us. Please pray that these efforts to reach out to our neighborhood may bring glory to our Lord and may add believers to His kingdom.
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.
Operation Christmas Child Today is the last day to drop off your shoeboxes here at Good Shepherd. If you forgot to bring it in, all hope is not lost! They can be dropped off at Calvary Community Church, 780 Harry L. Drive, Johnson City, NY 13790, today (Sunday) between 1-4pm, and Monday November 21, between 10am-2pm.
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.
Last Week
Last Week’s Sermon: Last week’s sermon was called ‘King of Kings and Eternal Priest’ and was based on Hebrews 2:1-4. You can listen to or download it here.
Mission Group Discussion Questions
Hebrews 1:7-14
Main Idea(s):
- Jesus is God, angels are servants and messengers of God.
Read Hebrews 1:7-14
1) Why did God create angels?
- What is their role?
- How do they “serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (verse 14)?
2) What specific characteristics of the Son are conveyed through verses 8-13?
- Why can’t any of these characteristics be applied to angels?
- What fact about Jesus is further proved by the Psalms references through the end of verse 14?
3) What does our culture say about who Jesus is?
- How can we know who Jesus really is?
- How should believers respond in situations and conversations where the person of Jesus is misrepresented?
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, ‘Trumpian Reflections, Safety Pins, and Misunderstanding Trump Voters’ Matt and Anne discuss Donald Trump’s election victory, Safety Pins, what the left missed, and evangelicalism in the Trumpian era.
You can catch up on all of the older episodes here.
Tuesday Morning Bible Study was based on Ecclesiastes 7.
Missed a study? You can catch up on the last month of the Tuesday morning Bible studies you might have missed here.
This Week
This Week’s Sermon is based on Hebrews 2:1-4.
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Hebrews 2:1-4 ESV)
Team Phillippians is working on the altar this Sunday with Michael Beauharnois.
Shepherd’s Bowl There is no Shepherd’s Bowl this week due to Thanksgiving. Team 2 will serve on December 1st.
Altar Guild Karen Berman is serving this Sunday.
Nursery Rachael Warner is serving this Sunday.
The readings for this week are: Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Hebrews 2:1-4.
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.