What’s Happening at Good Shepherd
Congratulations! Tyler and Ashley welcomed a new member to their family on December 23rd. Baby Evelyn was born at 6:30am, 8lbs 1oz.! We are all so excited to meet and welcome Evelyn into the Good Shepherd family. Congratulations!
Christine O. has organized a Take Them A Meal page, if you’d like to help, you can go to www.takethemameal.com and schedule to bring them a meal starting on January 9th. The site lists information like food allergies, preferences, and directions to their home.
A Celebration! Mary Lindsey, one of our most beloved and oldest members, turned 100 on January 2! Good Shepherd will be celebrating with her on Sunday during coffee hour. Please make every attempt to be here to celebrate with us!
In addition, her daughter, Catherine, has invited her whole church family to an open house celebration from 1:30-4:00 on Saturday Jan 14 at Bridgewater Nursing Home Auditorium 159 Front St, Binghamton. She would love to see as many people come as possible to celebrate with her. If you have any questions, please see Christine Osgood.
Life Choices Baby Bottle Drive With the number of babies that have been born within the Good Shepherd community this year, this effort feels particularly important. Life Choices is a local charity that helps mentor women who are working through the effects of abortion, encourages teens to set boundaries for healthy relationships, equips new parents with the skills to care for their babies, explains options to women who have just found out that they are pregnant, gives young women a chance to see the life inside their wombs, and much more. Last year, the abortion total in the US since Roe v. Wade broke 59,000,000. That’s fifty-nine million children whose lives were taken. Pastor Matt has recently been appointed a board member at Life Choices, so this is a cause that Good Shepherd really believes in. Please give what you can to help this worthy cause, and return the bottles by the end of February.
Thank You! Many thanks to all who contributed to our Christmas Outreach for the children of the Saratoga Youth Center! On Monday December 19th, Jeanie, Ally, Santa (aka Paul) and I distributed the Angel Tree gifts to the Saratoga children. (I later discovered that some of these children received ONLY our gifts.) We also spoke to them about God’s gift to us at Christmas and how Jesus came to earth to take our punishment on Himself. The children were so receptive and eagerly respond to the message of salvation. We served them cookies which we had made with them, fresh fruit, and pizza.
Wednesday December 21st, the Outreach Team hosted a Christmas Party for the children of Future Faces. I was again blessed to recount the true meaning of Christmas. The highlight of the party was the arrival of Santa who was photographed with each child. Needless to say, all the children from both Saratoga Youth Center and Future Faces expressed much joy, amazement, and appreciation. May God use our efforts for the furtherance of His kingdom! May God bless these children!
Bible Study Scheduling Announcement All Bible Studies that are taught by Matt have resumed.
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.
Mission Groups All meetings have resumed their normal schedule.
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.
Annual Meeting The 143rd annual meeting will be held on January 22nd, 2017 in the parish hall after the 10:30 service. Please make every effort to be present.
New Members and Attenders Class If you’ve decided to become an official member of Good Shepherd, or would just like more information about Good Shepherd, and what we believe, there will be a new members class session starting on January 29th after the 10:30 service in the youth room. Please call or email Stephanie at the church office for more information or to let us know if you’d like to attend. Meetings typically last around an hour.
Ongoing Ministries
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.
Last Week
Last Week’s Sermon was based on John 1:1-18. There was no audio recording made.
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, ‘Prophetic Utterances For 2017’, Matt and Anne reveal their prophetic utterances for 2017.
Tuesday Morning Bible Study ‘He Who Digs a Pit Will Fall Into It‘ was based on Ecclesiastes 10. The video stream didn’t come through, but there is still an audio recording.
This Week
This Week’s Sermon is based on Hebrews 3:6-19.
but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Team Romans is working on the altar this Sunday with Chris Jones.
Shepherd’s Bowl Team 4 with the Kennedy and Dreher families will be working this week (1/12).
Altar Guild Karen Berman is serving this Sunday.
Nursery Carrie Moorhead is serving this Sunday.
The readings for this week are: Isaiah 60:1-9 and Hebrews 3:6-19.
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.