What’s Happening at Good Shepherd
Prayer Vigil There will be a 12 hour prayer vigil for the persecuted church this Sunday, Nov 1st. It’s the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church. The vigil will begin at 6.30am: people can commit to pray for 1 hour either at home, or in the prayer room. It will end with a prayer service from 6.30 pm until 7.30 pm in the church sanctuary. Please email Anne Thompson to let us know when you plan to pray so that we can have 12 hours of continuous prayer at Good Shepherd for our persecuted brothers and sisters.
There will be materials in the prayer room, and in the bulletins, to help us pray.
Harvest Dinner Cooking Day Saturday November 7th after Women’s Bible Study, from 11AM-4PM. We will be cooking for the Harvest Dinner (cranberry relish, mashed potato casserole, squash, pies). This will be a cooking day. You may come for as long as you like.
Youth Group The Youth Group will be meeting at 3pm at church instead of our usual time of 6:30. We will be going to the Corn Maize at Stoughton Farm and we will be returning between 6 and 6:30pm.
Prayer Shawl The next meeting for GS Prayer Shawl Ministry will be Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 11:15. Keep Knitting!
“And as for your little ones…”
Children’s Bulletins Children’s bulletins are available from the ushers. They are designed to help children 8-11 engage more fully with the worship service and sermon. Younger children who are worshipping with you may also find them helpful.
Catechesis recently began for children 3-6 years old. Please ask Anne Kennedy for a classroom tour and consider bringing your children or becoming involved as an occasional classroom assistant.
Upcoming ACW Events
Anglican Church Women Have you ever wondered what it would be like to grow up in Africa as a child of missionaries? Come to the ACW meeting on Saturday, November 14 at 11:15 and find out! Anne Kennedy will be speaking and lunch will follow!
RSVP not necessary, but appreciated! Please see Christine O. for more details.
Upcoming Outreach Events
Trunk-n-Treats Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd (360 Conklin Avenue) will again host Trunk ‘N Treat from 4 to 7PM on October 31st. There will be hot chocolate, donuts, cider, games, antique cars, and trunks of treats.
Jeremy the Illusionist will share the gospel as he performs his amazing “magic” show from 6 to 7PM! Please come in costume with decorated trunks full of treats and enjoy the fun! Also invite friends and neighbors to this family-friendly event!
Saratoga Outreach Please let Carmen know if you would like to share some special time (30-45 minutes) with the kids at Saratoga Youth Center. Some ideas: read a favorite book/books to the children, talk about a country where you have lived/visited, teach a craft, play a game, cook, etc. Also feel free to join us in the garden usually at 10:30AM on Tuesdays depending on the weather. Afterwards we prepare a salad from the harvest to enjoy in the Parish Hall. We have also made zucchini chips and kale chips, but are eager for more healthy, kid-friendly recipes. Thanks for continuing to pray for these beautiful children!
Ongoing Ministries
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.
Good Shepherd Food Pantry When stocking your pantry at home, please remember to buy some things for our member food pantry. Keeping it full provides food for those of our members who need to put a healthy meal on the table for themselves and their families. So if you can donate, please give generously. God will surely bless you for your kindness.
Pantry Needs: Canned peaches, pears and pineapple, canned veggies, soups and stews, cereal other than cornflakes, pasta sauce, tea bags, coffee packets, cocoa, sugar free items, kid foods like ravioli, juice other than grapefruit, and anything else you’d like to bring.
Last Week
Sermon Last week’s sermon: ‘What Happens After You Die?’ based on 1 Corinthians 15:29-34 can be listened to or downloaded here.
Mission Group Discussion Questions
1 Corinthians 15:29-34
- What was Paul’s main point from the previous paragraph (see verse 20)? Immediately following the previous paragraph, what does the word “otherwise” signify in verse 29? Why do you think Paul finds it necessary to write any more than what he’s already written about the resurrection?
- Have you experienced, or can you imagine, that the hope of resurrection and opportunity to be reunited with believers who have died can draw non-believers to desire to know Christ? Is there any sense in becoming a Christian with the hope of being reunited with dead friends and family who were believers if there is no resurrection? Why not?
- What benefits and blessings are we promised in this life when we become a Christian? What things are not promised? What things are we to expect from the world in response to living as followers of Christ? Why do we endure these things? Is there any sense in expecting danger or enduring suffering and persecution if there is no resurrection? From a strictly human perspective, what can be gained through suffering and persecution?
- In verse 31, what does Paul mean by saying “I die every day”? In what ways can we “die every day” for Christ?
- If there is no resurrection, how does Paul suggest that our lives on earth be lived (verse 32)? Consider friends, family, and coworkers who don’t know the hope of the gospel. How do they live their lives? Are their selfish cravings and desires to get the most out of life ridiculous if they’ve never heard the gospel? What part are we called to play in this scenario where someone we know is living without the knowledge of Christ and without the hope of resurrection?
- Is the concluding verse of this section (verse 34) too harsh? Why or why not? Of what other parts of this letter does the phrase “some have no knowledge” remind you? What does 1 Corinthians 8:2 say about knowledge that some Corinthians claim to have? How can we truly know God?
Tuesday Morning This Tuesday’s Bible study was cancelled. We’ll have a new video posted next week.
This Week
This week’s sermon is based on 1 Corinthians 15:35-49.
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:35-49 ESV)
Team Ephesians is working on the altar this Sunday with Ife Ojetayo.
The readings for this week are: Isaiah 25:6-9 and 1 Corinthians 15:35-49.
The PDF Bulletin for this Sunday’s 10:30 service can be downloaded here.
Have an item for the Update?
Email the secretary at:
gs.binghamton@gmail.com
by Monday night.