From time to time…
Vacation I’ll (Stephanie) be heading off to somewhere warm and sandy this week. The office will be closed the entire week, and 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!
Please be in Prayer Mary Lindsey is now at Good Shepherd Fairview Home on Fairview Ave in Binghamton. I’m sure she’d love to have visits, but please do call first to make sure that she’s available.
What’s Happening at Good Shepherd
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. 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’s Sermon: was called ‘Dishonest Managers, Unrighteous Wealth, and Eternal Dwellings’, and was based on Luke 16:1-13. You can listen to or download it here.
Mission Group Discussion Questions
Luke 16:1-13
Main Idea(s):
- All the forms of wealth in this world are temporary (money, time, talents, status…), but the Kingdom of God is eternal and
those who are part of it will live forever.
- Use your resources here and now to invest in what’s eternal, not in what will pass away.
Read Luke 16:1-13
1) Who is the audience of this parable?
- In what ways are believers managers of wealth here on the earth?
- Who is the master of all this wealth?
- Why does God call believers to be stewards of the resources given?
2) In the parable, why did the master commend the manager?
- What did the manager gain or accomplish for himself? For the master?
- What did the manager need to invest in order to gain what he desired?
- Why is this kind of shrewdness praiseworthy from the world’s point of view?
3) How do verses 10-13 show that Jesus did not condone the manager’s dishonesty?
- How should believers consider the wealth and resources they have?
- How should believers use their temporary wealth and resources?
- In what ways can believers invest their temporary wealth to gain heavenly treasures?
- What specific heavenly treasures are gained by investing in God’s kingdom?
Tuesday Morning Bible Study: This Tuesday’s Bible Study was called ‘Introduction to Ecclesiastes‘. 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, ‘Free Speech, Being a Victim, and Taking Offense’ Matt and Anne Kennedy discuss the effort to shut down free speech on both the right and the left. On the left, it is impermissible to say anything perceived as less than “inclusive”. On the right it is impermissible to say or do anything perceived as unpatriotic. We think it’s all tyrannical madness. 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 Romans is working on the altar this Sunday with Chris Jones.
Shepherd’s Bowl Team 2 is serving this Thursday with Curt Osgood.
Altar Guild Pauline King is serving this Sunday.
The readings for this Sunday are: Amos 6:1-7 and 1 Timothy 6:11-19.
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.