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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Email Newsletter - Bloomington Illinois
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church - Bloomington
  August 2014
Volume 20  Number 08
Pastor's Note
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
Have you ever faced a difficult decision that involved many options?  You look at it from all possible angles and scenarios.  You try to make the best decision with all the information you have available.  You pray and then decide… but what you decide does not work out the way you thought it would.  You’ve been there, haven’t you?
 
If you have lived long enough you know of whence I speak.  Oh, how we wish that all those decisions would work out the way we want.  We want the timing to be right, we want the outcome to be bright, we want to smell the roses when we cross the finish line. 
 
But then the timing is all wrong; the outcome is dark and bleak, and the only thing we smell is the stench of defeat.  It can knock us down.  It can cause us to hang our heads low.  It can bring tears to the surface.
 
What to do in these situations?  First, realize that you did the right thing.  You took what you knew at the time and you made the call.  It felt right, it looked right; you knew in your gut this was the direction to take.
 
Secondly, you prayed about it.  The Lord led you down a path that He wanted you to go.  In the end, the path didn’t lead to what you had hoped, but the Eternal Guide was by your side.
 
Thirdly, you learned a life lesson.  I know we used to despise this when our parents told us this, but it is true.  It makes us stronger and wiser for the next time we have a big decision.  This is part of maturing in our Christian faith.
 
When our decision involves our faith then we also are making a strong witness to those around us.  Never underestimate the eyes that are on you.  This is where the Holy Spirit works. 
 
This one is fresh in my mind.  I pray these thoughts help you. 
                                                 In Christ,
                                                 Pastor

8/01   Georgia Boriack
8/02   Ryne Brewer
8/03   Vicki Miller
8/05   Paul Gerike
8/05   Eric Schneider
8/09   Jeanette Ross
8/10   Bryan Benjamin
8/11   Clayton Piper
8/11   Emilia Schempp
8/12   Brian Dirks
8/15   Jacqueline Kwasny
8/16   Kristina Warren
8/18   Chad Boudinier
8/18   Becky Love
8/22   Kitti Miller
8/24   John Campbell
8/24   Michael Huth

 
 
8/07   Deborah Huber
8/11   Andrew Benjamin
8/15   Phoenix Kleiboeker
8/23   Stephanie Schempp
8/24   Paul Gerike
8/25   Eric Schneider


Church Drawing
AnnouncementOPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE YOUR WITNESSING SKILLS Saturday, September 6, 2014 at 9AM
Camp CILCA, Cantrall, IL

Presented by the Central Illinois District Lutheran Layman’s League

The subject is “Dealing With Tough Questions.” The first section will reveal the truth about cultural opposition to Christianity in America.  The discussion will include the recent rise of other religions and how to share the one true God in a world full of alternatives.  In the second session, we will learn to identify the “root” of the question.  We will also discuss those tough questions prevalent in society today such as “Why Do Bad Things Happen?” and “Why Does God Say ‘No’?”  In section three, we will discuss what to do when you cannot think of an answer to a difficult question.  We will also tackle tough objections and discuss the more common objections and how to deal with them.  In section four, we will discuss the art of apologetics.  How helpful is arguing, really?  We will also get down to the common source of every objection: spiritual warfare.

The cost is $25, which includes lunch.

Register by August 25th to
Deloris Blessman
24204 CR 1850N
Topeka, IL 61567
delorisblessman@yahoo.com
Hotdogs
Mark your calendars for the
Good Shepherd Annual Church Picnic Sunday, August 24th at Tipton Park 
Pavilion.
Hope you can come!
Thank YouMembers of Good Shepherd,  Thank you for sending me to Higher Things this year and for the continued support.  Higher Things helped me grow in my faith by understanding why God sent Jesus to die for our sins. I also learned that as sinful people we are in great need of God's forgiveness. Higher Things was also a fun opportunity to meet other Lutherans and worship with them. The worship services were very neat because when we joined our voices with a thousand other people it made a beautiful noise praising God.  Thank you and God's blessings,  -  Holden Lueck  
 
Dear Congregation,  Thank you for your support for the youth to attend Higher Things.  It was a wonderful opportunity to spend four days in worship and study of our faith.  My personal favorite from the week was seeing the youth excited and engaged in discussions on the sessions they attended.  Praising Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament with 1200 other Lutherans was a small glimpse of heaven!  Thank you, again, for the continued support and God bless.  - Heidi Bliese
 
Dear Congregation,  Thank you for helping to provide this opportunity for me and the others who went.  As this was the second year I have attended Higher Things it proved, again, to be a great learning experience.  I'm glad that I was able to go and worship with all the other youth.  The breakaway sessions that I attended were very helpful and gave me further knowledge on some confusing topics.  I really enjoyed my time and hope to go back next year!  Thank you for supporting us and being a part of our experience!
 -  Emilia Schempp

 
Dear Congregation,  Thank you for providing support for all of us to go to Higher Things!  It was a fun week, and I learned a lot about things that had me a bit confused.  It was a great experience, and I was sad when the week was over.  I hope to go again next year, and in the years after that.  Thanks, again, for your support.  -  Maggie Bliese
 
Dear Church Members,  The Higher Things conference in Mequon, Wisconsin was very fulfilling.  The worship services were great, with the pipe organ and the other instruments during the last service.  The sessions taught by pastors were very informative and effective at teaching me more about my faith.  It was a very fun week.  
-  Matthew Holland


Dear Congregation,  Thank you for the support you gave towards us attending Higher Things.  I miss being there already and I look forward to next year.  The group and individual sessions taught us so much, with things I already knew and new things.  The worship services were incredible; worshiping with so many others of the same beliefs means so much.  Hearing about God's grace and mercy through Christ's death and resurrection and the means of grace every day is something I will miss.  Thank you, again!  -   Ethan Bliese
 
Dear Congregation,  Thank you, again, for the opportunity to serve as group leader from the Higher Things conference.  We leaders and the six youth attending participated in the numerous workshops, as well as experiencing the joy and forgiveness in the worship services.  The many breakaway workshops offered a wide-range of topics covering many aspects of Lutheran education (catechesis) as well as those that helped with modern-day life applications of those Christian principles.  It is also very uplifting to worship and enjoy fellowship with so many other Lutherans and faithful Lutheran pastors.  It is my hope that Good Shepherd will be able to continue to support and attend these conferences in the future.   Dave Bliese
 
Dear Good Shepherd Congregation,  Thank you for your help and support in my trip to Higher Things. I really enjoyed all the classes and the worship services. It was really cool to have at least two worship services per day! The classes were very educational and taught me things that I never knew about our faith and the bible. It was great to have such good fellowship with kids my age who all believed the same things I did. Thank you again for all of your support in my trip. I hope i can go back next year
 -  Joshua Parry

 

Stewardship Corner 

The parable of the unjust steward vexes us. Why would our Lord commend the unjust steward and the sons of this world as He does? It’s because the sons of this world know how to treat something that they think is valuable. They love money and the earthly comforts that come with it. They jump to get the job with higher pay, better benefits, or greater prestige.
 
Yet all of this, as we know, will fade and wear out. And so, Jesus does not commend the sons of this world for what they love. He commends them for how zealously they love and the lengths they will go to attain it.
 
Mimic their zeal, but do not become a son of this world. Do not be drawn away by the love of money. The sons of this world are set for destruction, but at least they pursue it with vigor. They know what they want, and they go after it.
 
We, on the other hand, as Christians, desire the joy of eternal dwellings, but sometimes you would hardly know it. And so, we are accused of lacking zeal for the kingdom of God. For we have not pursued what we supposedly value with the same zeal that the sons of this world pursue what they value. We don’t seek fellowship with the Father like the sons of this world seek the comfort that money provides. We don’t put on purity with the enthusiasm that the sons of this world put on the latest fashions. We don’t invest in the work of the Church, our very salvation, with the same zeal that the sons of this world invest in the markets.
 
Don’t get sucked into pursing the love of money and what it provides, but what money you do have, use for good works. Use money and possessions, but don’t allow them to use and possess you. God in His grace and mercy gives you many things. You are stewards over what He gives into your hands. You control them. Don’t let them control you. Use what you have been given to serve your neighbor, those who are part of your family, your community, and your church.
 
Get what you need to eat and drink, a home to shelter your family and clothes that you need. But don’t squander. Don’t waste your excess on things that don’t serve you and your neighbor. Make friends with it instead. Give it to those in need. In so doing, you show mercy. And in showing mercy, you give a picture of God’s mercy to you in Jesus Christ. You imitate the loving-kindness and mercy that God has given you to others. By faith, trusting in the promise that God will never leave you or forsake you and will provide everything that you need, you demonstrate what is of the highest value to you: the eternal dwellings of heaven. Thus, on the last day, Christ will receive you into them.
 
For Christ is the one Son of light who is the most zealous, the most single-minded. He squanders the possessions of His Father with wanton abandon, not in wastefulness, but for your benefit. For these can’t be wasted. They never run out. And so He lavishes the grace and mercy of God upon you without price, without charging you a cent, without keeping any books, without demanding any accounting of you. Christ takes all that belongs to the Father and gives it to you in abundance. And the treasures He gives never run out, never fade away, but are stored where moth and rust cannot destroy. They are eternal. They never end.
 
Rather than mimicking the zeal of the sons of this world, trust in Christ, and imitate His zeal and His works, for He gives out not only earthly treasures, but also heavenly ones. 
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