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Suffering Servant -
Despised and Rejected
February 24, 2021
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Our theme this week for the season of the Lent comes from Isaiah 53:3 where we see that Isaiah prophecies that Christ would be despised and rejected. But even so He took all of our sins with him to the cross and bore all these things for us so that we could be saved. You can view the chapel service by Pastor Chris Truelson by Christ Lutheran in Brownsburg HERE.
We again consider Isaiah’s pictures of Jesus’ Passion that he was inspired to share with God’s people 600 years before Jesus came to earth. God’s Word is perfect. What God said would happen did happen. Every prophecy about Jesus is fulfilled. We read of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy as we read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ Passion during this Lenten season.
Isaiah wrote about Jesus, “He was despised and rejected by men.” Today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew tells of Pilate’s effort to let the innocent Jesus go free. Pilate thought the crowd would decide to keep Barabbas, an evil criminal, in prison and then free Jesus. The crowd chose to free the criminal and to crucify Jesus. Jesus was rejected again. Many times during Jesus’ earthly ministry, people made their choice to reject Jesus. A rich man chose his wealth and rejected Jesus. Some followers chose their jobs or lifestyle over following Jesus.
Do we ever reject Jesus? Perhaps on a Sunday morning we choose to sleep in our bed rather than go to church, and we reject Jesus. We allow a friend to use Jesus’ name in a curse word, and we let it go and reject Jesus. There are many times and ways when we choose something more comfortable or less threatening than following Jesus.
Jesus could have chosen to reject us. Jesus could have chosen not to be verbally and physically abused. Jesus could have chosen not to go to the cross for us. However, Jesus followed through with God’s plan of salvation. God chose to bring us into His family in our Baptism. All the blessings of Jesus’ suffering and death are ours now and forever. When we die, we know that God will not reject us but bring us into His glory.
We are thankful that Jesus forgives us for the times that our words and actions reject a family member, a friend, or a brother or sister. Serving Jesus, we are careful not to reject others.
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Our students gave generously during the second trimester! First to help Family Promise with Thanksgiving meals, then to help the OSLC Food Pantry and Family Promise with Infant needs, and finally through our offerings toward Heifer International (1 goat, 1 sheep, 1 dreambasket, 3 flocks of chicks, and 2 units of honeybees)! Praise be to God for these generous gifts that help serve others! See the accounts below!
Our third-trimester offering will go to support a local ministry. We have chosen to help Lakeview Ministries, which many of you are familiar with. Last year was a tough year for them with Covid and while they are planning for in-person camp this summer and have had a great response to registration, they still need help in recovering from major hardship. Their ministry has been such a blessing to Our Shepherd and many of our students, so we want to bless them back with our offerings and tithes each Wednesday at chapel. If you are not familiar with Camp Lakeview and Lakeview Ministries, please learn more about them here.
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Our Shepherd Students and Families,
We have raved about how powerful you all have been over the last few weeks in your giving to the Infant Food Drive. We have already seen evidence of the impact you all have had in our community. The following text is from our DCE Joel Marquardt who was able to witness, first hand, what giving to others looks like:
This morning, David Rieger, Food Pantry Director, was in contact with a Department of Child & Family Services worker who was looking for supplies for two local families. I had the privilege of helping her pick up supplies for one of the families with a 3 month old. When she saw all of the infant care supplies the school families donated, she nearly cried. She was able to take everything the family needs to get through this week, and then some! What a blessing that God is already placing these donations into the hands of parents who are striving to care for their children. God certainly provides, and all in His good timing!
This part of the story is from one of our Food Pantry volunteers, his wife works with DCFS:
My wife can't thank you, the Church and the School enough for the times the Food Pantry has been able to help out a number of her clients at DCFS. Allowing her to get those needed supplies ensured that she wouldn't have to break up a family and in a lot of cases Food Insecurity being the deciding factor in a DCFS intervention. The hope these families receive is quite overwhelming to see, Alana says. It may seem like nothing to some but sometimes all it takes is a helping hand, a smile on your face and the ability to provide a guiding direction to jumpstart the actions needed to get a family back on their feet. She was very touched by today's help and I can't thank you enough for the services you provide to so many families in need.
Thank you all for listening to the Holy Spirit and giving to those who need it most. It is a privilege to serve, learn, and grow with you.
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This is a busy legislative season for our partners at the Indiana Non-Public School Association. There are a number of bills currently going through legislation that could directly affect Our Shepherd and other non-public schools. We are asking you to please take the time to click on the following links and be aware of important proposed legislation that could affect your family. There is always opposition to those who receive CHOICE scholarships and this year is no different. While INPEA and some legislators are working fervently to expand CHOICE to more families, there are loud voices opposed to this. Please educate yourself so that you can support our school and other non-public schools as well.
Legislative Update
Graphic - Working to give families more CHOICE
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We will have Part 2 of NLSW during the week of March 15th-19th.
Flyers explaining dress-up days, service days, and penny wars went home with your child today and can be found here - Chart & Explanations.
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SCHOOL CLOSINGS
The principal determines school closings or two-hour delays due to inclement weather. If school is closed all school extra-curricular activities are canceled for that day. If school is closed Extended Care will be closed. If school is delayed two hours, Extended Care will also delay opening two hours.
e-Learning Days: Our Shepherd Lutheran School has been approved by the State of Indiana to conduct e-Learning Days in lieu of school closings due to inclement weather or required staff professional development. All assignments for the day of closing will be emailed and posted on the teacher’s online page no later than 9am. Teachers are required to be available via phone and email for help through 4pm of the closing day.
Weather related school closing are announced, if possible, on the following stations and their corresponding websites: WTTV (ch 4), WRTC (ch 6), WISH (ch 8), WTHR (ch 13), and WXIN (ch 59).
Additional Information
We will rarely call delays due to the wide area in which our families live resulting in different road conditions depending on town boundaries, county lines, etc.. We encourage each family to practice discretion; if you feel the road conditions are not safe in your area for transport due to weather, please call and inform the office that you will be late or be keeping your child(ren) home. We will waive tardy in these cases.
Additionally, weather closings, delays, and information will also be communicated via the REMIND application. If you are not already signed up for notifications you may text @oslsalert to the number 81010. Alerts for closings and delays will also be posted on the Our Shepherd Lutheran Church and School Facebook page.
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If you haven't already done so, please sign up on Remind for text notifications. We use this service to remind our families of things like late starts, no lunches, and more importantly, changes to school schedule due to inclement weather. With winter approaching we will notify families of any changes to an eLearning Day should the weather cause a safety concern.
To sign up please follow these instructions:
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Winter/Spring Sports Updates
The girls JV volleyball tournament team rallied against both Avon and Danville teams last weekend and although they gave a good fight, they fell just short in both games. The will return to Danvillle this weekend ready to hit the net and play hard! We are so proud of their growth as a team. GO RAMS!
We are still missing uniforms! Please return all laundered basketball uniforms to Athletics by placing them in the basket in the school office.
Please see TeamSnap for the most up to date practice and game schedules.
Questions? Email Brandi at athletics@ourshepherd.org |
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It's almost time for Muffins With Mom. Please click HERE to donate!
Be sure to take advantage of these great ways to easily benefit Our Shepherd at no cost to you!
-Scan receipts for box tops
-Sign up for Kroger rewards
-Sign up for Amazon rewards
-Buy gift cards through Scrip to give as gifts or use to shop
Click HERE to get more information or email ptl@ourshepherd.org
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Our Shepherd Cookbook
PTL is excited to announce that we will be putting together a cookbook in honor of Our Shepherd Lutheran Church & School’s 50th year Anniversary. We are asking for members of our church and school to help make this a success by collecting your favorite family recipes or your traditional church dishes to share with others for years to come. Gather your recipes to bring to the school office, or to Sunday services using this form,or enter them digitally by following this link.
Username: OSL50
Password: juice231
We are excited to cook some delicious new recipes!
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Avon Schools will be closed on March 10th. That said, school lunches will not be available. Please plan accordingly.
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We are proud to announce that Our Shepherd Lutheran School is featured in the Business Spotlight section of the latest Avon Magazine installment. In the two page article, OSL is named a "hidden gem of Hendricks County". Click on the AVON Magazine image above to access a digital version of the article. For those who prefer a paper copy, be sure to pick up a copy of the Avon Magazine from the month of February. This article will surely bring a smile to your face as the Lord is proclaiming the good news of Our Shepherd. Pick up one for yourself and one to share. Magazines can be found at Avon Library, McAlister's, Cabin Coffee, Orange Leaf, El Rodeo, Wild Birds Unlimited, Jack's Donuts, Hotcakes Emporium, Big Apple Bagel, China Buffet, Fudge Kettle, Carl's Donuts, Zach's Barber Shop, Avon Barber Shop, and Rise N Roll!
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If you plan on using Extended Care - PLEASE SIGN UP! You can always find the link to sign up for extended care bother here ansdat the bottom of Ram News in the Parent Resources section. This opens each morning at 7am and is available each evening from 3:30pm-6pm.
For March care click HERE
It is important to sign up or call the office prior to using extended care so that we can ensure proper staffing.
Extended Care Fee information is found HERE.
If you have any questions about extended care please contact Mrs. Russell in the office.
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03 _ March: Spring Pictures
05 _ March: Late Start
08 -19 _ March: iRead Window (3rd graders)
15 - 19 _ March: N'tl Lutheran Schools Wk - part 2 - serving and celebrating
19 _ March: Late Start
22 - 26 _ March: Spring Break - No School
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Scholarship Information and Applications
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Shopping for a Cause and Fundraising
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