The Promise Week Four
God’s promise in Isaiah is that He would come to dwell with His people and to rescue them. This is fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ, who is known as Immanuel, God with us. Jesus made a great sacrifice, giving up the splendors of heaven to come to earth. But He did more than just live among us, because of His great love, He provided a way for us to have eternal life. Jesus became the Savior of the…
The Promise Week Three
God would prepare the way for Christ’s birth through his cousin John. John’s unlikely conception and birth bring his father Zechariah great joy because this child would be one crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Messiah’s coming.
The Promise Week Two
God promised in Isaiah that a day was coming when the Messiah would come and usher in a government of peace. The angels bring good news to the lowly shepherds and confirm that a new and unexpected way to govern was coming to pass that would indeed bring peace on earth.
The Promise Week One
God was offering His people hope in Isaiah 9:2 by promising a light that would come to expel the darkness. Simeon’s encounter with the baby Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring salvation to all people. Simeon had the audacity to hope that God would come through, even after years of waiting
Hanging of the Greens Service 2021
Join us at 6:30pm on November 28th, 2021 as we begin Advent and celebrate the timeless tradition of “the hanging of the greens.” Bulletin Welcome and Announcements Prelude Bringing in the Light of Christ Call to Worship Leader: In the days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hill; all nations stream to it. Many people shall come saying, All: Let us go up…
What do we have to be grateful for this year? Do you need to find thankfulness in your struggles? Join us for a Special Thanksgiving Eve Service together whether you can join us here at Good Shepherd or online from your home.
Everyone Who Belongs
Reign of Christ Sunday is a marker for the end of the liturgical year. It is a way of saying we wrap up a year’s worth of worship by claiming again whose we are. We reiterate our mission – to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The emphasis this week is in the middle – “of Jesus Christ.” That is the kind of disciple that we are. We aren’t disciples of our own wisdom; we…
Not One Stone
Taking the long view. Foresight? Perspective? It’s hard to find a word that can sum up the attribute Mark 13:1-8 invites us to consider. In the story, the disciples are wowed by the seeming permanence and strength of the temple building. But Jesus says it won’t last. He is asking us to look beyond the moment toward a future realization of the kin-dom that is coming. Note that he isn’t asking us to ignore the moment, to be blind to…
Everything She Had
The first attribute of a Life that Matters that we will examine is generosity. Maybe this is an opportunity to refresh our call to stewardship. Stewardship isn’t something that should be heard only once a year and then when we are asking for a commitment to give. Generosity, as reflected in our gospel text this week, is about how we hold the stuff of this life lightly, even as we hold people and Christ tightly. But on the one hand,…
