Good Shepherd Update, Thursday May 27th, 2010

Dear Good Shepherd, 

Good morning. Lots of news in today’s update, please read carefully.

Trinity Sunday: . This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. We’ll never comprehend the fullness of God’s nature because he is infinite and we are not. We can, however, grasp those things about himself that he purposefully communicates to us in scripture. Among them, one of the most beautiful is that God is both One in nature and he is Three in Person. That may sound like dry and dusty Christian doctrine but when you see the outworking of this truth in scripture, in Creation, in Redemption, in the the lives and relationships of the people of God the beauty of the perfect, self-emptying, triune God stands out in brilliant color. The sermon this Sunday will focus on the Trinity and how God’s Triune love undergirds all things and is the model that all of our relationships are called to reflect. 

Last year, I was asked a few questions about the Trinity from a BU student. I wrote an article to answer him:

“...Not only the witness of John 1 testifies to this truth, but the gospels contain a number of accounts involving all three entities: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit: interacting with one another at the same time in the same place (the Baptism of Jesus, for example, in Mark 1).

So on the basis of these we can safely say that according to the scriptures, The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father. The Spirit is not the Son and the Son is not the Spirit etc.

And yet, at the same time, the consistent witness of scripture is that God is One (example: Deuteronomy 6:4)

So, according to scripture, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. They are not the same Person. They are distinct. And yet God is One.

How is this possible?...more

Healthy Snacks for June 5th: If you have not yet signed up to make healthy snacks for our Health Fair and Ice Cream Social, please do so.  Recipes are downstairs in the Parish Hall.

New Members/Interested Members Class: This Saturday we’ll have a makeup class for all those who missed the New/Interested members class. It will be one session lasting from 2pm to 3.30pm. There will be enough time, hopefully, both to cover the material you missed and to answer questions. If you made all three sessions, you are invited to come back to this fourth as well either to ask questions or just to refresh your memory. Hope to see you there.

Systematic Theology: Systematic Theology will meet this Saturday at 3:30pm in the parish hall. We’ll lay out the process of salvation from the moment of new birth to the moment of glorification. Hope that you can make it. This class session will round out this semester and prepare us for the Fall. We’ll be breaking for the summer.

Good Shepherd Summer Festival: Live music, free ice cream, free medical examinations, a car show, pony rides, clowns, and much more at this year’s Summer Festival at Good Shepherd. The festival is a great opportunity to meet and form relationships with our neighbors and the community in general. More information will be coming soon but for now, be sure to mark your calendars. The Festival will be held on Saturday, June 5th.

Clothes for the Needy: One of our neighbors has a expressed a need for women’s clothing (tops-size large, skirts or dresses-size 16).  Please see Carmen or Kay for details. 

A Note about specific donations: I thank God for your generosity in giving. Over the last year we have basically doubled the church income when compared to past years which has enabled us not only to take care of our own needs but to contribute to foreign missions, help other ministries, help people who are suffering in the aftermath of disaster, and to more effectively proclaim the gospel here in Binghamton. Generosity is a true sign of faithfulness to the call to follow Jesus Christ and a sign that the gospel is bearing fruit.

At this week’s vestry meeting we noticed that a fair number of people are giving to specific ministries in the church: the youth ministry, the music ministry, altar guild etc… This certainly helps those ministries but it does create a problem for the church as a whole. If, for example, we have 4000 dollars given on Sunday morning and 2000 is specifically given for specific ministries, then the vestry really only has 2000 dollars to use for bills, expenses, maintenance, and other budgeted expenses.

The vestry and I agree that it would be a great help and service if—with the exception of specific calls for donations for special funds—like the elevator, capital campaign, Haiti—pledges and offerings not be specifically directed to any one ministry. This will enable the vestry to use all the resources God provides in their decision-making and planning.

We elect our vestry members because we trust them to steward the resources of the church in a way that will be faithful to Christ and serve to build up the congregation. The men and women presently serving on the vestry are faithful to their call and responsibility so I pray and I have great confidence that we will do all that we can to help them in their task. Thank you.

ACW: The next ACW meeting will be Saturday, June 19.

Parish Picnic: The Annual Good Shepherd picnic will take place on Sunday, June 20th, 2010 from 11am to 2pm at Nathaniel Cole Park (see directions here). Everyone is welcome. The picnic will begin with an outdoor worship service before lunch. There will be an 8am service at the church as usual.

AMBA blood screening will occur at our church on Saturday June 5th from 6AM-10AM (before our Health Fair and Ice Cream Social) IF 50 people make an appointment.  Otherwise it will be canceled.  This is a full blood screening which costs only $35.  To make an appointment call 1-800-234-888 Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5PM.  You should provide your physician’s name and address at the time of the call.  Please pass this information on to those who have no health insurance, but are interested in being screened in this way.  There are also fliers in the Parish Hall which you are encouraged to post.

Parishioner in need: A parishioner is going to fall short of his rent this month. This person is in need of around $600.00. I will be able to help out some with my discretionary fund, but I am asking that anyone else who can help pray about doing so. If you are able, please contact me by email…lambeth@flash.net. Thank you.

Meals for the Deans (from Anne): Carolyn Dean’s back surgery was a success, thanks be to God, but as was announced last Sunday, she is looking at a long period of recovery during which she will need as much help from her brothers and sisters as possible. Presently we’re hoping to provide meals three days a week for five weeks. So far we’ve had a lot of volunteers sign up which is fantastic but there are still four holes in the calendar. We need people to prepare food for the following dates:
Wednesday 6/9
Monday 6/14
Wednesday 6/16
Monday 6/21

If you can provide meals for those dates please be sure to sign the Meal Calendar which is in the parish hall. Thank you and even if you cannot help with meals, please do help through your prayers for healing and comfort.

Thursday Night Bible Study: There will be Thursday night bible study tonight after the Shepherd’s Bowl at 6:30pm. We are in John 8. All are invited.

Women’s Bible Study (from Carmen) Women’s Bible Study:  There will be no Women’s Bible Study May 29th or June 5th.  Women’s Bible Study will resume on June 12th when we will continue our study of the book of Isaiah.  The New Testament says that Isaiah “saw the glory of Christ, and spoke of Him” (John 12:41).  Indeed!!

Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study: The Men’s Bible Study meets at 6:30am every Friday morning for breakfast and discussion. We are presently working our way through 2nd Samuel. Joe Barham is cooking…

Tuesday Morning Bible Study. This is Good Shepherd’s first bible study. I started it 8 years ago and all the other bible studies grew out of it. Presently this study is led by Chris Vail. It meets every Tuesday morning at 9:00am in the parish hall. A basic but comprehensive verse by verse study of the scriptures. Presently this group is working through Acts in an effort to piece together Paul’s missionary journeys before turning to his Letter to the Romans. Ultimately, this group will work through all of the New Testament epistles and letters.  All are welcome!

First Light Bible Study: Meets every Tuesday evening beginning at 6:30pm. The First Light bible study is designed for intermediate and advanced students of scripture. The group takes the time necessary to delve as deeply as possible into the text, learning the art and science of biblical exegeisis. Ife Ojetayo leads the group which is currently working its through Ephesians. All are welcome.

Worship Team schedule: Team Corinthians is scheduled for this week. Carrie Moorehead is the captain but she is out of town so please call Kellie French with any substitutions or schedule changes.

Prayer Shawls:The Good Shepherd Knitting group will meet on Saturday, June 26.

Infant Baptism v. Believers Baptism: For those of you coming from Baptist backgrounds or from a church that will only baptise after a person has professed faith in Jesus Christ, infant baptism can be something of a stretch. How can we baptize people who can’t even speak much less believe in Jesus Christ? Here is a fantastic two part debate online between two theologians/pastors who disagree on this question. Dr. RC Sproul presents the arguments for infant baptism and Dr. John MacArthur presents the arguments for believers baptism. It is a good debate for two reasons: 1. both sides are clearly and cogently represented and 2. both theologians recognize that this is an “in house” debate…in other words it is a question that we can and should vigorously debate but that we do not need to divide over.

Sermon: Here is the video from last Sunday’s sermon: “The Holy Spirit and the Word” based on Acts 2:1-11. The text will be posted here

Provincial Synod: From June 7 - 11: Good Shepherd’s denomination, the Anglican Church in North America will hold its second Provincial Council and College of Bishops Meeting. Over 100 Bishops, delegates and laity will attend from all over the U.S. and Canada will attend. The Synod will be held at the home church of our own diocese, the Anglican Diocese in New England, which is headquartered in Massachusetts. I have been ordered to be there for the installation ceremony of our bishop as a bishop in the province on the tenth and two reps from our vestry have been asked to be there as well. But you are all invited. I’ll update you on this as the time nears.

Adult Christian Education: As a lead up to confirmation classes and to help our new members understand Anglicanism, we’ve begun a new series on the 39 Articles of Religion. The 39 Articles is the Anglican confession of faith. They are very broad and basic and cover a good deal of Christian doctrine so they are a good platform for reviewing and discussing some basic Christian beliefs for anyone who needs a refresher.

Last Sunday we continued the process of setting the theological context for the articles, dealing with the debate between the Reformers and Rome over the question of Justification—on what basis does God declare sinners just? This Sunday we’ll briefly cover the debate with regard to the sacraments, the saints, and the authority of the Pope.

Share This