News

Announcements — February 9, 2020

† IN OUR PRAYERS  Lee Ann C., suffering with back pain; Bernice R., recovering from shoulder surgery, Jack H., at St. Luke’s dealing with multiple health issues; Katherine R., homebound; Kathy P., suffering health issues; Stephen Ministry and their care receivers.

† NEW ATTENDANCE BOOKLET PROCEDURE  The attendance booklets will now be located on the pew on the center aisle side.  During the offering please sign the attendance sheet and then pass the booklet toward the outside aisle. 

† PARISH NURSE PROGRAM  There will be a parish nurse meeting held  today after the service.  Anyone who would be interested in helping with the parish nurse program here at Good Shepherd is encouraged to attend.  The meeting will be held in the conference room.

† SUNDAY SCHOOL  The Sunday School students will be sharing some of the songs they have been working on in opening about Jesus and his love with the congregation during the service on Sunday, February 23. 

† SINGING SAINTS  Trinity Lutheran Freistatt has invited us to attend a   concert.  The Singing Saints of Saint Paul Lutheran High School, of           Concordia, MO, will be performing a concert on Thursday, March 5, at 7:00 pm, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 207 Main St., Freistatt, MO.   

† ADULT BIBLE CLASS & SUNDAY SCHOOL OFFERING  The offering for the first quarter of 2020 from Sunday School and Adult Bible class will be given to the Food Bank at Concordia Seminary.

† USHER SCHEDULES  The 2020 usher schedules are on the round table in the narthex.

† 2019 OFFERING CONTRIBUTIONS  If you wish to receive a record of your GSLC charitable contributions for the 2019 tax year, please talk to Glenn Moll or Denise Golden or you can contact the church office, 358-1325.

† FLOWER CHART, 2020  If you would like to place flowers at the altar for a special occasion or in memory of someone, please sign the flower chart hanging on the wall next to the water fountain in the hallway.  Simply write your name, phone number, and occasion with the pen provided.

† BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKS are available in the nurse’s office after the  service.  You will be given a small form that can be carried in your wallet which will include medical information and a log of your blood pressure readings.

† PRAYER BEARS are in the sanctuary pews and available to be signed out (notebook in narthex by nursery) and given to anyone that needs God’s love, comfort, and peace.

† ASSISTIVE LISTENING  If you are having a hard time hearing the service, assistive listening devices are available from the ushers.  They work like a transistor radio and you can control the volume.

The Presentation

On February 2nd there will be a rather significant presentation. It will be something that many people have waited a long time for, generations even. And yet it is something that happens every year. I write, of course, about the presentation of our Lord which the church observes on February 2nd every year. It is the time when “[Mary and Joseph] brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.” (Luke 2:22) This is what God had commanded His people to do back in the Old Testament. The idea was that the first-born son of a family would be dedicated to the Lord. Now this did not mean that the kid would then be destined for church work necessarily. It meant that the child needed to be redeemed from the Lord by a sacrifice. Luke tells us that the sacrifice was two turtledoves or two pigeons.

This is interesting in Jesus’ case because He is God and the redemption aspect of His presentation in the temple gets murky. What can be said with confidence is that Jesus was following the rules. He was following the rules that God had set down for His people to follow years ago. As Jesus Himself says, He came not to abolish the Law and prophets but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)

This makes sense when we think about salvation through the lens of Jesus paying the price of our sins    on the cross. He paid with a perfect life, a life that followed all the rules. At first glance, it seems like the presentation of Jesus would be Him being presented to us. While there is an aspect of that in this presentation, the act of presenting a child to God (the Father) is really what the law was about.

You may not think much about Jesus’ presentation in the temple as a month-old baby. But now you are, and it is a good time to think about how Jesus has given His perfect life in exchange for your own. It is also a good time to think about your own presentation to the Lord. You may or may not be a first-born son but you are still the Lord’s. He has claimed you and made you His own through baptism and His word of salvation.

Jesus presented God with a perfect life. That debt has been paid and it a good thing because we couldn’t pay it ourselves. But what about now? Now that you have already been given salvation, what will you present to God? What gifts has God given you? What are you good at? What do you do that can be helpful for other people? How can you show God’s love?

It’s something to think about at all times; before, during, and after the presentation on February 2nd.

~ Pastor Mehl

Announcements — February 2, 2020

† IN OUR PRAYERS  Lee Ann C., suffering with back pain; Bernice R., recovering from shoulder surgery, Jack H., at St. Luke’s dealing with multiple health issues; Katherine R., homebound; Kathy P., suffering health issues; Stephen Ministry and their care receivers.

† NEW ATTENDANCE BOOKLET PROCEDURE  The attendance booklets will now be located on the pew on the center aisle side.  During the offering please sign the attendance sheet and then pass the booklet toward the outside aisle. 

† PARISH NURSE PROGRAM  There will be a parish nurse meeting held on Sunday, February 9, after the service.  Anyone who would be interested   in helping with the parish nurse program here at Good Shepherd is           encouraged to attend.  The meeting will be held in the conference room.

† SINGING SAINTS  Trinity Lutheran Freistatt has invited us to attend a   concert.  The Singing Saints of Saint Paul Lutheran High School, of           Concordia, MO, will be performing a concert on Thursday, March 5, at 7:00 pm, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 207 Main St., Freistatt, MO.   

† ADULT BIBLE CLASS & SUNDAY SCHOOL OFFERING  The offering for the first quarter of 2020 from Sunday School and Adult Bible class will be given to the Food Bank at Concordia Seminary.

† USHER SCHEDULES  The 2020 usher schedules are on the round table in the narthex.

† 2019 OFFERING CONTRIBUTIONS  If you wish to receive a record of your GSLC charitable contributions for the 2019 tax year, please talk to Glenn Moll or Denise Golden or you can contact the church office, 358-1325.

† FLOWER CHART, 2020  If you would like to place flowers at the altar for a special occasion or in memory of someone, please sign the flower chart hanging on the wall next to the water fountain in the hallway.  Simply write your name, phone number, and occasion with the pen provided.

† OFFERING ENVELOPES  The 2020 offering envelopes are on the round  table in the narthex.  Please remember to discard your 2019 envelopes and use only the 2020 envelopes beginning today.  If you do not see your name and want envelopes, please contact the church office.  Likewise, if you prefer not to use them and see your name, simply write NO on the label.

† BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKS are available in the nurse’s office after the  service.  You will be given a small form that can be carried in your wallet which will include medical information and a log of your blood pressure readings.

† PRAYER BEARS are in the sanctuary pews and available to be signed out (notebook in narthex by nursery) and given to anyone that needs God’s love, comfort, and peace.

† ASSISTIVE LISTENING  If you are having a hard time hearing the service, assistive listening devices are available from the ushers.  They work like a transistor radio and you can control the volume.