A Note from the GSLC President

I have always been a fan of Garth Brooks, and always liked the song “I Will Sail my Vessel.”  I always found so much truth in the lyrics and was inspired to always do my best even when the tide would change. As we all know, life truly is a journey and we never know what tomorrow brings.  This reality has hit my home very hard in recent months, and it has hit other homes in our church as well.  I was blessed to attend the funeral of Barbara Brown this past Saturday and meet some of her family.  In listening to her family members talk about her life, all she had done, and her love for Christ it became apparent I had missed out on really getting to know a truly awesome person.  She lived her life to the fullest and made each moment count.  It makes you sit back and reflect on your own life and wonder if you are truly living your life the way God wants you to.  We have the ability to reach out and touch many people, but are we doing this or are we focusing too much on ourselves? I am guilty of focusing on myself.  I have a really hard time dropping my agenda even though I know someone needs my help.  After all, I worked really hard on putting my schedule together and I need to make sure it gets finished!  This past week we had several people in our congregation drop their schedules to help prepare for this funeral.  These people that I am speaking of are members of our congregation.  They just dropped everything to help ensure that everything that needed to get taken care of got taken care of to help out a family who is in need and hurting.  I was truly inspired and touched by this and once again felt blessed to be a part of such an awesome church family!  The love, compassion, and caring that our church shows for those who need help is truly amazing!  1 John 4:19 says: “We love because he first loved us.”  I feel that love at Good Shepherd.  Thank you for showing your love this past week and helping with the funeral! 

-Becky Aragon, GSLC President

Notes from the Head Elder

You are missed when you are not at Church on Sunday.

Good Shepherd was the location for a funeral on Saturday. We had several members in attendance and one who was the reason for our gathering. Last Sunday she was at church and this Sunday her husband and a few of their kids showed up for the worship service. She was missed by all this Sunday.

Why do we go to church every Sunday? I am sometimes asked this question. When I hear the question, my mind always goes back to an old joke about eating that a Pastor would tell when asked a similar question. The story goes that we cannot remember the dinner we had last Thursday or the topic of last week’s sermon (okay some of you may know, you are the exception). Both were beneficial even though we may not recall the specifics about either one.

Here are three thoughts on why we should develop the regular habit of attending worship:

  1. God’s commandment.
    1. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.”
    2. This Sunday’s gospel lesson had this reminder: “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 4:17
  2. God’s blessing.
    1. Today in the adult Sunday school class we studied Psalm 128. Verse 1 says: “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!” All who attended this class were blessed by the lesson. This blessing is also for you.
    2. Our Old Testament reading today pointed out that “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” Isaiah 9:2. If we can see the light we are blessed by God.
  3. God calls us to come together for worship.
    1. Our sermon hymn today was “Come Follow Me” LSB 688. The message that went with the Gospel of Matthew chapter 4 was that Christ is calling each of us to Him to worship Him. 
    2. Our master is calling us to worship. We say these words in our liturgy: “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” Joel 2:13. Our God is a loving God and wants us together to worship.

Faith grows when we are in fellowship with other believers. Yes, we are reminded that we are poor, sinful beings. We are also reminded that our God loves us and wants us to be saved. This is where we find the answers to the questions in our hearts.

Now is the time to begin the regular habit of Sunday morning worship. It is time to remove the barriers and distractions that cause us to stay at home on Sunday mornings. We are all missed when we are not in church.

See you at church on Sunday. 

-Glen Leavens, Head Elder

A Note from the GSLC President

New Year

The beginning of a New Year is often a time when people decide to reflect back on the past year, and set New Year’s resolutions in areas they feel the need to strengthen. This is often done across many areas of their lives – work, family, church, etc. Sometimes looking back can be very discouraging if the past year was not a very good one, or sad if you experienced a loss during the past year.  Either way, we typically take this time of year to try and make a change.

Here at Good Shepherd we are also taking this time to try and make a change.  We have decided with the start of a New Year to change our monthly newsletter over to a blog.  This blog will be posted on our web-site and will contain any updates or upcoming events from any of our committees.  It will also contain blurbs from our pastor, head elder, president, and any other committee member with news or wisdom to share.  If you are reading this now, then you have already adapted well to the change!

I hope this New Year finds you in good health, and eager and ready to grow in your spiritual life.

-Becky Aragon, GSLC President

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." Psalm 32:8

FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY

You're invited to Financial Peace University! 

Good Shepherd will be hosting another session of this life-changing program from Dave Ramsey. Participants will learn God's way of handling money as FPU presents Biblical, practical steps to get from where you are to where you've dreamed you could be. This plan will show you how to get rid of debt, manage your money, spend and save wisely, and much more!  This class will meet each Sunday from February 12 through April 9 at 6:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center.  Course materials cost $93 plus shipping per family.  To ensure that your materials arrive in time, please register in advance by clicking here. Hope to see you there!

Baby Bottle Boomerang

In celebration of Sanctity of Life Sunday, please join Lutherans For Life in our Baby Bottle Boomerang campaign to support the New Hope Center. Visit our display table beginning Sunday, January 15th through Sunday, January 29th to pick up a baby bottle and fill it with loose change, bills or checks made out to New Hope Center and BOOMERANG it back to Good Shepherd, where it will be delivered to the center in Crestview Hills, KY. Every penny goes to the life-saving operations at New Hope Center, who help to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of families in our community, many of whom are facing an unplanned pregnancy. Come and celebrate life with us on Sunday, January 29th!

Whiz Kids Update

Whiz Kids will start up again this Wednesday! The students had a great time working on the Christmas play in December. They did a wonderful job learning to read their lines and performing for their families. Another treat was a visit from author, Beth Gully, who wrote The Other Side of Christmas, an unusual but interesting look at Christmas through the world and also from Our Savior, Jesus. The Whiz Kids each received an autographed book for Christmas as well. We look forward to the winter months reading and learning from our tutors on Wednesdays. New games and stories will also be celebrated. Be sure to talk to me or any of the tutors to find out how you can get involved! Happy New Year! 

 - Lisa Krejci, Whiz Kids Site Leader

Notes from the Head Elder

What is a Lutheran?

I have been a member of the Lutheran Church all of my life. I met my wife and we were married in the Lutheran Church. Our children were baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church. So, I would initially answer I am a Lutheran. To find the answer to the question, “What is a Lutheran?” you could simply google the answer. What you would come up with is from the Book of Concord website, and it elegantly answers the question. (See: http://bookofconcord.org/whatisalutheran.php) Of course, instead of a google search you can also download the Book of Concord app for your smartphone. To save you the hassle of looking it up, here is their short answer to “What is a Lutheran?”

While there are a variety of ways one could answer this question, one very important answer is simply this, “A Lutheran is a person who believes, teaches and confesses the truths of God's Word as they are summarized and confessed in the Book of Concord.” The Book of Concord contains the Lutheran confessions of faith.

At Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church we have identified ourselves not just as Lutherans but as members of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). On the LCMS site it describes our identity (see: https://www.lcms.org/belief-and-practice) as:

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and co-eternal, one God.

Does this mean we follow the man Martin Luther? No, it does not. Our congregations accept and preach the Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three phrases: Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone. Come join us at our services to hear more about Grace, Faith and Scripture. We emphasize Luther’s three phrases on Reformation Sunday, traditionally the last Sunday in the month of October. 

Have you identified yourself as a follower of Christ and a Lutheran second? The pastor that married Kim and me was of the opinion that the Lutheran Church was flawed, and he was a lifetime member of the Lutheran Church as it was closer than any other denomination in following the Scriptures. 

My reflection after reading the Book of Concord and the Lutheran Confessions is that he was correct. This church, as well as all churches, is a human institution and as such it is flawed. For me and my house (Joshua 24:16) we serve the Lord, and as such we are in sync with the teachings at Good Shepherd and the Lutheran Church. Even if you did not join the church because it was Lutheran or even know what the Lutheran Confessions were prior to reading this message, my prayer is that you will take a look at them and start to gain an understanding of the Lutheran Confessions.  Who knows, years from now the Lutheran Confessions may become your reason on where you chose to worship. If you are like me, you know that we recite common confessions of our faith during the worship services each week. You may also know these creeds as the Nicene, Apostles' and Athanasian Creeds. The Lutheran Confessions agrees with them whole-heartedly. This is why the creeds are studied in Confirmation class and recited weekly in our worship services. 

So the next time you say you “are a Lutheran” you will know that you are person who believes, teaches and confesses the truths of God's Word as they are summarized and confessed in the Book of Concord.

May the Lord God richly bless your week.

-Glen Leavens, Head Elder

Youth Lock-In!

You're Invited!

below is information on the middle/high school lock-in (grades 6-12) at Zion Lutheran Church. If attending, please RSVP to Pastor Bill no later than Sunday, January 8.

Topic: SUPERSTITIONS!

Friday, January 13 7:00 p.m.-8:00 a.m at Zion Lutheran Church (1175 Birney Ln, 45230, Anderson Township). Cost is $12/person –includes laser tag, pizza, breakfast. 

What to bring: snack and drink to share, Bible, a favorite board game or cards, sleeping bag and pillow (optional), fleece for a blanket (optional)

We will be playing laser tag at the church! There will also be a service project — making no-sew blankets for a homeless shelter. We will supply the fleece, but you are welcome to bring some fleece if you want and then we will be able to make more blankets.
 

Notes from the Head Elder

What is the role of the Elder in our Church?

Here is what I shared with my board after being elected to the head elder position.

Our Expectations

  • You are an example for the congregation—regular in attendance for worship and Bible study.

  • When on duty, wear a sport coat with a name tag.

  • All members are touched by their elder.

  • We are moving forward in ministry at Good Shepherd. Each of us is doing the right thing in our own eyes. Please give me and others the same benefit of the doubt you want for yourself. (Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.)

Each elder was assigned part of the alphabetical membership list of our congregation and asked to call every family on his list. We are concerned about the spiritual health of the congregation.  The church constitution asks us to follow-up with members in irregular attendance. Please sign in each time you attend as that is how we track attendance.

Our instructions:

  1. As an elder you are responsible for introducing yourself to each family on your list.
  2. If they have not been regular in attendance, ask them if we can assist with anything in their lives. Follow-up.

I have asked the elders to share with those who missed church that everyone who attended left the church on Sunday happy with God’s blessings. We all want to share how we enjoyed the stimulation of Christian fellowship. If coming together in worship was not important, we could broadcast our services or just send our sermons via email.

My belief is that our congregation should be a close-knit fellowship, a family in which we share tears and laughter and are genuinely interested in each other; bearing, caring, and sharing burdens. Shepherd sheep before they lose their way. It’s easy to maintain fellowship with friends, relatives, and cronies. But it’s equally easy to ignore the odd person, the reticent one, the “stranger” whom we don’t know. Good Shepherd has always been a friendly congregation, and we want to ensure that all feel welcome and none feel unwanted and fall away because we’ve excluded them from the circle of our friendship and activity. We ask the elders to include everyone in church activities because Christ invites everyone to His banquet table.

Of course the Board of Elders discusses why members may not be in regular attendance, and we are by necessity a closed meeting for that reason. We do require assistance from all to help with each other to walk together in Christ.

The other duties we perform are ensuring the church is unlocked and open before worship and locked and closed after worship services as well as assisting the Pastor with the distribution of communion. 

-Glen Leavens, Head Elder

Please click here to see who your elder is (determined by your last name) and feel free to contact your Elder if you have any spiritual care needs.