Thursday Notes

Dear Good Shepherd,

Good Morning and happy Thursday...here are your Thursday notes

1. Prayer Meeting: Thank you to everyone who showed up at the first prayer meeting last night. We had a pretty good crowd for the first time. I've written a brief reflection on corporate prayer during times of anxiety to help us pray for God's help, for victory, for guidance and protection during this time. Here's the link. There will be about 3 more of these before December 12th.

2. What's Up with the Incense?: I have also written a Question and Answer article entitled: Why does your church use incense? One of our college students asked that question last Sunday and I wrote the answer in an article, realizing that some long time Anglicans may not know the reasons either.

3. Last Sunday's Sermon: Anne's sermon from last Sunday can be found here.

4. Sermon Prep: This Sunday we'll finish my sermon series on the Great Commandment and the second Commandment and talk about love for your neighbor...how do we love each other as we love ourselves? What if I don't love myself in the first place? We'll talk about that and more this coming Sunday

5. Missionaries to our own Country: RC Sproul is presently teaching an excellent series on western culture...what is it that shapes the way we think and act in America? It is so important to think through the answer to that question. Before sending missionaries to a foreign land, they must learn the language and customs of the people. Often Christians can become so "Christianized" that we fail to speak the language of the culture. Similarly, we become so accustumed to our culture that we are not able to recognize when, where and how culture conflicts with Christianity. RC Sproul, in this series, helps us understand western culture and understand many of our own thought processes through the lens of biblical Christianity. Listen to the whole series here...beginning with the lecture on "Secularism"...I found this discussion of existentialism particularly helpful.

6. PARENTS: Don't forget: Sunday School to Visit Nursing Home this Sunday November 9^th: Sunday School classes from elementary to Junior high will be visiting a Binghamton nursing home to visit, sing for, and present the residents with a gift.. So parents, please mark your calendars and plan to be at Church by 9:00am.

7. A Day of Fasting and Prayer: On Saturday November 22nd, Good Shepherd will host Christians from churches from all over Binghamton and the surrounding areas who will come to fast and pray with us for God's protection and provision during and after the hearing on December 12th. Several pastors will speak and you are invited to come and listen and pray for the whole day or to come when you can, but it is vital to set that day apart from other days for prayer, repentance, and fasting. The day will begin at 10:30am and end at 4:00pm. Please come and help us seek God's mercy and grace during this time.

8. Well Done: It was so very good to see so many children in Sunday School last Sunday...great job parents.

9. This Sunday's Christian education, we'll finish looking at the "Joint Declaration on Justification" and start talking more specifically and Orthodoxy, Ecumenism, and the World Council of Churches. Does "Studied Abiguity" help or hinder the process of unity?

10. Help: One of our college Students is in need of a Sleeper-sofa. If you have one that you are looking to give away, please let Anne or me know...773-4810, thanks.

11. Prayers of the People. You may have noticed (at the 10:30am service) that we are no longer reading the prayers of the people but opening that time up for real prayers from the people. We decided to make that change after thinking and praying about it for some time. The old way seemed to inhibit prayer and encourage reading or driofting off to sleep. Now, during that time in the servince, we invite you to add your prayers personally, either silently or aloud, after each prayer category is named: For the World, nation, and community; for the sick, suffering, and destitute, for the Church and her leaders; for our own needs...etc.

12. Noon Communion: Don't forget about noon communion Today in about an hour from now!

13: I, Matt, will be the cook for the Men's Breakfast and Bible Study tomorrow morning at 6:30am since I traded with Lee last week. We're going to need to make a new list tomorrow, so if you'd like to be on it be sure to be there.

that's all for now...stay tuned for tomorrow's Update...