JUNE 8, 2016 Volume 21, No. 11 Saturday, JUNE 25th Game Starts at 7:00 pm Fireworks following the game! Come by the office to pay for your tickets. Carpoolers are: Wrich s and Scott s NOAH Retirees June 20, 1 pm at Dwight & Margaret Boesiger s Hosted by Dwight & Margaret Boesiger Contact Peggy White for more information 918-914-3113 WHAT S INSIDE Birthdays... page 2 Sunday Breakfast... page 2 By Still Waters-Janis Lussmyer... page 2 Pastor s Pen... page 3 Events... page 4 June 27th is the deadline for articles for the Newsletter If you have a small group meeting you would like included on the calendar please contact Julie 918-333-1708.
Anne Johnson 6/1 Will Carl 6/2 Mary Beeghly 6/6 Ann Anderson 6/8 Millie Yeats 6/8 JB Minor 6/11 Deb Wrich 6/12 Calvin Miles 6/18 Harold Ellis 6/18 Robert Bouton 6/18 Jim Welch 6/20 Frank Longley 6/22 Callie Rivera 6/28 Welcome to Summer Session! Our teachers and staff enjoyed a short break, but are excited to be back in the classrooms with your sweet kids. We are so happy to see our returning kids and welcome the new ones to Good Shepherd! We are looking forward to a fun-filled summer with lots of growing and learning. THANKS TO: Anderson Family & Sue Welch for providing hospitality and continental breakfast the next two Sundays Conversation Corner Psalm Reading It s been probably eight years since I read through the Psalms. And, if the truth be told, that probably is a good sign. You see, there have been a few times in my life in which I could not relate to any Scriptures except for the desperate cries and heartfelt pleas of the Psalms. I was too shell-shocked and broken to relate to joyful praise. I came to Psalms out of pure desperation and utter loneliness. On May 6, I started reading at Psalm 1 with a different set of eyes. God has been so loving and gracious to me that joy bubbles up in my spirit as from a deep spring. With more testimonies than ever before of God s goodness, I am looking forward to all 150 psalms that express the gamut of human emotion and God-inspired devotion. A month later today is June 6 I come back to this month-old writing. That God-sourced joy continues to be my wellspring. And I ve learned a few things about the peace that passes understanding as well. When Jesus said he would give us peace, he meant it. I cannot manufacture such calm myself. Yet, I ve learned that I must do my part. When fear tries to return, I turn to the psalms. There is something calming about reading God s Word out loud it pushes panic away. I am reminded that I am safe and secure in my Savior s love. No matter the outcome of this breast cancer, all will be well because of Jesus. Today I read Psalm 36. There has been no plan, no certain number of chapters to cover; in fact, I thought I would be further along than I am now. I know that I am still in the good, easy days before surgery scheduling and treatment plans. Sometimes fear lurks in darkness, but worship restores the Sonlight all around. Verse five is exactly what I need today: Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. The God of the Bible is the One I can trust. The very second I finished writing the previous sentence, the phone rang. The remaining biopsy results are in, and they are bad news: triple negative breast cancer. Yes, I am scared, but the God of the Bible is the One I can trust!
FROM THE PASTOR S PEN During his life, Jesus taught about living a life with God. Many believed him and followed him. But it wasn't until after his death and resurrection that the exponential growth of followers took place. Why? The Apostle Paul in Romans 1:16 suggests, I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation Paul does not say it has power, brings power or even results in power. Paul says the gospel IS the power. Therefore, it is not something you listen to master and learn. It is infinitely more it s the power. But if it is power, how is its power released into you? Think of it this way, the gospel power within you the way a seed does. Seeds generally release their power by going in and going deep. If that is true for seeds, then how may it be true for the gospel? The gospel does not do something to you without you. The seed in you needs to be nurtured and worked. You work it into the soil of your soul through listening, thinking and understanding more and more. It s fascinating that like a seed the power of the Gospel is gradual and sustained. When the Gospel is worked deeply in you, it shapes your instincts, your thoughts, your behaviors. It is a seed and it is designed to go down deep. The more you work the Gospel into your mind and heart, the deeper it goes, the more the life of the seed grows. I want you to think about the image that Jesus chooses for the gospel, the Word of God. Jesus chose a seed and seeds are weak things, little things. You don't drop a seed and say "bombs away". Instead, you drop a seed and sometimes you can't even find it. The seed is so weak. It s not a hammer to crush the opposition. It's not f ire consuming the opposition. It s not even a sword cutting through resistance. If you think about it, seeds have something of a paradoxical strength and weakness. Think for a moment about an acorn. On the one hand in the seed is everything you need to grow a huge tree. Just one oak tree could be the single source from which there could come hundreds of others. Indeed, from a single oak and its seed the entire earth could be forested. No hammer, no fire or no sword can do that. But at the same time, you could put that acorn on the ground, crush it and it s gone. The acorn has power but also an incredible weakness. Why does Jesus Christ characterize the gospel as a seed? Seeds only release their power if they fall into the ground and die. If Jesus came as fire, hammer or sword we would all be destroyed. But Jesus Christ came as the ultimate seed. Jesus says in John 12:24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Jesus life could not be released into his followers unless he became a seed and died. Jesus became voluntarily weak for us. He became a seed that goes into the ground and dies. That is the secret of the gospel s power, because the power of the word is the weakness of the Lord. If you see Jesus willingly offering himself for you, the beauty of his weakness will cause the seed to take root and you will be changed. Nothing will change you like seeing his willingness to be sacrificed for you. Thursday, October 13, 2016 TULSA BOK CENTER PRESEASON GAME OKC THUNDER VS. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES DEADLINE TO GET TICKETS ORDERED HAS ARRIVED Contact Julie
Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church 801 SE Washington Blvd Bartlesville, OK 74006 (USPS 222-300) Periodical Postage paid at Bartlesville OK 74005 Return Service Requested Contact us: Church Office: 918-333-1708 Church Fax: 918-333-1729 Website: www.gspcok.org Email: mail@gscpok.org Sunday 8:30 9:45 am Adult and Children s Discipleship Classes 10:00 am Worship Sanctuary 11:00 11:30 am Coffee Connection Monday Tuesday 9:30-10:30 am CDC Movement Education Classes 10:00-2:00 pm Agape Food Service Wednesday 7:00 pm Chancel Choir Practice Thursday 1:00 pm Ladies Small Group Friday Fri. June 10 OK Mozart Master Classes Sun. June 12 5 pm Marriage Class (Last Session) Tues. June 14 Flag Day/No Staff Meeting Sun. June 19 Father s Day Mon. June 20 @ 11:30 am Noah Meeting Sat. June 25 @ 7 pm Tulsa Drillers Game Mon. June 27 Newsletter Deadline Mon. June 27th 5:30 pm Session Meeting Wed. June 29 Newsletter Mailed
Helping Hands Ministry If you have simple needs at your home that can be addressed by a strong arm, a ladder-capable volunteer, or even a semi skilled crafts man, we re here to help. List your need on your Sunday response card or phone Julie at 918-333-1708. Once your request is received, it will be forwarded to one of the ministry team members who will phone you to get a better idea of the need, and how best to meet it. If you re interested in being one of God s helping hands, please let us know your area of expertise. Have you paid for your Drillers ticket? $12 per ticket Game is June 25 @ 7 pm