Blog

Please join us this Advent season for worship as we celebrate Jesus’ coming into our world with the theme: “Prepare Ye!” Advent marks the beginning of a new Church Year. The term “advent” is derived from a Latin word that means “coming”. Our Weekend Advent worship will lead us to experience the Hope, Love, Joy and Peace of our coming Savior!  We ask the Holy Spirit to prepare our hearts for Jesus to reign and …
Read more »

For many of us we’re very committed in certain aspects of our lives.  Maybe you are a die-hard Bears fan! Maybe you’re devoted to your family or you’re dedicated at work. How is your faith commitment to your Lord Jesus?  What’s holding you back from letting go and letting Jesus rule in your life? I know that one of the things that holds me back in my faith life is my desire to be in control.  …
Read more »

I take great pride that I have a hidden talent! What is it? I can whistle REALLY loud! I use it from time to time at large gatherings to quiet people down or to get someone’s attention. Do you have a hidden talent? Having a hidden talent can be a good thing IF you can find a way to use it. But what if you have a hidden talent that NEVER gets used? In Matthew …
Read more »

Even though “trick or treat” is over, this weekend we will all play a “trick” on ourselves as we adjust our clocks back an hour as we “fall back” to Standard Time. Although most of us will enjoy getting an “extra” hour of sleep, we know that we can’t really gain extra time. Time is so precious.  Even though we may say things like, "saving time" or "buying time", we realize that time really can't …
Read more »

Do you remember looking forward to Halloween and asking your friends, "What are you going to be for Halloween?" A super hero?  A princess? A ghost? On Halloween weekend, Good Shepherd will host our annual “Trunk or Treat”! It’s a fun event! Bring your kids and enjoy all of the costumes and decorations. We don't really expect a huge group this year due to COVID, but it’s a great time to get more connected with …
Read more »

It's easy to see from our current presidential campaign that for many Christians, it may be a tough decision on who to vote for.  It doesn't seem that either major candidate is expressing clear Christian values in their campaign rhetoric.  This is just another example that reveals how Christianity no longer has the cultural authority that it once had.  Whereas Christianity used to have a primary influence in public discourse (like election campaigns) it …
Read more »

Andrea & I are going on a trip to see our NEW granddaughter for the first time next week!  She is almost two months old, but due to COVID restrictions we haven’t been able to see her yet. We’re so excited to make the trip and see her for the first time!How are you with your faith journey?  Are you excited to be on the “trip” or has it become like a boring daily commute? …
Read more »

Are you patient? Would your friends say that you are a patient person? God's word says, "Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord" (James 5:7)  2020 has been a year to try our patience, right? But, if we thought that the only way to develop patience was to go through difficulty, we'd probably all vote to skip ahead to next year! Every day brings some level of exasperation - some need, small …
Read more »

As if dealing with COVID 19 wasn’t enough, people out west have had to deal to enormous forest fires and folks in the gulf coast have had to deal with eight hurricanes so far this season! Hurricanes caused hundreds of deaths and billions of dollars in damages! It has been a terrible hurricane season!In Mark 4:35-41 we see Jesus with His disciples in a boat caught up in a storm. The disciples have been around …
Read more »

This weekend Good Shepherd dedicated our “Shepherd’s Path and Community Garden!” This effort was led by John Tighe as his Eagle Scout project. Thank you to the many people who volunteered to support this endeavor.  Our Shepherd’s Path and Community Garden is the culmination of hundreds of hours of volunteer service that germinated from the seed of a single idea, “How can Good Shepherd be better connected to our Elgin neighbors?”The genesis for our Shepherd’s …
Read more »