Good Shepherd 2447 Park Ave. Beloit, WI 53511

608-362-8720 gslcbeloit.org

pastor@gslcbeloit.org

How Is Jesus the Savior of the World?

On September 11, 2001, passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 attempted to gain control of the hijacked airplane that was by most accounts headed for a target in Washington, D.C. The plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. All 44 passengers were killed. The valiant passengers sacrificed their lives so that possibly many more lives were spared. Those passengers were lifesavers in the sense that they substituted their own lives for the lives of others.

Christians refer to Jesus as a lifesaver. Jesus saved our lives and the lives of every single human being. That is quite an astounding assertion. How specifically did Jesus save the human race? The answer hinges on Jesus serving as our substitute.

The Bible clearly states that God is absolutely holy, righteous and just. The problem is that we human beings are not in God’s spiritual league, far from it. The apostle Paul bluntly reminds us that no one is perfect: “There is no one righteous, not even one…All have turned away and have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10, 12).

We are sinful; God is not. Left to ourselves, our lack of holiness will prevent us from living eternally in our holy God’s presence. God’s Word says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Instead of going to heaven, our final destiny is eternal death in hell. Jesus said that those who are

not righteous will be cast by God into the place of torment (Matthew 13:49, 50), the abode of the evil angel Satan. It is an ominous and bleak eternal outlook!

But God intervened. We have a lifesaver. We have a substitute. In unimaginable love, God the Father sent his Son, Jesus, to save us from death and hell. As true God and true man, Jesus lived a holy and sinless life in our place. Jesus substituted his holiness for our lack of holiness, so that because of Jesus God counts us completely holy!

Then in remarkable humble love for all of us, Jesus suffered and died. On the cross, Jesus suffered the agony of eternal separation from God the Father’s love. We deserved that eternal punishment for our sin, but God put Jesus under the sentence of death as our substitute.

Then victoriously Jesus rose from the dead to prove that he fully accomplished our salvation. He is the Savior who rescued the world from the guilt of sin, the hold of death, and the power of hell by his perfect life and his death for us.

Trust Jesus who is your “substitute” Savior, and all these eternal blessings are yours!

For more Questions & Answers, go to www.WhatAboutJesus.com, then Questioning God.

March 2015

Our mission is to Praise the Lord, Grow in his Word, and Share his love.

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Upcoming Worship New Lent Series: Justified One of FX’s hit shows called Justified depicts a US Marshal dispensing his own form of justice in his hometown. You and I have an all together different kind of Justified story we can celebrate. During the Sundays in Lent we will see what it means to be justified, why we’re justified, and the joy that comes with being justified. Sundays in Lent: 1. More than Conquerors 2. Strength in Suffering 3. Live as Justified 4. Justified by Grace through faith 5. Justified by our great high priest

Midweek Lent Services—Wednesdays 6:30pm I tell you the truth—A phrase Jesus often used when he was about to reveal an amazing truth. This Lent we will hear Jesus reveal truths about his impending death to his disciples and find out what they mean for us. Join us for supper at 5:30pm and worship at 6:30pm. The schedule for Good Shepherd will be: 1. Anyone Who Sins Is a Slave to Sin—February 25 2. One of You Will Betray Me—March 4 3. Fruits of Faith Will Be Remembered—March 11 4. If One Dies, It Produces Life for Many—March 18 5. You Will Disown Me—March 25

Easter For Kids Saturday, March 21—9am-12pm

We are excited for our next big outreach event for the community. Easter For Kids is a one-day VBS program where we will have crafts, games, and the Easter story for the children in our community. Easter For Kids will also feature the Hands 2 Grow Puppet Team. The Hands 2 Grow Puppet Team performs all over the Midwest, sharing God’s truth through entertaining puppets. Kids will have a blast and parents will have a morning off. Plus we are inviting everyone to stay for a free family lunch afterwards. If you’d like to help, talk to Pastor Johnson or Laura McKee. Find out more and register at gslcbeloit.org/easter. Share with your friends and invite them for the fun!

Sunday Bible Study Adult Bible study takes place every Sunday at 9am. Everyone is welcome and you don’t have to worry if you missed a week. You won’t feel like you are lost. Starting March 1st, we will start a new study on the book of Galatians. This short letter is full of vigor as the Apostle Paul defends the gospel and his apostleship. False teachers were coming into the church in Galatia and claimed that Jesus’ death wasn’t enough to save Christians. Paul offers some of the most beautiful gospel promises in the Bible in this short letter as he defends the truth of the gospel.

WoW Study Women of the Word currently offers two Bible study options. There is a morning study every Friday at 9:00am at Joy Houge’s house. Current topic: Living the Word in everyday life. The evening study will start on Thursday, February 26, at 7pm in the church office. Sara Johnson will be leading a study called Great Women of the Bible. Ladies, take advantage of one of these opportunities to enjoy each others’ company and grow in God’s Word.

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Blackhawk Chorale Rehearsals for the Blackhawk Chorale will resume beginning Sunday, February 22, from 6-8 p.m. at Peace Lutheran-Janesville, under the direction of Pastor Richard Lehmann.

Easter for Kids Meeting Anyone interested in helping with Easter for Kids, please join us for a planning meeting Thursday, February 26 at 6:30pm in the church office. We will be choosing activities for the morning and making sure every station is staffed. If you want to help and can’t make the meeting, let Laura McKee know.

MLC Concert in Madison

Martin Luther College invites you to join us on Saturday, March 7, for a special evening, including dinner at Great Dane in downtown Madison and a concert from the MLC College Choir at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. Dinner and Fellowship: The event kicks off with a private dinner in the Rathskellar room at the renowned Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company just blocks from the Capitol in downtown Madison. Included in the $25 event cost are soft pretzel appetizers, side salad, entree choice (baked cod, sausage plate, or beet salad), dessert, and one drink ticket. Concert: Come to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1701 McKenna Blvd, Madison, for a beautiful sacred concert presented by the College Choir as part of their spring tour. Pre-register: You must pre-register online by Saturday, February 28, in order to attend this event. Space is limited, so please purchase your tickets today!

NPH Events Growing, Not Shrinking in the Faith

Saturday, March 7 New situations often challenge us in the faith. God can use hardships to grow our faith. Join Brad Alles as he leads us through biblical responses to the challenges and hardships in life. Brad Alles teaches Senior Religion at Milwaukee Lutheran High School, and is an adjunct instructor at Concordia University Wisconsin. Brad is the author of Starting at the End and Life’s Big Questions God’s Big Answers.

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The Outreach Corner Each month we’ll offer helpful tips to think about to make sharing your faith or creating a welcoming church atmosphere that a simple and easy!

This Lent, invite a friend to come to supper on Wednesday night or leave one of our Lent Sermon Series cards wherever you go!

Invite your friends to Easter 4 Kids. We have little postcards to hand out to anyone you know.

Good Shepherd Updates

This section contains information useful for Good Shepherd members. Out of respect for privacy, it is not

made public online.

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Thrivent Choice Dollars Are you a Thrivent member? Did you know you may have Thrivent Choice Dollars that you can have donated to Good Shepherd by Thrivent? If you have certain policies, you are able to have Thrivent donate money to an organization of your choosing. Simply call 800-847-4836 And say Thrivent choice when prompted to choose Good Shepherd.

Used Mattress Pads If you purchase a new mattress pad, please save the old one and donate it. A group of ladies is making blankets for people in need and can use them for batting. Just talk to Joy Houge.

Easter Lillies A signup sheet to purchase flowers for Easter is on the table in the church entryway . Take a look and help beautify our Easter worship. Signup dead line is March 8.

Holy Week Schedule Holy Week begins on March 29 this year. The schedule for Holy Week this is: Palm Sunday—Sunday March 29 @ 10am Maundy Thursday—Thursday, April 2 @ 6:30pm Good Friday—Friday, April 3 @ 1pm Easter Song Service—Sunday, April 5 @ 8am Easter Breakfast—8:45—9:50am Easter Festival Worship—April 5 @ 10am

Mary Poppins You are invited to attend the musical Mary Poppins presented by Luther Preparatory School March 6-8 at 7:00pm. Reserved tickets: $8, bleachers: $6, grade school & seniors: $6. 1300 Western Avenue, Watertown, WI 53094 - 920-261-4352

(Continued from page 3) Together Newsletter Ninety-seven percent of all WELS congregations submitted Congregation Mission Offering (CMO) subscriptions for 2015. This is the highest percentage of congregations to submit subscriptions in several years. We are grateful for the prayerful commitments made by our congregations to support the work of the synod in the coming year and are confident that those congregations that did not submit subscriptions will also share in supporting our common mission, as they have in the past. The total dollar amount of subscriptions, however, showed a 1.8% decline from actual offerings received in 2014. Total CMO subscriptions for 2015 are $20,617,656 compared to $21,264,681 in actual gifts received in 2014. Subscriptions from more than half of the congregations were higher or the same as their actual gifts in 2014, but a significant number of subscriptions were lower than the previous year’s totals. Later this month, the Synodical Council (SC) will be putting the finishing touches on the Ministry Financial Plan (budget) it will present to the synod convention this summer. As the SC carries out that task, it will need to consider the challenges posed by this decline in CMO subscriptions and how it will affect the overall mission and ministry of the synod. Last year, in response to lower-than-planned CMO commitments in 2014, the SC made reductions in the Ministry Financial Plan totaling $825,000 through program cuts, underspending, or other cost savings. This action, along with the “CMO revisit” and the resulting actual offerings in 2014 that slightly exceeded the new commitments, should help to lessen the impact of lower 2015 CMO subscriptions. In addition, World Missions, Ministerial Education schools, and other areas of ministry have benefited from significant gifts from individuals and bequests. It’s anticipated that the Synodical Council will present a Ministry Financial Plan to the convention that features no increase in planned synodical support for both years of the biennium. If offerings do exceed what is anticipated (and we pray that is the case), the SC will recommend a list of unfunded priorities that could be implemented when funding becomes available. God continues to bless our synod with the generous support of our congregations. Since he continues to place many opportunities to spread the gospel, we pray that he would continue to move our people to generous and joyful giving, motivated by the good news of what Christ has done for us and for a world of sinners. Serving in Christ, President Mark Schroeder - Taken from the Together Newsletter