Groundbreaking for Concordia Academy and Kingswood Academy Daycare

It has been a long time in coming, but finally on Sunday, September 21st, 2008, the construction of the joint facilities of the Concordia Academy of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and of Kingswood Academy Daycare was set up to be built on the solid foundation of Christ and His Word as the ground was broken in the name of the Triune God.

From as far away as Charlottown (PEI), the congregation assembled at Good Shepherd with friends and guests at the usual time of 11AM, at which time we confessed our sins and received the Word of Forgiveness which Christ won for us on the cross. Many hymns and spiritual songs ancient and modern followed, including the great "Gloria In Excelcis Deo", "Lord of Glory, You Have Bought Us", and the Old Testament "Sanctus" (or "Holy, Holy, Holy"), all arranged with Bible passages and prayers in a beautiful, Christ-centered and historic pattern that teaches us about the ways of God with mankind. Center-stage, so to speak, were readings from the Holy Scriptures and the preaching of the Gospel of Christ crucified and risen for us by our guest Rev. Allen Maleske, president of Lutheran Church-Canada's East District. President Maleske based his sermon on Ephesians 2:19-22 with the theme "Building for Eternity." Finally, the culmination of the Lord's Divine Service to us came as He assured us of our forgiveness, life, and salvation through the body and blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Finally, the moment so many of us had been waiting for: instead of the familiar closing benediction, the congregation and our many special guests processed in a glad parade right out the door while singing the beautiful hymn, "The Church's One Foundation", with the crucifix, the Good Shepherd banner, and our pastors leading the way. Our procession went down the hill where we all met up again just outside where the front door of our new School and Daycare facility will soon be found, by the grace of God. The Rite of Groundbreaking was then followed, leading us to begin the spiritual as well as physical construction of this house of learning and caring with the reading of Psalm 127 and of our Lord's parable of the man who built his house on the rock from Luke 6:47-49. Then Pastor Milette led the whole assembly in turning over the first little mound of grassy earth in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit, followed by President Maleske and members of our School Steering Committee and of our Church Council, and then everyone was invited to join in also - including the little children, of course!

After everyone had had an opportunity to participate, including our friends from the Kingswood Academy Daycare staff, we concluded the groundbreaking with the Lord's Prayer as He Himself taught us to pray, prayers for our School & Daycare and for the Holy Gospel, that it might bring about great joy and strength as it is taught and shared here, and finally the New Testament Benediction.
 

Afterward, all our guests were invited to share with members in a plentiful good old-fashioned "potluck" meal, reflecting many of the varied tastes and backgrounds of our congregation: from lasagna to boeuf bourgignon, from sushi to Korean beef and noodle dishes, topped off with a beautiful "Unless the Lord Builds the House" (Ps 127:1a) cake. Wow! And Yum!

Many thanks to everyone who helped make this historic day a memorable one for all who participated and for all who will benefit from our Concordia Academy and Kingswood Academy Daycare in months and years to come. Most of all, all thanks and praise be to our God, Father, + Son and Holy Spirit, who has given us such forgiven and renewed hearts through our Lord Jesus Chirst that we should put our trust in Him as we look for ways to serve our neighbour in mind, body, and soul!
 

By the continued grace of God, we look forward to the blessing of the cornerstone in the coming months. We hope you can join us!

+ Peace be with you, through Christ our Saviour!

Noah's 2 by 2 Adventure

To start off our Sunday School Rally Weekend, on Saturday, September 6, 2008, Good Shepherd hosted a one-day Bible Adventure Day. The children were small, the Word of God was big, and hearts lept for joy under the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

Everyone was invited!




After building an Ark, Pastor read the story of Noah from a Bible Story Book, "Noah's 2 by 2 Adventure!" Boy where the children surprised when the "water" suddenly appeared around them too!


"Rise, and shine, and give God the glory, glory" )(the "arky arky" song) helped us all to recognize God's grace in giving Noah and his family and all the creatures an Ark and a Promise, but more still in giving us His Son Jesus Christ as the redeemer of sinners and the promise of everlasting life!


Can you guess what animal this child is imitating? Can you imitate it too? (They sure know a lot of amazing animals...)




A bit of colouring at the beginning got them in the mood for contemplating rainbows and other wonders and signs of God's grace, past and present, and His unending faithfulness...


... while a craft bag for a little gift new testament helped build an association they can take home between God's rescuing work for Noah from the great flood through the Ark and His rescuing work for us all from the consequence of sin through Baptism by which God clothes us with Christ (Gal 3:27) and saves us (I Peter 3:21)!













Two verses were taught that day:

• Psalm 56:4, "In God I trust" (first God teaches his faithfulness so we have a ground of faith) "I will not be afraid!" (then faith, built on the Solid Rock and anchored in His Promises, rescues, comforts, and preserves us for Jesus' sake!)
• Mark 16:16a, "Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved." (see below)

So where is Jesus in the story of Noah's Ark?
(a little help for parents who weren't there)

• Christ is in "the extras": did you know that, of the "clean animals", God sent Noah not 2 but 7 pairs of each (Gen 7:2-3)? Why so many more of some than others? Some of the clean animals were supplied to Noah by God so he would be able to give a sacrifice of thanksgiving (Gen 8:20-22); similarly and moreso, Christ is sent from our Father in Heaven to be the only sacrifice that pays for the sin of the whole world! (1 John 2:2)
• Christ is in "the rainbow": the rainbow that was a sign and promise given to the believers God had rescued through the Ark, that God's wrath would never again flood the world with water (Gen 9:12-16) was and remains only a partial rainbow, and only partially preserves the world; similarly and moreso, later on, the Bible tells of Christ, who is Himself THE Sign and Promise given to all believers, and that God's full wrath against sin has been poured out on + Jesus Christ rather than us. After His Death, His Resurrection, and His Ascension, He is seen with a rainbow over + His head (Rev 10:1) as He mediates between earth and heaven!
• Christ is in "the ark": the ark was the place God prepared through His Word for those who trusted in Him for rescue and life (Gen 6:11-22); similarly and moreso, the "ark" of the Church (not the building, the flock of God's sheep gathered around the Good Shepherd) is the place God has prepared through His Word too, for those who trust Him for rescue from sin, death, and the devil, and for life everlasting for Jesus' sake (see Matt 14:22ff). That's why the inside of church building are historically called "the nave" (which means "ship", cf. navigate)!
• Christ is in the "the water and the word": the same water that destroyed and scrubbed the world clean of evil was the same water that lifted up and carried the ark along safely to the place God had prepared for His children again to live and flourish; similarly and moreso, in Holy Baptism the same water that puts our sinfulness to death by repentance through the power of the Word (Matt 28:18-20) also raises us up with Christ to a new life by faith (Rom 6:4).

Many thanks to all our volunteers, but especially all glory be to God alone!


Our next Bible Adventure day is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, October 25th, 2008, featuring another great rescue story from the Old Testament, Moses, just in time for Reformation Sunday (Oct 26). Please call for information or to pre-register!


+ Peace be with you, through Christ our Saviour!

God's Promises -- FOR YOU!

God's Promises

for You!

God's Promises for you! was the theme of our 2002 Vacation Bible School (VBS), held this past August 19th to 23rd, 2002. The Lord blessed our preparations by sending 13 children to spend five mornings with us, being built up in His promises, singing songs and doing crafts.

Visit our VBS 2002 Picture Gallery to hear and see more!

 

The + Peace of the Lord be with you always!

Behold the King is coming... to little baby Mary Jane!

When a king comes, you expect him to breeze right by the "little people" in search of those who are at least interesting, if not 'worthy' of him. But at the start of Advent, on December 2nd, 2001, the King of Kings and the Lord of the Universe, Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God, came... to dwell with little baby Mary Jane... and to fight all her battles for her!

This King does not come to gather praise and glory, as though they were His "bread and butter". He has all the praise and glory of heaven, and indeed, He has praise and glory in Himself -- He IS the glory of the Lord, what artists try to depict when they paint halos around the heads of believers in the Bible, or around the head of Christ Himself. Except that when Christ came, he set aside His "halo" and was no glow-in-the-dark Jesus -- He was so well hidden that it took angels lighting up the night sky and a wild-man prophet dressed in camel's hair to get peoples' attention and point to Him, "I tell you this night is born in the city of David a Saviour, who will be for all the people"; "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Who is afraid of a baby? Not us. But the devil is; and our sinful flesh is. Christ our King has come to gather to himself the spiritually wounded, weak, and lowly, so that the battle that He has now fought to conquer sin, death, and the devil in the place of sinners might be for our benefits.

And that's why He baptized (that is, washed) little Mary Jane... with His Saving Name, with His death and His resurrection, with His forgiveness -- so that she would have a gift of a new heart, and a solid ground on which to build and rest her God-given faith in the Saviour God has supplied for her... and for you!

Behold, your King comes to you, to save you too! Don't miss it because you were blinded by all the fancy decorations! He comes through simple water and the Almighty and Saving Word of God!

The + Peace of the Lord be with you always!

The Gates of Heaven Opened Wide Enough for Two -- and more!

The gift of Holy Baptism was given by God -- through His Word combined with the water He commanded -- to not one, but TWO infants (Zackery and Kayley) this past September 9th, 2001, during the Divine Service at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Moncton, NB, to wash their sins away through the merits of Christ Jesus, the crucified and risen One, the Son of God and the Saviour for sinners, and in order that these little ones might have a solid foundation for a Christ-centered life of repentance and glad faith: "I believe it because God told me so, and Jesus died on the cross to make it true!"

Our Lord Jesus Christ said to His apostles, just before His Ascension:

• "Go and make disciples of all nations..." (how could we make followers of Jesus out of those who are headed in a different direction, inevitably headed anywhere but in Jesus' direction, heading instead for sin, its shame, and its punishment?),


• "... baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit..." (Aha! GOD will do it, for we baptize with His Name and Word, at His command -- He is the One at work and able even to remove sin and its shame from us!),


• "... and teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you..." (and they will be preserved and rescued through the Words of Chirst, spoken to the Church for this very purpose).


• "... And, behold, + I am with you always, to the end of the age." (St. Matthew 28:19-20).

The + Peace of the Lord be with you always!

Mounties 'Get Hitched' at Good Shepherd

On September 1st, 2001, Jim... and Rhonda... got married at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in a simple ceremony and a dazzle of Mountie uniforms!

The + Peace of the Lord be with you always!

50 Years of Marriage -- Renewed!

On July 10, 2000, on the 50th anniversary of their wedding, Peter and Bonnie (Florence) McLeod renewed their wedding vows before God and His people during the Divine Service at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Moncton, New Brunswick. If it were possible, they looked happier after 50 years than even on their wedding day!

They are first to give all the glory to their Saviour and Lord for their glad days and for His mercy that carried them through their difficult days too. We thank God with you, Peter and Bonnie, and we thank God for you also!

The + Peace of the Lord be with you always!