News and Announcements

During the week of July 25-29, children from our congregation and community came to Shepherd of the Mountains for our Soccer for Kids camp. We played soccer, ate snacks, heard a devotion, and sang a hymn each day. Thank you to all who volunteered in many ways during the week. May the Lord bless the children through the Word of God that they heard!

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. (Genesis 12:1-5 NIV84)

Moving is hard. Some of us have moved across town before. We've had to pack up everything we own, load it up, take it to a different home, and try to find a place for everything there. Some of us have moved across the state or country before. We've said goodbye to our past and started a new chapter of our lives in a new place. Even though moving is hard, most of us have done it before, because we've needed to for a job or because it was the right thing to do for our family. Maybe we did it because we were ready for a new adventure or in spite of the fact that we didn't want to go.

Why have you moved in the past? What were your feelings about the move? Even though moving is hard, why did you know that you would be alright?

Abram (the Lord hadn't yet changed his name to Abraham) moved away from his family to a new country. How do you think his wife Sarai (the Lord hadn't yet changed her name to Sarah) reacted when he told her it was time to move again? He wasn't moving for a job or for a better opportunity for his family, although he would indeed work in this new place and it would be good for his family eventually. Abram didn't know what would happen to him. He was moving simply because the Lord told him to go. Moving is always hard. But Abram was 75 years old, and Sarai was 65. They weren't moving to a retirement home. They didn't actually know exactly where they were going. And they still had many difficult years ahead of them.

             Abram certainly knew that moving was going to be hard. Why did he know that everything was going to be alright? God made promises to him. First, the Lord promised to go with Abram. Second, the Lord promised to bless his family in the new land. Third, the Lord promised to take care of Abram himself. Finally, he promised that all nations would be blessed through Abram. This final promise was the greatest one of all, the promise that the Savior of the world would come from his family.

Abram moved because the Lord made him promises and he trusted the Lord's promises.

When you move to a new home, why can you know that everything will be alright? Not because you'll have a better job. Not because you'll have such a nice house. Not because it'll be a good place for your family. The only way you can know for sure that anything will work out alright for you is that the Lord promises that he will take care of you. The same is true if you are not moving. You are doing other hard things in your life, aren't you? When you face any difficulty in life, the only way you can know that you will be okay is that the Lord will help you.

You might say, "I'm not moving anywhere. I'm staying put right here." Not true. Like Abram, we're all moving. We're moving to the Promised Land. We're moving through this life and one day we'll settle in our permanent home: heaven. Heaven will be wonderful. There will be no difficulties there. Yet there are plenty of difficulties on the way to heaven. We can be sure that the Lord is with us through all of them and that, in the end, we will be alright, because of the promise that God made to Abram.

God promised to send a Savior through Abram's family. God has fulfilled that promise, not only for Abram, but also for us. The Son of God became a descendant of Abram. He was named Jesus. Jesus did what neither Abram nor any of us could do: he always trusted God the Father perfectly. Jesus also died for all sins: for Abram and for us. Just as Abram trusted in the Savior who would one day come from his family, so also we trust in that same Savior who has come. We are blessed through Jesus.

Have you had to move in the past? Will you have to move in the future? What other hard things have you had to do? Who knows how many other hard things lie in your future? Why can you know that, no matter what they are, you will be alright? The Lord has promised that he will be with you through all things. And the Lord has promised that, through faith in Jesus, he will bring you safely to your heavenly home. Trust his promise!

Prayer: Lord, you have fulfilled your promise to send a Savior. Jesus has lived and died for me. Help me to trust Jesus always. Help me also to trust that you will be with me though this life and will bring me home to heaven. Amen.

The Lutheran Women's Missionary Society Fall Rally will be on Saturday, October 15 in Vacaville.

Shepherd of the Mountains will have a tent at the Oktoberfest Harvest Jamboree at Victorian Square on Saturday, October 15. Our musicians will play German music and we will have the opportunity to tell people in the community about our congregation. Would you like to play music at the booth? Or would you like to sit at the booth and hand out information? We need volunteers to make this outreach event a success! Please speak to Daniel Ellsworth or Pastor Derme if you can help.

Information about the festival itself can be found here.

The Fellowship Committee has planned some activities for the upcoming months.  Please mark the following on your calendars, look for more information to come, and plan to join us!    

• Quilt Shop Hop   (September 8-10)  For information or interested in carpooling...call (853-7014) or email Felice Dunphy at fcdunphy@yahoo.com. 
• Animal Ark… an outing for the entire family (October 1 @ 10:00 am)  The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for kids.  Bring a sack lunch, and a light jacket.  Directions: from 395 North, take Exit 78 for Red Rock, take a right on N. Red Rock and drive for 11 miles, turn right on Deerlodge Road, go approximately 1.5 miles and turn right at the sign.  For more information contact Felice Dunphy at fcdunphy@yahoo.com. (If we have at least 20 people attend, we will get group pricing).
• Octemberfest at the Franke home (November 5 @ 4:00 pm)
• B.Y.O.B. Sunday… Bring Your Own Bible Sunday with potluck  (November 20)
• Christmas Tree Decorating ( December date to be announced)
• Family Game Night (January 13 @ 6:00 pm) Bring snacks and favorite games