Sermon Audio

Sermon Text:

Luke 23:33-43 New International Version (NIV)

³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”^[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.^[b]”

⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Sermon Audio

Sermon Text:

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 New International Version (NIV)

Warning Against Idleness

⁶ In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching^[a] you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

¹¹ We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. ¹² Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. ¹³ And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.

Join us for Advent!

Does 8 am fit in your Sunday schedule better? This small, intimate service omits the hymns and runs about 40 minutes, creating space for fellowship. With our new director of music, however, we now sing the service music – the Kyrie, Hymn of Praise, Psalmody, and Lamb of God.

Get a little midweek perspective and pause tomorrow evening (Wednesday, June 19th)!  Head “over the hill” to Alta to join Shepherd of the Mountains and friends for this half-hour meditative service of song and silence.  The gracious St. Francis of the Tetons is hosting.  Enjoy fellowship on the other side of the Tetons before or after!

The drive on Wednesday, June 19th will run from 11AM until 5:30PM and on Thursday, June 20th the drive will run from 7:30AM until 12:00 NOON. With the longer drive, our goal is now to collect 115 units of blood. Please help us reach this goal by making an appointment at www.vitalant.org or by calling 1-877-827-4376. The Need is Constant, The Gratification Instant.

Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church is thrilled to host an ecumenical reception and presentation for our community with special guest Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President & CEO of LIRS (Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services) on Monday, May 20th.  The event will be held at the church at 750 Seneca Lane (Indian Trails subdivision).  The reception will begin at 4:30 pm; the presentation will start at 5:30 pm.

LIRS was founded in 1939 to serve uprooted people during World War II, and today is nationally recognized for its leadership working with and advocating for refugees, asylum seekers, unaccompanied children, immigrants in detention, families fractured by migration and other vulnerable populations.

Vignarajah brings both personal experience and professional expertise to her work with LIRS.  After fleeing a civil war in Sri Lanka, she attended public schools in Baltimore before earning degrees at Yale, Oxford, and Yale Law School.  She served as Senior Advisor at the State Department under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State John Kerry, and then worked in the White House as Policy Director to Michelle Obama.

“As a community, we have local knowledge about immigration and refugees – I have learned so much from Rotary presentations by Elisabeth Trefonas, and from “The Quiet Force” film and panel discussion,” the pastor of Shepherd of the Mountains, Inger Hanson, shares.  “LIRS excites me because of its impact on a national level – especially its advocacy for policy reforms.  I also appreciate the organization’s comprehensiveness, working on the laws for the future as well as being engaged on a gritty level making things better now – offering hope and welcome to those in need now.  I can’t wait to learn more.”

Join us on Monday to hear directly from Vignarajah on a number of topics, including family separation, the humanitarian crisis at the border, and the historic drop in refugee arrivals.

For more information on LIRS, see www.lirs.org

Pastor Inger will be leading the opening devotion and volunteering with Teton Habitat’s Women Build 2019 event this Saturday, May 4th (affectionately known as Star Wars Day).  Come join!

Shepherd of the Mountains is excited for Holy Week.  This Sunday (April 14th) we celebrate Palm Sunday / Sunday of the Passion at our regular 8 AM and 10 AM services.

For Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, we will share evening worship services with the Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole.  PCJH is hosting Maundy Thursday (April 18th); Shepherd of the Mountains is hosting Good Friday (April 19th).  Both services are at 7 PM.

Easter Sunday (April 21st) we worship at our regular 8 AM and 10 AM times.