Tuesday, December 19, 2017

SIMPLE CHRISTMAS

This year’s advent theme has been SIMPLE CHRISTMAS. It has been fun to tell the story of Jesus’ birth using some of the main characters involved in the Christmas Story. Sean brought a message about the Simple Worship of the Shepherds. I brought the teachings about the Simple Offering of the Inn Keeper offering Mary and Joseph what he had. We can’t offer him what we do not have right? This past Sunday we talked about the Simple Message of the Angels: fear not, give God glory, peace on earth and the favor of God. This coming Sunday morning I will talk about Simple Gifts given by the Magi. I have enjoyed this teaching series on Simple Christmas.

We celebrate the ultimate meaning of Simple Christmas this Sunday evening with our annual Christmas Carols, Communion and Candlelight Service at 6:00 p.m. For years this has been the largest attended service of the year for JIBC. We are planning for a beautiful service built around our Advent theme…Simple Christmas. We will have a preschool nursery available. School age children will join us in the Worship Center for our service.

Thank you for the mission support for James Island Outreach, Florence Crittenton, Lowcountry Pregnancy Center, and Lowcountry Orphan Relief. Your response to help the poor and less fortunate has been outstanding. You put the Christ in Christmas with joy and love. Thank you.

If you are still looking for a way to give and make an impact, I suggest a gift to Southern Baptist International Missions, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Missionaries around the world will be blessed with your gifts. Every penny you give goes to the missionaries and not one cent is used for promotion or other fees. It really is getting the biggest bang for your buck. Southern Baptists support almost 4,000 full time missionaries around the world. At least four of them are from James Island Baptist. Thank you for praying and supporting them.

I hope to see you this Sunday morning at worship and then for the Christmas Eve service. If I do not, Janie and I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christ-filled Christmas.

Pastor Tom


2018 New Addition to our Ministry

We have budgeted for and are planning on having a police officer present at our morning services. An officer may not be present every week but will most likely be present most weeks. I know it is hard to believe, but this is becoming more and more a standard operating procedure for many church families.



Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Last Minute Christmas Shopping and the Perfect Gift

We have former members of JIBC, Ryan and Kristen Parker who serve as full time missionaries in South Asia. I won’t say the exact location because this is in print. One of the ministries they have is helping women who are coming out of the sex industry. At our request, they sent us a small box of bracelets made by these Himalayan women. If you are looking for the perfect gift or stocking stuffer, ask Janie to see these bracelets. They cost $10 each or 3 for $25. I am including an article about them below. You get a cool gift, a great story, a gift with purpose and a way to share your faith.

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Tom

WorldCrafts and Blessed Hope Provide a Safe Haven for 
Women to Avoid Trafficking and Pursue Their Dreams

In an area where trafficking is increasingly prevalent, Blessed Hope is a beacon of light for women who seek an alternative lifestyle. Many of these Himalayan women have little education, low literacy rates, and poor economic status. In desperate living conditions, they can easily end up in the labor and sex trafficking industry.

Blessed Hope helps women avoid trafficking by providing the means for earning a wholesome income. After operating for only two years, it employs 20 Himalayan women, young and old. Because some women have children and other tasks at home, Blessed Hope allows them to work from home most of the week. Every Tuesday they meet together to evaluate their work and have a time of prayer and devotion.

Blessed Hope helps women succeed in all walks of life. Neema, a junior college student, uses her income to help pay for books and housing expenses. As she finishes her last year of junior college, Neema hopes to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Sonam, age 24, is one of the owners and manages Blessed Hope. Her husband recently left the country to search for better employment opportunities abroad. Sonam’s income helped her family purchase a two-room apartment, where she now lives with her uncle and young child. Your purchase of even one piece of jewelry is a major blessing in a woman’s life. Purchasing 1 bracelet provides: 2-3 days of quality food for an entire family or 1 month of school supplies.



Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Do you have all your Christmas shopping finished?


I kind of admire those who manage to have all their Christmas shopping finished early and can just sit back and enjoy the Christmas season. I am a true single task male. One night, one list, one store…get ‘er done! Janie insists on making me calm down and spread the Christmas cheer over several days…weeks…months! Lol. Some of my fondest memories are going shopping with Janie’s family when we were teenagers. Mr. Hines would load us all up on Christmas Eve and we would head to the malls. I could just sit back and watch, feeling no pressure and just enjoying the company. That was during a much simpler time.

This year, Janie and I, were able to give our first two Christmas gifts to missions. First, we bought the items for our Advent Missions emphasis: Jelly for James Island Outreach; diapers for Low country Pregnancy; pajamas for Low country Orphans; and pop up hampers for Florence Crittenton. I like the old mission saying “the light that shines brightest shines first at home”. I already see the Worship Center Christmas Trees surrounded by gifts. Thank you for being such a generous giving church. Our second gift was to International Missions, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This is an offering that goes 100% to support Southern Baptist International Missionaries around the world. We are so honored to give to such a worthwhile effort. By the way, our church sets up an in-house “Christmas Card Mail Box”. If you would like to give someone in the church a card, you can place it in the mail box. In the old days, you were encouraged to then give the money saved on stamps to missions. If I might make a suggestion: just use the Christmas Card mail box and enjoy. Then, as you are able, consider a gift to International Missions. It will be money well spent. If you have time, check out their web site at https://www.imb.org. You will find some great stories about our missionaries there. If you did not pick up a Missions Prayer guide this past Sunday, they will be available this Sunday.

This Sunday, I will continue our Advent series, Simple Christmas. My message will be about that infamous Inn Keeper that had no room for Mary and Joseph! We will light the Advent Candle of Peace and remember the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ. Janie and I enjoyed our anniversary week away. Glad to be home and looking forward to seeing you Sunday.

Pastor Tom