One of the 2037 things I love about our church family is the willingness to bless others. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, you found ways to continue doing mission even when we were not having “in-person worship”. We fed hundreds with hot, delicious comfort food. We fed firemen, Express Care workers, homebound, the sick, widows, underserved, etc. You lived out the value that we are blessed to be a blessing.
Another way we were and are significantly blessed is in our finances. The tithes and offerings have been so extremely generous given the craziness of the two years. Because we have been so blessed, your Pastors, Elders and Finance Team want to make the following proposal: We would like this Sunday’s offering to be a Kingdom Offering.
If you have watched or read any news lately, you know of the devastating events happening in Haiti and Afghanistan. These are two countries, at their very best, are among the most difficult places on earth to live. Add to their difficult lives man made or natural disasters and you have a recipe for suffering, misery and pain. My experience has been when mankind is at its worst, God and His people are at their best. If there is a disaster, you know Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, Samaritans Purse and other agencies will be present sooner rather than later.
So how do we fit in? I have asked and received whole hearted approval from our Finance Team and Elders, that we designate this Sunday’s offering, all of it, to help support 3 relief efforts. First the Afghanistan crisis relief efforts; second the Haiti earthquake disaster; and third for members, Charles and Judy Dillon’s ongoing Disaster Relief work in Florida.
God has blessed us with so much that we are in a great position to be able to bless others. We are simply passing on what our Father has entrusted to us. So this Sunday, August 29, 2021 will be a Kingdom Giving Sunday. Instead of taking up a special offering, we will designate everything that is given this Sunday to be a Kingdom Sunday Relief offering. We have been blessed to be a blessing. So, if you usually give, here is a great opportunity to make an impact. If you do not give to JIBC, but kind of like the idea of a Kingdom Giving Sunday, here is your opportunity to make an impact. Give this Sunday and know that 100% of what is given, that is not otherwise designated, will be given to Afghanistan, Haiti and the Dillon’s Disaster Relief work.
Please note, that anyone who would prefer, for one of many reasons, that your offering this Sunday goes to James Island Baptist, can still do that. You can mark your offering as designated, call the church office and speak to Neale, send us a text or email to let us know. Any offering designated to a specific cause will go to where it is designated. Anyone would be able to redirect their gifts to JIBC if they so desired.
Again, thank you for being so generous. You make this an easy choice to give because God gave to us. We believe that we are blessed to be a blessing. So let the blessing begin. See you Sunday with my offering!
Pastor Tom
Wednesday, August 25, 2021
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING…OK THEN, LET THE BLESSING BEGIN!
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
LET’S CREATE A WAVE
Thirty years ago we used to say you cannot create a wave you can only ride it. That was generally true. Today, we can make waves. Almost every major water park has a wave making machine that can produce waves big enough to ride on with or without a surf board.
I am asking for our church family to work together with our Heavenly Farther to create waves of love and enthusiasm. Waves that many people could ride back to worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and mission. Covid-19 has created a lot of issues for everyone. One of the issues was if and when to go back out in public and when to re-engage with our church families. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to get out of the good habit of assembling ourselves together for worship, fellowship, discipleship, missions and ministry. We all understood that isolation, social distancing, mask wearing was a part of the strategy to mitigate this wretched virus. But now is the time to come on back. For some, re-starting the good habit of worship will be hard. I am not sure some will be able to unless we can help them. So let’s create waves of love and enthusiasm so strong they will be able to ride it back to worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and mission.
Here is a basic law of physics: an object not in motion tends to stay not in motion until acted upon by another object. The water is not in motion until acted upon by wind, gravity, shore line etc. But once acted upon some beautiful waves can be experienced. Some have not been in “motion” for a while because of Covid-19. Let’s ask God to make waves of love to act upon them to bring them back. Amen?
Let’s see if we can be the wind and the force to make waves of love and enthusiasm that could bring our church family and friends back. God is able to help us do what looks impossible. He can make a wave and a series of waves that create beauty and opportunity.
So, how can we do this? What are the forces that could create waves of love and fellowship? Let’s start with the most basic…prayer. Let’s pray and ask our Father to show us where He is working and how we might join Him. Pray that we will work with God to create waves that would reach the ones He loves so dearly. Second, let’s contact those in our connection groups or those we have been missing. Let’s contact with a phone call, a text, a card, an invite out to eat, an invitation to a party, an invite to join us to go see the River Dogs…whatever. Let’s just find a way to create waves of love and fellowship. Our enemy, the devil would seek to steal and destroy. Our Heavenly Father seeks to reach, redeem and restore a lost and broken world.
Those of you make cookies and desserts…let’s bake a wave. Those of you who are party people, let the fun wave begin. Going to a game…a lot of people will ride that sports wave with you.
I am asking for our church family to work together with our Heavenly Farther to create waves of love and enthusiasm. Waves that many people could ride back to worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and mission. Covid-19 has created a lot of issues for everyone. One of the issues was if and when to go back out in public and when to re-engage with our church families. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to get out of the good habit of assembling ourselves together for worship, fellowship, discipleship, missions and ministry. We all understood that isolation, social distancing, mask wearing was a part of the strategy to mitigate this wretched virus. But now is the time to come on back. For some, re-starting the good habit of worship will be hard. I am not sure some will be able to unless we can help them. So let’s create waves of love and enthusiasm so strong they will be able to ride it back to worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and mission.
Here is a basic law of physics: an object not in motion tends to stay not in motion until acted upon by another object. The water is not in motion until acted upon by wind, gravity, shore line etc. But once acted upon some beautiful waves can be experienced. Some have not been in “motion” for a while because of Covid-19. Let’s ask God to make waves of love to act upon them to bring them back. Amen?
Let’s see if we can be the wind and the force to make waves of love and enthusiasm that could bring our church family and friends back. God is able to help us do what looks impossible. He can make a wave and a series of waves that create beauty and opportunity.
So, how can we do this? What are the forces that could create waves of love and fellowship? Let’s start with the most basic…prayer. Let’s pray and ask our Father to show us where He is working and how we might join Him. Pray that we will work with God to create waves that would reach the ones He loves so dearly. Second, let’s contact those in our connection groups or those we have been missing. Let’s contact with a phone call, a text, a card, an invite out to eat, an invitation to a party, an invite to join us to go see the River Dogs…whatever. Let’s just find a way to create waves of love and fellowship. Our enemy, the devil would seek to steal and destroy. Our Heavenly Father seeks to reach, redeem and restore a lost and broken world.
Those of you make cookies and desserts…let’s bake a wave. Those of you who are party people, let the fun wave begin. Going to a game…a lot of people will ride that sports wave with you.
Imagine if we are blessed to work with our Father to create waves of love and fellowship. Families strengthened, people loved, souls saved, marriages strengthened, the possibilities are limitless because our Father love is limitless.
Talk about it with your connection Group, with your family, with a friend. Each of us can do our part to be a blessing to the church family and friends. We can do this to the glory of God. Let’s be the force of love that acts on the objects not in motion…and create waves of love!
See you Sunday, good Lord willing!
Pastor Tom
Talk about it with your connection Group, with your family, with a friend. Each of us can do our part to be a blessing to the church family and friends. We can do this to the glory of God. Let’s be the force of love that acts on the objects not in motion…and create waves of love!
See you Sunday, good Lord willing!
Pastor Tom
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
LIFE’S HEALING CHOICES
“The darker the night, the brighter the stars”. That is such a lovely quote…but it really does not do a lot for the pain we feel from loss. Starting Sunday, September 12, we will be offering An eight week course using the book Life’s Healing Choices written by John Baker.
Grief comes in and out of our lives in many shapes and forms. It comes far more often that we would like. Sometimes dealing with the pain seems more than we can handle. And then we read a beautiful quote…”the darker the night, the brighter the stars”. But I don’t want the bright stars, I want my life back, my child back, my job back, my health back, my reputation back. The pain is real. Grief has been described as the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social pain that we feel when we lose someone or something that we love. The pain can be real and it can be deep. As the poet said grief is the price we pay for loving deeply.
We realize we grieve for loved ones who die. We also grieve for many other losses in life. You cannot compare one grief to another. We can, however acknowledge the grief and try to live with it and learn how to move on with it. And so, we believe whatever we do we can do better together. So let’s give it a try. If you have experienced loss, whether a loved one, a relationship, a marriage, a reputation, physical health…whatever the loss, I invite you to join us on this journey of healing.
This discipleship study is being offered on Sunday night for several reasons. First, we have some built in benefits: an available fellowship meal; child care; healing worship; and small groups. Dealing with grief fits so perfectly into Celebrate Recovery’s Mission…freedom from life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups. It is a common mistake to think of CR as dealing with only alcohol and drug abuse. Only about 1/3 of those attending CR are dealing with substance abuse. The rest are dealing with every day hurts, hang-ups and habits. I attend CR to deal with past issues of anger, anxiety, control, etc, etc. Others may be dealing with depression, mental health issues, broken relationships and loss. It might surprise you how many of our hang-ups and habits have their beginning in our hurts…like the grief of loss that we did not deal with. You are welcome to join us. This study will be based on the 8 Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. We would love to have a book ready for you. Let us know.
Remember that grieving does not mean you are imperfect. It means you are human.
Pastor Tom
Grief comes in and out of our lives in many shapes and forms. It comes far more often that we would like. Sometimes dealing with the pain seems more than we can handle. And then we read a beautiful quote…”the darker the night, the brighter the stars”. But I don’t want the bright stars, I want my life back, my child back, my job back, my health back, my reputation back. The pain is real. Grief has been described as the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social pain that we feel when we lose someone or something that we love. The pain can be real and it can be deep. As the poet said grief is the price we pay for loving deeply.
We realize we grieve for loved ones who die. We also grieve for many other losses in life. You cannot compare one grief to another. We can, however acknowledge the grief and try to live with it and learn how to move on with it. And so, we believe whatever we do we can do better together. So let’s give it a try. If you have experienced loss, whether a loved one, a relationship, a marriage, a reputation, physical health…whatever the loss, I invite you to join us on this journey of healing.
This discipleship study is being offered on Sunday night for several reasons. First, we have some built in benefits: an available fellowship meal; child care; healing worship; and small groups. Dealing with grief fits so perfectly into Celebrate Recovery’s Mission…freedom from life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups. It is a common mistake to think of CR as dealing with only alcohol and drug abuse. Only about 1/3 of those attending CR are dealing with substance abuse. The rest are dealing with every day hurts, hang-ups and habits. I attend CR to deal with past issues of anger, anxiety, control, etc, etc. Others may be dealing with depression, mental health issues, broken relationships and loss. It might surprise you how many of our hang-ups and habits have their beginning in our hurts…like the grief of loss that we did not deal with. You are welcome to join us. This study will be based on the 8 Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. We would love to have a book ready for you. Let us know.
Remember that grieving does not mean you are imperfect. It means you are human.
Pastor Tom
Thursday, August 5, 2021
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
We are wired up to grieve when we lose someone or something we love. Grieving is not a sign of a lack of faith or that we don’t believe God is good and God is great. Grieving is a sign that we are human, fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God….but still human. We love and get attached and then we lose someone or something we love…and we grieve. Jesus gives us the hope, the help and the healing we need in this verse: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Mourning, good grief is the way to being comforted.
What is it that might cause us to grieve? The simple answer is loss. The hard answer is the loss of a loved one. That is usually what we associate with grieving…the loss of a loved one who died. The pain is real. Our pain can be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and even social. You can’t just will the pain away and there is no time limit to how long the hurt lasts.
But there are other significant losses that cause us to grieve. My father had his leg amputated because of a poor circulation problem. He, and our family, grieved that loss. Others may grieve the loss of a job, a friendship, a beloved pet, the loss of mobility, a loved one who has dementia or Alzheimer’s. There are a myriad of things that can cause grief. The pain is real…not because we don’t have faith but because we are human.
That brings me to my invitation. Starting Sunday, September 5, I will be teaching an 8 week course on “Life’s Healing Choices”. This is a book written by John Baker. The book is based on the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. I am hoping you will consider joining us for 8 weeks as we mourn together and experience comfort together. This is an open class for anyone who would like to attend. I will be leading the study. Each participant will have a book and a study book.
Now, here is the really good news about when this will be offered. Participants can, if they wish, join us at 5:30 for a fellowship meal. That is optional. At 6:15 we will gather in the worship center for a time of celebration. Pastor David and the praise band will lead us each week in a time of worship that will prepare our hearts for the teaching of God’s Word in Life’s Healing Choices. We will then go to our different small groups for a 45 minute study and we will be dismissed before 8:00. In addition to the Fellowship Meal, there is a nursery offered, a program for children and Jr. High and Sr. High Students.
Maybe this is for you. Maybe it is for someone you know who is stuck in their grieving or could use a little encouragement.
I hope you will join us. It will be worthwhile. Blessed are those who mourn, they will be comforted. Let the healing begin.
Pastor Tom
What is it that might cause us to grieve? The simple answer is loss. The hard answer is the loss of a loved one. That is usually what we associate with grieving…the loss of a loved one who died. The pain is real. Our pain can be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and even social. You can’t just will the pain away and there is no time limit to how long the hurt lasts.
But there are other significant losses that cause us to grieve. My father had his leg amputated because of a poor circulation problem. He, and our family, grieved that loss. Others may grieve the loss of a job, a friendship, a beloved pet, the loss of mobility, a loved one who has dementia or Alzheimer’s. There are a myriad of things that can cause grief. The pain is real…not because we don’t have faith but because we are human.
That brings me to my invitation. Starting Sunday, September 5, I will be teaching an 8 week course on “Life’s Healing Choices”. This is a book written by John Baker. The book is based on the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. I am hoping you will consider joining us for 8 weeks as we mourn together and experience comfort together. This is an open class for anyone who would like to attend. I will be leading the study. Each participant will have a book and a study book.
Now, here is the really good news about when this will be offered. Participants can, if they wish, join us at 5:30 for a fellowship meal. That is optional. At 6:15 we will gather in the worship center for a time of celebration. Pastor David and the praise band will lead us each week in a time of worship that will prepare our hearts for the teaching of God’s Word in Life’s Healing Choices. We will then go to our different small groups for a 45 minute study and we will be dismissed before 8:00. In addition to the Fellowship Meal, there is a nursery offered, a program for children and Jr. High and Sr. High Students.
Maybe this is for you. Maybe it is for someone you know who is stuck in their grieving or could use a little encouragement.
I hope you will join us. It will be worthwhile. Blessed are those who mourn, they will be comforted. Let the healing begin.
Pastor Tom
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