This Sunday is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I am praying it will be a special day in so many ways.
FIRST: We will combine the 9:00 Worship Gathering with the 11:00 Worship Gathering. There will NOT be a 9:00 service this Sunday. If you show up at 9:00 for worship, our Kitchen Krew will put you to work helping prep for the Thanksgiving Meal! Lol. As a part of this day of unity combining the two services, we will have name tags available at all the entrances. Our greeters will be glad to assist you. We should have a packed house!
SECOND: We will celebrate the Lord’s Supper together. The Greek word Eucharist means “thanksgiving”. It has become synonymous with “the Lord’s Supper”. We will put our focus on the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. We do this in remembrance of Him! There will be communion stations in 6 different locations around the worship center. Feel free to visit any of them when we reach that point in the service.
THIRD: We will have a church-wide Thanksgiving lunch together. I have already heard people talking about Chef Barry’s dressing! Bring it on. No charge, just wonderful fellowship and delicious food. It may be a little crowded but we can make it work. There will be seating in the Genesis Class room also. As an overflow, we will have tables ready to set up upstairs in the Youth Worship room. What a great day this will be!
FOURTH: If you still have energy and are looking for your cup to be filled even more, there is the Community Wide Thanksgiving Service at Emmanuel Baptist Church on Folly Road. It is always an inspiring service or praise and thanksgiving! It starts at 4:00.
Now, it is not too early to shift gears and talk about Advent. Advent means coming and it refers to the coming of Jesus to Bethlehem. It is the Christmas Story. At JIBC we have tried hard to let Advent overshadow the commercial side of Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas songs, decorations, lights and gift giving. The only thing I really do not like about Christmas is IF someone goes in debt! Please do not do that.
This year’s advent theme is “ADVENT: THE BEST GIFTS EVER!”. We have combined mission, worship and celebration to the Advent season. We are asking our church family and friends to consider donations to our four mission projects. 1) Diapers and wipes for Lowcountry Pregnancy Center; 2) Jelly and syrup for James Island Outreach; 3) An offering for International Missions/Lottie Moon Christmas Offering; 4) Visa gift cards to be taken to Western North Carolina Helene victims. Worship and mission…I love the combination!
See you Sunday, good Lord willing.
Pastor Tom
