Now you see it, now you don’t!

Now you see it, now you don’t! Part I

Take a deep breath. In just a few short days Christmas will have come and gone, now you see it, now you don’t. Janie and I like to leave our decorations up until the new year, but that is just around the corner too.

One of the “now you see it, now you don’t” events is the Advent Missions Gifts. As of right now, here is an estimate of how that is going. 1) You have given $7,650 to the Lottie Moon International Christmas Offering. 2) The Lowcountry Pregnancy Center has an estimated 1,653 diapers or 51 packs of diapers and about 1,300 wipes! 3) You have given 193 jars of jelly and 74 bottles of syrup to James Island Outreach. 4) To the recovering hurricane victims in Western North Carolina, you have given $2,500 in gift cards so far!

In three short weeks, it will be now you see it, now you don’t. And the mission gifts will be distributed.

Now you see it, now you don’t! Part II

“Now you see it, now you don’t”. I would also like to invoke those words for the current additions taking place in the church worship center/sanctuary. As I type this article, Pastor David is overseeing the installation of acoustic tiles. These will be located around the windows in the auditorium. They will be very obvious when you see them this Sunday. That is the “now you see them” part of the phrase. I suspect that in 6 months, it will be “now you don’t”. They will become a part of the decorations in the worship center. Remember how the “drum cage” was at first? It was so obvious and looked so different. Now, for most of us, we no longer see it because it is part of stage life. The acoustic tiles are designed to do this one thing: make it easier to hear and make everything that is said and played clearer to hear. If they do their job, and we believe they will, the average person may not be able to specifically tell the difference. But that difference is very, very important. There is a certain amount of echo that is a part of a big auditorium. Reducing that as much as possible helps enhance the ease at which we are able to listen to the Word of God. Amen, make it so Lord Jesus.

Plan now to join us for the annual “Carols, Communion and Candlelight” Christmas Eve service. We have two services that are exactly alike. The first one is at 4:00 PM and the second one is at 6:00 PM. Remember to invite a friend. Those not interested in Church may be interested in a traditional Christmas Eve program. Finding child care has been very difficult. At this time, we will not be offering child care at either service. If that changes, we will publicize it as soon as possible.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

CHRISTMAS TIME

Oh What Fun! On Wednesday night, December 18, we are meeting at Bishop Gadsden for Christmas Caroling. Pastor David has put together a wonderfully unique caroling program. If you heard it last year you will agree. If you have not, you will be blessed! This year is a little different in that we are gathering at Bishop Gadsden. We are not processing together as in previous years. The Wednesday night meal will still be served from 5:00 until 6:15. Those going caroling will want to eat and be on your way by 6:00 or as soon as possible. DO NOT TAKE RIVERLAND DRIVE BECAUSE OF CHRISTMAS LIGHT TRAFFIC. Instead, take the normally crowded Folly Road to Camp Road to Bishop Gadsden, 1 Bishop Gadsden Way, James Island 29412. Oh What Fun!

CHRISTMAS EVE—December 24 : CAROLS, COMMUNION AND CANDLELIGHT.

We offer two Christmas Eve services, the first at 4:00 and the second at 6:00 P.M. It is not too early to start praying about not only attending one of the worship services but also about who to invite. If a non-church person is likely to attend any service at all, it is likely to be the Christmas Eve service. Two unique little blessings about this service. First, we have a gift for the first 500 people who attend and would like a gift. You will be glad to receive this gift and will likely pass it on when you are finished with it!

The second unique blessing for JIBC is the Christmas Eve Offering. We have traditionally given this offering away to mission causes: Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions; partner ministries in Romania and Ukraine, etc. What a time to make a year end gift or a year end catch-up offering!

I love this time of the year. Blessings on top of blessings, blessed to be a blessing. By the way, we do want to acknowledge that the holidays can be a significantly difficult time for some. This may be the first Christmas without that special someone or another Christmas without them. Our prayers and love to all who grieve. May His presence restore your complete and unbounding joy!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

THREE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TOPICS

First, let me tell you about something you might notice, then not notice and then if all goes well, will not notice again. We are making some improvements to our worship center, the sanctuary. Pastor David and David Jr can tell you all the nitty gritty details. I can just give you the big picture. We are replacing some of our old equipment that includes things like our main speakers and amplifiers. That kind of equipment just wears out and/or becomes obsolete as new and better equipment comes along. Added to that, we have contracted with a company, Auburn AV, to install acoustic sound panels with the goal of making everything that is said and played clearer. In some ways, this is what I meant by you will notice them as they are new. Then, over time they will just look like they have always been a part of the building. And ultimately, you will not actually hear the difference. But you may notice you no longer have to “work or strain” to hear clearly. The goal is clarity. It has nothing to do with volume, only getting us a cleaned up easier to listen to sound.

Second, this time of the year you may occasionally hear someone who seemingly finds joy in popping other people’s perfectly happy Christmas balloons. They seem eager to make some connection about Christmas trees and pagan worship or lighting candles and evil Popes for the third century. Or that Jesus’ birthday could not be on December 25th because the sheep would not be in the fields that time of the year. By the way, the sheep are in the fields all year long. God gave them the cutest little wool sweaters to wear. Don’t take the bait. Even Scrooge needed prayers and love. Celebrate the coming, the Advent if you will, of God’s Son, our Savior, God in the flesh.

Third, let’s think about giving. If you can, would you consider donating one of the Advent Mission Gifts: jelly, pancake syrup (for James Island Outreach), diapers, wipes (Lowcountry Pregnancy Center) a Visa gift card for Western North Carolina and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missionaries. The Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus. In His honor, let’s take gifts to those in need!

Love you all, see you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom