Questions With An Eternal Impact

This was the title of my message this past Sunday. It came from Acts 16:30. The jailer had seen and heard Paul and Silas react to being beaten and imprisoned. He heard them as they prayed and sang songs of praise. Then he experienced the shaking of the earthquake that opened the doors of the prison. He fully expected to find the jail empty. Why wouldn’t the prisoners run for their lives? But they did not and Paul stopped the jailer from taking his own life. What happened next is amazing. The jailer asked “What must I do to be saved?” I hear in his question the desire to have what Paul and Silas had; to have meaning and purpose beyond immediate circumstance; to have faith in the face of persecution. What must I do to have that?

We may forget that those around us watch us. We are followers of Jesus Christ. We have been born again, filled with His Holy Spirit, part of a community of faith. We are not perfect but we are to be different. How do we handle adversity? How do we treat others, especially others who are not like us? What comes out of our mouths and hearts when we are wronged the way Paul and Silas were wronged? The prayer and praise was powerful and had an impact.

What must I do to be saved? That is a great question with an eternal impact. Today people may ask that question using different words. They might ask questions or comments like these: “How do you remain so calm under these circumstances?”, “How can you survive such a devastating loss?”, “I could never do what you did!”. We want to be open and sensitive to the questions they might ask. It could be a question with an eternal impact like “What must I do to be saved?”

Just for fun: Did you know that most questions are not questions?

See you Sunday, good Lord willing. By the way, we have room for you at Class 101: Discovering Membership at JIBC. Would love for you to join us for your first time or for a refresher. Just let us know if you are coming.

Pastor Tom

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? 

I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” 

Isaiah 43:19 

God has a history of doing something new. That was the title of this Sunday’s message. It is easy to chronicle throughout the Word of God that He has a history of doing a new thing. Our theme verse is an excellent place to start. Read it again. Try to memorize it. Let this be a new…see what I did there…part of your theological understanding of our Heavenly Father.

Now here is the challenge: You can’t receive the new way of God until you open your hand and let go of the old way. If you are familiar with Experiencing God you may remember this: You can’t go with God and stay where you are! I love the idea of God doing a new thing. But truthfully a new thing can be challenging. It is easy to get comfortable with an old way or an old thing. Sometimes when God starts a new thing in a new way in our lives, the greatest opposition comes from the old things with its old ways.

The good news is that God has a history of doing new things, of making a way in the wilderness of life, of making rivers where there has been deserts. John 5:17 says the Father is always at work. I believe that and pray that He will help us to “perceive it” as Isaiah says. Perhaps He is doing something new in your family; your work; your spiritual life; James Island Baptist; our country? I know our Father has a history of doing a new thing. Let’s look for it and expect it. I am praying He will continually do a new thing in my life and that I will be able to see it and embrace it. May the deserts you experience be flooded and overflow with the river of God’s blessing. May the wilderness in your life that seemed so empty and barren become a place of abundant blessing. We must be willing to open our hands and let go of the old to receive the new thing God is doing.

By the way, speaking of God doing a new thing, Pastor Frankie Gilmore has accepted a call to a sister church in the Summerville area. He began with us as an intern while he was at Charleston Southern. We called him to a part time position as soon as one was available. As his wedding date moved closer, he needed a full time salary so he went to work for one of the Escape Venues here in Charleston. We then put together a full time package to help meet his needs and called him back to JIBC. I am so excited for Frankie and Jen and the opportunity ahead for them. This will be a great opportunity to grow even more. They are loved and will always be a welcomed part of the JIBC family. He has been one of the most versatile staff members we have ever had and he served with such a willing heart. Just like Frankie and Jen, we now open our hand to let go of the old way to receive the new way and the new thing God is doing.

Hope to see you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

A New Way

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up;

do you not perceive it? I am making a way…”

Isaiah 43:19

This is the first verse I will memorize in 2021.  It is the theme of our church new year.  It would be a good one to add to your list of memorized verses.   My thanks to Pastor Scott for teaching Sunday and introducing the New Year’s Theme: A New Way.  I am looking forward to continuing this series Sunday! 

Speaking of a new way…here are two “new” things that will be happening. Both of them are Covid-19 related.  We are trying our absolute best to make progress while also trying to do our best to mitigate the spread of this virus.  It is a bit like keeping one foot on the dock while having the other foot on the boat.  Lol!   We are, with cautious optimism, wading back into a full church schedule.  We are adding one or two things at a time.  We will then evaluate and make course corrections as we go. 

 WEDNESDAY NIGHT DINNERS ARE BACK WEDNESDAY JANUARY13!  You can sign up online or this Sunday during worship to reserve a spot at the Wednesday night meal.  Tables will be spread out with limited seating at each table.  We will have some new options for payments.  You can pay with cash but you must have the exact amount.  That helps everyone not “touch” the money more than necessary.  We are also trying to make it possible to pay by debit card (that is still being worked out).  The cost is $5 per adult and youth and $3 for children.  Bear with us while we work out the details.  Please wear your mask until you are seated at your table.  No one will be allowed in the Kitchen area except the Kitchen Krew.  They will accept “air hugs and kisses” from a distance! 

SUNDAY CHANGES.   We will be receiving the offering as we did during the Christmas Eve services.  Our leader/servants will hold the offering plates as they walk down each aisle.  That limits the contact and is a method of offering more similar to what our church family is use to.  You may, of course, still place your offering in one of the offering boxes located in the worship center.   A growing number of our church families and friends are giving online now, but for some, it is still their preference to give at the service.  We are providing multiple opportunities.  Giving is very much a part of our worship experience. 

“See, I am doing a new thing!”  Let’s join Him is what He is doing.

Pastor Tom

 

BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT EVER!

I have said for years that the biggest mission bang for your dollar was the missions offering called the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Why so? Because every penny of your gift will go straight to helping and supporting our full-time missionaries around the world. Not one cent is taken out for advertisement, promotion or administrative fees. You will be helping greatly improve the work of our missionaries. Janie and I have traditionally made the first Christmas gift of the year our offering to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We know that is one of the most productive uses of our gifts. So far, our church family and friends have given $6,145 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. I have no doubt that more will be given. 

Now, let me tell you about a new twist to our International Christmas Offering. In the past, we have used the Christmas Eve offering for international missions. It almost always goes to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This year, the Christmas Eve offering (unless it is designated to something else) will go to “SEND RELIEF” a part of our International Missions. I am so excited to share with you how this works. We can designate our gifts to buy “projects” that can help a family start a business, provide food and possibly break them out of poverty. Here a list of examples: $3 will buy 10 fish to help a family start a fish farm; $10 will buy seeds to enable a family to grow produce to eat and sell; $25 buys a pair of rabbits…no explanation needed here; $25 buys 10 chickens to give access to eggs and meat that can help start a business; $50 is a pair of pigs; $75 buys a goat; $100 buys a gift of one sheep and $300 one cow; $100 buys blankets for 10 kids; $35 buys 5 books for kids; etc. Now let’s skip to some big ticket items: $2,000 buys a new home for someone is a disaster relief area; $588 buys a bundle of relief that helps a family start their own farm; $375 buys a pallet of water; $750 supplies a three day dental event; $1,000 buys a water well; etc.

Can you see why I am so excited? I am praying we will receive a Christmas Eve Offering that will be big enough to purchase at least one of all of these! That would perhaps be the BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT EVER.

Be praying about a gift you might give for the Christmas Eve Offering. Oddly enough, also pray about the way we will receive the gifts. Passing the plate is in our DNA but not in our Covid Mitigation plan! You can, of course, designate your offering to budget or to Lottie Moon. I can’t wait to make another offering on Christmas Eve to help buy a couple of farms!

See you Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Advent.

Pastor Tom

Really, I’m fine!

Sometimes we tell people we are fine when we may really be living in denial. But really, I am fine. I have been out more Sundays since September than all my years at JIBC put together. I missed a Sunday with surgery, was back a few Sundays; then missed two Sunday’s with Covid 19, then back a Sunday; then missed a Sunday with a “complication” for the surgery; then back a Sunday; and then, Janie and I were out last Sunday for our annual anniversary trip (45 years and going strong). But really, I am fine.

Now, back to our business. You all did a fantastic job on donating 5,600 pounds of food to James Island Outreach. By the end of the year, that number will probably pass 6,000 pounds. Combined with the rest of 2020 we will be wearing the scales out aiming for 10,000 pounds of food relief for the underserved in our community. To God be the glory.

Our Advent Mission points include the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This is the most bang for your mission buck that you can possible get. Every bit of your donation goes to support missions around the world. It is always the first Christmas gift of the year for our family. We also will be buying diapers to help women who have chosen life for their babies rather than abortion. Have you bought diapers lately? I know those who receive the diapers are very appreciative. When our kids grew out of diapers we felt like we had a pay increase! Of course, we always are collecting jelly for James Island Outreach. The new mission support this year is the BackPack Buddies. What a beautiful thought trying to make sure every underserved child has food to eat over the weekend when they are not in school. We have a groups that goes to James Island Outreach two Thursdays each month to help pack the supplies.

If you choose, you can bring these items on the particular Sunday they are being emphasized or you can bring them any Sunday. You can bring them to worship with you or drop them by the church office. It is all good!

Advent…the perfect time to combine worship and mission. Thank you for being such a loving and giving church family. See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

LET’S CELEBRATE ADVENT!

The word advent means arrival or coming. In our case, the case of Christianity, it refers to the coming, the arrival of Jesus Christ. We celebrate two advents: the first celebrates the birth of Christ and the second celebrates His return. 

The Advent season includes the four Sundays before Christmas. You know I love all things Christmas. The only thing I do not really love is the temptation to go into debt to pay for more celebrating than can be afforded. I love Christmas decorations…and by the time you read this my family decorations and the church decorations should be up! I love the Christmas lights at the county park and in the neighborhoods. I love the Biblical stories about the advent/coming of Christ. I love Christmas music, the old hymns, FM102.5 that plays Christmas music and all my old school Christmas CD’s.

All that being said, one of my favorite parts of Christmas at JIBC is how we have connected missions and worship. Each Sunday of Advent has a different mission emphasis. We partner with others to accomplish the work of Christ. The first Sunday of Advent is November 29. We will highlight the mission of The Lowcountry Pregnancy Center. We are helping them to collect diapers of any size. If you would like to buy some diapers, you can bring them any Sunday during December. The second Sunday of Advent, December 6, highlights The Lottie Moon International Missions. We have some really cool opportunities here. Janie and I always make the Lottie Moon Offering our first Christmas gift of the year. The third Sunday of Advent helps children in our community who are at risk of not having a meal over the weekend. This past Thursday, as we were leaving James Island Outreach, a team from JIBC was arriving to help pack food bags for Backpack Buddies. I love it! Then the last Sunday of Advent, December 20 is our mission partner, James Island Outreach. Our church family is the jelly church. We have been asked to provide jelly for the outreach. So when you are shopping, look for the BOGO deals on jelly! By the way, JIBC is on track to give 10,000 pounds of food for 2020. In a year of greatest need you gave the greatest offering in our history!

We top it all off with our annual Christmas Eve Carols, Communion and Candlelight services at 4:00 and 6:00 PM. Covid-19 has made this a little bit challenging but we are up to the challenge. We will be giving out free tickets that will help us monitor the size of our attendance. You may reserve your tickets at www.jamesislandbaptist.com. And we will have an overflow room in the Fellowship Hall that will have a wonderful experience should we run out of seats!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Enjoy and celebrate the Gospel story revealed in the Christmas event. See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

THANKSCHRISTMAS!

My granddaughter asked me “Granddad, what is your favorite holiday?” I told her “ThanksChristmas!” I love the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas. What is not to love? This Sunday is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I will miss the church-wide Thanksgiving Meal and the Community Wide Thanksgiving Service. By God’s grace and goodness, we will still have a Thanksgiving Meal and we can still see the Community Thanksgiving Service live-streamed! We will be having the Lord’s Supper this Sunday at both services. We have a lot for which to be thankful!

I hope you don’t get tired of me saying things like this: You did an outstanding job giving to James Island Outreach. In 2018 James Island Baptist gave 1,885 pounds of food plus our financial donations. In 2019 the food donations increased to 5, 408 pounds of food plus the financial donations. By the end of 2020: JIBC will donate pretty close to 10,000 pounds of groceries to help bless the under-served in our community! That is 5 TONS of food! To God be the glory and to you we give thanks! What is not to love about this kind of Thanksgiving?

I love that we will put up our Christmas decorations for the Church this Sunday and the decorations for our home! I love Christmas decorations. I have already started listening to Christmas songs and we are well on our way to planning our Advent season. By the way, we are having the Christmas Eve services. We will have one at 4:00 PM and the other at 6:00 PM. *Please note that there will be limited seating. The Christmas Eve services will be a free, but ticketed event. There will be a small number of seats reserved for those who do not have the opportunity to get tickets and there will be a very special, and I mean very special, overflow service in the fellowship hall.

I love ThanksChristmas! Just about the only thing I do not like about this time of the year is that some may feel pressured to go into debt to buy gifts. Please do not! Live within your budget and be creative. I put on our tree every year some of the handmade Christmas ornaments we were given as gifts. Made with love and filled with memories! Let’s say it loud and often…CHRISTMAS IS NOT CANCELLED! We are celebrating ThanksChristmas!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom