This Sunday should be a lovely day of worship and giving thanks. We will combine for one service. THERE WILL BE NO 8:30 SERVICE THIS WEEK. At the 11:00 Thanksgiving service, we will give thanks and recognize the new members added to the JIBC family this year…always a wonderful highlight! We will celebrate communion together as the Eucharist…thanksgiving. We will enjoy a wonderful set of praise and worship songs led by Marty and our praise team. Then, to follow that…we will have a church wide meal. The Kitchen Krew is fixing everything but the desserts. So bring your favorite dessert…and a little something else if you want to. But everything will be provided. Most of us will be seated inside, but there will be some seating available outside and the youth will be retreating to the youth room upstairs. So there should be plenty of room for everyone this year.
To finish the day, we will gather together at 6:00 for the Community Thanksgiving Service hosted this year by James Island Christian. Bring a canned good if you can…see what I did there? An offering will be taken to help the less fortunate on James Island. Oh, what a great service this will be.
Haters Going To Hate
Trends come and go. Here is one that I wish would go quickly…haters going to hate. There seems to be an idea that it is popular, cool, necessary, godly, spiritual, requested…whatever... to be a hater. It is in vogue to be against something. It does not have to be wrong or important or of consequence. A hater is going to hate. They are against whatever, whenever, wherever that gets them attention. It could be The Donald’s hair or Tim Tebow’s prayer. Haters gonna hate.
The uproar over Starbucks red cup was crazy…but haters gonna hate. Can we assume there was such a slow news day that someone would give time to a non-decorated cup. We seemed to love “my red solo cup, I fill you up, let’s have a party”. No haters there. Why you want to be a hater of a coffee cup?
An acquaintance of mine is hating on all things Christmas…trees, gifts, lights...all the things about Christmas that we love. And he is a believer. Sorry Mr. Grinch…why you gotta be a hater? You don’t like parades, don’t go…but don’t be hating on people that love parades. You don’t have to eat the pie, but don’t ruin it for those who love it…if you know what I mean. Sometimes I think, like the Grinch, their hearts are two sizes too small or their halo’s are on too tight. They take the fun out of fundamentalism.
Two days after Thanksgiving, I will be sitting around my decorated Christmas tree, enjoying the beautiful Nativity scene Janie’s mom made..with the 3 wise men present, watching the little Disney train go round and round, marveling at the beautifully wrapped gifts bought with love and singing “My Red Starbucks cup, I fill you up, let’s have a party!” To paraphrase the Word…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord…and try our best not to be haters! Don’t let your good be spoken evil of. Give thanks…give lots of thanks. It’s a good cure for a bad case of the hates!
Pastor Tom
