December 25th, 2022

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE, EVERYONE!
Today we will all gather for Christmas Eve Candlelight service at 6 pm in the sanctuary. Everyone is invited to this service of Scripture, Christmas hymns/carols, a message from God's word, and singing "Silent Night" with our candles in hand. The pastoral staff is hosting this service so that everyone else can relax and enjoy attending. 
The service will be less than one hour in length. The nursery will be available but not staffed, as will the cry room for those needing them. I hope to see you there!

THE LORD'S DAY (12/25): Christmas is on the Lord's Day this year, something that happened in 2005, 2011, and 2016, and it will happen next in 2027. The last time Christmas was on a Sunday was my first Christmas with you all as pastor. This will be my seventh Christmas as your pastor, and it fills me with joy to be laboring in the Gospel with you! With that said, we won't be gathering tomorrow because of Christmas, but because it is the Lord's Day. The regular rhythm of the Christian life is punctuated by the weekly gathering of the local body of Christ for corporate worship and fellowship. So spend time with your family, then come worship the Lord with the Lord's people in the Lord's house on the Lord's Day. If you are traveling or out of town, find a local gathering of faithful believers to fellowship with on the Lord's Day. You will be glad you did!

• NO SUNDAY SCHOOL HOUR TODAY. We will resume Sunday School/Bible Study for All Ages next week, January 1.

• Worship Together at 10:40 in the Sanctuary. We take a break from our consecutive study through Luke's Gospel to preach a Christmas message from John 1:1-5, 14 on the incarnation entitled "Jesus Christ, the God-Man". We'll briefly explore Johns description of Jesus as the eternal Word, truly God and truly man, two natures in one person, and why that is important. 

Scriptures for Sunday.  Here are the Scriptures we will be reading that will shape our corporate worship. Take a few moments to read and meditate on them as you prepare for worship tomorrow. Click anywhere on the link to see a printable version of these passages on biblegateway

• Call to Worship: Psalm 96
• Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 32:1-2
• Scripture Reading: Isaiah 9:2-7
• Sermon Text: John 1:1-5, 14
• Numbers 6:24-26

• Baptist Catechism Questions are Questions 66-68 "On the Fourth Commandment." For the entire catechism, follow this link.

Question 66: How is the Sabbath to be sanctified? 
Answer: One day in seven should be especially devoted to corporate worship and other spiritual exercises that restore the soul’s rest in God and zeal for His name. It should provide physical refreshment and fit one for a week of devoted service to Christ.
Scripture: Leviticus 23:3; Isaiah 58:13, 14; Matthew 12:1-14; Mark 2:27; Romans 14:5-6.
 Question 67: What is forbidden in the fourth commandment? 
Answer: The fourth commandment forbids dishonoring the Lord’s Day by actions or thoughts that divert the soul from spiritual refreshment, or deprive the body of renewed energy or distract the mind from its special Sabbath focus on the Lord.
Scripture: Ezekiel 22:26; 23:38; Jeremiah 17:21; Nehemiah 13:15, 17; Acts 20:7; Mark 2:23-28; Romans 14:5-6.
Question 68: What are the reasons attached to the fourth commandment?Answer: The reasons attached to the fourth commandment are, God’s creating the world in six days and resting on the seventh and his blessing the Sabbath day.
Scripture: Exodus 20:9-11; 31:16, 17; Genesis 2:2, 3.  


MONDAY (12/26)

• Sewing Circle, 5 pm
• Monday "Sunday School" online via ZOOM at 7 pm. See Pastor Kyle to join this virtual Bible study group.  To join Zoom Meeting, follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87573789453?pwd=Zjg5ZWZ2N1h5WklxOEFjM3IrVUt1QT09      Meeting ID: 875 7378 9453       Passcode: 478672 

WEDNESDAY (12/28)

• No Midweek Activities this week (Ladies' Bible Study, Men's Discipleship Group, Kids' Club, Midweek Service). We will resume next week, January 4, except for Kids' Club which starts back on January 11.

THURSDAY (12/29)

• No worship team rehearsal or men's discipleship group. Will resume on January 5.

SUNDAY (1/1/2023)

• The Lord's Supper will be observed during morning worship on January 1. Please take some time this week to prepare for that service. A suggested "starter list" for self examination is attached.
• Sunset Home Vesper Service, at 3 pm. If you are able, please come and support this service for the residents at Sunset Home. This will be our first time back at Sunset since around this time in 2019.

MEN'S DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS HAVE RESUMED! Wednesday 10 am; Thursday 7 pm; and one more TBA. We will be doing Fred Parry's study "Walking With Ephesians." Books are $13 and are available in the narthex beginning tomorrow. Make checks out to FBC with "men's study" in the memo line, or with cash in an envelope marked "men's study." You may also purchase the study guide for Kindle by visiting Amazon.


INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS GIVING

• Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. We have received $585 to date.
• DIRECT GIVING TO IMB PERSONNEL. If you would like to give directly to support an IMB missionary or a special project click on this link and follow the instructions. We currently have members serving with the IMB in closed countries whose names cannot be published electronically for security reasons. If you would like to support them directly, but would rather not do so electronically, you can designate an offering to the church for them and we will see that it gets to them. If you want the gift to be reflected in your annual giving statement, the best practice is to include a note with their name or write their name on the envelope rather than the check itself. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me and I will be happy to assist you.
• DIRECT GIVING TO REACH BEYOND. We also have members currently serving with the independent medical missions organization, Reach Beyond. They are also serving in a restricted area, so we cannot publish their name here. But if you would like to give directly to them, you may do so directly to Reach Beyond, or designate the offering in the same way described in the paragraph above.

COMING UP

• Committee/Ministry Team General Organizational Meeting, Sunday, Jan. 8, 4-6 pm. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall to organize for 2023. Each committee will meet to elect a new chairman, go over expectations, and plan for the coming year. The time set aside will be 4-6 pm, but each committee should choose either the 4-5 pm slot or the 5-6 pm slot. This is to help avoiding conflicting times if you serve on more than one committee. If you agreed to serve on a committee in 2023, please make every effort to attend this meeting, especially if you have not served before. We will have pizza from Slice & Swirl for all those in attendance.
• Justin Peters Conference, Friday and Saturday, Jan. 13-14, at Journey Baptist Church. On Friday evening, Justin will answer the question, "Why doesn't God heal everyone?" As a person who has cerebral palsy, this question is especially close to Justin's heart. On Saturday morning, he will teach on Penal Substitutionary Atonement. This is a ticketed event, $10 per event or $15 for both. I highly recommend Justin Peters' ministry, and you can see some of his teaching on Youtube. For more info, go to this Facebook link, or contact Pastor Calvin Haynes at calvin@journeystjoe.org 
• Save the Date: Sunday, February 12, is Super Bowl Sunday. We will have our annual chili cook-off and watch party that evening, Lord willing.

ICYMI: Last Sunday's sermon audio on Luke 17:20-37 "The Kingdom: Already and Not Yet"

Other previous messages are archived here.   Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. 

FIGHTER VERSE: Our Fighter Verse this week is Revelation 5:12-13
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”


READ THROUGH THE BIBLE The Five-Day Bible Reading Plan is attached to this e-mail for your convenience. You may want to access additional resources to support your reading available at this website. If you visit that link you will see that the new reading plan will be available on December 26. I will link to that resource and send it out as soon as it is available. As I mentioned in last week's update, I want to encourage you to read the Bible daily this year. Many methods are available to accomplish this goal. Here is a link to Nathan Bingham's article last year on 2022 Bible Reading Plans, most of which are undated so they will work just fine in 2023.

See you in church!

Grace and peace,

Pastor Greg
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