Update for Sunday, October 31st
Dear Church family and friends,
For many, the end of October is associated strongly with one thing: Halloween, when the creepy, the ghoulish and the strange are celebrated.
31st October is significant for churches too, albeit for a completely different reason. On this day over 500 years ago, Martin Luther carried out his most significant act in trying – and in the end, successfully – to reform the way churches worship.
What does this mean for IBC Giessen? Come along, or tune-in, on Sunday at 11am to find out! To access our livestream, you will need to e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org for a link. Of course, the service is taking place in-person at the same time, and you are more than welcome to join us! Please sign in on arrival and don’t forget to wear a mask while finding your place, moving around in the building and when we sing together as a congregation.
Not only is it Reformation Day on Sunday, but it is also the day when the clocks go back. An extra hour’s sleep, time in His Word or more time with the family or friends – however you choose to use those extra 60 minutes, we pray that they are a blessing to you in this upcoming first week of November!
Update for Wednesday, October 27th
Dear Church family and friends,
How have we arrived at Wednesday already? We’re also in the last days of October, too! While most of the year may have dragged on because of lockdown, it now certainly seems – more than ever – that the closing months of the year are just rushing by. So let’s take the time to pause and re-connect with God, before trying to keep up with life’s fast pace.
You can do that by joining us for our mid-week Bible Study and Prayer Meeting on Zoom at 7pm tomorrow (Wednesday). Pastor Buddy will send you an invite link at around 6:45pm, so if you would like to get involved please e-mail him or office@ibc-giessen.org
If you cannot make Wednesday, or would like to listen again at your own convenience, Pastor Buddy’s sermon from Sunday (24th) is available for you to listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0LnI4D4T_k
Finding time to stop and reflect helps us to re-align our focus on to the Lord. We encourage you to take a moment to do so this week.
Be blessed!
Update for Sunday, October 24th
Dear Church family and friends,
Autumn has well and truly set in: there have been storms, colder temperatures, darker evenings – and next week (31st) the clocks go back an hour! Another telling sign of autumn is the leaves on the trees and plants changing colour from different shades of green to a mixture of yellows, browns, reds and oranges. Some might even say that, because of all the orange, autumn is a golden season.
Gold is also the subject of Pastor Buddy’s sermon this Sunday – more specifically its allure – as part of our series on the life of Christ. To learn how this fits together, you are warmly invited to attend our service at 11am either via Zoom (e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org for a link) or face-to- face at the FTH facilities. If you would like to join us in-person, we do ask that you sign-in when you arrive and wear a mask when finding your seat.
Whichever way you choose to be with us this week, we pray that you remain safe and healthy in this season, and that you may enjoy all that it has to offer. Be blessed!
Update for Wednesday, October 20th
Dear Church family and friends,
With lots of people at Sunday’s service it’s hard to imagine anyone missing Pastor Buddy’s sermon. If you did though, here is a link to the pre-recorded version of it on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcpxLsJ895o
We would love to see just as many attendees at our mid-week Bible Study on Wednesday evening. The meeting starts at 7pm and will take place via Zoom. If you would like to join in, please e-mail Pastor Buddy or office@ibc-giessen.org for an invitation link. We will be continuing our study through Revelation, and will find out what happens when the trumpet sounds for the seventh time (chapter 11).
Have a blessed week and keep safe!
Update for Sunday, October 17th
Dear Church family and friends,
At some point on Friday we were halfway through October; on Saturday, we are halfway through the school children’s autumn break, and if you’re reading this on Saturday evening we’re already halfway through the weekend!
As a Church we are also halfway through something: Pastor Buddy’s exposition on Luke 16: 1-15, which he will continue this Sunday at 11am at IBC Gießen. As ever, you can join us in person at the FTH facilities, or online by e-mailing office@ibc-giessen.org for a link to our Zoom livestream.
Please keep in mind that you will need to bring a FFP2 or medical mask with you if you wish to join us in-person, and that that mask must be worn when moving around the building or joining in with the congregational singing. We would also be grateful if you could sign-in on arrival.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Update for Wednesday, October 13th
Dear Church family and friends,
Oh dear – it seems that there was some foreshadowing going on with last Wednesday’s post!
Those hoping to have joined the livestream on Sunday were unable to do so. This is because the wrong invitation link had been sent out; it was a human error rather than a technological one. We are sorry for the frustration and disappointment this has caused. If you would like to listen to Pastor Buddy’s sermon, you may do so here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYnmVPT2Wcw
For our mid-week Bible Study you will be sent a (correct) Zoom invitation on Wednesday afternoon. The meeting will take place on the same evening at 7pm and will focus on the 11th chapter of Revelation. To participate, please e-mail Pastor Buddy or office@ibc-giessen.org
Once again, we apologise to those who missed out on Sunday’s livestream and hope that you will join us on Wednesday, or again on Sunday.
Have a great week!
Update for Sunday, October 10th
Dear Church family and friends,
Just as the new students arrive for university, the school children have their autumn break – so we’d like to take this opportunity to welcome any new students who have found their way to our Church, as well as wish the school children a safe, fun, Herbstferien. Life seems to be accelerating again, and it can feel like we are reaching the impossible speed that we maintained pre-pandemic: may we all have the chance to have a rest, to re-charge, and to reduce any sense of life being overwhelming, in the upcoming weeks.
This Sunday at IBC Gießen it is more of a case of “a change is as good as a rest“, as we press pause on our Psalms series and turn our attention back to the Life of Christ. Pastor Buddy’s sermon will look at the parable of the unjust servant, which can be found in Luke 16.
Contrary to what has been previously announced, the 3G rules are not applicable to Church services – so everyone can be a part of our congregation! Rules regarding physical distancing and wearing masks whilst walking around the building and singing still apply, but we do ask in addition that you sign in when you arrive, so that we may get in contact should the need arise. Please do not attend if you are showing symptoms or have been told to isolate, instead you can join our livestream via Zoom. For a link, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org
We look forward to seeing you at 11am on Sunday. Have a great weekend and an enjoyable week!
Update for Wednesday, October 6th
Dear Church family and friends,
Recent headlines about the disruption to social media services – as well as our own technical difficulties a couple of weeks ago – serve as a good reminder that we should not have a higher expectation of technology than we do of people. Both have the ability to fail us, both can have periods of unexpected downtime, but both also deserve our patience and respect.
Confident that there is no larger on-going problem with Zoom, we plan on continuing to use it for both our Sunday services and our mid-week Bible Study – the next one of which will be held tomorrow at 7pm. To join our exploration of the Book of Revelation, please e-mail Pastor Buddy or office@ibc-giessen.org for an invite.
In the meantime, here is a pre-recorded version of the message that Johannes A. brought us on Sunday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZzA48yVeqo .
Have a blessed week!
Update for Sunday, October 3rd
Dear Church family and friends,
In Germany, certain Bank Holidays are on fixed days, meaning that sometimes they may occur on a Sunday. As schools are not in session and shops do not open on a Sunday, it might not feel all that different – and so the Bank Holiday either comes across as a surprise or slips by un-noticed. This Sunday is such a Sunday: the Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutsche Einheit) commemorates and reflects upon the time when Germany was divided into West and East, as well as celebrates its reunification on the day on which it happened (3rd October). In Church, we will take a few moments to thank God for this day and pray for the country in which we live, particularly in light of the elections that took place last week.
We have a returning guest speaker with us this week: Johannes A. brought us the Word of God twice during the summer – there are links to all the summer sermons in the post below this one – and will continue our series on the psalms during our service on Sunday, by exploring Psalm 130. If you would like to hear what he has to say, you are more than welcome to join us at 11am at the FTH facilities. You will need to wear an FFP2/medical task when finding your seat, singing and moving around in the building. If you’d rather watch our service remotely, just e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org and we will send you a link!
Whether we see you face-to-face or virtually, we pray that you have a good weekend. See you on Sunday!
Update Friday, October 1st
Dear Church family and friends,
Autumn may have started ‘officially’ last week, but when the calendar switches to October it somehow feels more real. As the season changes, sometimes people like to reflect on what happened in the previous months. So we thought we’d use this opportunity to share with you our “summer playlist” of guest preachers who spoke in July and August – perhaps there are some sermons that you missed or would like to listen to again:
Benjamin P. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEsTyrpMSD4
Andi B.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_J2FolN2-U (4th July 2021) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld_8Ggte0xQ (25th July 2021)
Johannes A. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUNXCn3aduE (11th July 2021) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcMb3ol97Qg (1st August 2021)
Lucas G. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIGvHtcDbJg
Ayo A. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHJbyfcttss
Additionally, on Sunday 29th August 2021 Pastor Buddy made his return to IBC Gießen. To listen to that sermon, please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahp8CwTvuPA
We are so thankful for everyone who comes to our Church and brings us the Word of God! It may be challenging, it might be soul searching, but ultimately it helps us in developing our relationship with the One who made us.
We are already in anticipation as to what we’ll be taught on Sunday!
Older information and online sermons are available here:
Updates from September 2021
Updates from August 2021
Updates from July 2021
Updates from June 2021
Updates from May 2021
Updates from April 2021
Updates from March 2021
Updates from February 2021
Updates from January 2021
Updates from December 2020
Updates from November 2020
Updates from October 2020
Updates from September 2020
Updates from August 2020
Updates from July 2020
Updates from June 2020
Updates from May 2020
Updates from April 2020
Updates from March 2020