Update for Friday, December 23rd
Dear Church family and friends,
The four candles of Advent have been lit – the countdown is over! We will be lighting the fifth candle during our Christmas Eve service on Saturday at 5pm to commemorate the coming of the Light of the World. Traditionally, we then pass that light around the congregation and carry our own candles. This year, however, we have been asked not to use real candles, so we shall have to make some adaptations. The children, as always, will receive glow-sticks to use at the beginning of the service. We ask that the adults either use the torch/flashlight function on their phones, bring an actual torch/flashlight, or perhaps an LED candle, so that we can still light up the room.
As Christmas Day is a Sunday, we will have our regular service at the usual time of 11am. Our celebrations will continue with Christmas songs and hearing His Word.
Both services will be livestreamed – please write to the usual address (office@ibc-giessen.org) to get hold of the links.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas!
Update for Monday, December 19th
Dear Church family and friends,
What with the wonderful performance of the Cantata and exciting Birthday Party for Jesus on Sunday, we are definitely looking forward to Christmas with our services on Christmas Eve (5pm) and Christmas Day (11am)!
After the choir had sung, Pastor Buddy gave a small sermonette on Isaiah 12: 1-6. If you missed it and would like to listen to it, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYxNoRshgyo
The mid-week Bible Study is currently taking a break until the end of January, but YABS will be taking place this week, before pausing for a Christmas break. For more information about what they will be up to and where they are meeting, we suggest you write an e-mail to either yabs@ibc-giessen.org or office@ibc-giessen.org
In this final week of Advent, we are praying that you are not becoming overwhelmed by your preparations – and that you remember the background for the traditions and celebrations that you are getting ready or participating in. Have a blessed week!
Update for Sunday, December 18th
Dear Church family and friends,
With only a few days left until the Christmas holidays, what better way to get your children in the spirit than inviting them to a party – a birthday party, that is! To celebrate the birth of our Saviour, the children will be meeting up during the service and share party food, games and surprises. It will certainly be lots of fun, so make sure your children are suited and booted for 11am!
While the children are partying, the adults will be enjoying the long-awaited for Christmas Cantata performance. The choir have been rehearsing for weeks and would love to see a large audience, so don’t forget to bring a friend! Afterward we will serve tea, coffee and other drinks, and you are invited not only to participate, but bring cookies and snacks to share with everyone.
Both events will take part during our service on Sunday at 11am at the FTH facilities, with the service and Cantata performance being livestreamed for those unable to be there. If you would like to join the livestream, please write an e-mail to office@ibc-giessen.org and we will send you the link.
We wish you a blessed last weekend of Advent!
Update for Wednesday, December 14th
Dear Church family and friends,
Since it might be dangerous to drive due to icy roads tomorrow (Wednesday), our mid-week Bible Study will be online only. Our last meeting of the year will start at the usual time of 7pm, to join-in or ask any questions, please write an e-mail to office@ibc-giessen.org
Keep warm and stay safe – we look forward to seeing you via Zoom tomorrow evening!
Update for Monday, December 12th
Dear Church family and friends,
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – or at least the ones they show in the films! Freezing temperatures and snow covered rooftops; people bundled up warm in thick coats and woolly accessories. “There’s no such thing as the wrong weather, but the wrong clothing”. While such conditions may not depict the weather of the first Christmas, the warmth and comfort of being wrapped up warm against the cold could considered a parallel or metaphor for God’s love for us. In a world so difficult, confusing and sometimes hurtful, God says “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Isaiah 43:5).
Pastor Buddy’s sermon this Sunday delved further into His love, and its relevancy to us this Christmastime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkKa0ZYM3Xw
As it stands, our YABS and mid-week Bible Studies are going ahead. For more information on YABS, please contact yabs@ibc-giessen.org. On Wednesday evening at 7pm, our Bible Study on Psalm 23 continues with an online as well as an in-person meet up – we will let you know should this change to online only. If you already know that you won’t be able to make it to the Israel Room at the FTH on time, you can already get the link to the Zoom meeting by writing to office@ibc-giessen.org
You can keep up-to-date with any changes in our services or Bible Studies by following us on Facebook (search for IBC Giessen), reading our website, or by joining our mailing list. If you would like to do the latter, or if you have any further questions about anything relating to our Church, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org
Stay safe and keep warm this coming week! Be blessed!
Update for Sunday, December 11th
Dear Church family and friends,
Around the Third Sunday Advent Sunday, panic sets in. The last two weeks seem to have flown by and we’re not as completely organised and sorted for Christmas as we wanted. Before we know it, it’ll be the Christmas Eve 5pm service.
Christmas will come, whether we are ‘ready’ or not. After all, it is not about the traditions that we have, but why we have them in the first place: to celebrate the birth of a King, God’s Word became flesh. A promise fulfilled. Take some time away from the presents, baking, decorating and cleaning this Sunday at 11am to re-centre those activities on their purpose – the true reason for the season. Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the FTH facilities, as usual we will be livestreaming the service! Please write an e-mail to office@ibc-giessen.org for a link.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Update for Monday, December 5th
Dear Church family and friends,
Food is a good way to draw people in – for example having cookies at the end of the service – and giving someone something to eat can be an excellent act of service. A couple at our Church will be welcoming their third child very soon and, already having two active boys, we are sure that they would be appreciative of the offer of some cooked meals to save them the hassle of preparing food as the new-born gets settled into the family. If you feel able to provide a hot meal, please write to Priska at office@ibc-giessen.org , who will be able to tell you all that you need to know.
Contrary to what was announced last week, it was Pastor Buddy who preached on hope this Sunday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCGqvDzS9As . Johannes unfortunately was taken ill – and we pray for his swift, complete, recovery.
Lastly, we have our Bible Studies! There’s Young Adults’ Bible Study (YABS) on Tuesday at 7pm. Your contact if you’d like to join in is yabs@ibc-giessen.org.
For our joint mid-week Bible Study on Psalm 23, you can either come along to the Israel Room at the FTH facilities – or online – on Wednesday evening at 7pm. For any further questions and the link to the Zoom meeting, you are more than welcome to write an e-mail to office@ibc-giessen.org
Have a blessed week!
Update for Sunday, December 4th
Dear Church family and friends,
As good as the dictionary is, for some words, a couple of lines of definition really doesn’t cover everything that that word might represent – especially when it comes to emotive or non-palpable terms, which can be experienced in a different way among a variety of different people. Lines can also become blurred between closely linked words, and they then become a matter of interpretation.
One such complicated word is “hope”. We use it easily nowadays – “we hope you join us on Sunday at 11am at the FTH facilities!” – although its concept is so much bigger. In last week’s sermon, Pastor Buddy talked about anticipation; this week Johannes will preach on hope, a central element of faith. Please do join us at the afore-mentioned time, as we delve deeper into hope and its relationship to this Advent season.
We are aware that there are several colds and flus going around, as well as the coronavirus. Therefore, we kindly ask you not to come to our Church service if you are feeling unwell. Instead, you can be part of our online congregation via Zoom. To get the link, or if you have any further questions about our services at all, please write an e-mail to office@ibc-giessen.org
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Older information and online sermons are available in our archive: Update Archive