Update for Wednesday, April 27th
Dear Church family and friends,
We’ve been talking about Women’s and Men’s Bible Study for a number of weeks now and today we can finally give you a confirmed start date: Wednesday 11th May. To take part or find out more information, please e-mail Pastor Buddy or office@ibc-giessen.org
Until then, our all-inclusive Bible Study on the book of Revelation will come to a conclusion over Zoom on Wednesday evening at 7pm. To get involved – even if it’s for the first time – please contact the same people mentioned above.
Be blessed!
Update for Sunday, April 24th
Dear Church family and friends,
All egged out? Well, you don’t need to have eggs to celebrate Easter. In a sense, we celebrate Easter every Sunday as He has remains alive and walks with us! Quite how He is with us is something we will reflect upon at the beginning of June, on Pentecost.
This Sunday we will return to our sermon series on the book of Luke. To find out where we are in Jesus’ life, you can listen to the service via our livestream – a link to which you can get by e-mailing office@ibc-giessen.org – or by turning up to the FTH facilities on Sunday at 11am.
We look forward to seeing you refreshed and recovered on Sunday morning. Be blessed!
Update for Wednesday, April 20th
Dear Church family and friends,
While we had a brilliant time celebrating Easter this weekend, we are aware that the link to the livestream wasn’t sent out. We are so sorry to those who were waiting for that e-mail to come through – the mistake was not intentional at all. To at least be able to listen to Pastor Buddy’s sermon, please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=496CB4sDin4
After last week’s pause, our mid-week Bible Study through the book of Revelation resumes tomorrow evening. The Zoom meeting will take place at 7pm – so you will need to e-mail either Pastor Buddy or office@ibc-giessen.org for a link – and we will be trying to wrap things up in order for the Men’s and Women’s Bible Studies to start as soon as possible. Even in these concluding stages of the present study, newcomers are welcome to read God’s Word with us and join us in prayer!
For those currently on Easter break, we hope that you have the chance to enjoy the weather and re-charge your batteries. If that does not apply to you, we pray that you can find some time this week to wind down, get out in the sun and fresh air and re-energise. We wish you a blessed week!
He is Risen! He is Risen indeed – Hallelujah! Let’s celebrate Christ’s conquering of death together at 11am with a Resurrection Sunday service and Easter Egg Hunt!
Update for Easter Sunday, April 17th
Dear Church family and friends,
Jesus’ death on Good Friday brings about silence and waiting. We wait in hopeful expectation that God doesn’t stay silent for long, and secure in the knowledge that His Son has beaten death. Those wishing to listen to Pastor Buddy’s Maundy Thursday sermon during their wait for Easter Sunday may do so here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQkuctAHyoI
Easter Sunday will come – and we will celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour together, at 11am at the FTH facilities. If you cannot attend our service, for whatever reason, you can still worship with us via our livestream. For a link, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org
We will not be having an Easter breakfast beforehand, but there will be an Easter Egg Hunt for the children afterward. So that they have something to search for, we would gladly welcome any donations of wrapped Easter sweets or chocolates which we can hide. If you would like to help set-up the hunt, or put anything toward the goodies pile, please get in touch with Philipp S.
He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
Update for Maundy Thursday, April 14th
At our Maundy Thursday service this evening (7pm at the FTH facilities or online) we will be celebrating the Lord’s Table together. We are looking forward to seeing you later!
Update for Maundy Thursday, April 14th
Dear Church family and friends,
Spring brings change – and this Easter sees some familiar events make their return!
As previously mentioned, there will be no mid-week Bible Study this week, as we will be having an evening service to mark Maundy Thursday instead. The service will take place at 7pm at the FTH facilities as well as being livestreamed. Together we will commemorate Christ’s death for us by sharing the Lord’s Table with one another. If you are taking part online, you may wish to get some bread and juice ready. For a link to the service, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org
In the meantime you may wish to listen to the sermon that Pastor Buddy gave on Palm Sunday. You can find that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxYiXFAvAu0
On Easter Sunday we will be holding a Resurrection Sunday service at the usual time of 11am. While there will not be an Easter Breakfast beforehand, there will be an Easter Egg Hunt for the children after the service. We would love it if people could bring some individually wrapped Easter goodies for the children to find!
We look forward to seeing you over this Easter period and celebrating what this season truly means. Be blessed!
Update for Sunday, April 10th
Dear Church family and friends,
If the last week of Advent is a gradual crescendo until the big hallelujah of Christmas Day, then the last week of Lent is less gentle: it starts with a fanfare for the arrival of King Jesus, before going through several key and speed changes before a percussive clap of thunder on Good Friday, and then a unison pause through the Saturday. Easter Sunday, however, starts in a major key, at an agreeable volume and pace.
Another metaphor we could use to describe Passion Week is that of a rollercoaster. How many twists and turns, and quite how fast the train travels can all be heard in Pastor Buddy’s sermon this coming Sunday. You can join the ride by coming to our service at the FTH facilities at 11am, or by joining our livestream (e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org for a link).
For further reflection in this week leading up to Easter, we have organised a series of readings that follow the events of Jesus’ last week of life. They can be found on our website, as well as on our Facebook page.
We look forward to seeing you this Sunday and celebrating this Easter season with you throughout the week!
Update for Wednesday, April 6th
Dear Church family and friends,
As Easter approaches there will be different events happening as well as some things being cancelled. Before we get into that, though, let’s go back in time to the Sunday just gone and re-visit the sermon given by Pastor Buddy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Ln983vcB8
This evening’s mid-week Bible Study will take place at the usual time of 7pm on Zoom. Next week, however, there will be no mid-week Bible Study due to the Maundy Thursday service held to commemorate Christ’s death. The Bible Study will then reconvene the week after (27th) for its last session before the Women’s and Men’s Bible Studies start. If you would like to participate in this week’s virtual get-together, please e-mail Pastor Buddy or office@ibc-giessen.org for an invitation link.
Starting this Sunday, we will be posting a daily reading to guide us through the Holy Week, in order to help us focus on the true meaning of this Easter season. On Easter Sunday itself we will not be having an Easter breakfast, but there will be an Easter Egg Hunt for the children after the service – but without eggs there will be nothing for them to search for! Any donations of individually wrapped Easter goodies will be gratefully received by the hunt’s organiser, Philipp S.
We hope you are having a blessed week, and that you are looking that all is to come at Easter and beyond!
Update for Sunday, April 3rd
Dear Church family and friends,
Pastor Buddy is back in action this Sunday! He will be bringing to us his thoughts on the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, which can be read in the book of Luke chapter 18, verses 9-14.
We will be having a livestream of our service via Zoom in case you are unable to join us. For an invite link, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org
Otherwise, our Church service will take place as usual at 11am at the FTH facilities. While the physical distancing and mask wearing rules may have been relaxed, we do ask that you bear in mind that there may be some who wish for a little extra room and continue to wear their mask – please show respect and consideration for others should this be the case.
Even with the easing of restrictions, we are aware that there are still those struggling. If that is you, don’t be afraid or ashamed to reach out and ask for help. If you feel that someone could do with some support, or just a friendly face, don’t hesitate: be courageous and get in touch.
Look after one another and stay safe this week!
Dear Church family and friends,
Unfortunately Pastor Buddy and his wife, Kathy, have come down with a stomach virus. This means that this evening’s Bible Study is cancelled as neither is well enough to lead it.
We wish them both a speedy recovery and will continue to hold them in our prayers.
If you had intended on being part of the Bible Study this evening, we hope that you can make alternative plans, and we look forward to seeing you next week instead.
Have a blessed Wednesday!