Update for Monday, February 27th
Dear Church family and friends,
Just before we ‘March’ into a new month, there’s one last YABS meeting for February happening tomorrow (Tues 28th) at 7pm. To find out what’s happening and where, please e-mail yabs@ibc-giessen.org.
As for our mid-week Bible Study, that will take place as usual on Wednesday (1st March) at 7pm. The format of this Bible Study has changed to online only at least until the end of the current topic. You can get a link to the Zoom meeting by writing to office@ibc-giessen.org, and then you can turn your Bibles to Philippians in preparation. To get into the Philippians mood, why not give Johannes’ sermon on chapter 2, verses 9 to 11 a listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaLKEn23Rlo . It’s a not a pre-requisite, but might help to cover some ideas already looked at in case Wednesday evening is your first time of joining.
The prayer meeting at 8am on the same day will, however, meet in person only in the Prayer Room at the FTH facilities.
As Easter occurs toward the beginning of April we are already getting ahead with our preparations. Simone is looking to put together a choir that will perform during our services to mark the occasion. Here’s what she has to say:
„Dear congregation, four people have announced their willingness and ability to sing on Easter [9th April] (and Maundy Thursday [6th April, evening service at 7pm]). =) =) =)
That makes for a quartet, but we would like to have a choir! So we hope for people to join us… If you are able and willing, please contact Simone at simone.mueller@bot2.bio.uni-giessen.de as soon as possible! Practice sessions will start next Sunday [5th March] after the service.”
We hope that you will forgive us for the pun at the beginning of this update, but also that it brought a smile to your face. February might be a short month, but it can feel as though it drags with its dark evenings and grey weather – we are all looking forward to lighter and sunnier times! Have a blessed week!
Update for Friday, February 24th
Dear Church family and friends,
There are just a couple of things that we need to remind you of for this weekend:
Firstly, if you are a man you are more than welcome to come along to our Men’s Breakfast tomorrow (Saturday 25th) at 9:30am in the student kitchen of the FTH facilities. We will come together, cook and eat, and listen to a short devotional. Bring your self, an appetite, a Bible and some breakfast foods. So that we can have an idea of who will be there, could you please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org if you plan on coming?
11am on the following day – Sunday 26th – we will have our usual service at the FTH facilities and streamed online, where Johannes will be bringing God’s word to us. You can get a link to our livestream by writing to office@ibc-giessen.org.
As part of our spring cleaning efforts in Church, we would like to update and refresh the Church Directory. If you have recently moved, or your contact details have changed we’d be very grateful if you could let us know as soon as possible. Maybe you have only recently started to visit our Church and have not yet been placed on the Church Directory – this is your chance! Your information will be held by us only and not forwarded on without your permission beforehand. Just e-mail directory@ibc-giessen.org or get in touch with Philipp.
Have a great weekend!
Update for Monday, February 20th
Dear Church family and friends,
You can smell it in the air and just about feel it in the milder temperatures – spring is coming!
In the spirit of change and new beginnings that come with the change in season, we are happy to introduce a new chance to meet together during the week. For the early birds out there, Wednesdays at 8am in the prayer room at the FTH facilities will be the place to be for meeting and praying together as a Church. This is in addition to the evening Bible Study, which will again take place via Zoom only at 7pm on the same day. For a link to the evening Bible Study, or more information on the Morning Prayer group, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org
Of course, YABS (Young Adults’ Bible Study) will be taking place on Tuesday evening at 7pm. yabs@ibc-giessen.org is your go-to e-mail address to find out where they are meeting and what they will be up to.
On Saturday (25th) the men will be meeting for breakfast in the student kitchen at 9:30am. So, if you are a man and interested in coming, please write to office@ibc-giessen.org and tell us what you plan on bringing with you.
For those who may have missed the sermon on Sunday, or would like to listen again, here is your opportunity to do so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjsgaHg4cx8 . You can find a wide variety of different sermons on this YouTube channel, starting with those recorded at the very beginning of the pandemic – so you have plenty to choose from if you wish to catch-up with them.
With the first signs of spring, we naturally turn our attention to Easter. Those interested in singing in the Easter choir are reminded to get in touch with either Pastor Buddy, Simone, or write to office@ibc-giessen.org : rehearsals will be starting soon!
Have a blessed week!
Update for Sunday, February 19th
Dear Church family and friends,
Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Pancake Day, Faschingsdienstag – however your culture names it, they are all the same day: the day before Lent. More often than not, this day is marked by over-indulgence before the forty days in which enjoying certain things is no longer allowed. Maybe this is where the world gets its view of a strict and authoritarian God from; whereas we know that that is far from the truth. God gives us the privilege of choice: give something up for Lent or not, it does not mean that God loves us any more or any less. It is our relationship to Him that counts more. A relationship only made possible because the Saviour, whose birth we celebrated at Christmas, chose to follow His Father’s calling and carry His cross and our sin, to die that we might live in communion with Him.
We also have the privilege of prayer – talking directly to and with God. In fact, there will be another opportunity to pray as part of our Church family with a new early-morning Prayer meeting starting this Wednesday (22nd) at 8am in the FTH.
Before we get to Wednesday, though, we have the joy of meeting together on Sunday. This week, we will be dedicating a baby during our service, affirming the parents and our commitment to this new child of God – that we will lift them up in prayer, help them and encourage them in their faith. To show your support, please join us at 11am on Sunday morning in the chapel of the FTH or online via a Zoom link which can be obtained by e-mailing office@ibc-giessen.org.
Our lives are full of blessings, big and small, and we have every reason to be thankful for everything that is given to us freely by God. Choose to recognise the everyday blessings this week – and choose to be appreciative that we have so much choice!
Update for Monday, February 13th
Dear Church family and friends,
Pastor Buddy re-visited the concept of time in his sermon on Sunday (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24u0zMt5pKo) – but not in the sense of it being a measurement, rather an occurrence or moment. Think Mordecai’s “such a time as this” question to Queen Esther in Esther 4:14.
It is now ‘the time’ to start announcing our plans for Easter! We will be having our Maundy Thursday service at 7pm on the 6th April. Here, we will commemorate the life of Christ and remember the ultimate sacrifice that He made for us and our relationship with God: the taking of our sin with Him to His death on the cross.
Easter Sunday (9th April) sees the return of our Easter breakfast together as a Church family. This is for everyone, and we invite you to bring a dish to share. A Resurrection Sunday service will take place at the usual time of 11am, after the breakfast, with a performance by the Easter choir. Would you be interesting in singing with them? If so, please contact Pastor Buddy, Simone, or office @ibc-giessen.org and they’ll provide you with more information.
Has the mention of breakfast rung any alarm bells for any men reading this text? Good! You can look forward to your next morning gathering at the FTH student kitchen on Saturday 25th February.
On the menu this week at IBC Giessen are our small groups. YABS (Young Adults’ Bible Study) takes place on Tuesday evening, with a few different groups meeting in separate locations. To find out which group would suit you the best and where those meet-ups are, please e-mail yabs@ibc-giessen.org.
For a link to this week’s online only mid-week Bible Study on Philippians, you will need to write to office@ibc-giessen.org. This virtual get together will be on Wednesday at 7pm.
Lastly, our friends at the FEG in Talstrasse – around the corner from the FTH – will be holding a weekend of Bible Days based on the book of Romans this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday (17th-19th). All events are in German only, as is the website you can look at for more information: https://www.feg-giessen.de/angebot/bibeltage/
Have a blessed week!
Update for Sunday, February 12th
Dear Church family and friends,
Do you know what we haven’t had for a little while? A Worship Night. If you have time tomorrow (Saturday 11th) at 6pm, and are feeling spontaneous, you can join Johannes and a few others for a relaxed evening of singing and prayer in the chapel at the FTH. In case that’s a little too short notice for you, our next Worship Night will take place in a month’s time on Friday 10th March.
On Sunday at 11am, Pastor Buddy will continue his series on the life of Jesus, picking up in John 11. We will be livestreaming the service as usual – e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org for a link – but those attending at the FTH are more than welcome to join us after the service for a time of fellowship in memory of a member of our Church family. Pizza and drinks will be provided – please do bring along some desserts and other snacks!
While we keep Pastor Buddy’s continued good recovery in our prayers, we do also acknowledge that there are others among us who are also unwell or facing difficulties. In particular we ask you to pray for a lady in our congregation who tested positive with coronavirus while still pregnant. Both mother and baby are still fighting the illness – we pray that God provides them the victory.
Regardless of whether the pandemic is over or not it is our duty to look after, help, and ultimately love one another. It’s never too late to start, and God always honours our efforts.
Update for Tuesday, February 7th
Dear Church family and friends,
We seem to have pressed “post” too soon on yesterday’s announcement:
Tomorrow’s Bible Study will be online only, not hybrid had been said initially. So, everyone will need a link! To get involved, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org.
We look forward to seeing you at 7pm – albeit on a computer screen – tomorrow!
Update for Monday, February 6th
Dear Church family and friends,
After Pastor Buddy’s sermon on Acts 2:42 and the connections he made to his recent time in hospital (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vWXVMPaLCY) as well as the successful Business Meeting, it is hard not to feel uplifted and encouraged in this new week. The return to good health of our Pastor and the overwhelming agreement regarding last year’s and this year’s budget – we know that God is for us and not against us!
On Tuesday, there will be two things happening at roughly the same time. YABS will be meeting at their usual time of 7pm and continuing their programme. To find out what that is and where it takes place, please e-mail yabs@ibc-giessen.org.
At the Baptistengemeinde, Marburgerstrasse (EFG), doors will be opening at 7pm for a 7:30pm start for a talk on LGBTQ and the gospel given by Prof. Dr. Christoph Raedel. This will be held in German only – for more information, please get in contact with office@ibc-giessen.org.
In Wednesday’s Bible Study we will be searching for the unusual in the book of Philippians. This is a joint Bible Study, taking place both online and at the FTH at 7pm. So grab your Bibles and join us as we dive into God’s Word! To join in via Zoom, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org for a link.
Looking forward to next Sunday, we will be having fellowship after the service. Further details will be given in Friday’s update, but get thinking about some desserts or snacks that you could bring along to share!
Have a brilliant, blessed, week!
Update for Sunday, February 5th
Dear Church family and friends,
Finally February and the last announcement for the Business Meeting this Sunday!
As you may be aware of by now, we are meeting after the service to take a slightly more detailed look at the finances and the proposed budget for this coming year. For members, there will be an opportunity to vote on this topic – but all are welcome to come and listen to what is said. It is part of our Church’s constitution to hold such a meeting once a year. Our livestream this Sunday will remain broadcasting after the service is over to accommodate anyone not able to come to the FTH, but still looking to attend the meeting.
The service itself starts at 11am; with Communion being celebrated as it is the first Sunday of the month. If you are joining us via the livestream, then it might be good to prepare some bread and juice to take along with us. For a link, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org. We are also looking forward to welcoming our Pastor back to Church this week, after his recent health issues. As he is still on the mend we need to keep him and his family in our prayers, but we are thankful for the recovery he has made so far and that he feels well enough to deliver a sermon during our service.
It will be a busy Sunday, but a good one – we look forward to seeing you either at the FTH or online!