ay, May 29th
Dear Church family and friends,
Before we bring you back to reality with a crash by reminding you of what will be going on at IBC Giessen this week, you can catch-up on Pastor Buddy’s sermon from Sunday here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEyAnHEA6kc.
First up, there’s Young Adults’ Bible Study (YABS) tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at 7pm. They will be meeting in smaller groups in a variety of different places around Giessen – you can find out precisely where by writing an e-mail to yabs@ibc-giessen.org
On Wednesday morning at 7:30am, our Morning Prayer group continues to convene in the Prayer Room at the FTH. Here, you can get away from the computer screen and any other pressing demands and focus entirely on your conversation with God. Perhaps when you pray you don’t really know what to say or cannot quite articulate it in the way you’d wish – while God understands those prayers anyway, there is comfort in knowing that others have the same or similar issues on their minds as you.
In the evening, at 7pm our Mid-Week Bible Study will continue online. Their study of Philippians has now reached the final chapter of the book – but that doesn’t mean that it’s too late to join! All you need to do is e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org for a link and grab your Bible!
Don’t be too sad that the long weekend is already over – the next one will be here before you know it! Have a blessed week!
Update for Friday, May 26th
Dear Church family and friends,
What better way to start a long weekend than with a large breakfast with friends? That’s precisely what the men will be doing on Saturday morning at 9:30am in the Student Kitchen. Gentlemen, do tell us if you are coming and what you are bringing with you by writing to the following e-mail address: office@ibc-giessen.org
Daniel’s sermon from Sunday is available to listen to again – or for the first time, in case you missed it – by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GONiPPG5hyw
This Sunday, of course, is Pentecost. We will have a service at our usual time of 11am at the FTH – or via our livestream, which you can watch by writing to office@ibc-giessen.org for a link. On Pentecost we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to guide us, encourage us and strengthen us. As believers, it is what we all have in common. We may have differing views on a variety of topics relating to the Church – but we all have the Holy Spirit within us and around us.
During this last weekend of May we hope that you have time to reflect on that thought, perhaps asking yourself what Pentecost means for you and your walk of faith. Be blessed!
Update for Monday, May 22nd
Dear Church family and friends,
Your eyes do not deceive you, there is no link to a playback of Sunday’s sermon in this update – but there will be a Bible Study on Wednesday at 7pm this week!
Tomorrow (Tuesday) evenings Young Adults’ Bible Study will be taking place at the usual time of 7pm, scattered around different parts of Giessen. To find out who meets where, please e-mail yabs@ibc-giessen.org.
office@ibc-giessen.org is your address should you have any questions about the Wednesday morning Prayer Meeting at 7:30am, need a link to Wednesday evening’s Bible Study; or, if you are a man looking to get involved with Men’s Breakfast on Saturday (27th) at 9:30am, it’s your place to register and tell us what you’ll be bringing to meal to share with others.
We look forward to seeing you throughout the week! Be blessed!
Update for Friday, May 19th
Dear Church family and friends,
In our last update, we touched on Ascension Day, when Jesus returned to His Father in Heaven. This event starts another, much shorter, season of waiting. In ten days we will celebrate Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was sent to remain with and in us. Understood to be the birth of the Church, Pentecost brought people together in fellowship with one another and with God through the Spirit – the central concept of Church lived out in its creation.
That, however, is next Sunday. This Sunday at 11am, Daniel will be bringing us the Word of God, and we will meet together to listen, pray and worship. We look forward to seeing you at the FTH, or online! Please write to office@ibc-giessen.org if you would like a link to our livestream.
Should you have lost your way in your calendar because of the Bank Holidays, we would like to remind the gentlemen reading that next Saturday (27th) is the fourth Saturday in May, therefore a Men’s Breakfast will take place. Don’t forget to sign-up by writing to office@ibc-giessen.org.
After the success of the Ladies’ Kaffeetrinken, there will be another opportunity for the women to meet up next month – this time to do something crafty. We will give more information in the weeks to come, but for now jot down 17th June in your diaries!
Have a blessed weekend!
Update for Monday, May 15th
Dear Church family and friends,
Fathers’ Day isn’t very far behind Mothers’ Day this year – in fact it’s this Thursday (in Germany)! It also happens to be 40 days after Easter, so it is also Ascension Day – Christi Himmelfahrt – when Jesus returned to His Father in Heaven. Perhaps there is a link there…
With Thursday being a Bank Holiday, many like to add Friday as a day off and use the long weekend as an opportunity to travel and visit friends and family. This week there will be no Mid-Week Bible Study to allow for this.
Tomorrow’s (Tuesday) YABS will still be going ahead, as will Wednesday morning’s 7:30am Prayer Meeting at the FTH. To find out what YABS is up to and where, please e-mail yabs@ibc-giessen.org; for more information on Wednesday morning Prayer Meeting, you can write to office@ibc-giessen.org .
The long weekend might give you the chance to catch up with some things that you had missed or would like to re-new in your mind – one example could be Pastor Buddy’s sermon from Sunday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwv8DcKvUdk .
Whatever it is that you have planned this upcoming week and weekend, we pray that those plans come to fruition and that they are a blessing to you. Have a great week!
Update for Friday, May 12th
Dear Church family and friends,
“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2 Timothy 1: 5
Mother’s Day isn’t a Bank Holiday, but it is a day which is marked in lots of different ways. For some, it might be difficult, so they try to ignore it as best as possible. For others, it’s a time to be thankful for the love and lessons that our mothers have shown and taught us.
Pastor Buddy’s sermon on the above text will not be the only way IBC Giessen will mark the occasion, as the children of the Church will be giving out flowers to the mothers in the congregation too. Additionally, Sunday’s service will also include a Baby Dedication and a Welcome for a new family – so there will be a lot going on from 11am at the FTH facilities! If you can’t make it though, no worries, you can write to office@ibc-giessen.org and you will be sent a link to the livestream.
As part of our prayer time, we will be lifting up the work of the Pro-Life-Group Giessen-Marburg. They will be giving out roses with an encouraging, uplifting message on Seltersweg. If you wish to participate, their meeting point is the drei Schwätzer statues at the top of Plockstrasse at 3pm. For more information on this, please write to office@ibc-giessen.org
We hope that you have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Update for Monday, May 8th
Dear Church family and friends,
Our new livestream set-up on Sunday has improved the picture and audio quality no end. True, there are some smaller issues that need solving – but there was a noticeable difference in quality all round. To see for yourself, this is the link to Pastor Buddy’s sermon taken from our livestream recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0l08afs49o.
The sun has set on Monday, which means that it’s nearly Tuesday and time for Young Adults’ Bible Study at 7pm. They will be meeting in their usual way tomorrow, in different groups dotted around Giessen. To find out who meets where, please write to yabs@ibc-giessen.org.
Should you feel that you do not fall under the category of ‘young adult’, but do get up early and would like some company while you pray, then our Wednesday morning Prayer Meeting is for you. It starts at 7:30am and takes place in the Prayer Room of the FTH.
Our Mid-Week Bible Study is open for all to study the Word together from the comfort of their own homes via Zoom. If you’d like to join in, e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org for a link, and be ready for 7pm!
Last, but by no means least, we have a Worship Night this week! There has been another change in start time – it will now start at 7pm – but the rest of the information remains the same: Friday evening in the Chapel Room where we meet on Sunday morning. We’d love to see you there!
office@ibc-giessen.org remains the e-mail address you need for any questions about Church life at IBC, so don’t be afraid to contact us should you need to.
We pray that you have a wonderful week!
Update for Friday, May 5th
Dear Church family and friends,
If the weather remains nice and sunny as it has been for the last couple of days, perhaps the ladies might like to take their coffee and cake outside, directly in front of the student kitchen tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 6th May). That, of course, is for them to decide. Any women wishing to know what choice they make should be turn up with something tasty at 3pm.
The following day, on Sunday, we will have our regular service at 11am. As it is the first Sunday of the month we will also be celebrating Communion, so those joining via our livestream may wish to prepare the elements for themselves in advance. For a link, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org.
We hope that you have had a chance to enjoy the warmer temperatures this week and that you have had a chance to enjoy all that God has created and made new in this definite change of season!
Update for Monday, May 1st
Dear Church family and friends,
Well, that Bank Holiday went by quickly – it makes us look forward to the next one even more. Days off are not the only things coming up this May, though:
At the end of this week, all the ladies are invited to enjoy coffee, tea, desserts and cake together in the Student Kitchen. This ‘Kaffeetrinken’ will take place on Saturday 6th May at 3pm. It will take a similar format to the Christmas Brunch – with Sarah K sharing an input – but with a more spring-time feel.
Our next Worship Night is coming up too, on Friday 12th May at 6:30pm – a change in the previously announced time. It will be an evening of well-known and newer songs, something for everybody!
Of course, our Young Adults’ Bible Study (YABS), Wednesday Morning Prayer Meeting and Mid-Week Bible Study will be taking place during the week. YABS meets on Tuesday at 7pm, for information on where please write to yabs@ibc-giessen.org. The Wednesday Morning Prayer Meeting’s start time has changed to 7:30am, but the place remains the same, in the Prayer Room at the FTH. Our Mid-Week Bible Study takes place on Wednesday at 7pm via Zoom only. For a link to the meeting, or if you have any questions about either of these events, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org.
In the meantime, you can catch Pastor Buddy’s sermon from last Sunday here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWvy2b8S2ss
Have a blessed rest of the week!