Dear Church family and friends,
A little longer than some other sermons we have uploaded – but still certainly worth watching/listening to – we present to you the link for Kennedy’s sermon from Sunday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPSWcMA6b-Y . So in this busy time of readying ourselves for a new season – although autumn doesn’t technically start until the end of September – grab your Bible and listen to what God has put on Kennedy’s heart for us.
While many are returning to routines or sorting the last bits before school life starts again, we are remaining steadfast in our own schedule. Tuesday evening at 7pm there will be YABS, which will take place in their smaller groups again. To find out more, please write to yabs@ibc-giessen.org directly; the following morning, Wednesday, at 7:30am there will be a Prayer Meeting in the FTH facilities.
Have a great week!
Update for Friday, August 25th
Dear Church family and friends,
There’s a common misconception about the word ‘surrender’. The implication is that in surrendering one is weak, and has been forced into surrendering. It might be true that there may be no other option but to surrender – but it is certainly a choice that one makes, and it is not ‘giving up’. It is not defeat, as nobody has lost. Neither is it a hopeless case. One surrenders because there is hope that something better might take its place.
Certainly many teachers and pupils are now surrendering to the fact that the new school year is only a week away. What alternative is there? Ignoring the situation and being completely unprepared come Monday 4th, or doing what needs to be done. The start of term will come either way – it’s a matter of how you approach it.
Why all this talk of surrendering? You may have guessed it: it’s the topic of the sermon this coming Sunday (27th). Kennedy will be looking at what it is to surrender in a Christian’s life, using the story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:1-23) as his basis. You can join us at 11am either online or at the FTH to hear what he has to say. For a link to the livestream, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org.
The day before though, the men will have their monthly breakfast. Starting at 9:30am in the student kitchen, they’ll be eating and meeting together over lots of eggs and other breakfast foods. If you’re a gentleman and would like to be included in the gathering on Saturday 26th, please write to office@ibc-giessen.org to secure your place, and tell us what you’ll be bringing to the feast.
Making the decision to surrender requires a lot of strength, support and prayer – all of which you can get at IBC Giessen this Sunday!
Be blessed!
Update for Monday, August 21st
Dear Church family and friends,
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
When faced with difficult circumstances, the above Bible passage might cause more confusion than comfort. In his sermon on Sunday though, Simon explained how it can strengthen us and reassure us in those dark times. With God, we are ‘Safe until the end’. If you need to hear it again, or even for the first time, we have uploaded his sermon to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlenNMWiHq0.
While we experience difficulties it can be useful to share with others and be with people, rather than shutting ourselves away. At IBC Giessen, there are several ways of doing this throughout this week:
On Tuesday evening at 7pm, for example, the Young Adult Bible Study (YABS) will be having their next ‘Big YABS’ get-together, which involves a pot-luck style dinner, worship and His Word. This is a great opportunity to get to know everyone who goes to YABS as all the groups will be meeting at once in one place, the student kitchen/hang-out area in the FTH. If you would like to join in, then you can e-mail yabs@ibc-giessen.org and tell them.
Food will also be shared among the men on Saturday morning at 9:30am, also in the student kitchen. Here, the guys can chat with one another and enjoy an input. If you are a man and plan being there to help eat what’s served, please write to office@ibc-giessen.org telling us that you would like to attend, as well as what you plan on bringing.
Before or after breakfast on Wednesday morning – depending on when you wake up – there is a Prayer Meeting that takes place in the FTH Prayer Room at 7:30am. An opportunity to commune with others and with God, doing the most important thing: praying. In prayer we can have time with God to talk and listen to Him, as well as support others. He is always listening, but devoting time to prayer can be tricky. Meeting together as a group can be intimidating, yet it can also be a good way of encouraging one another and holding each other accountable in our relationship with God.
Our Mid-Week Meet-Ups on Zoom continue this week at the same time as Mid-Week Bible Study did: 7pm. There might be a Bible Study element, or a short input, but there will definitely be a time of sharing and prayer. The focus is on being together, albeit virtually. Just e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org for the link if you would like to attend.
It is not for us to judge who suffers more than the other, neither should we try to compare hardships with one another. We are called to love one another, and to see the other in the present day – where they are now – and show them that there is someone by their side, and that that person is listening. We are praying for you, no matter what your struggle may be.
Be blessed!
Update for Friday, August 18th
Dear Church family and friends,
On Sunday at 11am we will kick off our end of summer season of guest preachers. Speakers from our Church, as well as one or two who will make a return, will bring us their insights into the Bible while Pastor Buddy takes a break. Simon is the first to step up to the lectern with his sermon entitled “Safe until the end” based on Romans 8:28. To hear what he has to say, please do join us either in person at the FTH, or online via our livestream – just write to office@ibc-giessen.org for a link.
Two weeks until schools are back in session, but there’s one week until the next Men’s Breakfast, with the group having their next meal together on Saturday 26th August at 9:30am in the FTH student kitchen. If you are a man, and food and fellowship piques your interest, then please sign-up at office@ibc-giessen.org, telling us what you will be bringing to the feast.
Keep cool, well-hydrated and safe on this very warm weekend! Be blessed!
Update for Monday, August 14th
Dear Church family and friends,
You go into the supermarket searching for a specific product, to find one in a very similar packaging, but with a different name. When you start to use it, you realise that it is precisely the thing you were looking for – but the company has changed the name, presumably to reflect an improved recipe or refreshed concept. It is ultimately the same thing, but with a different name – and that’s what ‘Mid-Week Meet Ups’ on Wednesdays at 7pm are. It is the same day, time and place as ‘Mid-Week Bible Study’, but it might not strictly always be a Bible Study. The name change indicates that what takes place could be different each week: you might be meeting up to pray together, or someone might share something they’ve recently encountered – and indeed there may be a Bible Study – but nothing as structured as ‘Mid-Week Bible Study’. If you are interested in being part of this week’s Meet Up, just click write to office@ibc-giessen.org for a link. Meetings will be held online only.
Another slight change at IBC Giessen will be the preacher for the remaining summer Sundays. Pastor Buddy is having a well-earned change of scenery, and will be leaving it to several others to bring us the Word of God on Sunday mornings. His last sermon with us can be listened to again on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRfWpwmVVp0.
That’s all there is for schedule changes! Young Adult Bible Study (YABS) continues to meet in various places around Giessen on Tuesday evening at 7pm – your point of contact for that is yabs@ibc-giessen.org – and Wednesday morning Prayer Meeting will remain at 7:30am in the Prayer Room at the FTH. Lastly, and by no means least, there will a breakfast for the men of the Church at 9:30am on Saturday 26th August. For more information on that, or anything else mentioned in this update, feel free to write to office@ibc-giessen.org.
We pray that you have had a great start to the week! Be blessed!
Update for Friday, August 11th
Dear Church family and friends,
We won’t keep you long, but we still wanted to tell you that our Church service will take place at the usual time of 11am on Sunday morning. Our livestream will also be up and running for those unable to make it, just e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org for a link.
Enjoy the return of summer! Be blessed!
Update for Monday, August 7th
Dear Church family and friends,
Whatever the weather would have decided to do yesterday, three people were going to get wet anyway: Pastor Buddy and the two from our congregation getting baptised. It hadn’t rained during our morning service – we were inside anyway, but that’s beside the point (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdKfDtYfG5w) – and during the actual Baptism service in Wißmarer See, the rain also held off. In fact, some brave children even used the opportunity to go swimming after the service, getting out in time for the heavy downpour!
This Wednesday at 7pm, we will dive into the last session of our Mid-Week Bible Study on the book of Philippians. Don’t worry if you’ve missed the rest of it, you are more than welcome to join us on Zoom for what will also be the last Mid-Week Bible Study for a little while. We will of course give you more details on when the next series starts as soon as we get them. As always, you can get a link to the meeting by writing to office@ibc-giessen.org.
Both Young Adults’ Bible Study and Wednesday morning Prayer Meeting remain on course this week at their usual times of Tuesday evenings at 7pm in different locations around Giessen – e-mail yabs@ibc-giessen.org to find out precisely where – and Wednesday at 7:30am respectively.
Making a splash at the end of the week is our next, long-awaited, Worship Night! On Friday night at 7pm, we will be meeting for an extending time of singing and prayer. It will be relaxed in style, with perhaps a small input, rather than a sermon that is usually found in a Church service. If you have questions on this, anything else included in this announcement, or would like to ask about something else related to IBC Giessen, then office@ibc-giessen.org is the address to write to.
Whether you’re treading water or powering through with a solid front-crawl this week, or if you are in need of the still or quiet waters described in Psalm 23, we pray that you can peacefully allow God to take control and be blessed by His perfect timing.
Update for Friday, August 4th
Dear Church family and friends,
In all the excitement surrounding the busy-ness of this week, we seemed to have over-looked that we will also be celebrating the Lord’s Table this Sunday (6th). At IBC Giessen we traditionally break bread and drink from the cup on the first Sunday of the month, but our focus, especially in these announcements, has been on the Baptism Service that takes place in the afternoon on the same day. Only our morning service will be livestreamed – please write to office@ibc-giessen.org for a link – but afternoon service will not. If you are not able to make it to the FTH for 11am, you can gather the elements at home beforehand and take them at the same time we do.
The Baptism service will not take place at the FTH, rather at the Wißmarer See in Wettenberg, where there is a very large lake we can use. We aim to start the service at 2:30pm, but it depends on how quickly we can make the journey from the FTH. If you have been a resident in Gießen for any period of time, it will not surprise you to hear that there are a few roadworks and blocked streets on the most direct route. If you would like some directions of how best to get there, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org. This address may also be used if you wish to attend but have no means of transport.
After the service we would like to continue the celebrations and have a time of fellowship together, so don’t forget to bring some snacks – sweet or savoury – to share.
Neither of these events is more important than the other: they are both asked of us in the Bible as an act of remembrance, re-committal, and outward sign of our faith in the Saviour who died and rose again for us. It is as much a part of our worship as singing and praying together is – and there will be an extended opportunity to do both of those things in our Worship Night this coming Friday (11th) at 7pm.
Don’t forget that tomorrow afternoon the Adonia Juniors will be performing their production of ‘David wird König’ in Burgerhaus Wieseck. Entry is free and be sure to take your seat for 4pm!
Of course, we don’t do all this just because we are told to – if you have heard the Good News, then you would be more than willing to respond in an outpouring of joy, love and praise, too! At the same time, it is always appropriate to remind ourselves of just how life-changing the Gospel is and reflect upon how we live in light of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross. Don’t waste the opportunity – come and join us on Sunday!