Dear Church family and friends,
Many things can be described as blessings, and we wish them not only for ourselves but for other people too. In fact we can be a blessing to other people by helping them, being a friendly face or a listening ear. There is, as Pastor Lucas explains in his sermon from Sunday, a hidden definition behind the term; something more than just the deed or occurrence itself. Genesis 12 verses 1 through 20 is the next passage, and the next promise, in our Advent series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WoswK8SifQ
This week in Church…
Praying Moms had their weekly session this morning (Mon 8th) at 9:30am. Next week they will gather online via Zoom on Tuesday evening at 7:30pm.
Young Adults’ Bible Study (YABS) meets on Tuesday evenings at 7pm. More information can be found in the WhatsApp group or by asking Pastor Johannes, Mona or Oliver. Another way you can get in touch is by writing to yabs@ibc-giessen.org.
Worship Service is a busy one this Sunday! We will all meet for our service at 11am at the FTH – which will be livestreamed for those unable to make it – but the younger children are invited to a Birthday Party for Jesus. There will be fun, food, games, and most importantly, the Good News will be presented with the children having the chance to respond.
In previous Church announcements, we have talked about an event for the older children (5th school year and above). Unfortunately the original plan of seeing ‘Die ganze Geschichte’ has been cancelled as tickets for the musical have already sold out! Instead, the children in that age range should go to the Student Kitchen of the FTH after the service for their own festive hangout time with food and fellowship.
For a full list of all upcoming events at IBC Giessen, please take a look at the Church Calendar on our website: https://www.ibc-giessen.org/calendar/. If you require a link to our livestream or any other online activity we have coming up this week, please e-mail office@ibc-giessen.org.
Additionally…
South African Pastor Tiaan Nel, and his wife Jani, will be holding a talk about ‘Families after the Heart of God’ in the Grünberger Stadtmission. It takes places this Thursday (11th) at 6:30pm, but there is a time of fellowship from 5pm. The talk itself will be in English, but it will be translated into German. You will need to register if you wish to attend, and we suggest you do so by writing to gilah@hebrewpeople.com. You may also use the same address for any questions you may have, or ask Gabi M.
One year closes, another begins…
2025 is slowly coming to an end, yet there are still some other things here at IBC Giessen that we’d like to let you know about. For example, you may have noticed that ‘Mid-Week Bible Study’ does not appear in the ‘This week in Church’ section – that’s because it’s taking a break for December and will return at some point in January.
On the fourth Advent Sunday, 21st December, our worship service will be an extended time of Advent and Christmas worship with plenty of carols and festive praise. We invite you to bring friends along to the service itself, and finger food that does not need re-warming for afterwards. If you play an instrument, sing, or would like to contribute anything else to the service, please get in touch as soon as possible.
Christmas Eve (24th December) at 5pm, we will be holding a short service celebrating the birth of Jesus. The children will have a special sermon, and, to close, we will be singing a song about the light that we have and what we should be doing with it. Sadly, we are not allowed to use proper candles in the Chapel Room at the FTH, so to imitate their light we ask you to bring a flashlight or have enough charge on your phone to use its inbuilt torch. You are more than welcome to stay with us at the end of the service to enjoy some food and chat with others! Again, we ask that you bring finger-foods which are ready to be served without being re-heated.
There is no Christmas Day service, so our last service of the year will be held on 28th December at the usual time of 11am.
Looking ahead to January, we would like to remind you of our Business Meeting. This will take place after our service on 25th, and will primarily cover the budget for the coming year.
Have a blessed week!