Good morning church. I hope that you had a great week and are able to get a little rest today. Besides, you will need your energy for tonight at the church Christmas party, especially if you are doing the karaoke. Here is the info from our email we sent out:
THIS SATURDAY-December 5th: 6:30pm-Mark your calendar for our all church Christmas party. We will have an ugly sweater contest and socially distanced karaoke. We will also have a cookie decorating contest, but we are asking that if you would like to enter that you decorate your cookie at home and bring it with you for the contest. Bring your family and an appetizer to share and we will have a great time.
We are also having Christmas parties on the 19th for the children and youth we have been ministering to. Here are the details on that:
December 19th: We will be having Christmas parties for the kids and their families that we minister to on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. There are 3 ways for you to help out this year: adopt an entire family; drop off of a $10 or $20 gift card to Walmart, Target or Aldi or take an angel off the angel tree at the church and purchase the gift that is listed on it. If you would like to adopt a family, please let us know by this Saturday, the 5th, and we will get you set up. All gift cards and gifts need to be brought to the church by Sunday, December 13th. We will distribute them on Saturday, the 19th. Contact robin@communityimpactchurch.com or larry@communityimpactchurch.com for more information.
The other day I was listening to the radio and I heard them mention that it was Giving Tuesday. It was really low key and mentioned in passing. For whatever reason, it struck me as odd. As you know, there is an incredible emphasis on Black Friday sales every year. It takes place the day after Thanksgiving and is supposed to kick off the Christmas shopping season. Although with Covid, they started these promotions just after the 4th of July. And if that isn’t enough, there is also the wonderful event known as Cyber Monday where you get additional deals on-line (since that is where everyone is shopping these days anyway). All of this is like a feeding frenzy of materialism. If you have ever gone to Deanna Rose Farm and fed the fish then you know what I am talking about. The fish go crazy and eating every bit of the food they can get without regard for their fellow fish-kind. It is very similar to when they gave out free food samples at Costco and Sam’s Club. Anyway, the enticement to spend during this time of year is quite evident. Sadly, in some ways it is necessary in order to foster our consumer-led economy. Spend, spend, spend, it’s your patriotic duty and it will also make everyone’s life better and thus fulfill the American Dream. Yeah, whatever. After all of that hoopla, I then hear someone on the radio making it seem like, “oh, by the way, if you have any money or credit left, it is giving Tuesday,” I am confident that he wasn’t trying to communicate it that way, but that is how my warped mind received it.
If you think about it, there are a lot of people that use that as a pattern for their lives. Spend money on whatever you want and then, if there is anything leftover, give that to help someone else. But that is not the pattern you see in Scriptures. By the grace of God, CIC is a different kind of church. We are incredibly blessed as a church. We have people that understand generosity. If there is a need, people step up and meet that need every time. It is nothing short of incredible. Therefore, I really don’t need to write much to instruct you on giving. I do want to thank you for how you have supported the work that God is doing in and through His church. Because of the generosity of the people we continue to seek to be a blessing to those in our community and around the world. It is a beautiful thing. More than that, it is a biblical thing. To God be the glory!
Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. (2 Cor. 9:13)
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. (1 Timothy 6:18)
We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. (1 Thess. 2:8)
May God continue to bless and guide you in all ways!
Larry
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