Christmas Happenings

Christmas Happenings

• Caroling & Chili Supper: Sunday, Dec 11, 4:00 PM

Cook your best pot of chili and meet at the fellowship hall this Sunday at 4:00 PM. Groups will go caroling to senior members of our church, including those who are homebound. Afterwards we will enjoy chili together. As always, a select cohort of culinary judges will award the best chili(s).

•  Kids Christmas Party: Wednesday, Dec 14, 6:30 PM

•  Student Christmas Party: Wednesday, Dec 14, 6:30 PM

•  Legacy Plus Christmas Luncheon, Dec 20, 12:00 PM

Retirees, please join us and bring a friend for a Christmas theme luncheon. All food will be provided: ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potato pie.

• Candlelight Service: Saturday, Dec 24, 5:00 PM

Join us for a casual evening of family-friendly Christmas hymns and Scripture reading. This is a wonderful gospel opportunity for family, friends, and neighbors. The service will be about 45-minutes in length.

•  Christmas Day Gathered Worship: Sunday, Dec 25, 10:30 AM

Plan to gather with the church on the Lord’s Day for a service that will focus on the incarnation of the Lord Jesus. There will be no coffee corner, equipping courses, or nursery.

•  New Years Day Gathered Worship: Sunday, Jan 1, 10:30 AM

Plan to gather with the church on the Lord’s Day for a service that will focus on the glory of the Lord Jesus. This is an ideal way to bring in 2023. There will be no coffee corner, equipping courses, or nursery.

International Missions Offering: Week of Prayer

Each day this week we are praying for International Missions. Through the International Mission Board, our fellowship of churches have sent over 3,650 missionaries serving in 116 countries. They serve in many of Earth's hardest, darkest, least-reached places. As you pray this week, please consider how the Lord is inspiring you to support this work. Sunday, December 18, will be our giving emphasis day.

Members Meeting Update

Praise the Lord for the wonderful members meeting this past Sunday. You heard important updates and made significant decisions. I highlight several here. We received two new members, both recently baptized, Cooper McLean and Addy Butler! The church affirmed new deacons: Doug Lawrence, Clay McLean, Reese Simmons, and Grayson Webb. We also affirmed the proposed 2023 Church Ministry Budget. Praise the Lord!

For His Glory,

Pastor Thomas

International Missions Offering

Church Family,

This Sunday is our annual International Missions Offering (Lottie Moon Christmas Offering). This offering is one way you can personally partner with those serving in the darkest, most unreached corners of the world. Check out these stories to learn how your gifts help spread the gospel among the nations: International Mission Board

CAROLING & CHILI DINNER

Sunday evening at 4:00 PM is a fun evening as a church. We will meet at the church campus at 4:00, divide into groups, and go out caroling to some of our mature and homebound members. Afterward, we will return to the church campus for a chili dinner. THIS YEAR, CHILI IS BEING PROVIDED. PLEASE DO NOT BRING CHILI TO CONTRIBUTE. Just bring yourself, your family, and happy smiles.  

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE

Please mark your calendar and plan to participate in two special Christmas opportunities:

Candlelight Service: December 24, 5 PM. Celebrate as a family as we read Scripture and sing classic Christmas hymns. 45-minutes, casual, family-friendly.

Sunday, December 26: We will hold a church-wide breakfast from 9:15 to 10:10 AM (no equipping courses this day). Gathered Worship will begin at 10:30 AM and feature Christmas music and a sermon titled “The King Born in Bethlehem," based on Micah 5:2-5.

For His Glory,

Pastor Thomas

God the Son Incarnate

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

GOD THE SON INCARNATE

These last two Sundays we have considered the monumental significance of the life of Jesus.  In what is the doctrinal summit of 1 Timothy, Paul pens a 6-line hymn.  Using only 26 words he profoundly summarizes the significance of the incarnation of God the Son: “He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory” (1 Tim. 3:16).  These words are worth our lingering reflection. As we celebrate Christmas this week, I pray we will freshly treasure Jesus the Savior.

CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE

Thursday evening at 5:00 PM we will be the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. You may join us in-person or watch via the live stream.  The family-friendly service will be about 45 minutes long.

UPDATE: A MESSAGE OF HOPE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS

This past Sunday was the second week of our outreach.  Many heard the message of Hope Received! Over 9,000 viewed the promo this past week on social media. The Hope page on the website had 70 additional visits this week – so almost 400 over three weeks. Sunday had 3 first-time guests and several others returned for a second time. Streaming views also remained high again this week. 

If you invited someone to visit or watch the service, this week is the time to follow up with them. Did they watch?  What are their thoughts?  Is Jesus their hope? For any who missed the live events, the Hope page of the website is going to remain active for the next couple of weeks and has the recordings of each of the Sunday services.

INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS OFFERING

It is not too late to participate in the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. We have given just over $3,000 to date.

For His Glory,

Pastor Thomas

Abounding in Thanksgiving

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught abounding in thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6

ABOUNDING IN THANKSGIVING

Of all people in the world, those who are in Christ have the most reasons to abound with thanksgiving. Humility should distinguish us because we appreciate the depth of our sin and depravity. Apart from the grace and mercy of the Lord, we would be without faith, lost, and separated from God. Were it not for the life, death, resurrection, and reign of Jesus, we would have no hope of justification on the great and final day of judgment! Had the Lord not mercifully chosen, called, and granted us pardon based on the atoning work of the Son, we would be hopeless. Yet, grace abounds! So too, may our thanksgiving abound!

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS

Please begin praying for a gospel outreach we will be making as a church family in the upcoming weeks. Our elders and Engage Griffin mission team have designed a way for every Crestview member to spread the gospel to our friends, family, and "ones" during December. This strategy will have several synergistic prongs of involvement:

• Gathered worship December 13 & 20. These two services are the focal point. They will feature the proclamation of the gospel from 1 Timothy 3:16 with two sermons, “Hope Revealed” and “Hope Received”. These are Sundays for every member to make a special effort to bring non-believing friends and family to these in-person services. These will be excellent times to invite your "one" to join us.

• Live-streaming on December 13 & 20. For those unable to attend in person due to COVID, we will feature the opportunity for those outside our church to watch these services from home. If your "one" lives in another location, you can invite them to watch and then follow up with them afterwards.

• Website: We will soon drop a new feature onto the Crestview website called: A Message of Hope for our Neighbors. On this page will feature several short videos explaining the gospel and highlight how to watch the Sunday services.

• Social media: In December we will promote on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We encourage everyone to share and re-post these messages to your friends on social media. The wide reach of our church family in this way is exponential.

• Invitation packets: We will be preparing invitation packets for you to deliver to your friends and neighbors inviting them to attend in person or watch from home. On Saturday, December 5, at 11 AM you are invited to pray together and then go out distributing invitations around our church campus. On Sunday, December 6 invitation packets will be available for all members to take to deliver to neighbors, coworkers, and friends.

We can leverage our digital tools to make initial contact and share the gospel through screens across our community and world. While we know this is not a substitute for the assembling of the church, we hope this is a way we can reach those who would otherwise not attend one of these gatherings. Please begin praying for this outreach and look for ways to personally take advantage of this to share the gospel with others.

For His Glory,

Pastor Thomas