Well, Sunday was a bit of a shock. I admit I’ve grown skeptical through the years and when the weatherman says, “It’s going to snow,” I think, “Yeah, right.” But right he was this time! While the snow was beautiful it really cut down on our attendance. That’s okay, I saw that many of you were watching on YouTube. Today (Monday) looks and feels pretty good but the weather guy says, “We can expect another 1-2 inches of snow tomorrow.” Things should improve by the weekend so I hope to see you and your family as we gather for worship this coming Lord’s Day. This will be the Sunday before Christmas (I know, I can’t believe it either). We will have a great time Sunday. The choir will be singing a Christmas anthem, I’m interrupting our series on Ruth to share a Christmas message. I hope you will join us.
I also want to remind you that we will be gathering on Christmas Eve at 10:00 PM for our annual Christmas Eve Service. It’s great that in this year of change we get to keep that tradition. We will gather for a time of singing Christmas Carols, special music and Scripture reading. It’s one of my favorite services. Families come after gathering earlier in the day. Kids often come in their pajamas. It is a quiet, informal service with a brief meditation. For our family, it is the perfect beginning of our Christmas celebration. If you cannot come, you can still join us on our YouTube channel.
I also want to remind you to give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. 52% of the IMB’s budget comes through this offering. Your gifts serve 3,600 missionaries ministering to 827 people groups in 167 countries around the world. In 2019 535,325 people heard the gospel message, many of them for the very first time. 47,929 were baptized and Southern Baptist planted 12,368 new churches throughout those 167 countries. I hope that you will prayerfully consider a generous gift to the Lottie Moon Offering. One other housekeeping item. The proposed 2021 budget will be made available on Sunday, December 27. The budget will have an accompanying letter of explanation. We will vote on the proposed budget on Sunday morning, January 3.
I look forward to seeing you and your family as we gather this coming Lord’s Day.
Rod