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Soli Deo Gloria

First, a word of thanks to LowCountry Community Church. You see the vision, catch the dream, and play your part. You invited your friends, family members, and co-workers. You brought your classmates and your neighbors. And they showed up! Our Christmas Eve services were some of the largest we've ever experienced in our church's history! One-thousand, seven-hundred and seventy-four worshippers came to proclaim glory to the newborn King over two days.

Which leads me to my most heartfelt word of thanks. Thanks be to God who brought men, women, boys, and girls into His kingdom over those same two days.  We know of at least 63 people who made decisions to follow Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour! God's Spirit worked in their hearts and they have been brought from darkness into the Light ... from everlasting death to everlasting life! This is why we do what we do! And it never grows old!

So...
- if you directed cars in the parking lots
- if you cradled a child 
- if you held a door or shook a hand
- if you poured a cup of coffee
- if you tweaked a sound-board
- if you tuned an instrument
- if you raised your voice in song
- if you cleaned a room
- if you pointed a camera
- if you prayed
- if you cleaned up candle wax
- if you checked in volunteers
- if you translated from English into Spanish
- if you invited a friend, neighbor, co-worker, schoolmate, or family member...

You were a part of God's great plan!

Soli Deo Gloria.

The Christmas Story

A Letter From Pastor Jeff to LCC

Hello, everyone. As we speed head-long into the Christmas weekend, I wanted to remind you of a  few exciting events awaiting us...

#1 - But first, how has the truth about Jesus' first coming affected your life this week?  "He (Jesus) didn't just come for a visit. He brought his toothbrush, and his razor, and his pajamas. He came to stay!" (Lewis Smedes). "Every man finds in Jesus exactly what he most needs. That is the essence of His Christmas story; and that is the essence of the everlasting gospel." (FW Boreham). Jesus, born of a virgin, took on our humanity. God came all the way downstairs, to where Jesus died - at the cross. No more 'Upstairs, Downstairs' any longer!

#2 - Christmas Eve Candlelight services are going to be incredible! These services are among the most favorite things we do all year. It's a wonderful way to end the year together as a church family and to celebrate the Reason for the season in worship.

                                                                    Friday, Dec. 23: 6 p.m. 
                                                            Saturday, Dec. 24: 4, & 6 p.m.

#3 - And because we place such a high value on our Christmas Eve services at LCC, we will not be holding our regular Sunday services on December 25th. This allows our staff and volunteers a weekend off after working through an intense week of Christmas services. Enjoy your Sunday worshiping the newborn King with family and friends, or perhaps visit another local church.

#4 - The following was on Jonathon Herron's blog ...Top Five Times People are Open to Considering Matters of Faith:
          #5 - After the birth of a baby (28%)
          #4 - After a natural disaster (34%)
          #3 - After a major national crisis (38%)
          #2 - During the Easter season (38%)
          #1 - During the Christmas season (47%)

LCCers, I am praying that every one of us will invite someone to one of our three Christmas Eve services. God is already working in their hearts; let's partner with Him on reaching those without Jesus!  Research indicates time and again that the number one way a person will receive information about a church is through the personal invitation from a friend. Let's go all out!!

#5 - We will begin a new series on Sunday, January 8th called, "Lose the Weight." I can't wait to share it with you!

#6 - In need of a last minute stocking stuffer? My book on the Beatitudes, Happily Ever After, is a great idea! They are available through the Church Office , the Cafe', or the Info Window for only $10. You can also order on-line here and have the book shipped anywhere you would like. All proceeds go toward training Christian leaders around the world. Thanks for your support!

#7 - I hope to see you this weekend with someone you have invited. It's going to be another great time of worship at LowCountry!!

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

My dear friends at Longton Community Church in England created this video for part of their recent Carols service. Enjoy!


'Stille Nacht' and the Rest of the Story

He was an illegitimate child--his mother's third. A child who might have been a casualty of abortion in today's world, grew up to have a name that will forever be associated with the Christmas season.

Students of history remember that in 1792, King Louis XVI of France went on trial for treason before the Revolutionary Convention that had replaced the French National Assembly. His head would roll the following January. But on this day, December 11, 1792, a few days before Christmas--the same day, in fact, that the French king faced his cruel judges--a much quieter event took place. Joseph Mohr was born in Salzburg. 

At the time of his birth, it appeared his name would be associated with nothing but disgrace. When Franz Joseph Mohr learned he'd gotten Ann Schoiber pregnant, he fled the home and deserted the army, leaving the mother to face the music alone, including a steep fine. She was a knitter who earned little. It would have taken her a full year's wage to pay the penalty.

The town's brutal executioner stepped into the picture. He would pay the fine and become the child's godfather. He hoped by doing this to improve his own reputation. But little Joseph's life now bore another stigma: godson of the feared and hated executioner. He was banned from attending school or learning a trade, or even from holding a job.

He loved to sing. While playing on steps leading up to a Capuchin monastery, he was overheard singing by Johann Nepomuk Hiernle, a Benedictine monk and cathedral choirmaster. Hiernle thought the boy's voice so good, he could not bear to see it wasted. He found Ann Schoiber and arranged for Mohr to study with his elite group of students.

Hiernle's kindness was not wasted. Mohr proved to be an outstanding pupil and mastered the organ, violin and guitar by the time he was twelve. He always placed in the top quarter of the class. His training continued and he was ordained a priest in 1815.

Over the course of his life, he was assigned duties in many towns. But it was while he was yet a young assistant in Oberndorf that he won lasting fame. He wrote the words to a new Christmas carol and asked the church organist, Franz Gruber, to set them to music. On Christmas Eve, 1818, the two first sang what has since become the most popular Christmas carol of all time: "Silent Night, Holy Night."

"Silent Night" captures the awesome humility of a God who stooped not just to the level of mankind, but to the lowest level--born among animals and announced to common shepherds.

In his last post, at Wagrain, Mohr opened a school which took in poor children. He gave virtually his entire income to this project and died as poor as he was born. But he left us the riches of "Silent Night" which has been translated into 200 languages. Millions who have never given a thought to Louis XVI sing Joseph Mohr's words every Christmas.

Bibliography:

1. Bell, Mrs. Arthur. Saints in Christian Art. London: George Bell, 1901 - 1904. Source of the image.
2. Otten, Joseph. "Joseph Mohr." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
3. Various internet articles and items in Christmas books.
   
   This post is shared with permission from Christianty.com

Giving Your Very Best

The absolute best Christmas gift we can ever give someone is the opportunity for them to hear the Gospel and say 'yes!' to Jesus! Invite your friends, family, co-workers, fellow students - anyone and everyone - to one of LCC's three Christmas Eve services! INVITE, INVITE, INVITE!

Our candlelight Christmas Eve services are going to be incredible! These services are among the most favorite things we do all year. It's a wonderful way to end the year together as a church family and to celebrate the Reason for the season in worship. INVITE, INVITE, INVITE!

Friday, Dec. 23: 6 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 24: 4, & 6 p.m.

There will be a special Christmas Promiseland for Kidz at every service.

AND LCCers, HELP US OUT! Please RSVP to the service you plan to attend here. This is a huge help to us and will make it better for all. Thanks.

Reminder!! And because we place such a high value on our Christmas Eve (eve) services at LCC, we will not be holding our regular Sunday services on December 25th.  This past month or so has been a wonderful "ministry run," and the next week's services promise to be more of the same! It has been decided by our LCC leaders that it would best serve our church, our volunteers and our staff to encourage them to spend Christmas Day with their families.  We celebrate His birth every day of our lives already anyway!

We will return to our normal worship service schedule on Sunday, January 1st. 9:00 & 10:45 a.m.

Hopefully, I'll see you soon! Merry Christmas! And remember...

INVITE, INVITE, and INVITE!

P.S. This coming Sunday's going to be a great time of worship and teaching as well. My message is entitled, "For ALL the People," from Luke 10:25-37.

Troubles and Testings

"There is nothing - no circumstance, no trouble, no testing - that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past God and past Christ, right through to me.

"If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose, which I may not understand at the moment, but as I refuse to become panicky, as I lift up my eyes to him and accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose of blessing to my own heart, no sorrow will ever disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me, no circumstance will cause me to fret, for I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is." 

- Dr. Alan Redpath