Did you know you can have the Church Pictorial Directory on your iPhone or Android Phone. With this app you’ll be able to access church members family picture, telephone number & address, email address, & Birthday & Anniversaries. This is a great tool to help us stay connected. If you provided the church with your email address then you can download the app on your phone and sign-in to our church account.
As Paul tells us in Romans, we are all one body in Christ with many members but all the members do not have the same function. We are all given spiritual gifts, differing according to the grace that is given to us, and we are to use them. There is one gift that some people have an abundance of but it is also one we all are able to use, the gift of encouragement. It is a powerful gift that can start wheels turning or squash people in their tracks. A simple word of encouragement can brighten one’s day or bring on dark clouds. So, which are you, an encourager or a discourager? It takes little to no effort to say something encouraging. Think about Joses in the early church. He was such a positive guy the Apostles changed his name to Barnabas which means son of encouragement! Make it a goal to be a Barnabas to everyone you meet. You’ll not only be honoring the Lord, you’ll be somebody everybody wants to know!
What a beautiful service to be reminded of the reason we celebrate at Christmas.
Before the service(s) we were welcomed with the beautiful sound of violins playing Christmas music by our own Grace Anne & Lucca Delcompare. Our praise team led us in the Traditional Christmas carols as our stage was hosting a live nativity with Mary & Joseph (Rachel Coleman & Tim Irving), the Angel (Linda Knight), the Shepherd (Eric Garwood), and the Wiseman (Cam Stokka). We read the traditional Christmas story from Luke’s gospel in between carols. The ActingUP drama ministry reminded us that focusing on Jesus is what truly matters. Pastor Steven sang “It’s Still the Greatest Story Ever Told” and Pastor Curt inspired us with Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah, Our Wonderful Counselor!
Special thanks to our many volunteers who set everything up & cleaned up. Also to our First Impressions Team & Evangelism Team who made all our guests (regulars & 1st time) feel special. And to you for attending with us and bringing family & friends. We had over 650 in attendance.
Can there be any greater words said to you than when you go to meet the Lord and He says, “Well done good and faithful servant”? I seriously doubt it. So, how are you coming along on that? Are you like the wise servant that invested his master’s five talents and gained five more or have you buried your talents in the ground? We all have something of value to contribute, we all are of value to the body of Christ, and we all can affect the world around us. Make 2019 the year when you make a concerted effort to dust off your talents, however large or small they may be, to make sure one day you will hear those precious words!
It was another great event with the Taste of Christmas on Capri. The dynamic voices of Art Bush, Jeff Bush, & Tracy Tooley along with Steven Foster at the piano was a such a great way to kick-off the night. Our local restuarants didn’t disappoint on the appetizers with shrimp, fried grouper, pizza, bbq, & clam chowder. There was so much food to taste as our choir & church members brought in some of their finger-food favorites.
Attendees were all encouraged to take business cards that were provided and give to these local businesses that say Thank You for your participation in our Taste of Christmas. Be sure and let them know how much you appreciate them partnering with us. The participating restaurants on Capri were Pelican Bend, Island Gypsy, & Capri Fish House and then Sammi’s Pizza, & Paradise Seafood & Gourmet Market both on Marco Island.
We are looking forward to and already making plans for the Taste of Christmas 2019!
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