Faith Hope Love
December 2024
Happy that you have come our way! Membership is ongoing at St. John's UCC! Looking for a church Home? You found us! We have a Children's Ministry during the sermon time each week.
Pastor's Group will open our December 1 Advent service at 10 AM with Communion to follow later in the service. All believer in Christ as Savior are invited to join us for communion.
December 8th after our service our Women's Guild will hold their Christmas Bazaar Raffle! Tickets are available in the church office!
Thursday December 12 at 2 pm is the Women's Guild Christmas Party at Gelsosomo's. Cost will be $15 per person.
Saturday December 14 Breakfast and Blessings in the church basement fellowship hall from *:30 to 10 am. All are welcome!
December 17 we will deliver Christmas gift baskets to the Lowell Health Center and sing Christmas carols with the residents! All are welcome! Come and join the holiday fun! Meet at the church at 10 AM.
Tuesday December 24 is our Christmas Eve Candlelight service at 7 pm . Come for an intimate family evening of carols, worship and communion celebrating Jesus!
Every Sunday after the service we enjoy Fellowship time in our Hall . Come and get to know the amazing folks at our church.
Call the church office with any questions at 663-1608.
Looking ahead to January 2025-
Pastor's Group and Communion slated for Sunday January 5th in first our service of the New Year!
January 4 is a Church Work Day beginning at 8:30 am to remove and store Christmas decorations. All help is welcome.
Wednesday Bible Studay begins again in the new year at 1 pm in our church library. Our Winter/Spring study will encompass the Gospel of John!
January 19 will be our 3rd Sunday Singing for this month. You get to choose your favorite songs! Come nad enjoy the fun!
January 26 is Right to Life Sunday where we celebrate the unborn and pray for babies and mothers! Honor life with us on this special day!
SERMONS
We record our sermons weekly and publish them to our YouTube channel which can be accessed be clicking the YouTube icon at the top of the page. The following button will take you to our selection of sermons available to watch by streaming through YouTube.
Listed below are video links to recent services on Facebook. If you need a link to a recent message, simply email Pastor Wendell (pastorwendell20@gmail.com) with the date of your service request and he will send a link to the service that will play in your media player on the computer or even your phone.
Left click on the links below for the service video.
Link for special Father's Day message on June 16, 2024 with Pastor Jack Thacker speaking:
https://www.facebook.com/100008069190097/videos/469707732457361/
Link for June 23, 2024 message:
https://www.facebook.com/100008069190097/videos/989579565716293/
Link for July 7, 2024 message:
https://www.facebook.com/100008069190097/videos/2820798131420193/
Link for
July 14, 2024 message:
https://www.facebook.com/100008069190097/videos/2426757930853061/
Link for the July 21, 2024 message:
https://www.facebook.com/100008069190097/videos/969785904832956/
Link for July 28, 2024 message:
https://www.facebook.com/100008069190097/videos/2181846148858877/
August 4, 2024 message link below:
https://www.facebook.com/100008069190097/videos/471807915808584/
December 2024
Season's Greetings Friends!
Advent is a season of expectation! So often we are thrust into the season of Christmas without adequate personal preparation. The economics push retailers to start earlier and earlier and, in our mind, the season is complete before it has ever arrived. I urge you to slow the pace, quiet the mind, and reflect on the Gift of Jesus. Let’s stand in awe at the wonder of the Son of God coming to us in our own flesh and blood, one of us, leaving behind his divinity as he emptied himself. Emmanuel is God with us!
Let me encourage you to be present for worship throughout the Advent season of “Expecting Jesus” to prepare for the birth of our Savior. Our journey begins on December 1st as we will light the first candle in our Advent Wreath--the Candle of Hope. We will focus on the role that God the Father played extending his love to us through Jesus. Jesus is our HOPE!
In subsequent Sundays we will continue our journey to Christmas with timely missionary messages about PEACE, JOY and LOVE concerning our Savior! Make your plans now for these special celebration days. I believe that God will honor your faithfulness!
We are excited about our upcoming Women’s Guild Christmas Raffle slated for December 8th after service, the Guild Christmas Party on the 12th and the Lowell Nursing Home gift bag/Christmas Carol event on the 17th! The highlight of St. John’s Advent Season will be our Christmas Eve Candlelight service on Tuesday December 24th this year beginning at 7:00 p.m. This for many of us is our favorite worship service of the year. Through the reading of the Christmas story from the Bible, the singing of Christmas hymns, the lighting of the Christ Candle, the celebration of communion, and the always meaningful Candle lighting tradition, we will put the finishing touches on our “Expecting Jesus” experience for Christmas” 2024.
So come and celebrate the season of Advent with your church family. Come and give thanks for the birth of God’s Son. Jesus is the GREATEST GIFT of ALL
Advent Blessings,
Pastor Wendell
ONLINE TITHE
We have established the flexibility of online giving in a one-time or recurring format. Clicking the easytithe GIVE link below will take you to the St John's UCC "Give Now" page. Select either "one-time" or "Recurring" and enter your donation amount. After entering an amount you will be prompted to enter your payment method either by credit card or check debit ACH. Follow the instructions entering your information as requested and "submit" at the page bottom. You will receive an email receipt acknowledging your gift.
For our "texting" members and friends we have established 10 digit code 2192555077 which will direct you to our "GIVE NOW" page. Simply text the word "Give" in a text message to 2192555077. Select either "one-time" or "Recurring" and enter your donation amount. After entering an amount you will be prompted to enter your payment method either by credit card or check debit ACH. Follow the instructions entering your information as requested and "submit" at the page bottom. You will receive an email receipt acknowledging your gift.
WORK DAY and BREAKFAST & BLESSINGS
Each month our work days typically are the the first and 3rd Saturday of the month. We meet in the church basement hall beginning at 8:30 am for assignments, fellowship and instructions. Our volunteers do may tasks inside the building and on the outside grounds weather permitting.
Our BREAKFAST & BLESSINGS Ministry usually meets the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of most months. Food is served from 8:30 to 10 AM on these days. ALL are welcome for this church ministry outreach. A Free Will offering is appreciated to help defray costs.
Call the church office at 219-663-1608 with any questions.
ABOUT US
St. John's United Church of Christ is located at 1288 S. Indiana Ave in Crown Point, IN. 46307
We are compassionate followers of Jesus Christ doing our best to serve as God leads with the needs of
our members, families and community. Our heart's desire is to see everyone come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! We are good people serving a GREAT GOD!
