Community News 12/31/13

Happy New Year!

In observance of the new year, worship will not be held tomorrow afternoon and the office will be closed. Please take this time to enjoy friends and family.       

Men’s Breakfast!

Gentleman, you are invited to the Men’s Breakfast in the Student Center this Saturday, January 4th starting at 7:30 AM.  Start your day off right with prayer, worship, and hot food.

Adult Bible Study!

January 5th, this Sunday, an eight-week study on Second Peter will begin in the Green Room at 8:15 and end at 9:15 AM.  Order your Precept Upon Precept study book at www.precept.org. Try to have Lesson 1 completed before Sunday.  For details and questions email Sheila Sheila@victorychurchproducts.com 

Celebrate Communion!

We will be celebrating Communion this Sunday, January 5th during both worships. We celebrate Communion to remind us of God’s unconditional love for us and the sacrifice Christ paid for us on the cross.  

101 Membership Class Coming Up!

Interested in becoming a member of Brevard Community Church? Join us for our Discovering Membership class Sunday, January 12th at 12:30 PM.  Lunch and childcare will be provided. 

Starting Point Class!

Starting on January 19th a six-week class will be held during first worship in the brown house led by Shannon Compton. If you are curious about following Jesus Christ, new to Brevard Community Church, or interested in connecting deeper, join us for Starting Point.

Chauffeur and Handyman Needed!

Chris Schlender is on the lookout for someone to help pilot kids to and from church on Sunday afternoons. Also, Kidz Zone needs a handyman for small repair work. If you are interested, please contact Chris chris@brevardcommunity.org 

ENABLING THE ENGAGERS

Brevard Community Church has been very generous over the past years in giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  The offering provides support for over 4,800 international missionaries who God is using to engage those who have never heard the name of Jesus or the Gospel.  The following is a summary of what your gifts have ENABLED THESE ENGAGERS to accomplish.  This summary is taken from the International Mission Board's website.  

Because of your giving, missionaries and their national partners recently:

• Presented the Gospel to more than 1.4 million individuals
• Baptized more than 266,000 new believers
• Started more than 24,000 churches
• Engaged 133 new people groups

Facts about Lottie Moon Offering

• Every penny of the Lottie Moon Offering supports 4,800 missionaries.
• Meeting the $175 million goal would send 576 more missionaries to the field.
• More than half the world's people groups are still unreached and the people are dying every day without ever having heard the Gospel.
• This requires sacrificial giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering-gifts that truly honor the Lord.

BCC will continue to take gifts for the Lottie Moon Offering through the middle of January. When you give you are truly ENABLING THE ENGAGERS in taking Light into some of the darkest places in the world.  BCC is honored to work very closely with some of these missionaries when our teams visit these dark places.  I ask you to continue your generous giving on their behalf so they can work toward finishing the task of taking the Gospel to all people groups.  

May our Lord bear much fruit through you as you abide in Him throughout 2014.

Alan Perry

Missions Pastor  

Community News 12/24/13

Bereavement Worship Tonight!

The bereavement worship will be tonight at 4:30 in the student center.  While this is one of the seasons that bring us much joy, it can also be a time that is very difficult for those who have lost loved ones.  The purpose of this worship is to present the hope we have in the Lord during some of the most difficult times in our lives.  

Christmas Eve Worship Tonight!

The Christmas Eve Worship will begin at 6:00 pm in the worship center tonight.  You don’t want to miss this exciting evening.  The kids will share a few songs with BCC and the evening will end with candlelight.

Hope for Christmas!

Tonight is another opportunity before Christmas to pick up your “Gift of Hope” at the table in the rear of the worship!

Mission Opportunity in Ethiopia!

M.A. and Chelsea Dozier will be leading a team of four to six people from July 24th to August 3rd, 2014 to Camp Langano, Ethiopia.  They will be sharing the gospel through participation in activities and sports.  The estimated cost is 3,400 per person.  If you are interested or have questions contact Chelsea at soccershew@gmail.com.

Men’s Breakfast!

Gentleman, you are invited to the Men’s Breakfast in the Student Center on Saturday, January 4th at 7:30 AM.  Start your day off right with prayer, worship, and food.

Adult Bible Study!

On January 5th, an eight-week study on Second Peter will begin in the Green Room at 8:15 and end at 9:15 a.m.  Order your Precept Upon Precept study book at www.precept.org.  Try to have Lesson 1 completed before January 5th.  For details and questions email Sheila@victorychurchproducts.com .

Celebrate Communion!

We will be celebrating Communion on Sunday, January 5th during both worships.  We celebrate Communion to remind us of God’s unconditional love for us and, the sacrifice Christ paid for us on the cross!

101 Membership Class Coming up!

Interested in becoming a member of Brevard Community Church?  Join us for our Discovering Membership class Sunday, January 12th at 12:30 PM.  Lunch and childcare will be provided!

The Perfect Present

I absolutely love the Christmas season.  There is just something about this time of year that brings a smile to my face.

I look forward to:

Christmas movies (Elf & Christmas Story & Christmas Vacation!)

Christmas food (Turkey & monster cookies!!!)

Time with family (No School or work for a few days!!! For a moment things slow down.)

Elf on a shelf (It is fun to see all the crazy places that elf shows up.)

Getting and giving presents!!!

Who are we kidding? We love to get presents! I still find myself sneaking around the house trying to find my presents.  This is why Amanda has stopped hiding my presents at our house and moved them to her parent’s house.  Yes, I admit I do have a problem. I can’t handle surprises.

As much as I like getting presents over the years I have enjoyed the process of surprising people with gifts, especially for Amanda and the girls.  There is something special when you give the perfect present and it really shocks the person receiving the gift.  Their facial expression says everything.  You can show the person truly how much they mean to you by giving a present.  That is what makes gift giving so much fun.  I am sure that you have heard the expression “It’s the thought that counts”.  It is difficult to show someone how much you love them with a gift but for a moment, you can show a person that you truly do care about them.

Think with me for a moment of how much Christmas shows how much God loves mankind.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8

There are a lot of fun things to enjoy about Christmas but this truth is the reason to celebrate Christmas.  When I read this passage I am reminded of how much God has given us the perfect gift in His son.  God showed us how much he loved us in sending His Son to die for us so that we would have the opportunity to know God.  He did this in spite of our sin and inability to do anything to deserve his love. 

This Christmas spend some time thinking about how much God demonstrated (showed) (expressed) His love for you.

Have you lost sight of how much God truly loves you?

Another question to spend some time reflecting on is to think about how much in your normal everyday life do you demonstrate your love for Christ?

I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas!

Brent Metcalf

High School Student Pastor

Community News 12/17/13

Midweek Worship Tomorrow Night!

Join us for snacks at 6 and then worship at 6:30 PM.  Our own people will tell how BCC has taken Hope to the Nations. Last time we heard touching stories about how Christ was taken to a local gentleman and a community in West Virginia. 

Hope for Christmas!
This month we are talking about Hope for Christmas. Pick up your "Gift of Hope" at the table in the rear of the worship center for 10 dollars. The "Gift of Hope" box contains a Bible, Hope DVD with a message from Billy Graham, and a card with words of hope. This is a great way to introduce Christ to someone.

Bereavement Worship on Christmas Eve!
The bereavement worship will be on Christmas Eve, December 24th, at 4:30 in the student center. While this is one of the seasons that brings us much joy, it can also be a time that is very difficult for those who have lost loved ones. The purpose of this worship is to present the hope we have in the Lord during some of the most difficult times of our lives. 

Christmas Eve Worship!
The Christmas Eve worship will begin at 6:00 pm in the worship center on December 24th. You won't want to miss this exciting evening. The kids will share a few songs with BCC and the evening will end with candlelight. 

Kids' Christmas Eve At BCC!
If your child is in the minnows class through 5th grade, we would like to invite them to participate in the Christmas Eve worship by sharing a few songs with all of BCC! Practice for these songs will primarily be on Wed. nights. Mandatory rehearsals will also be on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 22nd at 2:00 and Tuesday, the 24th at 4:00 pm. Please sign up in the welcome center ASAP. The kids need to wear clothing with Christmas colors for Christmas Eve. If you need a CD with the songs or have questions, please contact Chris or Tracy.

Missions and Lottie Moon Offering!
The BCC body has cheerfully given $18,419.19 to the Missions Offering. Throughout this month, we will still be taking donations to the Lottie Moon and Missions Offering.  Just this past Sunday, $700 was donated to Lottie Moon totaling $2,130.63.

Mission Opportunity in Ethiopia!
M.A. and Chelsea Dozier will be leading a team of four to six people from July 24th to August 3rd, 2014 to Camp Langano, Ethiopia. They will be sharing the gospel through participation in activities and sports. The estimated cost is $3,400 per person. If you are interested or have questions contact Chelsea at soccershew@gmail.com.

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

In the midst of all the shopping, decorating, and fun family traditions sometimes we can miss the real reason for the season. Christmas is the time that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Pause with me for a second and let that sink in. What really happened in that manger in Bethlehem? Why did the God of the universe come to earth to take on flesh and live among us?

Scripture is filled with reasons. For example, John the Baptist proclaimed that Jesus was the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Jesus, while speaking to Pilot, gave the reason He was born in John 18:37 saying, “For this reason I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth.” He also said that He came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Jesus was born into the world for so many awesome and wonderful reasons that absolutely deserve our awe, our worship, and our praise. Don’t forget that. Spend some time this Christmas searching scripture and pondering what God was doing when He sent His Son to earth.

          One of those reasons we often miss, which deserves some consideration, is one that the religious leaders of Jesus’s day missed as well. In the 15^th chapter of the Gospel of Luke Jesus, while teaching a crowd of sinners and tax collectors, was confronted by grumbling religious leaders who couldn’t understand why He would associate with “those” types of people. In response, Jesus shared a few stories that were aimed at helping them understand one very important reason He had been sent. The first story starts with a simple rhetorical question that reveals that reason.

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” Luke 15:4

The answer is that all of us would drop everything to go after something we lost that is important to us and we wouldn’t stop until we found it. What would you do if you had three children and one of them went missing? Wouldn’t you leave everything behind and move heaven and earth to find your child? Yes! Think about it. Isn’t that exactly what God is doing?

Luke 19:10 tells us Jesus came to “Seek and to save that which was lost.”  He came to seek out and save God’s lost children. Every single one of them is important. Everyone is a precious lost coin, which must be found, and a prodigal child that a loving father is longing to wrap his arms around. Jesus received sinners because He came to save them. He didn’t come to pat the righteous on the back and say keep up the good work. He came to heal the broken, set the captives free, redeem those sold into the slavery of sin, and reconcile the wayward prodigal children of God to their loving Father. That is an awesome reason to unashamedly celebrate and share the reason for the season. Christ has come! Merry Christmas!!!!

Shannon Compton

Lifegroup Pastor

Community News 12/10/13

Community Christmas Dinner Tomorrow Night!

Our annual Christmas dinner is tomorrow at 6 PM.  We will provide the meat but we ask that you bring a couple large side items.  This dinner is for our BCC body and will be a great time to invite your friends and neighbors.

Ladies Christmas Tea this Saturday, December 14th!

Ladies, you are invited to a Christmas Tea and Ornament Exchange this Saturday from 9 to 11:30 AM.  Join us for hot tea, refreshments, door prizes, music, and fellowship.  Karen Phillips will be selling tickets tomorrow evening at the community dinner.

Hope for Christmas!

This month we are talking about Hope for Christmas.  Pick up your "Gift of Hope" at the table in the rear of the worship center for 10 dollars.  The "Gift of Hope" box contains a Bible, Hope DVD with a message from Billy Graham, and a card with words of hope.  This is a great way to introduce Christ to someone.

Bereavement Worship on Christmas Eve!

The bereavement worship will be on Christmas Eve, December 24th, at 4:30 in the blue room.  While this is one of the seasons that brings us much joy, it can also be a time that is very difficult for those who have lost loved ones.  The purpose of this worship is to present the hope we have in the Lord during some of the most difficult times of our lives.    

Christmas Eve Worship!

The Christmas Eve Worship will begin at 6:00 pm in the worship center on December 24th.  You won't want to miss this exciting evening.  The kids will share a few songs with BCC and the evening will end with candlelight.  

Kids' Christmas Eve At BCC!

If your child is in the minnows class through 5th grade, we would like to invite them to participate in the Christmas Eve worship by sharing a few songs with all of BCC!  Practice for these songs will primarily be on Wed. nights.  Mandatory rehearsals will also be on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 22nd at 2:00 and Tuesday, the 24th at 4:00 pm.  Please sign up in the welcome center ASAP.  The kids need to wear clothing with Christmas colors for Christmas Eve.  If you need a CD with the songs or have questions, please contact Chris or Tracy.

Missions and Lottie Moon Offering!

The BCC body has cheerfully given $1,430.63 to the Lottie Moon and has given $18,419.19 to the Missions Offering.  Throughout this month, we will still be taking donations to the Lottie Moon and Missions Offering.  

Mission Opportunity in Ethiopia!

M.A. and Chelsea Dozier will be leading a team of four to six people from July 24th to August 3rd, 2014 to Camp Langano, Ethiopia.  They will be sharing the gospel through participation in activities and sports.  The estimated cost is $3,400 per person.  If you are interested or have questions contact Chelsea at soccershew@gmail.com.  

Circus Elephant Nativity

Circus Elephant Nativity

     If you haven’t noticed yet, we are in the middle of the holiday season.  This time of year is filled with Christmas parties, decorations, bright lights, and my favorite Christmas music. It is also filled with the holiday rush of buying presents, checking the list, wrapping gifts, travel, and cooking.  Most of the time we all spend in a rush to get everything done to make it to the deadline of that special day, “Christmas.” One of my friends shared the following picture with me. I couldn’t help but wonder why I choose to be so busy during this time that I lose focus on Christ.  I stared at it in laughter as well as disappointment.

     My laughter came from knowing that a child had taken this Nativity scene and made it their own. Arranging the people the way they wanted even adding a circus elephant to it.  The theology of a child seems to be the best of all.  As I look at this young person’s arrangement of the Nativity, it is clear that they know who is supposed to be at the center of all creation’s affection. Jesus is the only one or thing that is worthy of our worship. He is everything and deserves all that we have including our time and worship.

My disappointment comes from knowing that at a time of year where the worship of Jesus Christ is to be at its highest, most of us are too busy and miss it. Jesus Christ is the greatest gift we have ever received and has redeemed us to the Father. He is worthy of our attention, service, affection, and time. Not just during the holidays but everyday for the rest of our lives. 

So how do we do this? It is as simple, you can follow this young child’s lead who arranged this Nativity. We look to Jesus every moment of every day and worship him.  Hebrews 12:1-2 says:  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (ESV)

Jesus is the center of all that we are and all that we are to become. God has said in Philippians “....that Jesus was given the name above every name and at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and confess that Jesus is Lord…" We will all worship Him, even the circus elephants!

Fix your eyes on HIM today and each day forward, to the glory of God.

Be Blessed, 

Marty Burgess 

College Pastor

Community News 12/3/13

Community News 12/3/13

Midweek Worship Tomorrow Night!

Join us for snacks at 6:00 PM.  At 6:30 listen to some of our own people tell how BCC has taken Hope to the Nations.   

Church League Coaches' Meeting Tomorrow Night!                             

In the student center, there will be a church league coaches' meeting tomorrow night, December 4th, after Midweek Worship from 7:30-8:00.  

Hope for Christmas!

The month of December we will be talking about Hope for Christmas.  Pick up your "Gift of Hope" at the table in the rear of the worship center for 10 dollars.  The "Gift of Hope" box contains a Bible, Hope DVD with a message from Billy Graham, and a card with words of hope.  This is a great way to introduce Christ to someone.   

Men's Breakfast this Saturday! 

Come hungry and join other men for breakfast and worship.  The breakfast will be held in the student center this Saturday, December 7th, starting at 7:30 AM.  

Switch Christmas Pajama Party this Sunday!

The Switch Christmas Pajama Party is for Middle and High School Students from 6-8 PM in the worship center.  Join us for a night of fun, food, and games hosted by Marcus Lester.  There will be a prize for the person that brings the most friends.  Come dressed in your best pair of pajamas.      

Community Christmas Dinner Wednesday, December 11th!

Our annual Christmas Dinner is coming up December 11th at 6 PM.  We will provide the meat but we ask that you bring a couple large side items.  This dinner is for our BCC body and will be a great time to invite your friends and neighbors.

Ladies Christmas Tea Coming Up Saturday, December 14th!

Ladies, you are invited to a Christmas Tea and Ornament Exchange on December 14th from 9 to 11:30 AM. Join us for hot tea, refreshments, door prizes, music, and fellowship.  Purchase your tickets in the back of the worship center this Sunday.  

Kids' Christmas Eve At BCC!

If your child is in the minnows class through 5th grade, we would like to invite them to participate in the Christmas Eve worship by sharing a few songs with all of BCC!  Practice for these songs will primarily be on Wed. nights.  Mandatory rehearsals will also be on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 22nd at 2:00 and Tuesday, the 24th at 4:00 pm.  Please sign up in the welcome center ASAP.  The kids need to wear clothing with Christmas colors for Christmas Eve.    If you need a CD with the songs or have questions, please contact Chris or Tracy.