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This Sunday, January 6, Church of the Messiah will celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, the day on which we commemorate the Three Wise Men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus.  This year, like the Wise Men, we have the opportunity to bless young mothers and their children.  In partnering with Emergency Pregnancy Services, we will be providing gifts for women and children in need.  EPS currently needs size 3, 4,and 5 diapers, baby shampoo, baby wash, baby powder, diaper rash cream, pacifiers, formula, and baby food.  We also have the opportunity to provide gifts for five young women and their children who are enrolled in an advanced program called Growing Parenting Skills (GPS).  If you would like to provide gifts for one of these young women, please contact Lizz Looker as soon as possible at 904-424-8622.  We will be collecting these gifts this Sunday morning during the Offertory.  We look forward to seeing you there!

We invite you to join the people of Church of the Messiah as we celebrate the Birth of the Messiah and the Feast of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christmas Eve: 7pm Family Pageant at the Sam Marks Chapel at JU.

Christmas Day: 10:30am at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (click HERE for map).

Saturday, November 24, George Robert Noble went to be with the Lord.  Saturday, December 15, Church of the Messiah will honor and remember George at a funeral service to be held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (click HERE for map) at eleven o’clock.  A private internment is being planned for a future date at the national cemetery on Laney Road.  We will provide those details as they are available.

Give to the departed eternal rest, O Father;
May light perpetual shine upon them.

On Saturday, December 1st, the men of Church of the Messiah will gather together at the home of Jesse Dent (click HERE for a map) to watch the SEC Championship game. The SEC is on fire this season and the championship game pits #2 ranked University of Alabama against #3 ranked University of Georgia!  To make it even better, we are going to have our own little competition. We will have a Barbeque Grill-Off! For a $5 buy-in we will have a competition over who can create the most incredible culinary creation using that most manly of kitchen contraptions: the Grill! Bring a snap-shot of your delicacy on the grill and our team of crack taste-testers will determine who wins a variety of prizes! Brothers gathering with great food and great football! What could be better?  Kick off is at 4pm so we will start to gather at 3:30.  Feel free to bring friends.  You do not have to bring grilled food in order to attend.

Wednesday, November 21, Church of Messiah have our annual Thanksgiving Eve service.  This year, once again we will gather at the Law Offices of Lansing J. Roy in order to worship together.  Since Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks, we should remember that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes from the Father.”  (James 1:17)  This year, be sure to gather with your church community and give thanks to God from whom all of your blessings and gift come.

The service begins at 7pm.  This service is in place of the Wednesday Night Soup, Supper & Prayer Service, however there will be not pot-luck dinner served this Wednesday.  For directions and a map click HERE and look for directions for “Wednesday nights.”

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

Psalm 100:4

Deacon Tom Abbott’s sermon from the Sunday before Veterans’ Day has now been added to Church of the Messiah’s  Sermon Library.  Of Dcn. Tom’s sermon, John Kirkpatrick wrote, “I heard the BEST sermon on this nation ever done by Dcn. Tom Abbott.  It doesn’t matter whether you voted Democrat, Republican, or anything else. If you missed this talk, you need to get the tape…”  Tapes are hard to come by these days, but you can listen to the entire sermon for free clicking on the “Sermon Library” link on the top left portion of this page or by clicking HERE.  Deacon Tom’s sermon marks the addition of the twentieth sermon to Church of the Messiah’s Sermon Library which now contains teachings from all of Church of the Messiah’s clergy as well as Archbishop Charles Jones, Bishop David Simpson, Bishop David Epps, and more.  Be sure to share this message on your Facebook and Twitter to spread the Good News even further.

Sunday morning, November 4, Rufino “Ralph” Bitancor ended his two-year long battle with cancer and went to be with the Lord.  There will be a viewing on Thursday, November 8, from six o’clock to eight o’clock in the evening, at Arlington Park Funeral Home (click HERE for a map).  The following morning, Friday, November 9, the funeral service will be held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (click HERE for map) at eleven o’clock.  The internment will follow immediately thereafter at Arlington Park Funeral Home, and, after the internment, a reception will follow at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.  If you would like to provide  food for the reception, please contact Lizz Looker at 424-8622.  If you would like to provide meals for the Bitancor family during the next several days, please contact Suzie Kirkpatrick at 894-3228.

Give to the departed eternal rest, O Father;
May light perpetual shine upon them.

This Saturday, November 3, is the conclusion and culmination of Jacksonville’s 40 Days for Life Campaign.  This year’s campaign will end with at March for the Surviving Youth.  We will meet at Powers Avenue at 9:30 Saturday morning.  See the attached flyer for more information.  Remember that this year’s campaign has been dedicated to prayerfully preventing Planned Parenthood from opening a new facility on Powers Avenue (strategically located between two of their target communities Wolfson and Englewood High Schools).  It is estimated that, since 1973, over FIFTY MILLION children have been aborted.  That amounts to one-third of the generation born since that day.  If you were born after 1973, you survived Roe v. Wade.  Make sure that Roe v. Wade does not survive you!

Church of the Messiah is proud to revive our old tradition of throwing an All Saints’ Festival for our children and youth! Halloween is really “All Saints’ Eve” and we are going to celebrate the feast together! The festival will be this Wednesday, October 31, at the home of Earl and Cathie Shimp (click HERE for a map) from 6:30 to 8:30. There will be food for everyone, candy, games, prizes, and even a BOUNCE HOUSE! Invite your friends and, of course, bring your children. Please dress in family friendly costumes only.

Join with Christians throughout Jacksonville this Saturday morning, September 29, as we pray for an end to abortion in Jacksonville.  We will be leading a Jericho March around the site of the newly purchased Planned Parenthood facility at 5978 Powers Avenue.  This facility is not yet opened and we will march around the building seven times and pray that their doors never open; that not a single child is ever murdered on that spot!

The image in this posting may be copied and reposted.  Share it with your friend on Facebook, create an event, tweet it and re-tweet it.  Invite your real world friends.  Get the message out!  We are accomplishing two things this Saturday.  We are praying and interceding on behalf of the Pre-Born, and we are showing Planned Parenthood that it is not worth the hassle to open a new facility because we will be there telling them to stop the whole time!  The more people we have, the more clearly they will get the message.  Let’s stop Planned Parenthood in their tracks!

Contact Fr. Scott or Lizz Looker for more information.  Click HERE for more information on 40 Days for Life including a map including parking information (Scroll down).