Church of the Messiah invites you to join us as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior this Christmas season. Our Christmas services begin at 7 o’clock on Christmas Eve with our Family Service. This is s special service with all sorts of family fun and traditional Christmas Carols by candlelight. This year there will be a special presentation of the Christmas Story by our youth and children that was written and produced by one of our own youth.
On Christmas Day, beginning at 10 o’clock, we have our Christmas morning service. This is a said Mass and generally lasts between forty-five minutes to an hour, but is a wonderful way to help “Keep Christ in Christmas.”
As the season of Christmas is twelve days long and begins on Christmas day (not ends), we also will be celebrating the Christmas season on the First and Second Sundays after Christmas, December 29th and January 5th, at our 10 o’clock services.
We invite you to join us at any or all of our services throughout the entire Christmas Season this year and wish you and all of your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a blessed new year.
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Christmas is almost upon us and we are so excited to once again celebrate the birth of our Messiah and Lord throughout the season. Please join us on any or all of our Christmas services and events that we have scheduled throughout the season.
Christmas Eve, December 24th, at 7 pmWe will have our family service with additional special activities and worship from our children and youth, a special children’s sermon as well as Christmas carols by candlelight. This is a wonderful Church of the Messiah tradition. Everyone is welcome and it is sure to be a fantastic time for all. We have created a Facebook event for this service so that you can easily invite friends and loved one. To find the event, simply click the bold, underlined letters above.
Christmas Day, December 25th, at 10 am We will absolutely gather Sunday morning and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior on the Lord’s Day. Christmas Day services are also a tradition at Church of the Messiah and have been for many years. The service is a slightly abbreviated service as we are all aware and mindful of family obligations on this day. As with Christmas Eve, there is also a Facebook Event for this service. To invite people to this event, click on the bold, underlined letters above.
The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, January 1st, at 10 am In Jewish tradition, children were named eight days after they were born so the “Eighth Day of Christmas” is a special holiday which we get to observe this year because it too falls on a Sunday. Join us on the first day of the week and the first day of the year as we hear what God calls us and how we are called to live in 2017.
The Epiphany, January 4th, at 6 pm Our Wednesday night services resume with the observance of the Epiphany on Wednesday, January 4th. The soup supper will begins at six o’clock and lasts until 6:45 and our Epiphany service begins at seven o’clock. All throughout Advent we are collecting diapers (size 4 and 5) and formula (any type) for Emergency Pregnancy Services of Jacksonville so that, just like the Wise Men, blessed the Baby Jesus, we can bless our local pro-life crisis pregnancy center. This will be an amazing night to be sure.
Christmas & Epiphany Fellowship Dinner, January 6th, at 6 pm We will be celebrating the close of the holiday season with a fellowship dinner at Blackfinn Ameripub in the St. John’s Town Center. The cost will be $22 per guest to be paid to Church of the Messiah in advance, either by by giving a check on Sunday or by paying on-line. Dinner will be served from menu of dinner options beginning at 6 o’clock. This will be an adults only event.
If you attended either the Men’s Breakfast or the Women’s Christmas Luncheon this month, you saw the Christmas cards we handed out to our neighbors as we went Christmas Caroling this past Sunday. Now, if you would like to hand those same cards out to your own friends, neighbors, or co-workers, we are making the cards available on the web-site. Simply click on the Christmas Service Invitation to download the file and print up as many copies as you like. Fold them appropriately and hand them out to invite anyone to whom you feel led to join us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Church of the Messiah cordially invites you to join us as we celebrate Christmas, the birth of the Messiah, the Feast of the Incarnation, this Thursday night, Christmas Eve, beginning at 7 o’clock. Our Christmas Eve service is our family service and there will be a special presentation from our children, a children’s sermons, and Christmas Carols by candlelight after the Holy Eucharist.
Then, on Christmas Day, we continue the celebration at 10 o’clock in the morning. It has been a tradition at Church of the Messiah for over ten years now to celebrate the Holy Eucharist on Christmas morning. Everyone is welcome to join with us in this brief but celebratory said Mass on Christmas Day.
Then don’t forget that Christmas is a season that last twelve days long, so we will be celebrating Christmas on December 27th and January 3rd at our 10 o’clock services as well. Merry Christmas from Church of the Messiah!
December is jam packed with lots to do at Church of the Messiah. Be sure to mark everything on your calendar so you don’t miss any of the special events.
Saturday, December 5th, is the Men’s Fellowship Breakfast at Church of the Messiah. Join with all of the men of the church as we gather at 8 o’clock in the morning for a manly breakfast and time of sharing. This month we will also help stuff Christmas cards for our Christmas Caroling outreach event later on this month. Join us for great food and great fellowship with great men of God.
Sunday, December 6th, is the Second Sunday of Advent and a special day for our kids. The Advent theme of Reaching Out and Reflecting In will continue but there will be an extra surprise in store for the kids this Sunday.
Monday, December 8th, Women Alive has is monthly meeting at Church of the Messiah. Women Alive is a monthly gathering of women from all over the city of Jacksonville and surrounding areas. These meetings are a safe place to encounter Jesus through extended worship, teaching, and prophetic ministry. Every woman is invited to attend as we pursue more of Jesus and discover more of who He is in us!
Tuesday, December 9th, is the December Ultreya for Northeast Florida. These are monthly reunion meetings for those who have attended a Tres Arroyos weekend or similar three-day retreat (Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, etc…). The night begins at 6:30 with a potluck meal, includes grouping, and concludes with the Holy Eucharist.
Saturday, December 12th, is our monthly Fusion Service. Fusion is our Young Adults Ministry which reaches out to those between 18 and 35(-ish) who are un-churched or whose home churches have no young adults ministry of their own. This month we will be addressing self-condemnation and seeing ourselves as God truly sees us, having been created in His image and likeness. We will begin at 6:30 with light appetizers and the service begins at 7 o’clock. Everyone is welcome and childcare is provided. A Facebook event has been created HERE. Click to join and invite those you know who would be blessed to attend.
Sunday, December 13th, following our service for the Third Sunday of Advent, our ladies will head our to their Christmas Progressive Luncheon and Ugly Sweater Contest. The ladies will be preparing Christmas Cards for our Christmas Caroling outreach event as well. By the way, they will be wearing those ugly sweaters to church on Sunday morning!
Sunday, December 20th, is the Fourth (and last) Sunday of Advent. After our service we will have lunch together and then head out into the ice and snow to bring merriment to the local neighborhood with Christmas Carols! We will sing Christmas songs and invite people from the local neighborhood to join us at our upcoming services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Be sure to join us for this incredibly fun outreach event.
Thursday, December 24, is Christmas Eve! We will celebrate the night beginning at 7 o’clock with our family service. There will be special music and offerings from our Kids’ Church and a special Children’s Sermon. Join with us as we celebrate the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ!
Friday, December 25, is our Christmas Day service. We gather bright and early at 10 o’clock on Christmas Day to observe the Feast and celebrate the Birth of Christ. This special service is holy and unique throughout the year and helps to keep the focus on the “Reason for the Season.”
Church of the Messiah extends a warm and heartfelt invitation for everyone to join us in celebrating the birth of Christ this Christmas. We will have two services to commemorate this most glorious event this year. On Christmas Eve, beginning at 7 pm we will have our Family Service with a special presentation from the children of our parish, a children’s sermon, and special musical offering. The family service concludes with singing Christmas Carols by candlelight.
On Christmas morning, beginning at 10 o’clock, we will have the first mass of Christmas day. This is a special service which allows worshipers to celebrate the birth of Our Lord while getting back to the other obligations of the day quickly. The service is a said mass with a brief homily so the service itself lasts around 45 minutes ending with Holy Communion.
At Church of the Messiah, we wish everyone a blessed Christmas. We hope to see everyone tonight and tomorrow morning and pray God’s abundant blessings be upon you all.
SJL 
Church of the Messiah invites you to join us as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior this Christmas season. Our Christmas services begin at 7 o’clock on Christmas Eve with our Family Service. This is s special service with all sorts of family fun and traditional Christmas Carols by candlelight. This year there will be a special presentation of the Christmas Story by our youth and children that was written and produced by one of our own youth.
