Issue 14 Volume 13 - Month of November 2015

From Dr. Jim Weldon, Jr.

Dear FIPC Church Family,

What is grace? Not the thing you say before you eat when your in-laws are over... but God's grace? Did you know that you can know and experience God's grace? Today, many people are looking for something "more." Well God's grace is the "more" they are looking for. Below is an article by Lee Strobel, and in it Lee describes God's grace in a very moving way...

My Search for Grace by Lee Strobel
He was leaning back in his leather recliner in the wood-paneled den, his eyes darting back and forth between the television set and me, as if he didn't deign to devote his full attention to our confrontation. In staccato bursts, he would lecture and scold and shout, but his eyes never met mine.
It was the evening before my high school graduation, and my dad had caught me lying to him - big-time.

Finally, he snapped his chair forward and shifted to look fully into my face, his eyes angry slits behind his glasses. He held up his left hand, waving his pinky like a taunt as he pounded each and every word: "I don't have enough love for you to fill my little finger."

He paused as the words smoldered. He was probably expecting me to fight back, to defend myself, to blubber or apologize or give in - at least to react in some way. But all I could do was to glare at him, my face flushed. Then after a few tense moments he sighed deeply, reclined again in his chair, and resumed watching TV.

That's when I turned my back on my father and strode toward the door.

I didn't need him. I was brash, I was driven and ambitious - I would slice my way through the world without his help. After all, I was about to make almost a hundred dollars a week at a summer job as a reporter for a rural newspaper in Woodstock, Illinois, and live on my own at a boarding house.
A plan formulated in my mind as I slammed the back door and began the trek toward the train station, lugging the duffel bag I had hurriedly packed. I would ask the newspaper to keep me on after the summer. Lots of reporters have succeeded without college, so why not me? Soon I'd make a name for myself. I'd impress the editors at the Chicago papers and eventually break into the big city. I'd ask my girlfriend to move in with me. I was determined to make it on my own - and never to go back home.

Someday, there would be payback. The day would come when my father would unfold the Chicago Tribune and his eye would catch my byline on a front-page exclusive. That would show him.

I was on a mission - and it was fueled by rage. But what I didn't realize as I marched down the gravel shoulder of the highway on that sultry June evening was that I was actually launching a far different quest than what I had supposed. It was a journey that I couldn't understand back then - and which would one day reshape my life in ways I never could have imagined.

That day I embarked on a lifelong pursuit of grace.

A Door Closed - I always wondered: Would I cry when my father died?

After the confrontation in which my dad declared he didn't have enough love for me to fill his little finger, I stormed out of the house, determined never to return. I lived for two months in a small apartment nearly forty miles away as I worked as a reporter for a small daily newspaper. The publisher agreed to hire me beyond the summer. My future seemed set.

I never heard from my father, but my mother kept urging me to return. She would call and write to tell me my dad certainly couldn't have meant what he said. Finally, I did come home briefly, but my father and I never discussed the incident that prompted me to leave. I never broached it, and neither did he.

Fresh from Missouri's journalism school, I was hired as a general assignment reporter at the Chicago Tribune, later developing an interest in law. I took a leave of absence to study at Yale Law School, planning to return to the Tribune as legal editor.

A few days before my graduation, I settled into a cubicle in the law school's gothic library and unfolded the New York Times for a leisurely morning of reading. I was already prepared for my final exams and was getting excited about returning to Chicago.

Then my friend Howard appeared. I folded the newspaper and greeted him; he stared at me as if he had something urgent to say but couldn't find the right words. "What's wrong?" I asked. He didn't answer, but somehow I knew. "My father died, right?"

He nodded, then led me to the privacy of a small alcove, where I sobbed inconsolably.

Alone with My Father. Before my father's wake began at the funeral parlor, I asked for the room to be cleared. I stood in front of the open casket for the longest time. A lifetime of thoughts tumbled through my mind. My emotions churned. There was nothing to say, and yet there was everything to say.

So many times in my life, I had rationalized away my need to take responsibility for the role I had played in our relational breakdown. He's the one who should be apologizing to me.Or pride got in my way. Why should I go crawling to him? Or sometimes I'd just put it off. I can always handle that later.
Finally, after a long period of silence, I managed to whisper the words I desperately wished I had spoken so many years earlier: "I'm sorry, Dad."

Sorry for the ways I had rebelled against him, lied to him, and disrespected him over the years. Sorry for my ingratitude. Sorry for the bitterness and rancor I had allowed to poison my heart. For the first time, I admitted my own culpability in our relational strife.

Then came my last words to my father: "I forgive you." As best I could, I extended him grace - too late for our relationship, but in so many ways liberating and life-changing for me.

Over time, I found that nothing heals like grace.

Unexpected Words. Soon business associates, neighbors, golfing buddies, and others arrived at the wake to offer condolences to my mother and other family members. I sat by myself in a folding chair off to the side. I was dealing with deep and conflicted emotions and didn't feel like interacting with anyone.

One of my dad's business associates walked over and sat down beside me. "Are you Lee?" he asked.
"Yes, I am," I said. We shook hands.

"Well, it's great to finally meet you after hearing so much about you," he said. "Your dad could never stop talking about you. He was so proud of you and excited about what you're doing. Every time you'd have an article in the Tribune, he'd clip it and show it to everyone. When you went off to Yale - well, he was bursting with pride. He was always showing us pictures of your kids. He couldn't stop bragging about you. It's good to finally put a face with the name because we heard your name a lot from your dad. 'Lee's doing this.' 'Lee's doing that.' 'Did you see Lee's article on the front page?' But then, I suppose you knew all that."

My mind reeled as I tried to conceal my astonishment. I couldn't help wondering what might have been different if those words had come to me directly from my dad.

When I became a follower of Jesus several years later, I saw the stark contrast. Here, there was no concealing how my Father felt about me. In direct declarations, the Bible shouted over and over: God's love for me is unrestrained and unconditional; his grace is lavish and unending. I am his workmanship and his pride, and he couldn't stand the thought of spending eternity without me in his family.

And as God's grace utterly rocked my life - forgiving me, adopting me, and changing my life and my eternity - something else became clear: how tragic it would be to withhold the news of that grace from others. How could I revel in it myself but never pass it along to a world that is dying for it? As atheist Penn Jillette said, "How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?"

"[God] dispenses his goodness not with an eyedropper but a fire hydrant. Your heart is a Dixie cup and his grace is the Mediterranean Sea. You simply can't contain it all," said Max Lucado. "So let it bubble over. Spill out. Pour forth. 'Freely you have received, freely give.'"

Writing about my journey of grace in The Case for Grace has only strengthened my resolve to emulate the apostle Paul. "What matters most to me," Paul wrote, "is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God."

That is the joyful task of every follower of Jesus. Someday may it be written about me on my tombstone: He was so amazed by God's grace that he couldn't keep it to himself. (Adapted from The Case for Grace: A Journalist Explores the Evidence of Transformed Lives by Lee Strobel)

Wow! I love it! "God dispenses his goodness not with an eyedropper but a fire hydrant. Your heart is a Dixie cup and his grace is the Mediterranean Sea. You simply can't contain it all," said Max Lucado. "So let it bubble over. Spill out. Pour forth. 'Freely you have received, freely give.'"

God's Grace is amazing! It is just what the human heart longs for. Do you know God's amazing grace? You can! Ask your heavenly Father to show it to you! Because, God is good! All the time!!

Grace and Peace and Merry Christmas to you and your family,

Jim Weldon

Church Celebrations

Jaycee David Santiago

Born 11/18/15; 6 lbs and 3 oz!

Congratulations to Coleen and Johnny Santiago!

Church Announcements

Operation Christmas Child--A Success!

We had another great year packing shoe boxes for the Operation Christmas Child project. FIPC was able to donate over 100 shoe boxes this year to be shipped off to foreign countries and children all over the world!

FIPC Adult Christmas Dinner

Celebrate Christmas with Your Church Family!

Wednesday, December 9 | 6:00 pm

Dinner at Island Life Grill in Fleming Island

Don't miss out on this annual Christmas celebration for the adults in the congregation (sorry...no kids/teens). This is also a great event to invite a friend to get acquainted with the FIPC family!

Details:

Cost is $20.00 per person (includes appetizers for social hour, water/tea for dinner, Stuffed Grouper or Chicken Milanese, tossed salad, and dessert).
Social hour from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm at the bar w/ appetizers.
Dinner from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.
Gift exchange during dinner. Please bring a wrapped $10-$15 present for the exchange.

RSVP by THIS SUNDAY, December 6!

Please contact Sara Dryden to RSVP and include your meal choice--

Stuffed Grouper or Chicken Milanese.

Spots are limited, so please do not wait to RSVP. Payment secures your reservation, and all payments are non-refundable/non-transferable. Make checks payable to Fleming Island Presbyterian Church.

Christmas and Advent at FIPC!

Pick up your Angel on Sunday!

Select an angel or angels from the tree in the gathering area. Record your name and angel number on the form provided and return the gifts to FIPC by THIS SUNDAY!

This outreach is being organized by the Empty Nesters Small Group. Please contact Shirley Norton or the church office for any questions.

December 7 | 6:30 pm

Join us for our annual Women's Ornament Exchange at FIPC in the gathering area of the main building! Please bring an appetizer to share, and a wrapped Christmas Ornament ($5-$10 value). Contact Ann Roos for more details or questions.

2015 Christmas Offering

During this holiday season, a season of generosity, we would like to offer you the opportunity to give to a special Christmas Offering. This Christmas Offering is intended for gifts above and beyond your regular giving. The Christmas Offering will be dedicated to the FIPC Building Fund with the goal of raising the equivalent of one month's mortgage payment ($9,287.26)!

Each Sunday, you will be provided with a special Christmas Offering envelope to use for your gifts to this offering. The Christmas Offering began Sunday, November 15, and the last day to give will be December 27. As you are making your gift giving list and checking it twice, be sure to remember a gift to your church. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Perry, Treasurer, or Dawn Vanderpool, CFO & Church Administrator.

Grades K - 6

FIPC Children's Ministries will be teaching our kids 2 Christmas carols to perform at our Christmas Eve 4pm Family Worship Service! The rehearsals will take place during normal Sunday School each Sunday, beginning Nov. 22. We will be sending home some information about a dress rehearsal the week of Christmas eve.

This a great time for the kids to invite their friends to church and participate in this choir. Please see Kathleen Drew or Mike Horst if you have any questions, or you can contact the church office.

2 Christmas Eve Services

Join us at 4:00 pm for a fun, family friendly service. We will hear special music from our children's choir (all children will be invited to participate that evening), as well as a reading from the Bible about the night Jesus changed everything!

Join us for our annual 6:00 pm candlelight worship service. We will worship together, hear a message from Dr. Jim Weldon, Jr. and sing Silent Night with a candlelight service.

Christmas is a great time to invite friends and family who don't normally attend church. Take this opportunity to spread the love of Jesus Christ to them, and invite them to one of these awesome worship services.

Adult Ministries

Christian Growth Classes

December 6 @ 1:00 pm

Worship Building

We would love for you to join the church and continue your discipleship journey by partaking in one of these classes. If you are interested in joining the church or attending one of the classes, please contact Sara Dryden, Director of Membership. 1st Base participants, please sign up ahead of time in order to receive information to be discussed at the meeting.

Youth Ministries

The Net Youth Group

Wednesday Nights @ 6:30 pm

The Shack

Jr. and Sr. High-Grades 7-12
Fun atmosphere
Bible Study, Games, and Small Groups
Be sure to invite a friend and join us for a great new year!

In This Issue

From The Pastor

Church Celebrations

Church Announcements

Adult Ministries

Youth Ministries

Thanks and Prayer Requests

This Week's Funny

This Week's Devotional

FIPC Calendar

QA Record of Our Faithfulness

FIPC is a member supported church.

We do not receive any outside funding. Everything we do is made possible through your faithful giving.

New Members This Year: 14

Attendance:

11/01/15 = 89

11/08/15 = 86

11/15/15 = 107

11/22/15 = 96

11/29/15 = 99

Ministry & Building Fund Offerings:

11/01/15 = $3,529.81

11/08/15 = $8,127.00

11/15/15 = $5,479.71

11/22/15 = $6,347.00

11/29/15 = $2,192.00

(Weekly Need = $8,154)

YTD Need = $391,392

YTD Offerings = $333,203

YTD Variance = -$58,189

Offering envelopes are available in the church bulletin for cash offerings. The envelopes are not necessary for checks. If you ever have any questions about FIPC finances, please contact our CFO & Church Administrator, Dawn Vanderpool, at the church office at (904) 269-2412 ext. 701.

Sunday Worship

Worship Service is held every Sunday morning
10:00 AM

Attire is casual. It is an uplifting, come as you are service.

God never intended for us to go it alone!

We want to help you find the Small Group where you can you grow in your faith and have some fun doing it!

ChristLife - Senior High Youth

Fuel - Jr. High Youth Group

ROCK / Children

Thank You Notes

Thanks to:

The Hospitality Team for Sunday morning refreshments!

The counting team for your continued service to your church!

Our Awesome Worship Band!

Those who helped usher/greet last Sunday!

Our Children's Ministry Volunteers!

Our Youth Ministry Team!

Announcements

Announcements for the e-newsletter, power point slide show during worship, and web site should be emailed to Dawn Vanderpool by 9 am on Mondays.

Announcements for the bulletin should be emailed to Sara Dryden by 10 am on Tuesdays.

Christian Counseling Center

A ministry of Fleming Island Presbyterian Church, The Christian Counseling Center of FIPC is an outreach of the church to our community.

Church Staff

If you would like to contact a church staff member please go to our website.

Facebook

Check out our Facebook page! It's a great way to add photos of events and stay in contact with your church.

Quick Links

Register Now

News

Related Topics

More On Us

Thanks and Prayer Requests

Praise / Thanks:

To God for all the new families He is bringing to us.
To God for blessing us abundantly.
To God for His Word revealed to us in the Bible.
To God for all those who work so hard behind the scenes.
To God for our Hospitality Ministry.
To God for our Sunday School Team.
To God for our Youth Group Leaders.
To God for our Great Worship Band and AV Team.
To God for all those folks who pray each day for FIPC.

Praise from the Welcome Cards:

Wonderful Thanksgiving with my daughters.
Praise for hours by the store manage approved for me to work in November and now in December.
Thanksgiving celebration with Burgard family; our church family.
Blessings of family.

Prayer Requests:

For our community.
For our church's growth in spirit, connections, and number.
For those who do not know Christ.
The grace to live out our faith.
For our FIPC Pastor, Staff, Elders, Deacons and their families.
For families and individuals who are hurting.
For the PCUSA and FIPC's response to the changes. For our Denominational Relations Committee.
Sydney Ward.
Betty Gedrottis.

Prayers from the Welcome Cards:

Pray for our church finances. Pray for our congregation and leadership of our church.
Our church; Jim and family.
Church and gov't leaders; health to all; special prayers for our church.
Unity in Christ's church; direction for FIPC.
For my family, my sister in Hong Kong, my grandparents. Also, for Sydney with her MS and for me in finals week.
Healing for Patricia Gray.
For C. M. Jacobs, Angie's father, suffered a stroke Friday morning; for Tristan, we see a panel of doctors about her biopsy to see if she needs surgery on Dec. 1.
Pray for our church leadership, wisdom, humility, forgiveness, grace and restitution, resolution of differences/redemption.
Frank Andrea, knee surgery this Thursday, Dec. 3. Pray no infection, quick and full recovery. Donna, traveling Thursday PM to SC for work, gone until Tuesday. Dad's pain, pray for comfort, sleep. Tuesday, dentist able to treat and heal pain, wisdom for dad's dentist.

This Month's Funny

This Month's Devotional

Daily Hope

by Rick Warren

"Seek first God's kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well." (Matthew 6:33 NCV)

If you want to live a truly balanced life, you can only look at one person in all of history as a model: Jesus. If you put him at the center of your life, your life will be more balanced.

Think of your life like a wheel. The center of the wheel is a hub. All of the spokes of your life (which represent your relationships, your family, your career, your goals, etc.) come from that hub. We all build our lives around some sort of hub. The question is, what will be your hub? Will it be your family? Will it be your career? Will it be money?

Or will it be Jesus?

How do you do know what you're building your life around? Take a look at whatever you think about the most. That's what is driving you.

The center of your life is critical to developing a balanced life. A solid center leads to a solid life. A weak, flimsy center leads to a weak life. When I hear people tell me that their lives are coming unglued, it usually means one thing: They have a faulty center. Something other than God has taken priority in their lives.

Not only does the hub create stability, but it also controls and influences everything else about your life. Whatever you put at the center of your life will also be your source of power. The power of a wheel always emanates from the center outward - never the other way around.

Make Jesus the center of your life, and he'll provide the stability, control, and power you need for your life. The Bible says, "Seek first God's kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well" (Matthew 6:33 NCV).

Don't worry about making Jesus first in your life. Put him in the center of your life. Let him direct your life, influence it, empower it, and give it stability.

Do that and all the other areas of your life - from your family to your career to your goals - will find balance in Jesus.

Fleming Island Presbyterian Church 1743 County Road 220 Fleming Island, FL 32003 904-269-2412 www.myfipc.org Directions