8:00, 9:30, & 11:00 am Services


Born

As we continue our portrait of the Incarnate God, who we understand to be Jesus Christ, we come to His birth.  This Advent, we have talked about Him at the beginning and we have also looked at how what came before played in various ways in His story, most notably last week through Joseph's experience.     

This  Sunday , we read the familiar words from Luke 2 as well as words from Isaiah 9.   While the lectionary often pairs these two scriptures together  for  the celebration of Jesus's birth, they are not a natural duo. Yet,  side by side, they show a picture of the kind of God who rescues His people.   In looking at them in tandem, we see the words of Isaiah were meant  for  an earthly king in his time.   These words have come to represent Jesus birth today, so we want to talk about them.   Mostly, we want to know the Lord whose plans coalesce in amazing ways throughout all of history.

I pray this has been a meaningful journey through Advent as we await the arrival of the Lord anew in our lives, and as we wait for Him to come again. Oh, what a day that will be!  May our worship of the newborn king bring Him honor and may it bring a fulfillment to our souls.   See you Sunday!

- Pastor Colleen


"The great mystery of the manger is that God should be able to translate deity into humanity without either discarding the deity or distorting the humanity." 
- Dr. John Phillips


"Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world."
- C.S. Lewis


"The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?"
- Psalm 27:1

Church Events


Sunday, December 16, 1-3pm
Loads of Love
310 Milpas
Sunday, December 16, 7-9pm
Fall Send
Montecito Covenant Church

Sunday, January 6, 12:30pm
Lunch with L.L.I.V.
935 Embarcadero del Norte
See link below for dates/times
Membership Class
Upper Fellowship Room
Our sister church, Light & Life Isla Vista
is pastored by Dave Goss. Read his blog to find out what's going on at the church in Isla Vista. 

 
Music This Sunday

Although the King of Kings is He, He comes in deep humility; His people to deliver, and reign in us forever. 
- Joseph Barlowe, Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light

There are beautiful themes woven into the music we sing in worship - themes that portray truths about the Christmas story, the gospel, and the mysterious nature of God. What themes do you see in the texts we sing? What is the Holy Spirit saying to you by them? Look for them this Sunday. 

In preparing for Sunday, the theme that strikes me is the humility of the birth-place of the King of all kings, the irony of men of high status coming from the far east to bring gifts to a boy born in a stable (years later in his life), and how the angels chose the poor shepherds to carry the greatest of news to all mankind: all backwards and beautiful.

See you Sunday. Come see the Christmas Choir! 

- Jake Elliott, Director of Worship

Opportunities this Advent Season

Christmas Eve Services:
December 24
 4:30 & 6:30 pm (family oriented)
 11:00 pm (contemplative)
Pick up a postcard and invite a friend!

Every Advent, FMCSB partners with a different organization to provide "presents" that meet their current needs. This year, we are partnering with the Westside Collaborative and SB Act to benefit Harding Elementary School. All of the ornaments on the Giving Tree in the sanctuary have an item requested from the teachers at Harding to help them better serve their students. Take an ornament and bring the gift back to the tree unwrapped.

Advent: A Four-week Guide for Individual or Group Reflection

Grab one for free in the church lobby.

 
Did you sign up to purchase your directory photo?

Family Finances

As we near the end of 2018, I want to let you know where we stand financially.  This has been a strong giving year for our congregation.  We praise God for this! Thank you for faithfully allowing God to use you to build His kingdom on earth, in this community and in the world. Like many families, we come to the end of the year with a bit of a shortfall. We still need  $1,600 for local missions and $3,761 for global missions. Overall, we will need $42,547 from now until the end of the year to balance our church budget. May God be praised through our offerings to Him and may His peace reign in our world and hearts this Christmas.   

- Pastor Colleen

Highlighted Community Event

  RSVP 
Staff Pick(s)

Pastor Doug Ranck:  Seven Advent Practices That Will Make Your December Better
Pastor Shannon Balram: Food & Faith: A Theology of Eating
Meg Wolfgram (LMC):  Com Thou Long Expected Jesus - Wilder Adkins
Are you sick or having surgery?
Please call or email us. We are a family and we sincerely want to walk with you through difficult times.

(805) 965-1338

For Pastor Colleen: x223 ( colleen@fmcsb.org)
For Pastor Doug: x224 ( doug@fmcsb.org)
For Pastor Danielle: x232 ( danielle@fmcsb.org)
For Pastor Nikki: x225 ( nikki@fmcsb.org)
 
ARE YOU A SPOTIFY LISTENER?
Follow Jake's " Peace of Christ " Playlist on Spotify.
 
Contact us

Local Board of Administration:  lboa@fmcsb.org
Cliff Drive Care Center Board: cdccboard@fmcsb.org
Property and Finance Board: finance@fmcsb.org
FMCSB delegates: delegates@fmcsb.org
FMCSB and Cliff Drive staff: staff@fmcsb.org
Prayer Chain: prayer@fmcsb.org