Dear Church Family,
As we come to the end of Old Testament history in our series, we see how God never abandoned his people. They turned their backs on Him, but He continued to be gracious and merciful. They were unfaithful, but He remained faithful. He kept all of his promises. And that is just what they needed to lead them to trust his BIG promise – sending Jesus into this world.
During the Advent season, we need this same confidence that God will come as He promised. He always does, always shows mercy, time after time. He doesn’t abandon his people. He guides us. He provides for us. And He is always ready to forgive. He proved that when He kept his promise to send Jesus into our world at just the right time.
Join us this Sunday for worship at 9:30 here in Doral. Pastor Caleb will be preaching. I will be in West Palm Beach this Sunday preaching for Pastor Jonny.
ICYMI – Watch my sermon from last Sunday on what it means for us according to the prophet Jeremiah that Jesus is “The LORD our righteous Savior.”
Call Declined – Last Sunday at church I announced my decision to decline the divine call I had received to be the pastor of a church in Arizona. That means I will remain at Divine Savior Church here in Doral and look forward to the blessings God has in store for us together here! Thank you to everyone who reached out to me or my wife to share your thoughts, words of encouragement, and prayers.
Advent Season Devotional –Martin Luther College has made available a wonderful resource called “Word Made Flesh.” It contains daily devotions from Dec 1 – Dec 25. Pick up your copy at church or find it online here as a beautifully designed book or pdf to download.
Birthday for Jesus – Today is the last day to register for our birthday party for Jesus! Come, celebrate with us! We’ve created this free event designed just for families with children ages 3 through 5th grade. We invite parents to accompany their child(ren) and join in the fun or drop them off, if needed. The event is Saturday, December 10, beginning at 9:00am. We will end the birthday party with a special presentation for the parents at 11:30am. Click here to register
Caroling and Cocoa – Jeremy and Grace Seeger would like to extend an open invitation for cocoa and fellowship, along with caroling to homes in the neighborhood of Miami Springs on Sunday, Dec 11th. Please let Grace know you can make it (920) 509-2320 and she can share their address. Bring along a mug and they’ll provide hot cocoa. Everyone will meet at the Seeger’s home in Miami Springs at 5:30pm to begin. See you there!
All Pro Dad – Any dads and their kids who are in Kindergarten through 5th grade can team up with other dads and kids at our school once a month for All Pro Dad. We meet before school from 7:00-7:45 AM in the high school commons for a free breakfast and a character based-curriculum that helps dads start meaningful conversations with their kids. RSVP on our chapter website for our monthly breakfast on Thursday, December 15th. Questions? Contact Pastor Ben.
DSYouth Beach Bible Study – On December 17th, DSYouth will have a Bible study at the beach! If you’re in grades 6-12, you’re welcome to join us. Parents are welcome too! We’ll meet at Crandon Park Beach from 1-4 pm. We’ll enjoy the beauty of God’s creation and the beauty of God’s Word. It should be a memorable, fun experience as we grow as “disciples of Christ, stronger together.” Come join us! Both youth and parents are welcome! Please RSVP with this form so that we can plan for space and carpooling.
DSC Blood Drive – On Sunday Dec 18 from 8:30 am-1:30 pm the Big Red Bus from One Blood will be in our parking lot. Please consider donating blood to serve our community. They are offering free health checks and a gift as a thank you.
Christmas Eve Worship – Rejoice with us as we gather together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ – the gift of God’s Son as our Savior from sin on Saturday, Dec 24th! We’re planning a beautiful bilingual worship service where you’ll hear the retelling of his birth, enjoy delightful music, and participate in our service designed to praise God for what He’s done! All are welcome. Choose from 4:00 pm, 5:30 pm, or 7:00 pm service times. Help us spread the word by sharing our DSC social media posts or share a printed postcard invitation with friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, etc. Pastor Steve encouraged us last week with the idea of, Everyone Invite One! Who can you invite to join you and your family?
Baptism – Are you or someone in your family interested in learning more about baptism? Join Pastor Ben to learn what the Bible teaches about baptism. Click here if interested. Divine Savior Church offers baptism for FREE to anyone of any age!
Spread the Christmas Spirit – Share the good news and rejoice at the birth of Jesus. We have extra invitations to our Christmas Eve worship services for you to share with friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, etc. Pastor Steve will introduce our campaign, “Everyone Invites One” this Sunday after the worship service. You can pick up the postcard invites this weekend and consider how you might share with others in your life.
Save the Date:
- Saturday, Dec 10 Birthday for Jesus
- Thursday, Dec 15 All Pro Dad’s Day
- Saturday, Dec 17 DSYouth Beach Bible Study
- Sunday, Dec 18 Blood Drive
- Saturday, Dec 24 Christmas Eve bilingual worship services at 4:00pm; 5:30pm; and 7:00pm
- Sunday, Dec 25 Christmas Day English worship at 9:30 am with Holy Communion
- Sunday, Jan 1 New Year’s Day worship service at 9:30 am
- Sunday, Jan 22 Baptism Sunday bilingual worship service at 10:30 am, followed by potluck lunch
Year End Giving – God has been extremely good to us this past year. In spite of challenging economic conditions, we determined to trust the Lord and move forward with building our Worship and Ministry Center. The walls are now going up and in the new year we’ll begin enjoying the opportunities this new space provides. Despite the rise of inflation and the rapid increase in interest rates, our offerings have remained steady to meet our current budget’s needs. Please, therefore, take a moment at the end of this year filled with God’s grace to reflect on the Lord’s faithfulness in your own life. Has God blessed you in ways you couldn’t even have foreseen months ago? Consider giving a special gift out of thanks to the Lord. Has God given you confidence in his ability to provide for the future by providing all your needs? Spend some time evaluating your financial situation and consider how you might increase your regular giving to help meet where we need to be as a congregation to handle our new church’s mortgage. Have you been thinking about participating in our $2,025 for 3 Years special campaign? Please visit our special campaign web page for more info to make your pledge.
Building Project Progress Updates – Just click “connect” at the bottom menu of our DSC app and you will see an option for “Worship and Ministry Center”. Find photos, videos, and up-to-date construction updates.
Weekly Offerings to Budget:
Needed for Current FY 2022-2023: $10,002 / wk | Current Weekly Average: $9,758.99 / wk
Projected Amount Needed for FY 2023-2024: $11,918 / wk
Projected Amount Needed for FY 2024-2025: $12,126 / wk
DSC on YouTube: Watch past messages and worship services on-demand on our church YouTube channel.
Download Our Church App – Use it to worship online, watch archived messages, and register for events and classes that are coming up. Our app is the communication hub for everything DSC! Search “Divine Savior Church” in your app store. Select “Doral” as your campus.
Giving: To give simply follow this link to go to our secure giving page, or click Give at the bottom of the church app. You can make one-time special gifts or set up recurring gifts as well. Thank you for keeping in mind that setting up your regular giving via ACH vs credit card saves our church over 2% in additional fees.
Sunday Playlist – Lift Up Your Heads You Mighty Gates | What Child Is This | Faithful Now | The Lord Is My Salvation
Changing Lives with Jesus,
Pastor Ben
