The First International Church Of The Web

Church Newsletter For Christmas, 1999

Hi everybody! Merry Christmas from one who loves you!

Brothers and Sisters, I pray this is a wonderful and joyous Christmas season for you! What a wonderful time to be in the Body of Christ, the time when we celebrate the birth of Our Lord, Praise God!

Brothers and Sisters, I also pray that you keep those who are less fortunate in your own prayers this season. Please especially pray for the victims of the terrible and tragic flooding in Venezuela recently. The last I heard, this tragedy has resulted in over 5,000 people losing their lives, with over 6,000 people missing, and over 150,000 people homeless! Oh, do please pray for these victims, their families, and their loved ones. Pray also for peace. Last Christmas there was a massive bombing campaign going on during this time. This year, there's military confrontation occuring again, as I'm sure you're aware. Please keep the victims and everyone involved in this campaign in your prayers, and pray for peace on earth. Pray also for those who are less fortunate this holiday season. Let's never forget that this time of year can be especially hard for those without homes and families. Thank you for joining me in praying on these matters.

Well, my friends, I'm very excited by the growth of our church this past year, but I'm especially excited about the other ministries you, our members, have started both on the internet and off. Many of you have written and asked that I add your sites to the members' ministries page of our church, and while I haven't upgraded that page recently, I promise I'll be doing so soon, and will be happy to add your sites. I'm also pleased to share with you something Brother Lance wrote me lately about the Teddy Bear Monastery, the children's ministry of our fellowship. Lance writes, "The Monastery has gotten several thousand hits from people looking for the free pocket calendar. It's a great ministry concept. The calendar has a light house printed on the front with the words "The Lord is my Light and my Salvation". We are also sending out a tract about the Story of Silent Night. We've already had hundreds of requests sent and filled.
Brother Theodore's Art Exhibit also is getting a lot of hits too with it's special Christmas theme.
This week, the two bears will dress up as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause to spread holiday cheer and give out more pocket calendars. This Thursday, they will go to prison for a special Bible Study on the Story of Christmas. Tilly-Bear will be the Virgin Mary and Theodore will play the baby Jesus. This is the fourth year we've done this with great success. The prison makes an exception and lets the two bears come in to visit. Normally, they do not allow teddy bears in prison because they usually get used to smuggle in drugs." What wonderful news, Brother Lance, keep up the great work! And folks, I've gotten my pocket calendar, and I can tell you, they're great!

Folks, I've got a special Christmas gift for you this year! I've made a First International Church Of The Web Screensaver and would like to share it with you as my gift to you. You can download it by clicking here which will automatically download it (which shouldn't take but a minute or two) to a self-extracting file which, when you open it will automatically add the screensaver to your Windows screensaver file. Then simply use your display options to set it as your screensaver, and voila! I hope you like it, and I hope you'll use it for your screensaver.

I've also been learning how to make RealAudio files, and have a few I'd like to share with you. First, I have a RealAudio Christmas Greeting from me to you. Second, I've recorded a Study of the Christmas Story which you may enjoy (that's a pretty big file, so it will take a while to load), and finally, on the lighter side (much, much lighter side), you can click here to hear me do my impression of Mr.T as an evangelical Christian! :)

A few other freebies this month include the latest offering from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, a free cassette of gospel music by George Beverly Shea called If That Isn't Love. To quote from their offer, "George Beverly Shea has just released an album of wonderful songs, originally recorded for "The Hour of Decision" with new keyboard stylings and arrangement. "If That isn't Love" contains many old favorites, like "Wonder of It All," "I'd Rather Have Jesus," "He Touched Me" and more--sung as only Bev Shea can sing them." I've ordered mine, and I encourage you to order yours also, but you better do it before the end of the month, because the offer changes each month. Also, I'd like to recommend a wonderful freeware program called the Internet Answering Machine from CallWave. This handy program acts as an answering machine while you're online so you don't miss any important calls. It's free, and can save you the cost of a second phone line. I've been using it for a month now, and I really like it.

Well, my friends, that's going to do it for this Christmas newsletter. Again, I wish you all a wonderful, joyous, and very Merry Christmas! I'd also like to thank each of you who has sent me a Christmas card this year - they really have touched my heart and meant a great deal to me. Thank you so very much! Brothers and Sisters, please know that you remain in my prayers at all times, and especially during this wonderful holiday. Thank you reading our newsletter, and God Bless You!

Yours in Christ,
Brother Dave


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