Newsletter for December 10, 2025

Come enjoy a warm and festive evening with your church family as we gather for a wonderful meal and fellowship. This special night is all about celebrating the joy of the season together. We invite everyone to come ready to share one of their favorite Christmas memories—those meaningful, funny, or heartwarming moments that make this time of year so special. Your stories will help make the night even more memorable as we reflect on God’s goodness and the blessings of Christmas.

Brisket, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw,
Peach Cobbler, Rolls 

Final Family Night of the year – Choir Christmas Presentation

For our final Family Night of the year, the choir will be presenting “Long Expected, Forever Holy.” The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary, followed by a time of food and fellowship in the social hall.

This is a wonderful opportunity to invite someone who needs to hear the Christmas message. We hope you will join us for this meaningful evening of worship and celebration.

If you need a ride to any of these events,
Please give the church office a call, 229-567-9320

Join us for the Ladies’ Bible Study, “The Gospel on the Ground: The Grit and Glory of the Early Church in Acts” by Kristi McLelland. We’ll begin on January 20th, meeting every Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. for seven weeks. Please register by December 21st so we can order your materials. To sign up, call Elizabeth at 567-1708 or the church office at 567-9320.

If you would like to send Christmas cards to church members in Ashburn, drop them off, and we will handle sorting and delivery.

Collection boxes will be located throughout the church, and any donations to the Post Office will help cover shipping costs and supplies for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. To help us sort and distribute everything on time, please submit all cards by Sunday, December 14th.

Don’t miss Brother David’s Mid-Week Devotions in Psalms!
New messages are posted every Wednesday on our media page—take a midweek moment to be encouraged and refreshed in God’s Word.

Budget for 2025 . . . . . . . .  $329,624.00
Tithes Needed to Date . . . . $310,889.81
Received to Date . . . . . . . . $263,584.28      
Needed for weekly budget . . . $6,344.69
Tithes Received this week . . .  $7,455.00
Lottie Moon . . . . . . . . . . $ 400.00

In my junior year of high school, I was walking down the hallway when the school counselor stuck her head out of her office and asked if I would like to attend a leadership conference. After mentioning it to my parents, they encouraged me to go, so I signed up.

A few weeks before the weekend conference, as more information started coming in, I realized this might not be my kind of thing. I was a good student in terms of being respectful to teachers and showing up on time, but academically, I often felt like a snowman in South Georgia. The conference seemed packed with classes, projects, and expectations, and I knew I would be well outside my comfort zone.

Even though I had my doubts, my parents wouldn’t let me back out, so I went. As soon as I arrived, my fears seemed confirmed. At the opening meeting, I began talking with other students and discovered that many of them had competed through essays and speeches just to represent their schools. I remember thinking, What had I gotten myself into? This did not feel like a place where I belonged, and I couldn’t understand why my school counselor had chosen me.

I imagine the shepherds may have felt the same way on the night Christ was born. When the angel appeared and announced that the long-awaited Messiah had finally come—after more than 400 years of silence from God—the shepherds could have easily asked, “Why us?” Yet God chose them. These men were considered untrustworthy and were not even allowed to serve as witnesses in Israel’s courts, yet they became the very first witnesses of Christ’s birth (Luke 2:8–11).

Mary and Joseph likely felt similar doubts. There was nothing remarkable about them by worldly standards. They came from an obscure town and held no special status or influence. Still, God chose them to play a central role in His redemptive plan.

God has a long history of calling unlikely people to do extraordinary things for His glory. He doesn’t measure ability the way we do. Instead, He looks at the heart. As 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

As the conference went on, I realized my counselor knew exactly what she was doing when she invited me. I soaked in everything—from listening to a man who helped lead a team inventing equipment for the space shuttle to learning from a communications engineer who explained how the internet works. This was learning that clicked for me—hands-on, engaging, and centered on things that sparked my curiosity.

So, if you ever feel unqualified or out of place, remember that God often chooses the unlikely to accomplish His purposes. Just as my counselor chose me, God chose the shepherds, Mary, Joseph—and even a sinner like me—to carry His message and point others to Him.