Happy Friday! I am about to reveal some amazing and important Christmas details, but first: One big thank you and two reminders.

Here's a giant THANK YOU for the $253,000 given to the food bank, and over 1,500 gifts provided our Christmas partners like Salvation Army and Prison Fellowship! You are amazing. I know God's grace will be glimpsed through your generosity.

Two big reminders: 1.) Do yourself a favor and get to church on time this weekend so you don't miss the start of the kids Christmas pageant, and 2.) grab a stack of Candlelight Service invite cards! Your friends and neighbors will love those services!

And now, the news:

In Rene’s message this weekend he will unwrap the mystery of the name “Immanuel”!  Hope to see you in church, Saturday 6pm, Sunday 9 & 11am or online at tlc.org/live.

PLUS, this weekend, as part of our weekend services, our Twin Lakes Kids are presenting their Christmas Pageant and choir. It’s going to be so cute...and joyful! It starts early in the service, so don't be late.

Next weekend all services that weekend will be candlelight services: 
Sat. Dec. 21: 6 pm
Sun. Dec. 22: 9 & 11 am
Mon. Dec. 23: 4:30 & 6 pm
Tue. Dec. 24: 3, 4:30, & 6 pm

TLC en Español Servicio de Velas: Dec. 24 6:00pm. 

Kids program for infant through 5 years at all services (we encourage older kids to attend the service with their family).

If you are grieving the loss of a loved one this Christmas season, the Remembering Service is designed just for you! Sat. Dec. 21 7:15pm 

We could still use help with greeters and the kids program on Monday and Tuesday! Sign up at tlc.org/christmas 

In two weeks we wrap up our Advent series and welcome on of our favorite guest worship leaders, Ben Moore! 

Got your 2025 calendar ready? Mark these dates:

Jan. 4/5  “How Joyful People Think”
Kick off 2025 at TLC as we start a new 6-week series based on Phil. 4:8

Jan. 12  Discover Recovery
Find hope at this Christ-centered 12 Step seminar. Click here to sign up!

Jan. 15/22/29 Digging Deeper
Three-week Wednesday night mini-series on handling emotions!

Jan. 24 TLC Night at the Santa Cruz Warriors
Join us for a fun night at the SeaDubs! Tickets available in January.  

Jan. 25/26 Baptisms
If you’re ready to be baptized, take one of the baptism classes the weekend of January 18/19. Click here to sign up. 

Jan. 25 Welcome Lunch
New to TLC? Join us for this 1-hour lunch and class and find out more about TLC. 

If you’re a 50 and older single at TLC, check our next singles event Saturday, December 21st, 4:30pm at the home of Wayne Smith (123 Ponderosa Ave., Watsonville). It will be a fun time of food (potluck), fellowship and a white elephant gift exchange. For more information contact Wayne Smith (831-234-8121 or click here to email).

THIS weekend is the due date for ALL gifts from our Giving Grove. If you took a tag(s) off the trees, please purchase your gift and return by this Sunday, December 15th at 12pm. If you pulled a Salvation Army tag, the gift does NOT need to be wrapped. Please wrap all other gifts and be sure to attach the tag to the gift (wrapped or unwrapped) so we know who it belongs to. If you have any questions, please contact robin@tlc.org.

A few weeks ago I told you about the new Advent devotional I’m reading this season. Today I want to share something I read this week that really encouraged me. This is based on Luke 1:49, “For the Mighty One has done great things for me.” 

“Mary reminds us in this sentence that God is “The Mighty One” and that “he has done great things for me.” The great theological and philosophical truth that God is transcendent and that He is MIGHTY is coupled together with “he has done great things for me.” That same almighty and all-powerful God is also personal since He has looked upon me – “he has done great things for me.” Mary, the teenage girl from Nazareth, captures something deeply profound in this sentence about the transcendence and immanence of God. She proclaims that God is the Mighty One, sovereign over all – over creation, over the material world, over time and space, over reason and emotion, over history, over rulers and systems – AND He has done something beautiful for me.”

“Perhaps, like Mary today we might think about and give thanks for specific and wonderful things the Lord the Mighty One has done for us in our lives. But before we jump to making lists of things He has done, for which we are thankful, dwell for a moment on the tenderness of Almighty God, His love for you personally and His desire to interact with you, to carry and strengthen you even in times of great turmoil and difficulty.”

From Mary’s Voice, by Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing (who incidentally will be at our Bible conference in 2025!). 

I hope the amazing truth about “The Mighty One” come to earth, for you, encourages you today. Whatever this day, week and season holds the Mighty One has done, is doing and will do great things for YOU!


Thank you for being part of the TLC community! Looking forward to seeing you all at church this weekend! 

Love,

Val