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Set List, 02/18 – 02/19/12 Fellowship Bible Church

February 19, 2012

This weekend, we continued our Romans series, and focused on Romans 8:31-39. In his message, Joe talked through the five rhetorical questions in this passage, and reminded us all of God’s amazing and unfailing love.  I was really challenged to let go of my past and my old slavery to sin, and to move toward Christ and trust in Him will every area of my life. We have a new life because Christ has loved us, and we don’t need to look back. We need to look to Christ. You can listen to the entire message here.

Here’s our service plan from this weekend:

Time of Preparation/Prayer
“Healing Is In Your Hands” (C) [Daniel Carson, Christy Nockels, Nathan Nockels, Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin]
Welcome/Greeting Time
(Child Dedications – at 5 PM and 10:45 AM services only)
“Desert Song” (D) [Brooke Fraser]
“Unchanging” (G) [Chris Tomlin]
“Our God” (G) [Jonas Myrin, Matt Redman, Jesse Reeves, Chris Tomlin]
“10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)” (G) [Jonas Myrin, Matt Redman]
Message – “Romans 8:31-39″ [Joe Hishmeh]
“It Is Well” (Bb) [Philip Paul Bliss, Todd Fields, Horatio G. Spafford]
Offering/Announcements
Dismissal


“Healing Is In Your Hands” – We sang this song as our preparation song this weekend, as we focused on how we are held by the promise of Jesus’ powerful and unconquerable love. He is faithful, and nothing will ever separate us from His love (Rom. 8:35). This is such a beautiful song (originally sung by Christy Nockels on the album, Passion: Here For You.), and it does a wonderful job of calling out our trust, faith, and confidence in Christ’s unending love for us. Becky Tindell did a great job of leading us on this song.

“Desert Song” – We opened the second music set with this song, and Becky led us here as well. This song declares our faith and trust in the Lord no matter what we are facing in this life. In good times and bad, He is with us, and He is worthy of our praise. This song continues to be a staple of our congregation’s worship vocabulary, and our church sings it well together.

“Unchanging” – We sang this song this weekend because it also stands firm on the fact that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8 ESV). In we declare the unchanging character and love of God. We can trust and depend on who He is, and that flows out into how He cares for us and interacts with us. Because He never changes and never fails, we can trust the word which He has spoken, saying that He will love us “with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3).

“Our God” – This song tied directly to our passage from this weekend, particularly in the bridge where we sing, “And if our God is for us/ Then who could ever stop us?/ And if our God is with us/ What could stand against?” We abbreviated this song for the services with the child dedications, but we wanted to keep this declaration in our services, as we sing out the truth of the scripture passage from this week.

“10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)” - This is a song that we began teaching our congregation last weekend as Erik and Sarah Oldberg led our congregation. I LOVE this song. When you hear it for the first time, it feels like you’ve heard it before. It has a sort of timeless melody to it, and it makes me want to sing it out. The chorus is simple and strong: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul/ Worship His holy name/ Sing like never before, O my soul/ I’ll worship Your holy name.” Our congregation is singing it well, and I think this will remain a part of our worship vocabulary here at Fellowship.

“It Is Well” – This was our response song this weekend. I have written a lot about this song previously, so I’ll keep this short. I love how this song ties a timeless hymn with a new declaration of trust and praise in an added chorus. I think it helps to connect a new generation with a beautiful expression of trust in God’s faithfulness – no matter the circumstances.

This weekend was a good weekend overall. We celebrated child dedications with many young families in our church, which was a beautiful thing of which to be a part. We also celebrated baptisms after each service. In one of these baptisms on Saturday evening, a young man baptized his dad after leading him to Christ. What a powerful moment! I love being a part of this congregation and seeing how the Lord is moving.

We had a few technical gremlins show up on Saturday evening with our in-ears and some other things. During most of the service at 7 PM, I was getting shocked every time my lips touched the microphone. Not fun. I have no idea what was happening there. Everything was worked out on Sunday morning, so it’s all good.

The bottom line is that Jesus was glorified and exalted because of His great love with which He loved us. He is faithful and unchanging, and we can trust in Him and in His love. He is so good to us!

I hope you had a great weekend of worship wherever you were!

In the Son,
Bill

p.s. don’t forget to check out The Worship Community!

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Set List, 02/04 – 02/05/12 Fellowship Bible Church

February 5, 2012

This weekend, we continued our Romans series, and focused on Romans 5:1-10. In his message, Joe shared about what the life of a believer looks like because of what Christ has done. He talked about how we are now reconciled to God, and as a result we have peace and rest with Him. You can listen to the entire message here. Because of the focus of Joe’s message, we emphasized our new standing with God because of His great love for us. We have hope and life because of Him.

Here’s our service plan from this weekend:

Time of Preparation/Prayer
“Jesus You” (E) [Bill Horn]
Welcome/Greeting Time
Call To Worship – Psalm 33:1ff
“Your Grace Is Enough” (G) [Matt Maher]
“I Stand Amazed” (G) [Charles H. Gabriel]
“Because Of Your Love” (G) [Phil Wickham]
Message – “Romans 5:1-10″ [Joe Hishmeh]
Communion Song – “In My Place” (Eb) [Michael Bleecker, Matt Boswell]
“Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)” (Eb) [Edwin O. Excell, John Newton, Louie Giglio, John P. Rees, Chris Tomlin]
Offering/Announcements
Dismissal


“Jesus You” – We sang this song as our preparation song this weekend, because it was written partially from chapter 5 of Romans. The certain hope that we have because of what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf is the focus of this section of Romans and is also the ultimate focus of this song.

“Your Grace Is Enough” – This song remains a staple for us at Fellowship. We don’t sing it as often as maybe we once did, but it is a great song of celebration as we express our confidence in the finished work of Christ on our behalf. His grace is sufficient for us, and we look nowhere else for our salvation. Jesus is the one who has saved us; we did not save ourselves.

“I Stand Amazed” – This song was fitting for this weekend, because it points to our previous status of condemnation before God, our redemption through the work of Christ, and the future hope we have when Christ returns. Our church sings this song well. We may have set the click a little fast early in the weekend, but it was still a great song with which to celebrate our Savior’s great and marvelous love for us.

“Because Of Your Love” – I love how this song declares that living our lives for God’s glory is the fitting response to what He has done for us through the cross. We only have true life because of what Christ has accomplished for us. He endured our pain and our penalty in our place as our substitute, giving His life up selflessly, and now we can give our own lives selflessly for Him and for others.

“In My Place” – This was a new song that wanted to introduce for our communion time this weekend. I have been listening to this song for the past year or two, and I finally found my opportunity to introduce it here at Fellowship. I love the lyrical focus and the beauty of this song about the cross. We brought it down from G to Eb, and I think it was much more singable for our congregation in that range. I’m still not sold on whether this song could work in our setting for a congregational song, because there are lot of implied notes that the melody pulls out, such as starting on a major 7 (G)of the chord that the rest of the band is playing (Ab). I think it will still be at least a fantastic communion and preparation song in the future. We’ll see how else we can use it. Here’s the lyric:

“In My Place”
Michael Bleecker, Matt Boswell

In my place He stood condemned
He who knew no sin
Became sin for us
That we might become His righteousness

Bearing all my sin and shame
The punishment and blame
He conquered the grave
That we might become the heirs of grace

In my place, Jesus died
The spotless Lamb laid down His life
The wrath of God was satisfied
In my place, Jesus died

Nail-pierced hands, bleeding side,
His body bruised, my God crucified
Crown of thorns, dying cries,
His flesh was torn, my God crucified

Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

CCLI # 5181287 

“Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)” – This was our response song this weekend. This is another great song that we haven’t done very often, and it was a great fit for this weekend. I love singing of our chains being gone and of our newfound freedom in Christ.

On a side note, my wife and I were talking about 2 Chronicles 20 this weekend, and how God called Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah to merely stand before their enemies, who were on their doorstep and about to attack. The people of God went out to face their attackers, and they worshiped the Lord. As they did, God won the victory for them, and their enemies destroyed themselves without the people of Judah lifting a finger against them. They merely trusted in the Lord, and He fought for them. In this passage, there is an interesting correlation between worship and prayer and trusting in the Lord. Really, when we are doing the first two things sincerely and with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, it is because we are also trusting God. When we depend and trust in Him, we get the opportunity to see Him move in powerful ways, and He gets all the glory. I pray that we, as the people of God through Christ Jesus, would trust in the Lord so completely that our worship and prayer together would reflect that. He is worthy of our trust, and He is worthy of our worship–ALL of it.

This weekend was a great time of celebrating the life, hope, and peace that we have because of Christ, and then celebrating through communion together as well. Praise God for the love that led Jesus to the cross in our place to save us!

I hope you had a great weekend of worship wherever you were!

In the Son,
Bill

p.s. don’t forget to check out The Worship Community!

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Set List, 01/28 – 01/29/12 Fellowship Bible Church

January 29, 2012

This weekend, we returned to continue our series on the book of Romans.  Joe preached from what is possibly my favorite passage of Scripture – Romans 3:21-31. The gospel of grace, and the doctrine of justification by faith alone apart from the law, are both very clearly laid out here, and I am reminded of the amazing gift that we have been given in Christ. We all need to be constantly reminded of what the work of Christ has accomplished for us, because it changes everything. You can listen to the entire message here.

Here’s our service plan from this weekend:

Time of Preparation/Prayer
“I Need You” (G) [Kristian Stanfill]
Call To Worship
Welcome/Greeting Time
“Marvelous Light” (Bb) [Charlie Hall]
“You Alone Can Rescue” (Bb) [Matt Redman]
“Nothing But The Blood” (Bb) [Matt Redman]
“Lamb Of God” (Ab) [original]
Message – “Romans 3:21-31 – Justification” [Joe Hishmeh]
“Jesus Messiah” (G) [Daniel Carson, Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves]
Offering/Announcements
Dismissal


“I Need You” – We sang this song in our preparation time this weekend. I love the clarity of this song, and how it lays out our desperation for Christ’s work for us. We are lost without Him. We are hopeless and helpless without Him. It is such a powerful song. We bring it down from the key of Bb to G, and it is much more singable for our congregation. I want to incorporate this song more into our regular worship sets, as I think our congregation is getting a better grasp of it.

“Marvelous Light” – This was our opener this week. We haven’t sung this song in a while, but I think it was very fitting for us to sing this week as we focused on the cross. While we were a people without any hope and without spiritual life, Jesus stepped in and died for us, conquering sin and death. He has adopted us as sons and daughters, and has made us alive together with Him. Praise God that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life for us.

“You Alone Can Rescue” – This song continues to be one of my favorites. The chorus really draws the line in the sand regarding the gospel: “You alone can rescue/ You alone can save/ You alone can lift us from the grave/ You came down to find us/ And led us out of death/ To You alone belongs the highest praise.” Because Jesus is the one who rescued us, He is the only one who deserves the credit, the praise, and the glory. He is the only one!

“Nothing But The Blood” – We haven’t done this song much at Fellowship, but it was a perfect fit to our talk on justification this weekend. Nothing but the blood of Jesus reconciles us to God and makes it possible for us to be declared righteous before a holy God. His blood is the payment for our sin, satisfying the wrath of God against sin, and making peace with God for us. I was moved to tears several times this weekend as we sang this song. Jesus is our peace.

“Lamb of God” – This is a song that I wrote a few years ago as I was studying Isaiah 53. I wanted to write a song that really described the nature of the payment that Jesus paid for us as our substitute. I wanted to challenge us as a congregation to not sing these kinds of songs lightly, but to try and envision the suffering that Jesus bore in our place. I think that is how we sing of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross with meaning. It is, and should be, overwhelming to think of how much Christ suffered for us, and how much He has given us that we did not deserve. He is far too good to us.

“Jesus Messiah” – We sang this song as our response this week. This about summed it all up from this weekend. As 2 Corinthians says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus took our place, and He gives us His.

This weekend was really powerful, and I really experienced the presence of Christ as we worshiped in our services. When we focus so clearly and heavily on what Jesus accomplished for us, it is hard to avoid being overwhelmed with thanksgiving. I had to hold it together a few times when it was really hitting home. Our team did a great job. We also played Warren Barfield’s “Saved” a few times this weekend between services, just to have fun and celebrate our salvation in Christ. God is good!

I hope you had a great weekend of worship wherever you were!

In the Son,
Bill

p.s. don’t forget to check out The Worship Community!

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Set List, 01/21 – 01/22/12 Fellowship Bible Church

January 22, 2012

This weekend, we returned to finish our heaven series, “Heaven Revealed.”  Joe shared about the purpose of heaven and how we can be prepared for heaven. I really loved spending the time this weekend trying to get our hearts and minds around a clearer vision of heaven. You can listen to the entire message here.

Here’s our service plan from this weekend:

Time of Preparation/Prayer
“Jesus You” (E) [Bill Horn]
Call To Worship
“Sing To The King” (E) [Billy Foote, Charles Silvester Horne]
Welcome/Greeting Time
“Happy Day” (B) [Ben Cantelon, Tim Hughes]
“Glorious Day” (B) [Michael Bleecker, J. Wilbur Chapman]
“Jesus Paid It All” (B) [Elvina M. Hall, John Thomas Grape, Alex Nifong]
Message – “Heaven Revealed, Pt. 2″ [Joe Hishmeh]
“Revelation Song” (C) [Jennie Lee Riddle]
Offering/Announcements
Dismissal


“Jesus You” – We sang this song as our preparation song this weekend. This is an original song that came from a study of the book of Romans, especially chapters three through five. We sang it for the preparation time this week because the song ends by pointing to eternity: “Now Death, where is your sting?/ You send me home, where forever I will sing/ You, Jesus, You.” We have no need to fear death if we are in Christ. Death only sends us to our true home – the presence of Jesus.

“Sing To The King” – This was our opener this week. This song was used because it points to Christ’s ultimate victory, which gives us the promise of a future together with Him in heaven. The focus of this song certainly gives reason for celebration!

“Happy Day” – We sang this song primarily because of the second verse: “When I stand in that place/ Free at last, meeting face to face/ I am Yours, Jesus, You are mine/ Endless joy and perfect peace/ Earthly pain finally will cease/ Celebrate, Jesus is alive/ He’s alive!” Once again, it is because of the salvation we have in Christ that we can look forward in anticipation of the day when we see Jesus face to face. All tears and sorrow will be gone, and we will experience a joy that defies description!

“Glorious Day” – This song is still fairly new to our congregation, being that we only started singing it a few weeks ago. You can read more of my thoughts on the song here. This week, we decided to bring it down another half-step to B to see if it would be even easier for our congregation to sing.

“Jesus Paid It All” – This song is a staple for our church, and we sang it because it celebrates the one who resurrected us from spiritual death – Jesus Christ. He is the reason we have life. He is the one who has saved us. We did not (and could not) save ourselves. We owe all thanks, praise, and honor to Him. He is the one who paid our debt and raised these lives up from the dead!

“Revelation Song” – This was our response song this weekend. It was one that I had planned on doing for this series when we first started talking about it, and when we sang it for the “Heaven Is For Real” event this past Sunday night, it became a natural tie to this weekend as we concluded our formal discussion on heaven in our services this weekend.

This weekend was really powerful, and we experienced the presence of Christ as we worshiped in our services. Our team did a great job, and our congregation sang like crazy, which was exciting to witness. I am overwhelmed by the goodness of Christ in His promise of heaven for us. I can’t wait to see Him face to face.

I hope you had a great weekend of worship wherever you were!

In the Son,
Bill

p.s. don’t forget to check out The Worship Community!

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Set List, 01/07 – 01/08/12 Fellowship Bible Church

January 9, 2012

This weekend, we began our Romans series, “Grow In Christ.” Our family pastor, Brian Tryhus, taught about the background information surrounding Paul’s letter to the Romans, as well as calling us as a church to committing ourselves to a diligent study of the book, both individually and in community. I think it was a great challenge to all of us for the new year. I am excited about what the Lord is going to do in our church as we delve into Romans together. I pray that the gospel becomes ever more clear and sure for each of us. You can listen to the entire message here.

This was an interesting and unexpected weekend. I was not originally scheduled to lead, but another leader’s sickness necessitated it. About 3 hours before we started rehearsal, I adjusted our song set, communicated the change with the team, and we went for it. I was once again impressed by the flexibility and ability of our team. They all did a fantastic job, and it was a great weekend of worship, as we focused heavily on the gospel. Each song reflects that focus in some way.

Here’s our service plan from this weekend:

Time of Preparation/Prayer
“The Love Of God” (D) [Frederick M. Lehman, Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai]
Welcome/Greeting Time
“All Because Of Jesus” (Bb) [Steve Fee]
“Glorious One” (C) [Steve Fee]
“Glorious Day” (C) [Michael Bleecker, J. Wilbur Chapman]
Message – “Romans: Grow In Christ – Introduction” [Brian Tryhus]
Communion
Communion Song – “Sing To Jesus” (Eb) [Richard Nibbe, Fernando Ortega]
Offering/Announcements
“In Christ Alone” (D) [Keith Getty, Stuart Townend]
Dismissal


“The Love Of God” – We sang this song as our preparation song this weekend. I especially love the third verse, which makes a beautiful analogy to speak of the greatness of God’s love:

Could we with ink the oceans fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky

“All Because Of Jesus” – This was our opener this week. We sang it because Jesus’s sacrifice for us is the reason we have life and hope. As we focus on Romans, this was a fitting song.

“Glorious One” – This song is a favorite of mine, but I have not sung it with Fellowship before this weekend. Fortunately, it was one that they had sung previously, and it was good to bring it back and sing it together.

“Glorious Day” – This song is new to our congregation, and it is one that I have wanted to introduce ever since I heard it. It is from Michael Bleecker and the Village Church, and it first appears on their album, “God Of Victory.”  (Yes, Casting Crowns did a cover of it, taking some liberties of their own, but I definitely prefer the first rendition by the Village). I love the lyric (written in 1909 by J. Wilbur Chapman), and how it communicates Christ’s incarnation, death, resurrection, and return. It moves me every time I hear it or sing it, because the truth of it resonates deeply in me. Here’s the lyric of the song:

Verse 1
One day when heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my Example is He

Chorus
Living He loved me, dying He saved me
Buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
O glorious day

Verse 2
One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on the tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He

Verse 3
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, o’er death He had conquered
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore

Verse 4
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing
Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine

“Glorious Day”
J. Wilbur Chapman | Michael BleeckerCCLI Song No. 5181287
© 2008 Word Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)

“Sing To Jesus” – This song was brand new to me this week. Sarah Oldberg had picked it out as a communion song this week, so I wanted to leave it in if I could learn it. It is such a beautiful lyric and melody. We did the song with just piano (Cory Zipperle did a great job making it happen!) and vocal. This song was also my introduction to Fernando Ortega. I had heard the name, but never heard any of his music before this week. I am now a fan. I am looking forward to discovering more of his music as a result of this song!

“In Christ Alone” – This was our response song this weekend. I love this modern hymn. It’s interesting to play on guitar, because the traditional arrangement probably wasn’t written with guitar in mind… But it works, and the power of the song takes care of it. It declares the gospel clearly and beautifully, and it is a song that just sounds like I knew it, even when it was the first hearing. It is truly in Christ alone that we have salvation, life, and hope.

I hope you had a great weekend of worship wherever you were!

In the Son,
Bill

p.s. don’t forget to check out The Worship Community!

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Thoughts on Twitter for a New Year

January 2, 2012

I have been thinking a lot about my use of social media. In examining my status updates and tweets, or at least the motives behind them, some questions have arisen about where it could be headed. Am I posting for selfish reasons? Am I posting for the sake of image management (trying to get other people to think of me the way I want them to)? Am I wasting valuable time with some of these posts? Am I trying to give and be generous more than I am seeking to gain from it? Am I building the body of Christ with my posts? Am I making much of Jesus?

I think these are valuable questions- ones that give me some clarity about what to do going forward.

From here on, I resolve to use social media for the benefit of others and the kingdom of God. I will make much of Jesus rather than myself. I will build the body of Christ. I will share humor to make people smile. I will share wisdom and experiences so others can learn from my mistakes. I will no longer use it for the sake of myself or my own image. Jesus and His kingdom are infinitely more important, and there is no time to waste.

Hold me to it.

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Set List, 12/31/11 – 01/01/12 Fellowship Bible Church

January 1, 2012

This weekend, we began a two-part series on heaven called “Heaven Revealed.” Joe shared about the biblical picture of heaven. Joe shared details about the perfection, key person, and people of  heaven. It reminded us all of the place that is prepared for us, and the hope that we have because of it. You can listen to the entire message here.

Here’s our service plan from this weekend:

Time of Preparation/Prayer
“Beautiful” (D) [Phil Wickham]
Welcome/Greeting Time
“Happy Day” (Bb) [Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon]
“Everlasting God” (Bb) [Brenton Brown]
“Forever Reign” (Bb) [Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan]
“Lord of All” (Bb) [Kristian Stanfill]
Message – “Heaven Revealed, Pt. 1″ [Joe Hishmeh]
Offering/Announcements
“Beautiful” (D) [Phil Wickham]
Dismissal


“Beautiful” – We sang this song both as our preparation song and as our response song this weekend. We did it differently in the respective positions in the service. I love this song. I love how it communicates what the Lord has done and is going to do in the story of redemption. It begins by describing how God’s creation displays His glory, then describes what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and finishes by describing the day when we enter into heaven and see the Lord face-to-face. This song moves me as I imagine that day. I’ve posted about this song before here.

“Happy Day” – We opened our services this weekend with this song. We sang this song because it clearly connected the ideas of redemption and heaven. The second verse points specifically to the day when we see Jesus in heaven. Another reason we sang this song was because of the occasion. Since Sunday was New Year’s Day, we anticipated some tired people for our morning services, and this song brought some crucial energy to our gathering and helped us get going.

“Everlasting God” – This song is a staple for us at Fellowship, and it was a great way for us to focus on the fact that our God is eternal. If we have been born again, we will be together with Him for eternity. We find our hope and our life in who He is – the everlasting God.

“Forever Reign” – For eternity, the substance of our song will be the name of Jesus. As those He has redeemed, He is everything to us. He is the one who rescued us. He is the one who made a way for us. He is our source of life and hope. He is the reason we have eternal life. It is all because of Him. Forever, we will sing His praise, because He is the one who is worthy of it all.

“Lord of All” – We connected this song with “Forever Reign” as the ideas are really tied together. Scripture says (in Philippians 2:8-11) that because Jesus humbled Himself to death on a cross, the Father has given Him “the name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” He is worthy of all worship, because there is no one who compares with Him. He is matchless in glory, honor, and power.

Our team did a great job. We had a lot of fun and tried We had two new team members this weekend, and one who came back from some maternity leave, and it was great to have them all contributing. This weekend was a first for me, in that we had to lead on both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Doing services on both Saturdays and Sundays has some unique challenges on weekends like this (just like last weekend’s Christmas Eve/Day combination), but it was special to end one year and begin the next together with our church.

I hop you had a great weekend of worship wherever you were! Happy New Year!

In the Son,
Bill

p.s. don’t forget to check out The Worship Community!

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2011 in review

December 31, 2011

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,300 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Set List, 12/24 – 12/25/11 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Fellowship Bible Church

December 25, 2011

This weekend, we finished our Advent series with a message entitled, “God In Us.” In it, Joe shared about how God is closer to us than anyone because He is in us. He is “God with us” in a way that would have never imagined before Christ came. Christ’s finished work on the cross for us has made this possible. We have inestimable blessings that come from God’s immanence within us. You can listen to the entire message here.

Here’s our service plan from this weekend:

Carol Singing Pre-Service
“Away In A Manger” (E) [Unknown, Charles H. Gabriel, James R. Murray]
“Hark The Herald Angels Sing” (E) [Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, Felix Mendelssohn]
“Angels We Have Heard On High” (F) [Unknown French Poet, translated by James Chadwick]
“Angels From The Realms Of Glory” (Bb) [James Montgomery, Henry Smart]
Welcome/Announcements/Greeting Time
“Joy To The World” (C) [Isaac Watts]
 “O Come Let Us Adore Him” (D) [John Francis Wade, C. Frederick Oakeley, Matt Crocker, Autumn Hardman, Ryan Taubert]
“What Child Is This” (Em) [William Chatterton Dix]
“Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground)” (G) [Ed Cash and Chris Tomlin]
Message – “God In Us” [Joe Hishmeh]
“Silent Night” (A) [Joseph Mohr, Franz Zaver Gruber, translated by John Freeman Young]
Dismissal

(Because this weekend is Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I will not be doing an elaborate recap, but I wanted to point out one song in particular, because it was a fresh element to our Christmas services this year, and I really enjoy it.)

“O Come Let Us Adore Him” – This song comes from Hillsong’s new Christmas album, Born Is The King. It builds on the classic Christmas hymn, “O Come All Ye Faithful,” adding a powerful chorus that sings, “O come all ye faithful/ Come let us adore Him.” The entire album has a very unique feel for Hillsong, being more folky and organic sounding. This song is no exception, and has a really cool energy about it, which makes it really fun to sing together. I really encourage you to check it out if you haven’t heard it yet.

I am so grateful that my family is back for this weekend of worshiping our God together. They were in southern Illinois for the past 2 1/2 weeks helping my mother-in-law for some post-surgery recovery. I missed them like crazy!

I am also very grateful for the opportunity to worship and work with my friends here at Fellowship Bible Church. My life is enriched by our worship team, and especially our worship staff. Erik Oldberg, Wyatt Johnston, Sarah Oldberg, Jack Hishmeh, and Dennis Brinkman did an awesome job with the weekend, serving in the band or on the tech.arts team, and sacrificing some time and rest with family in order to serve the Church.

Advent has been a truly special time for me this year, despite some unique challenges. God is so faithful, and I am a blessed man. I hope you had a great weekend of worship wherever you were.

In the Son,
Bill

p.s. don’t forget to check out The Worship Community!

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Set List, 12/17 – 12/18/11 Fellowship Bible Church

December 18, 2011

This weekend, we continued our Advent series with a message entitled, “God For Us.” Joe shared about the different meaningful ways we can understand this expression, and all the ways that God is truly “for us.” Joe shared that Jesus is for us in His life, in His death, in His resurrection, and His return. We need to live life in light of who God is and what He has done for us, in hope, worship, and anticipation of His second Advent. You can listen to the entire message here.

Here’s our service plan from this weekend:

Time of Preparation/Prayer
“I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)” (E) [Charles Hutchinson Gabriel]
Welcome/Greeting Time “Joyful (The One Who Saves)” (C) [Brenton Brown, Jason Ingram, Henry van Dyke, Ludwig van Beethoven]
“Our God” (G) [Chris Tomlin, Jonas Myrin, Matt Redman]
“O Holy Night” (C) [Placide Cappeau, John Sullivan Dwight, Adolphe Charles Adam]
“What Child Is This” (Em) [William Chatterton Dix]
Message – “God For Us” [Joe Hishmeh] Offering/Announcements
“Lead Me To The Cross” (Bm) [Brooke Fraser]
Dismissal


“I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)” – We sang this song in our preparation time. Kelsey Thomsen led us on this song, as we focused on the love of Christ as it was demonstrated at the cross, where He redeemed us from our sins, and rescued us from death. What amazing love He has for us!

“Joyful (The One Who Saves)” – We continued teaching this song to our congregation for the third and final week. I have really enjoyed singing this song with our congregation, and I look forward to bringing it back again in the future, because it is a great combination of old and new in a song that is true and memorable.

“Our God” – This song was the one that connected with the message the best this week. It is powerful to exalt God and His sovereignty and then recognize that if this all-powerful God is for us, nothing can stand against us.

“O Holy Night” – This is one of my favorite Advent songs. It is a beautiful piece of music and a solid lyric that declares some of the changes that Jesus’ arrival on this earth effected. Everything is different because He came. We can have in Him an object of hope, upon which we can found our faith and trust. Because of who He is and what He has done, He is worthy of our humble worship. He is King!

This carol came from a poem written in the mid-1800′s by a French poet, Placide Cappeau. You can read more of the song’s story in the wiki.

“Midnight, Christians” by Placide Cappeau

Midnight, Christians, it is the solemn hour,
When God-man descended to us
To erase the stain of original sin
And to end the wrath of His Father.
The entire world thrills with hope
On this night that gives it a Savior.

People kneel down, wait for your deliverance.
Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer,
Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!

May the ardent light of our Faith
Guide us all to the cradle of the infant,
As in ancient times a brilliant star
Guided the Oriental kings there.
The King of Kings was born in a humble manger;
O mighty ones of today, proud of your greatness,

It is to your pride that God preaches.
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!

The Redeemer has overcome every obstacle:
The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.
He sees a brother where there was only a slave,
Love unites those that iron had chained.
Who will tell Him of our gratitude,
For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies.

People stand up! Sing of your deliverance,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!

“What Child Is This” – This is probably my favorite Advent song of all. For most of my life (and this is probably the case for most of us), I only heard one chorus for this song. A few years ago, when I was reading a book that my friend Jerry gave me, I saw that there were originally three choruses for this song. The second of these was striking: “Nails, spear shall pierce Him through/ The cross be borne for me, for you/ Hail, hail the Word made flesh/ The babe, the Son of Mary.” I love how the gospel is present in this chorus.

“Lead Me To The Cross” – We closed out our services by responding with this song. Kelsey also did a great job leading on this song. This was another great match for Joe’s message this week, in which he emphasized that we need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily, in order to keep our focus in the right place, and to live a life that exemplifies the power of the gospel. The way I see it, everything in our walk with Christ is downstream from the gospel. When we have a proper view and appreciation of what Christ has accomplished for us, everything else falls into place. Let us keep our eyes on the cross.
Advent makes for some special worship times together. I love how it helps us focus on what Jesus gave for us, to rescue us and make a way for us where there was no way. It makes me think of Philippians 2: 5-11, which says,

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point fo death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Our team did a great job as always. I love celebrating Advent with the Church. It’s a beautiful thing. I hope you had a great weekend of worship wherever you were.

In the Son,
Bill

p.s. don’t forget to check out The Worship Community!

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