This weekend, our lead pastor shared the the first message in our series, "Positive Identity," where he taught how we are loved in Christ. He said that how we view God and how we view ourselves contributes to how we see the world around us. It was a powerful reminder of the love of God for us. You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:
"Unleashed" (F#m) [Warren Barfield, Scott Krippayne] Welcome "Happy Day" (B) [Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon] Greeting Time/Announcements Musth Cycle Video/ The Bridge Promo - Chris Stewart of The Bridge Message - "Positive Identity: Loved" [Joe Hishmeh] "Jesus Take All of Me (Just As I Am)" (C) [Charlotte Elliot, Brenton Brown] "This Is Amazing Grace" (C) [Phil Wickham, Josh Farro, Jeremy Riddle] "Made Alive" (C) [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger] Dismissal
Thoughts: This was a solid weekend. I am very excited about this series, which I believe will give our church a clear picture of our identity in Christ. I saw the truth of Joe's message really land in lives over the weekend, and I can't wait to continue this week!
For our singing this weekend, we opened the pre-service time with "Unleashed" by Warren Barfield for the countdown song. We sang this song because it simply focuses on the overwhelming love of God for us, regardless of where we are or the decisions we have made. This one is just a blast to play with our team, as well. We then began the service with "Happy Day." One of our new leaders, Trent Raines, led us in this song, and he did a great job. After Joe's message, we responded with "Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)," which is a beautiful rewrite of the great hymn, "Just As I Am." We sang this because I wanted our congregation to take a moment to reflect on the decision to come to Jesus just as we are, recognizing that He loved us before we ever made a hint of a move toward Him. We followed this with a new song for our church, "This Is Amazing Grace," which is a great co-write between Phil Wickham, Josh Farro, and Jeremy Riddle. I love the lyric of this song, and it moves me more and more as I sing it: "This is amazing grace/ This is unfailing love/ That You would take my place/ That You would bear my cross/ You would lay down Your life/ That I would be set free/ Jesus I sing for/ All that You've done for me." Amen! We then finished our services by celebrating what Jesus has done in singing "Made Alive," which has quickly become one of our church's favorite songs.
This weekend also happened to be the last weekend for one of our core team members and drummers, Jordan Hymon. He and his wife Ashley are moving to Nashville to pursue a career in music, and I felt that this weekend was a great send-off. Jordan is an extremely talented man, and a great teammate and coach at the same time. He has poured into countless students of our NextGen student bands, and he has helped set the environment of humility, encouragement, and excellence on our team. I will truly miss him here, and I know that God will continue to use him in a great way in his future endeavors.
All in all, it was a fantastic time of worship together. I already can't wait for next weekend!
- Bill
What were your thoughts or experiences from your worship gathering this weekend?