This weekend, our lead pastor, Joe Hishmeh, concluded our "Deep and Wide" series, and shared the results of how we came together as a church to advance the gospel in our lives. You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:
Welcome "In Tenderness" (G) [Nate Garvey, Adoniram J. Gordon, W. Spencer Walton, played by Citizens] "Let Me Sing" (Bb) [Todd Fields] Greeting Time Announcements Message - "Deep & Wide Recap" [Joe Hishmeh] "All Creatures of Our God and King" (D) [St. Francis of Assisi, David Crowder, William Henry Draper, Brent Milligan] "Wonderful Maker" (G) [Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman] "Son of God" (G) [Tim Neufeld, Jon Neufeld, Ed Cash, Gordon Cochran] Dismissal
Thoughts: This weekend was a solid weekend with our congregation. Kip Kraisinger co-led, and he and our team all did a great job. We also introduced the glockenspiel to our services for the first time, and Stacy Krueger did a great job with it on "All Creatures of Our God and King," especially for her first time ever playing the instrument. It was a nice textural addition to our instrumentation, and I look forward to being able to utilize it more in the future. The back half of the service was a nice reflective time where we focused our worship toward God primarily as our Maker. "Wonderful Maker" holds a special place in my life as a worshiper, because it was the first song that had the obvious absence of self in the lyric--it was all about who God is and what He has done. It served as a turning point in my leading, where the emphasis shifted from songs about me and what I was going to do for God to who He is and what He has already done for us. There is a place in worship for offering our lives and essentially making vows to the Lord, but the emphasis must be on Him first. "Wonderful Maker" helped turn my focus in that direction, and I am very grateful for how the Lord used it in my life as a young worship leader. "Son of God" was a great way to close our services, because, in a way, it encapsulates the work of Christ for us from beginning to end, and in doing so it gives us words to worship Him and to magnify His surpassing worth. It always resonates with our congregation, and is a powerful moment of worship together.
Throughout the weekend, I felt a little "off." No matter how much sleep I had over the past week, I continued to feel very tired. It could possibly be due to a cold or allergies, but I'm not sure. Whatever the cause, I felt a little "foggy" as a result. It can be challenging to lead well when feeling like that, but those are also some of the most beautiful and powerful moments in leading, because we have the opportunity to see God's power made perfect in our weakness in a very tangible way. It is in those moments that we find ourselves even more dependent on the Spirit of God to work in our lives and in the lives of those we lead, and that is not a bad place to be. I'm thankful for how He continues to move and grow us as a congregation, and that He allows me to be a part of what He is doing here in Fellowship.
Next weekend, our NextGen worship director, Erik Oldberg, will be leading our weekend services with a team of students, and it's going to be a great weekend! Don't miss it.
- Bill
What were your thoughts or experiences from your worship gathering this weekend?