Fellowship Bible Church - 04/01 - 04/02/2017

This week, we concluded our Way of Life series through the Sermon on the Mount. It was a great study, and I think we all were impacted in some way by the life-changing contained in these powerful three chapters of the Gospel of Matthew.

This week, we were looking at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7:24-29, where Jesus describes the wise man who builds his house on the rock (Jesus), and the foolish man who builds his life on the sand. The first two songs that came to mind when we were looking ahead to this weekend were the great hymn "The Solid Rock" and "Two Sets of Jones'" by Big Tent Revival. I hadn't played the latter in probably close to two decades, so it was fun to break it out and share it with our congregation, many of whom were very young when it was originally released. It was a last-minute addition to the set after we had some late illness and injuries take out one of our leaders for the weekend, but I'm glad it made it in. I heard quite a few nostalgic comments, where people shared the impact that the song or the band had on their formative years in their walk with Jesus.

Here's what we sang together:

Pre-service - "Two Sets of Jones'" [Big Tent Revival]
"Grace Alone" [The Modern Post, Dustin Kensrue]
"The Solid Rock" [Edward Mote, arr. by The Dispatch]
"Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)" [Charlotte Elliott, Brenton Brown]
"Because Of Your Love" [Phil Wickham]

It was a great weekend, and a great way to conclude this series. I'm looking forward to Easter in two weeks!

Have a great week!

in the Son,

Bill

Fellowship Service Recap - 07/16 - 07/17/16

This weekend we began our series through Paul's letters to Timothy, Keep The Faith. For his message this weekend, Pastor Joe shared about how the Gospel changes the way we interact with others–primarily leading us to love others as Christ has first loved us. It was a great reminder of both the Gospel message for us, and the Gospel impact on our daily lives and leadership.

Here's what we sang together:

"Leaning On The Everlasting Arms" [Elisha Albright Hoffman, Anthony J. Showalter]
"Before The Throne" [The Modern Post]
"Jesus!" [Citizens & Saints]
"Hosanna" [Hillsong United]
"Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)" [Brenton Brown]

It was a great weekend together. The team worked hard and served well, and Jesus was lifted up. I really enjoyed singing "Jesus Take All of Me"–it had been a while!

I hope you had a great weekend of worship, too.

in the Son,

Bill

Service Recap - 11/7 - 11/8/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

For our third weekend of our Rebuild series, Pastor Joe shared about our internal resistance to having our hearts devoted to the Lord. He talked about the value of the daily practices of repentance, dependence, and obedience in rebuilding a heart for God, and being available for His working in us.

Here are our songs from this weekend:

Pre-Service - "Hail the King" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger of Citizens & Saints]
"Sing to the King" [Charles Sylvester Horne, Billy Foote]
"How Can It Be" [Jeff Johnson, Jason Ingram, Paul Mabury, as sung by Lauren Daigle]
"Jesus Take All of Me (Just As I Am)" [Charlotte Elliot, Brenton Brown]

It was a great weekend, as we celebrated the Lord's Supper together and looked at the condition of our hearts for God. We sang "How Can It Be" (sung by Lauren Daigle) again, which is one of my favorite newer songs that I have heard. It is an honest and thankful song of worship, looking at all the Lord has done for our redemption and to bring us to Himself, despite all of our sin. He is so good to us. For the Lord's Supper and the response time, we sang "Jesus Take All of Me (Just As I Am)," which is Brenton Brown's modern arrangement of one of my favorite hymns, "Just As I Am." I love the beautiful image of coming to Jesus with nothing but our sin and Him accepting us based on Himself and His work for us. Our salvation is not dependent on us, but on our gracious heavenly Father. He has done great things for us!

I hope you had a great weekend of worship, too!

In the Son,

Bill

Songs We Sing - 10/03 - 10/04/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

We continued our Unstuck series this weekend with a message on getting unstuck with our finances. We also celebrated communion this weekend, which is always a blessing to celebrate together with our church family. We tried something rather different for us this week, in that all the instruments used are normally used with bluegrass music. It was a blast!

Here are our songs from this weekend:

Pre-Service - "Absent From Flesh" [Isaac Watts, arr. by Jamie Barnes of Sojourn]
"There is a Fountain" [William Cowper, arr. by Zach Bolen of Citizens & Saints]
"I'll Fly Away" [Albert E. Brumley, my arrangement]
"Before the Throne" [Charitie Lees Bancroft, Vicki Cook, arr. by Dustin Kensrue & The Modern Post, modified by us]
Communion - "Nothing But The Blood" [Robert Lowry, my arrangement]
"Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)" [Charlotte Elliott, Brenton Brown]

This weekend was very different and very fun! Our team did a great job all the way around. We used upright bass, banjo, dobro guitar, mandolin, acoustic guitars, and cajon, and it made for a unique feel for the weekend. Also, all the songs we used this weekend are hymns, whether old or new arrangements. This is something I have wanted to try for a while, to see what happens. I love hymns and the value in expression and teaching they bring to the Church, so it was fun to put a bunch of them together in one weekend.

Songs We Sing - 05/30 - 05/31/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

It was great to be back with my church this weekend after a good vacation with my family and friends! We continued in our series through 1 Corinthians, as Joe shared about "staying power" from 1 Corinthians 7:17-24. It was a powerful challenge to be faithful to where God has called us.

Here are our songs from this weekend:

Pre-Service - "I Know" [Brian Eichelberger, Chad Gardner - Kings Kaleidoscope]
"Rejoice" [Dustin Kensrue, Stuart Townend]
"Everlasting God" [Brenton Brown, Ken Riley]
"Jesus Take All of Me (Just As I Am)" [Charlotte Elliot, Brenton Brown]
"Lamb of God" [Jason Ingram, Andi Rozier, Meredith Andrews]
"Made Alive" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]

We had a fantastic weekend of worship together. We had several of our brass players with us, and they always add something special to the music. We also opened with one of my favorite songs of 2015, "I Know" by Kings Kaleidoscope. It's a phenomenal song that declares our confidence that because of Christ alone, we have the sure hope of an eternity together with Him! I was moved to tears the first time I heard the song, and it continues to minister to me and encourage me today. It was great to play it together and share it with our church family. I'm not sure it will ever be a congregational song that we all sing together (it would have to come down a few steps for that to happen), but I think it is still something we need to hear.

For the rest of our songs, we sang familiar songs that focused on Jesus as our example and our strength to follow. He has saved us and made us alive together with Him so that we might in turn be a blessing to those around us and lead people to Jesus. He is the one who gives us the resources to carry out His calling on each one of us, and we simply need to be available and obedient to that call. 

In all, it was a beautiful weekend of worshiping together with the church! It's good to be home.

I hope you had a great weekend of worship, too!

- Bill

EASTER 2015 - Fellowship Bible Church

Easter is always one of my favorite times of leading worship through singing. The only problem is there are about 100 songs I want to sing with the church for those services, and I have to narrow it down to 5 or 6! This year was my favorite Easter to date, by far. We chose to sing songs that were very familiar to our congregation, and some that would likely be familiar to anyone who had been in a church at some point in their past.

Here's our service order for our Easter services

“True Love” [Phil Wickham]
Message Intro - True Story -Joe Hishmeh
“Before the Throne” [The Modern Post - Charitie Lees Bancroft, arr. by Dustin Kensrue]
“Made Alive” [Citizens & Saints - Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]
Message, pt. 1 - Pastor Joe
Video - Life stories (before)
Message, pt. 2 -Joe Hishmeh
Video - Life stories (after)
Response setup -  Joe Hishmeh
“Jesus Take All of Me (Just As I Am)” [Charlotte Elliot, Brenton Brown]
Response wrap-up, collection of response cards and offering - David Hinkle
“Jesus Paid It All” [Kristian Stanfill - Alex Nifong, Elvina M. Hall, John T. Grape]
“This is Amazing Grace” [Phil Wickham, Josh Farro, Jeremy Riddle]

We began with Phil Wickham's "True Love" because it fit really well with Pastor Joe's message, "True Story." It was a great intro to the service, and really summarized the Easter message as a whole. After Joe introduced the message by recounting the true story of the resurrection of Jesus, we continued into The Modern Post's rendition of "Before The Throne," starting basically a cappella with the tag, "Because the sinless Savior died/ My sinful soul is counted free/ For God the Just is satisfied/ To look on Him and pardon me/ To look on Him and pardon me." From there we jumped right into "Made Alive," which is one of our church's favorite songs and a great fit for Easter. I love hearing the church sing this one out! After Joe's message, we sang Brenton Brown's "Jesus Take All of Me (Just As I Am)," which was a very fitting response song for the weekend. I love this arrangement of "Just As I Am," one of my favorite hymns of all time. I think it states beautifully and clearly our deep need for Jesus' redeeming work for us and the fact that He takes us as we are and makes new in Him. After we passed out buckets to take up the response cards and the offering, we closed out our services with Alex Nifong's arrangement of "Jesus Paid It All" and "This is Amazing Grace." In all, it was a beautiful, encouraging, and powerful time of worshiping Jesus together!

I am so proud of and thankful for our team, both staff and volunteers. They worked so hard to pull these services off and to serve our church and our community well. Our tech director, Wyatt Johnston, executed a great plan for all the logistics of the entire event and led his team well. Our worship arts team did a fantastic job in proclaiming the gospel through our singing and pointing people to Jesus. We also had a wonderful crew of people who helped us pack everything up and bring it back to our building Sunday afternoon. Everyone did everything with grace and with excellence. I am so privileged and grateful to serve with such amazing people!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter celebrating our risen Lord Jesus. He has done it all for us!

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus..." - Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV

Songs We Sing, 01/04 - 01/05/14 Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend was the second of our series called, "The Story." This week, pastor Joe shared about how we all need to be live out the gospel so that we can be confident in it as we share with others. You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here.

Here's our service plan:

Pre-Service - "True Love" (C) [Phil Wickham]
Welcome
"Happy Day" (B) [Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon]
Greeting Time
Announcements
Message - "The Story: Live The Story" [Joe Hishmeh]
"Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)" (C) [Charlotte Elliot, Brenton Brown]
"Because of Your Love" (G) [Phil Wickham]
"Jesus Paid It All" (C) [John T. Grape, Elvina M. Hall, add. chorus by Alex Nifong]
Dismissal

Thoughts: This weekend was another great weekend. Again, reflecting on the power of the gospel is the greatest motive we have to worship Jesus. He loves us and He gave Himself up for our redemption. He is so worthy of worship!

Your turn: what were your experiences, observations, or take-aways from this past weekend?

- Bill

Songs We Sing, 08/30 - 09/01/13 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, our lead pastor, Joe Hishmeh, introduced our new series, "Deep and Wide," where he shared the vision for the new series, and how a follower of Jesus is always used by God when he or she is available. You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:

"Before The Throne" (A) [Charitie Lees Bancroft, arr. by The Modern Post] "Hosanna" (E) [Brooke Ligertwood] Greeting Time/Announcements Message - "Deep & Wide: A Follower of Jesus is Always Used" [Joe Hishmeh] Communion Song - "I Surrender All" (Bb) [Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter, Winfield Scott Weeden] "Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)" (C) [Brenton Brown, Charlotte Elliott] "Hallelujah to My King" (C) [Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown] Dismissal

Thoughts: It was a solid weekend of worship, and a good kickoff to our new series. Sarah Oldberg co-led this weekend, and she always does an awesome job. We also had two brand-new team members this weekend, Eric Dehner on drums and Aron Montaini on lead guitar, and they did great in their first weekend! I love to see our team grow and more people getting involved in leading our congregation in worship!

For our singing this weekend, we sang songs that established our foundation, hope, and security in the gospel ("Before The Throne," "Hallelujah To My King"), and then songs that helped us respond to God's goodness and mercy with surrender and obedience ("Hosanna," "I Surrender All," "Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)"). I loved the songs that we had the opportunity to sing together, and I love where God is leading us as a church. We are heading out on an incredible journey, and I can't wait to see what happens, and how we impact our community as a result!

- Bill

What were your thoughts or experiences from your worship gathering this weekend?

Songs We Sing, 07/27 - 07/28/13 - Fellowship Bible Church

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?

Songs We Sing, 05/04 - 05/05/13 - Fellowship Bible Church

This past weekend, we continued in our fourth message of our series - "Seven." Our pastor, Joe Hishmeh, shared about being content with what God has provided for us, and leveraging our resources for the gospel and the kingdom of God, rather than trying to keep up with other people we see. It was a challenging message that called us away from the Keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality of the world to the selfless mentality of a Christ-follower. You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:

Welcome "Made Alive" (C) [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger] Greeting Time/Announcements Message - "Seven: Finances - Philippians 4:11" [Joe Hishmeh] Communion "Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)" (C) [Charlotte Elliot, Brenton Brown] "Wonderful Maker" (G) [Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman] "10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)" (G) [Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin] Dismissal

Thoughts: This weekend was a solid weekend of worship. The team did a great job, and the church sang out! I am loving "Made Alive." It is a song that I can't get out of my head, and it is a great way to get the truth of Ephesians 2 in our hearts and minds throughout the week. I think the church is getting a hold of it, and I look forward to continuing to sing it in the near future. We're going to rest the song next weekend, and we'll pick up the weekend after that to continue to teach the song & refresh it for those who don't remember it as well. "Jesus Take All Of Me" is one of my favorite newer songs for our church, and it was a very meaningful moment during communion in the wake of Joe's message.

"Wonderful Maker" always holds a special place in my heart as the song that opened my eyes to how selfish I was in worship. This song helped me see just how much I was saying the words "I" and "Me" in worship, and seeking what I could get from God, rather than the glory and praise that I could give to Him because of His surpassing goodness and worth. He alone has effected our rescue, so He alone is worthy of all glory, praise, and honor. This was the first song I can remember singing that didn't say "I" or "me" in it even once. This song was a game-changer for me that really altered my trajectory as a worshiper and as a worship leader.

I love our church, and I love what God is doing in us!

- Bill

What were your thoughts or experiences from your worship gathering this weekend?

Songs We Sing, 02/09 - 02/10/13 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend marked the fourth week of our series through 2 Corinthians-- "Purpose In Christ." Our pastor Joe Hishmeh preached via a video he recorded in Ethiopia. He is currently on a journey around the world, visiting many of our mission partners around the world. It was really beautiful to hear him preach from 2 Corinthians  You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:

Welcome "10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)" (G) [Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin] "Before The Throne" (A) [Charitie Lees Bancroft, arr. by The Modern Post] Greeting Time/Announcements Video - "Josiah" from Project Amazon Message - "Purpose In Christ - Suffering in Christ" [Joe Hishmeh] "Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)" (C) [Charlotte Elliot, Brenton Brown] "Glorious" (C) [Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown] "Glorious One" (C) [Steve Fee] Dismissal

Thoughts: This weekend was another beautiful weekend with our church. Our team did a great job! Our GO team (missions team) decorated also our lobby to make our people think of Ethiopia, having Ethiopian coffee and African music playing for our background music before and after services. It created a great atmosphere for the entire weekend, helping us to turn our eyes outward to our brothers and sisters around the globe. We started our services with "10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)," which was a refreshing way to begin. I think it helped ease us into a time of worship together by setting our eyes on blessing the Lord throughout our lives because of His faithful, covenant love for us. We moved from there to "Before The Throne," which is one of my favorite gospel declarations right now. After that, we went into a video of my friend Josiah from the Amazon basin. I love the video- it's so well done! Then, we shared Joe's message from Ethiopia. It was a great challenge to turn suffering and trials into an opportunity for the gospel to move through our lives. We responded with "Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)," which is quickly becoming another favorite of mine. It's a beautiful reworking of one of my favorite hymns. We continued then to teach "Glorious" and finished with "Glorious One," which is a staple for our congregation, and one of our favorites. It was a great way to end the weekend. I am really encouraged from our time worshiping together!

Thanks for reading and being a part of this with me!

- Bill

What were your thoughts or experiences from your worship gathering this weekend?

Songs We Sing, 12/29 - 12/30/12 - Fellowship Bible Church

This week we began a series about the gospel: "The Gospel: In/Through/Beyond." Pastor Joe shared about how we are rescued and restored because of the gospel. It was a great call for us to trust the gospel--not only for our salvation, but for our transformation. You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:

Welcome "In Tenderness" (G) [W. Spencer Walton, Adoniram J. Gordon, Nate Garvey, arranged by Citizens] "Before The Throne" (A) [Charitie Lees Bancroft, arranged by The Modern Post] Greeting Time/Announcements Message - "The Gospel In Me" [Joe Hishmeh] "Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)" (C) [Charlotte Elliot, Brenton Brown] "Stronger" (C) [Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan] "Jesus Paid It All" (C) [John T. Grape, Elvina M. Hall, Alex Nifong] Dismissal

Thoughts: This was another great weekend! We sang some of our church's favorite songs from this year. It was truly enjoyable to sing four renewed hymn arrangements together this weekend, too (maybe that's why they are some of my favorite songs...). Our church was singing really well this weekend, and it seems that has been a growing trend over the past month or so. God is doing great things in our church. One special thing that Joe shared with us this weekend was the result from our Christmas offering giving.

Our goal was to raise $75,000 for four initiatives: 1) Community Transformation Dinners in an impoverished neighborhood known as Hi-Crest 2) A local sports camp called Doxazo for this same neighborhood 3) An air drop of food & supplies for persecuted Christians from southern Sudan and South Sudan who are in hiding in the Nuba Mountains (www.SaveTheNuba.com) 4) The Aquaponics facility in Santiago, Dominican Republic, which will help feed and provide for an entire community living in and around a trash dump (www.TrashMountain.com)

How did our church respond? We raised over $121,000 for these efforts! I love seeing how generous our church is becoming. God is doing amazing things in an through our church, and I'm excited to see how these ministries are affected as a result. The gospel is going forward! Praise God!

Have a happy new year! If you are reading this, I am especially grateful for your time and for the opportunity to share what the Lord is teaching me and how the Lord is shaping my ministry here at Fellowship. He is faithful. May He richly bless you with more confidence in His gospel and a greater awareness of His presence with you in the new year! Love y'all!

What were your thoughts or experiences on your worship experience this weekend?

Songs We Sing, 12/01 - 12/02/12 - Fellowship Bible Church

This week we began our celebration of Advent and our new series, "Simple Christmas." Pastor Joe Hishmeh shared about God's plan of redemption for us, and how the only way for us to receive this redemption is to step down from our pride and trust in the finished work of Christ. It was a great way to begin Advent. You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:

Welcome "Joy To The World" (C) [Isaac Watts, arr. by Bill Horn] "Salvation's Chorus" (G) [Todd Fields] Greeting Time/Announcements Message - "Simple Plan" [Joe Hishmeh] "Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)" (C) [Charlotte Elliot, Brenton Brown] "In Christ Alone" (E) [Keith Getty, Stuart Townend, arr. by Bill Horn] "Here I Am To Worship" (E) [Tim Hughes] "Cannons" (chorus only) (E) [Phil Wickham] Dismissal

Thoughts: This was a great weekend. Joe's message was a powerful to trust completely in the work of Christ and to step down from our pride that He might be more exalted in our lives. The band did a great job this weekend, too. I threw a lot at them, with some new songs and some old songs done in new ways. We introduced Todd Fields' (of North Point) "Salvation's Chorus" to our church this weekend, which is a song that I have wanted to teach for a while. It is a great song for celebrating our redemption in Christ. Also, we introduced Brenton Brown's update of "Just As I Am," entitled "Jesus Take All Of Me (Just As I Am)," which is a beautiful song for communion. Cindy Gular helped lead this one, and it was a great moment. From there, we introduced my new arrangement of "In Christ Alone." The team did a great job of developing their parts, and I was pretty happy with the results. I look forward to singing this arrangement again soon with the church. I simply love the words of this song. All in all, it was a great weekend. The church was singing pretty well, and I loved some of the creativity the team showed this weekend. I love my church and my team! It is such a blessing to serve here.

What were your thoughts or experiences on your worship experience this weekend?

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

Set List, 03/05 - 03/06/11 Fellowship Bible Church

Here's our set from this week: Pre-Service: "Happy Day" [Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon] Call to Worship - Psalm 66:1-4 "Hosanna (Praise is Rising)" [Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown] Welcome/Announcements/Greeting "You Alone Can Rescue" [Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin] "It is Well" [Todd Fields, Horatio G. Spafford] Message - I Believe We Respond: Salvation Lord's Supper - "Just As I Am" [Charlotte Elliott, William Bradbury] Response - "Jesus Messiah" [Daniel Carson, Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, and Jesse Reeves]

This was another great weekend of worship, and we continue to build momentum. People continue to participate more, and respond to worship God through music and the Word. I am also learning more about, and getting more connected with, our people and our team. I am happy with our progress, and with what is happening when we gather each week. This week we also celebrated the Lord's Supper/communion, which is always a sweet time where we focus on remembering what God has done to redeem us. It was especially significant this week, because it followed Joe's talk about salvation, and how we respond in faith and repentance to what Jesus Christ has done for us.

We repeated "Happy Day" in the pre-service section again this week, because it is still fairly new to our people, and because it was particularly fitting for the focus this week. I enjoy this song, if only for the fact that it is simple and happy song of thanksgiving for what Christ has done. It sings of the gospel clearly in a celebrative way, and I think that is the song's greatest value. We followed the call to worship with "Hosanna (Praise is Rising)," which is a great song to follow the call to worship. It has a feeling of preparation and entering into God's presence, and sings clearly of some of the proper motives and responses in worship: "Hosanna, Hosanna/ You are the God who saves us/ Worthy of all our praises/ Hosanna, Hosanna/ Come have your way among us/ We welcome You here, Lord Jesus."

We also continued teaching "You Alone Can Rescue," and our people took hold of it more. It was a great fit for our focus this weekend, as we focused on how salvation is the work of God alone, and we place our trust and confidence in His finished work. I love this song. It's not the music that makes it exciting, either. It is purely the lyric of this song that is overwhelming. Jesus is our only rescue. This will be a song that the church sings for a while.

We brought back Todd Fields' arrangement of "It Is Well," which is one of my favorite modern hymn arrangements. He preserved the melody of Horatio Spafford's original, but added a fitting chorus which captures the spirit of the song well. It serves as a strong declaration of confidence and hope in Christ, through anything that we experience in this life. The guitar part that Fields has written is really interesting, too, which only adds to the value of this song. When we come to the original chorus at the end of the song, it is beautiful to hear the congregation singing out so strongly.

We used the great hymn "Just As I Am" for the time during the Lord's Supper, and we arranged it in a Sufjan Stevens-ish kind of way--with a slow swing to it, organ with Leslie on it, and minimal percussion. It was another great fit for the focus this weekend. I was unsure of how we would arrange it going into the weekend, but the team came up with some nice ideas and instrumentation to make it work nicely.

We finished the weekend off with "Jesus Messiah," which was perfect. I cannot claim credit for this one, because it was the result of some changes late in the planning, and I needed a song to plug the hole, and thought this would work. It connected with Joe's message in more ways than I can count, and coming out of the Lord's Supper only added to its impact. The more I sing this song, the more I enjoy it and its message.

It was a great weekend, and I'm excited about how things continue here with Fellowship Bible Church!

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

Bill

Sunday Set Lists