Fellowship Bible Church - Easter - 04/15 - 04/16/2017

It's late! But here is our recap of our Easter services together last weekend, anyway!

It was our first Easter weekend together in our new worship center building, which makes it much easier for our congregation to hear one another singing. It made for a powerful time of singing, celebration, and worship together!

Here's what we sang together to celebrate the Faith, Hope, and Love that we have because of the risen Christ:

Pre-service - "Forever (We Sing Hallelujah)" [Bethel Music]
"Rejoice" [The Modern Post/Dustin Kensrue]
"Jesus!" [Citizens & Saints/The Northwest Collective]
"O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" [Hillsong Worship]
"No Longer Slaves" [Jonathan David Helser & Melissa Helser]

Fellowship Service Recap - 09/10 - 09/11/16

This week was the first of our new series, Awakening, where we are looking at the gospel for all of life as we receive it, live it, and give it away. In this first message, Joe shared about the declarations of the gospel–what it says about God, and what it says about us. It was a beautiful reminder of how the gospel changes our relationship with God, and brings us into fellowship with Him and with each other.

Here's what we sang together:

Pre-service - "Grace Alone" [Dustin Kensrue/The Modern Post]
"It is Finished" [Dustin Kensrue/The Modern Post]
"Jesus!" [Citizens & Saints]
"Jesus Messiah" [Chris Tomlin]
"O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" [Hillsong]

It was a great start to the series. The team did a great job, and it was a very celebratory weekend with the words we were singing, as we celebrated the gospel and how Jesus came to our rescue through His death, burial, and resurrection.

I hope you have a great week!

in the Son,

Bill

Fellowship Service Recap - 08/06 - 08/07/16

This was our fourth and final week going through Paul's letters to Timothy in our Keep The Faith series and this weekend, Joe's message was about how to "Keep the Faith in Preaching" out of 2 Timothy 4:1-8.

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

Pre-service - "A Mighty Fortress" [Christy Nockels]
"Jesus!" [Citizens & Saints]
"Lord of Lords" [Hillsong]
"O Praise the Name (Anástasis)" [Hillsong]
Communion - "Beloved" [Derek Webb]

It was a great weekend together, as it always is when we celebrate the Lord's Supper and specifically remember and focus on the sacrifice that Christ made for our redemption. In particular, I really enjoyed singing "Beloved" by Derek Webb, which is a moving call back to the Gospel, reminding us that Jesus is all that we need. There are many voices in our world and in our own hearts telling us that we need to add to the beautiful simplicity of the Gospel message, but we need to constantly remind ourselves of the simple truth that Jesus is enough. He has fully accomplished the work of redemption for us, and there is nothing that we can add to what He has done. We cannot "sweeten the deal" for Him. He has done it all, and He has given the gift of salvation to us free of charge. The chorus captures this thought:

Beloved, listen to Me
Don't believe all that you see
Don't you ever let anyone tell you
That there's anything that you need
But Me

I love this song, and it was very fitting for both communion and Joe's message this weekend. 

May you find peace and rest in the fact that Jesus is all that you need, and that He has completely accomplished the work of redemption for you. That is the rest that is found only in the Gospel of Jesus.

- Bill

Fellowship Service Recap - 06/25 - 06/26/16

This weekend, we celebrated and dedicated our building expansion together. We spent our time emphasizing what we come together to do in this space on a weekly basis: declare the greatness of God, thank God for His goodness, respond to the grace of God, seek guidance from God, and reach the next generation for God. It is a special weekend in the life of our church, as we have seen God do great things over the course of our short history, and we also look forward to what He will continue to do in and through us.

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

Pre-service: "Lord Have Mercy" [Brady Toops]
"It Is Finished" [Dustin Kensrue / The Modern Post]
"Jesus!" [Citizens & Saints]
"Good, Good Father" [Pat Barrett, Anthony Brown / Housefires]
"O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" [Hillsong]

It was a great weekend together. The songs we sang carried the themes of God's unique worthiness of our worship, His name being above all others, His goodness to us, and His faithfulness. 

Fellowship Service Recap - 04/30 - 05/01/16

As we continued our Decided series this weekend and Joe focused on the decision to worry or worship in the midst of difficulty, Pastor Joe looked to the awesome account of King Jehoshaphat's response to a major threat in 2 Chronicles 20. The key line from that passage is in verse 12: "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

Pre-service - "A Mighty Fortress" [Christy Nockels]
"Before the Throne" [as sung by The Modern Post]
"Your Great Name" [Michael Neale, Krissy Nordhoff]
"O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" [Hillsong]
"Jesus!" [Citizens & Saints]

This weekend, which happened to be the last weekend in our current worship center, was a great one. I could not think of a better way to finish our time singing together in this room than to sing out the words of "Jesus!": "Highly exalted is the name/ Of Jesus Christ/ Heaven and earth declare all praise/ To Jesus Christ" and "Jesus/ every heart and tongue confess/ Your name above all names/ All things/ Of this earth belong to You/ Forever, You will reign!"

Our team did a great job leading, and many of them had an extra long weekend as they helped with a special Sharefest celebration downtown earlier on Saturday. I'm so grateful for our volunteers who put in so much work to make our weekends happen. They serve with excellence and great attitudes each and every week. They are a blessing to me and to our church!

I hope you have a great week!

in the Son,

Bill

FBC Service Recap - Easter 2016

Jesus is Risen!

Here's what we sang together to celebrate the resurrection of Christ:

"He is Jesus" [Heath Balltzglier, Matthew Melton, Steve Fee]
"Christ the Lord is Risen" [Charles Wesley, Bill Horn]
"It is Finished" [Dustin Kensrue]
"Give Me Jesus" [African American Spiritual, arr. by Fernando Ortega]
"You Have Overcome" [Bill Horn, Erik Oldberg]
"O Praise the Name (Anástasis)" [Marty Sampson, Benjamin Hastings, Dean Ussher]
"Jesus!" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]

This weekend, we had seven services, and our team stepped up and did an awesome job serving the church. It was a powerful celebration of the life that we have because of the resurrection of Jesus. As the Bible says in Ephesians 2, "We are made alive together with Him." Specifically, we focused on the fully accomplished work of redemption through the cross of Christ, and the power and victory and life that we have because of Him. He has done it all, and He alone is worthy of all glory and honor and praise! He is risen!

FBC Service Recap - 03/19 - 03/20/16

This weekend was our final week of journeying through the book of Acts in our Mission Possible series, and we also celebrated Palm Sunday weekend together. We looked at the final days of the life of Paul, and how they reflected Jesus' final days as He headed to Jerusalem to offer Himself up as a sacrifice for our redemption. For our singing, we focused on Jesus as Lord and King.

Here's what we sang together:

"Sing to the King" [Charles Silvester Horne, Billy Foote]
"Hosanna" [Brooke Ligertwood]
"Lord of All" [Kristian Stanfill]
"O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" [Marty Sampson, Benjamin Hastings, Dean Ussher]
"This Is Amazing Grace" [Josh Farro, Phil Wickham, Jeremy Riddle]

It was a great weekend as we celebrated Jesus' Triumphal Entry and looked forward to the celebration of Easter. Our team did a great job, and it was a fantastic finish to our Acts series.

FBC Service Recap - 03/05 - 03/06/16

This weekend, we continued in our Acts series, Mission Possible, where Pastor Joe shared some lessons from Paul's final address to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. I find this passage to be very powerful, as Paul had shared life with these men, and was giving his parting words to them as he understood that he was heading to his own death. That context makes one perk up and pay attention to what he shared with them.

Here's what we sang together:

"A Mighty Fortress" [Christy Nockels, Nathan Nockels]
"Hosanna (Praise is Rising)" [Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown]
"Lamb of God" [Jason Ingram, Andi Rozier, Meredith Andrews]
"Your Name" [Paul Baloche, Glenn Packiam]
"O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" [Marty Sampson, Benjamin Hastings, Dean Ussher]

As I mentioned above, I really love this passage. For our songs, this weekend, we wanted to emphasize the transformation that happens in us when Christ is our all, and we put all of our hope in Him alone. This leads to our faith growing and our priorities being realigned. "A Mighty Fortress" comes from Hebrews 12 where the writer speaks of God as a consuming fire whose kingdom will never fail, and who is worthy of our worship and our lives. "Hosanna (Praise is Rising)" is an invitation for the Lord to have His way in us and to remake us in His image. "Lamb of God" was our communion song this weekend, and focuses on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for us. "Your Name" is a recognition of the unique saving power of the name of Jesus, and the fact that He is our only hope and refuge. Finally, "O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" is a song we have taught for three weeks now, and it takes us through the story of the cross, and echoes the message of Philippians 2–because of His sacrificial death on the cross for us, Jesus is exalted above every name, and is worthy of all the praise and the glory!

It was a great weekend together, lifting high the name of Jesus like He deserves. He has done great things for us, and He is our only hope!

Have a great week!

In the Son,

Bill

FBC Service Recap - 02/27 - 02/28/16

As we continued in the book of Acts this weekend, Joe shared about Paul's message in the Areopagus in Athens, where he shared the news about the resurrection of Jesus with a group of Greeks who recognized that there was an "unknown god." Paul endeavored to point out to them that the God of the Bible is the Creator, Sustainer, Lord, Father, and Judge of all.

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

"Nothing But The Blood (Your Blood)" [Matt Redman]
"Made Alive" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]
"There Is A Fountain" [William Cowper, arr. by Zach Bolen]
"God With Us" [Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan]
"O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" [Marty Sampson, Benjamin Hastings, Dean Ussher]
"Rejoice" [Dustin Kensrue, Stuart Townend]

For our singing this weekend, we primarily focused on how Christ's sacrifice for us is the only means for our salvation. This ties in with the ideas of our new creation in Christ, God as our Father, and judgement, as Jesus was condemned in our place for our sins. From there, we focused on how He is our Emmanuel, God With Us, and how He sustains and upholds us in every moment and every circumstance. Because of all of this, He is Lord of all and worthy of all the praise and the glory. 

It was a great weekend. Our team led well and worked hard to serve the church, and we really enjoyed our time together. It felt like a simple weekend, overall. Nothing to complicated or clever, just leading with our all because Jesus is worthy. There was something refreshing and rejuvenating about that. 

I hope you have a great week!

- Bill

FBC Service Recap - 02/20 - 02/21/16

This weekend, Joe continued teaching from the book of Acts and focused on Chapter 16, where Luke records three specific lives that were transformed by the power of the gospel: a God-fearing woman named Lydia, a slave girl who was being exploited by her owners, and a Philippian jailer. It was a beautiful reminder of how God has rescued and transformed people from every kind of background and made us all part of His body together. 

Here are the songs that we sang together:

"Hail The King" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]
"Blessed Be Your Name" [Matt Redman, Beth Redman]
"Your Great Name" [Michael Neale, Krissy Nordhoff]
"How Great Is Our God (chorus only)" [Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, Ed Cash]
"O Praise The Name (Anástasis) [Marty Sampson, Benjamin Hastings, Dean Ussher]
"God Is Able" [Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan]

We had a great weekend together. We sang some songs we hadn't sung in a while, along with introducing a new song in "O Praise The Name (Anástasis)" from the team at Hillsong. I really enjoyed singing this together. I wasn't sure how I felt about the song going in, but singing it with the church helped me to connect with the lyric more than the recorded version. We'll continue teaching it over the next few weeks, and we're planning on singing it at Easter together, which should be very fitting, as it recounts the story of the gospel–what Jesus has done and is going to do for our redemption. 

The themes in our songs this weekend were our justification by faith because of the work of Jesus, our hope being in Him alone, His worthiness of praise no matter the circumstances because He is with us always, celebrating the power of the gospel and the name of Jesus, and the sacrifice of Jesus for us. 

The team did an excellent job this weekend, and helped facilitate a great time of worshiping together with the church. I'm so thankful for our volunteers and all that they put in to make our times together rich and meaningful. Above all, I'm grateful the that the Lord uses us and moves in and through us in our times together (often in spite of ourselves!). 

All of our hope is in Jesus! 

Have a great week! 

In the Son, 

Bill