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!