Fellowship Bible Church - Christmas Eve 2016

God is with us! This weekend, we concluded our Christmas Series – "Christmas On Purpose" with a message entitled "To Save Sinners." That is ultimately why Jesus stepped down from His throne and became flesh. He came to rescue us and to give us new life.

Here's what we sang together to celebrate the Savior's birth:

Pre-service - "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Instrumental) [Based off of Fernando Ortega's arrangement]
"Joy to the World" [Traditional, my arrangement]
"O Come Let Us Adore Him" [Hillsong]
"O Holy Night" [Traditional, my arrangement]
"Silent Night" [Traditional]

Christmas Eve is always a beautiful and special celebration that closes with candle-lighting to remember the Light of World who stepped into the darkness to bring us out into the light.

Merry Christmas!

in the Son,

Bill 

Service Recap - 12/05 - 12/06/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we celebrated the start of our Advent series with a message about Christ the Missionary, looking at how Christ came to proclaim the good news of redemption to us. With that, we also held a Global Outreach Weekend, celebrating what God is doing through our church around the world. We had special guests Brett Durbin and Russell West from Trash Mountain Project here, as well. It was a great weekend.

Here are our songs from this weekend:

"I Will Go" [Tim Neufeld, Jon Neufeld, Allen Salmon]
"Joy to the World" [George Frederic Handel, Isaac Watts, arr. by Bill Horn]
"Jesus Messiah" [Daniel Carson, Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves]
"Son of God" [Tim Neufeld, Jon Neufeld, Gordon Cochran, Ed Cash]

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 - 09/05 - 09/06/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

This week our Discipleship Pastor, David Hinkle, preached about how we are the light of Christ because we have the light of Christ, and how we shine brighter together. It was a call to community and doing life together with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

Pre-Service - "Absent From Flesh" [Isaac Watts, arr. by Jamie Barnes of Sojourn]
"Sing to the King" [Charles Sylvester Horne, Billy Foote]
Communion - "Man of Sorrows (In My Place)" [Philip Paul Bliss, Bill Horn]
"He is Jesus" [Heath Balltzglier, Matthew Melton, Steve Fee]
"Shine" [Matt Redman]
Post-Service - "Great Are You Lord" [Leslie Jordan, David Leonard, Jason Ingram]

We had a great weekend of worship together. We sang a lot of music! For our countdown, we sang the arrangement of Isaac Watts' hymn "Absent From Flesh" by Jamie Barnes, which is a great lyric and a blast to sing and play. "Sing to the King" is one of our church's staples. "Man of Sorrows (In My Place)" is an arrangement I just finished, of one of my favorite hymns, and this was our first time singing it together. I look forward to sharpening it as we continue to sing it together. I hadn't noticed before working on it, but this hymn is by the man who wrote the familiar music for Horatio Spafford's "It Is Well With My Soul." We brought back "He is Jesus" after a week off as we continued to teach it to our congregation, and it continues to be a great song for us. We finished our services with a send-off of "Shine" by Matt Redman, which tied directly with David's message. After our services, we played out with "Great Are You Lord."

In all, it was a fantastic weekend. Our team does such a fantastic job, and it's a joy to serve the church and to make music together to point people to Jesus!

I hope you had a great weekend of worship, and have a great Labor Day!

in the Son,

Bill

A Hymn by Isaac Watts - The Infinity of God

Isaac Watts
    The Infinity of God. Ps. 147. 5; Heb. 4. 13

    1    Great God! how infinite art thou!
            What worthless worms are we!
        Let the whole race of creatures bow,
            And pay their praise to thee!

    2    Thy throne eternal ages stood,
            Ere seas or stars were made;
        Thou art the ever-living God,
            Were all the nations dead.

    3    [Nature and time quite naked lie
            To thy immense survey,
        From the formation of the sky,
            To the great burning day.]

    4    Eternity, with all its years,
            Stands present in thy view;
        To thee there’s nothing old appears –
            Great God! there’s nothing new!

    5    Our lives through various scenes are drawn,
            And vexed with trifling cares,
        While thy eternal thought moves on
            Thy undisturbed affairs.

    6    Great God! how infinite art thou!
            What worthless worms are we!
        Let the whole race of creatures bow,
            And pay their praise to thee!

Advent Songs We Sing - Fellowship Bible Church - 2013

Here are the song sets from all of our Advent services this year. It is always one of my favorite seasons of the year, as we celebrate how God is with us, and also anticipate how He is coming again for us! You can watch the messages and services here.

December 7 & 8, 2013

"Joy to the World" (G) [George Friedrich Handel, Isaac Watts, arr. by Bill Horn] 
"Lead Me To The Cross" (Bm) [Brooke Ligertwood]
"What Child Is This" (Em) [William Chatterton Dix, arr. by Bill Horn]
"O Come Let Us Adore Him" (D) [Matt Crocker, Autumn Hardman, C. Frederick Oakeley, Ryan Taubert, John Francis Wade]

December 14 & 15, 2013

"Hark The Herald Angels Sing" (E) [Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley, arr. by Bill Horn]
"Hosanna" (E) [Brooke Ligertwood]
"Your Great Name" (Bb) [Micheal Neale, Krissy Nordhoff]
"Jesus Messiah" (G) [Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves, Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin]
"O Holy Night" (C) [Adolphe Charles Adam, Placide Cappeau, John S. Dwight]

December 21 & 22, 2013

"Angels From The Realms Of Glory" (Bb) [James Montgomery, Henry Thomas Smart, arr. by Bill Horn]
"Everlasting God" (Bb) [Brenton Brown, Ken Riley]
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (Em) [Henry Sloane Coffin, Thomas Helmore, John Mason Neale]
"You Have Overcome" (A) [Bill Horn, Erik Oldberg]
"Rejoice" (Bb) [Dustin Kensrue, Stuart Townend]

Christmas Eve, December 24, 2013

"Joy To The World" (C) [George Friedrich Handel, Isaac Watts, arr. by Bill Horn]
"Go Tell It On The Mountain" (D) [John W. Work]
"O Come Let Us Adore Him" (D) [Matt Crocker, Autumn Hardman, C. Frederick Oakeley, Ryan Taubert, John Francis Wade]
"What Child Is This" (Em) [William Chatterton Dix, arr. by Bill Horn]
"Silent Night" (G) [Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr, John Freeman Young]

Songs We Sing, 12/22 - 12/23/12 and Christmas Eve - Fellowship Bible Church

This week we wrapped up our Advent series, "Simple Christmas." Pastor Joe Hishmeh shared about our simple purpose of worshipping and glorifying Jesus Christ, and the simple priority of the gospel in and through our lives. You can listen to or watch the entire messages and services here. Here are our service plans from this weekend:

Weekend Services Welcome/Call to Worship "Angels From The Realms Of Glory" (C) [James Montgomery, Henry Thomas Smart, my arrangement] "Joyful (The One Who Saves)" (C) [Edward Hodges, Henry van Dyke, Ludwig van Beethoven, w/ chorus & bridge by Brenton Brown, Jason Ingram] Greeting Time/Announcements Message - "Simple Purpose" [Joe Hishmeh] "What Child Is This" (Em) [William Chatterton Dix, my arrangement] "O Holy Night" (C) [Adolphe Charles Adam, Placide Cappeau, John S. Dwight, my arrangement] "Glorious One" (C) [Steve Fee] Dismissal

Christmas Eve Call to Worship "Joy To The World" (C) [Isaac Watts, arr. by Bill Horn] Welcome/Announcements "O Holy Night" (C) [Adolphe Charles Adam, Placide Cappeau, John S. Dwight, my arrangement] "O Come Let Us Adore Him" (D) [Matt Crocker, Autumn Hardman, C. Frederick Oakeley, Ryan Taubert, John Francis Wade] Message - "Simple Priority" [Joe Hishmeh] "What Child Is This" (Em) [William Chatterton Dix, my arrangement] "Silent Night" (A) [Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr, John Freeman Young] Dismissal

Thoughts: There won't be much detail this week - I'm technically on vacation... ;) This was a beautiful weekend, as we celebrated the incarnation of Jesus together as a church family. Our volunteers were incredible, and we had a lot of fun serving our church together. Our weekend services came together powerfully, and our Christmas Eve services were probably the greatest (and most unique) I have ever experienced. Eight services in three days was challenging and rewarding, and the church sang like crazy for most all of it. It was truly incredible. Once again, I really loved being able to sing our Advent songs together for these past four weeks. I love singing these great old songs in new and fresh ways, and to help our church see the gospel in them.

God is so good, and I am so thankful and blessed to be a part of this great church!

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas celebration with your family, friends, and your churches!

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, 03/17 - 03/18/12 Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we continued our Romans series, focusing on Romans 12:1-21. In his message, our adult ministries pastor, David Hinkle, taught about the appropriate response and sacrifice to our great God because of all He has done for us. It was a challenging message with a strong call to renew our commitment to follow Christ with all that we are. You can listen to the entire message here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:

"Our God's Alive" (Em) [Andy Cherry, Jason Ingram, Dan Muckala] Welcome/Greeting Time Call To Worship - Congregational Scripture Reading - Romans 12:1-2 "Let Me Sing" (Bb) [Todd Fields] "Glory To God Forever" (Bb) [Steve Fee, Vicky Beeching] "Your Great Name" (Bb) [Michael Neale, Krissy Nordhoff] "The Wonderful Cross" (D) [Isaac Watts, Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, J.D. Walt, Lowell Mason] Prayer Message - "Romans 12:1-21" [David Hinkle] "Take My Life And Let It Be" (D) [Frances Ridley Havergal, Henri Abraham Cesar Malan] Offering/Announcements Dismissal

"Our God's Alive" - This is a new song that we are teaching in advance for our Easter weekend. This song is by a new artist named Andy Cherry on his newly-released album, Nothing Left To Fear. I highly encourage checking it out. It has many great songs on it, of which we'll probably be singing a few in the future here at Fellowship. I love this song. It's a power anthem about Christ's victory over sin and death, and the hope that we have in Him. Also, it feels very different from most other worship songs I have heard. It has great energy, and it's fun to sing together. I'm really looking forward to singing it together for Easter!

"Let Me Sing" - We sang this song because it sings very clearly about living a life of worship in response to the sacrifice that Christ made for us. Worshiping with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is the only fitting response for who Christ is and what He has done for us. When we were enemies and still in our sin, Jesus demonstrated His love for us as the cross, to purchase us with His blood, and to rescue us from sin and death. This song expresses the desire to give an offering of worship that is worthy of our King. This really connected with our focus passage this weekend because of this emphasis.

"Glory To God Forever" - This is a staple for our congregation, although it has been a few months since we sang it together. We sang this song this weekend mainly because of the second verse and the bridge. The second verse sings, "So let my whole life be a blazing offering/ A life that shouts and sings the greatness of our King." The bridge, of which I have written many times before, sings a prayer of offering to God: "Take my life and let it be/ All for You and all Your glory/ Take my life and let it be Yours." I love how this song tied in with the message this week.

"Your Great Name" - This was our third week teaching this song to our congregation. I think this will be a staple for us here at Fellowship, because it is a great song of worship, exalting the name of Jesus Christ above every other name - where it rightfully belongs.

"The Wonderful Cross" - This song focused heavily on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, and how anything less than our everything is lacking as an offering to Him. He has given us everything, and He suffered torment and pain on our behalf for our sin, and the only right response is our everything. It "demands my soul, my life, my all."

"Take My Life And Let It Be" - This hymn was our response song this weekend. We also took up the offering as we sang together. I like how this song goes through the different areas of our lives and offers each specifically as an offering to God for Him to use for His kingdom and His glory. He is worthy of all that we are and all that we have.

This weekend was a great weekend of worship. It was good to be feeling better again. I'm excited about some of the new songs we have added recently, and I am really looking forward to a great celebration of Christ's resurrection on Easter. God is doing great things in our midst, and I am thankful to be a part of it.

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!

Set List, 12/24 - 12/25/11 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Fellowship Bible Church

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!

Set List, 12/10 - 12/11/11 Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we continued our Advent series with a message entitled, "God With Us." He made comparisons between life with Christ and what life would be without Christ, and it was really powerful to see the two lists side-by-side. You can listen to the entire message here. We continued to try something different with our service order to change things up, and we moved the message up a few minutes earlier in the service to have two songs in response to the message, rather than our typical one song in that position. All of us on our worship planning team believes that these kinds of changes help us and our congregation to engage and to not be passive in worship. Here's our service plan from this weekend:

Time of Preparation/Prayer "Lord I Need You" (B) [Jesse Reeves, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, Matt Maher, Daniel Carson] Welcome/Greeting Time "Joy To The World" (C) [Isaac Watts] "Joyful (The One Who Saves)" (C) [Brenton Brown, Jason Ingram, Henry van Dyke, Ludwig van Beethoven] "A Mighty Fortress" [Christy Nockels, Nathan Nockels] Message - "God With Us" [Joe Hishmeh] Offering/Announcements "Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground)" (Bb) [Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash] "You Never Let Go" (Bb) [Matt Redman, Beth Redman] Dismissal

"Lord I Need You" - We sang this song in our preparation time. This is the second time we have sung this song, and I think it will become a staple for our church. I think it resonates with each of us. It communicates a timeless truth in a fresh way, and helps us express our dependence on the Lord for everything. I'm a big fan of this song.

"Joy To The World" - We sang this oldie but goodie to kick off our services. My arrangement of it is kind pop/punk-ish, so it is fun to play and sing together. The melody is unchanged, so everyone can sing along easily. This song just makes people smile. The content of it is solid, and really declares some of what Christ's first coming accomplished in this world. He changed everything with His coming.

"Joyful (The One Who Saves)" - We continued teaching this song to our congregation this week. I decided to drop this song a full step to the key of C this week, to make it a little easier for our congregation to sing, especially on Sunday morning at the early service. I think it was much easier for all of us to sing. Becky and I traded off verses on this one, and I think this is something we will continue to do, because I think it helps draw both the ladies and the men into what we are singing together. I really like this song, and I like how it fits into the Advent season.

"A Mighty Fortress" - Becky led us on this song, and it is one of my favorite declarations about the assurance and refuge we have in God. He is faithful, trustworthy, and true, and we can confidently place our lives in His hands. Our church sings this song well, even after only a few occurrences in our services. Part of the emphasis I was going for here was to point to the trustworthiness and love of God for us, and when He is called "God with us," we can walk with Him in faith, because He will never fail, and His purposes are not thwarted.

"Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground)" - We began our response song with this song, which was new to me this week. I really like the message of the verses, which speak to the time of waiting and anticipation before the Messiah arrived. I also enjoy the chorus as a whole, which simply and beautifully sings of the first coming of Jesus: "Emmanuel, Emmanuel/ God incarnate, here to dwell/ Emmanuel, Emmanuel/ Praise His name, Emmanuel." There are a few parts of this song that are a little tricky for one reason or another, so I had to work pretty hard to try and get it right, but I'm glad we sang it together this weekend.

"You Never Let Go" - We closed out our services with this song, which remains one of my favorites. Part of the imagery Joe used in the message was the dominant scriptural image of the Good Shepherd. This song pulls ideas from one of the most prominent pictures of the Shepherd contained in Psalm 23, and I think it helped to tie everything together really well. I love this song's statements of trust and faith in God, regardless of our circumstances. Jesus is worthy of our trust and faith. He will never fail, and He will never let us go.

This was a unique and refreshing weekend of worshiping our Savior together. Our team did a great job as always. I love celebrating Advent with the Church. It's a beautiful thing.

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!

Set List, 11/19 - 11/20/11 Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we focused on John 19:28 - 20:31, examining the resurrection of Jesus. After reading through the passage, Pastor Joe dealt with some of the arguments for and against the resurrection, and then ended with call to a response of faith and belief in the resurrection. Because of Christ's resurrection, we can have hope and eternal life. The resurrection is "the summit of the gospel," whereas the cross is the center of the gospel. You can listen to the entire message here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:

Time of Preparation/Prayer "Jesus You" (E) [original] Welcome/Greeting Time Call to Worship - Psalm 40:1-3 "Sing To The King" (E) [Billy Foote, Charles Sylvester Horne] "Salvation Is Here" (Bb) [Joel Houston] "Stronger" (Bb) [Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan] "Jesus Paid It All" (Bb) [Alex Nifong, Elvina M. Hall, John Thomas Grape] Prayer Message - John 19:38 - 20:31 - "The Resurrection" [Joe Hishmeh] Response Time Offering/Video/Announcements "Christ Is Risen" (Gb) [Matt Maher, Mia Fieldes] Dismissal

"Jesus You" - We opened our preparation time with this song. We have done this a few times for the preparation time, and it was particularly fitting for this weekend. We incorporated more of the band this time, but still kept it a little more laid back than my original arrangement. This song helped to point us in the right direction for our services.

"Sing To The King" - Sarah Oldberg led us on this song. I love the powerful declaration of this song. Sarah and the band did an awesome job on this one, and the church engaged in celebrating and looking forward to Christ's victorious return. Our risen Lord is coming again. We can rejoice because of this fact, and this song helps us to do just that. Although we haven't sung this song very often, our congregation still seems to connect well with it. I look forward to singing it again.

"Salvation Is Here" - Our church had not sung this song much in the past, and when I was preparing for this weekend, I thought it would be a great fit because of the bridge, which sings, "Salvation is here/ Salvation is here and He lives in me/ Salvation is here/ 'Cause You are alive and You live in me." I could tell it was unfamiliar to much of our congregation, but they sang it, and I think they will sing it more when they have more time with it. I love the chorus of this song, as it builds my confidence in what Christ has done and in His Word: "I know my God saved the day/ And I know His Word never fails/ And I know my God made a way for me/ Salvation is here."

"Stronger" - This song is still fresh for me, and I really value how it expresses the gospel message. I like the unique expression of the chorus, when it sings, "You are stronger, You are stronger/ Sin is broken, You have saved me/ It is written Christ is risen/ Jesus, You are Lord of all." It captures so many truths of scripture in a few simple phrases. Beautiful. This song helped us to turn the corner to singing more specifically about the resurrection and what Christ accomplished by it.

"Jesus Paid It All" - This hymn remains another one of my favorites. The additional chorus by Alex Nifong is a simple and beautiful expression of praise to Christ because of the gospel. I invited our congregation to lift their hands to exalt our God  and Savior. It was a powerful part of the service this weekend, and one of my personal highlights, as the church participated well on it.

"Christ Is Risen" - After a message about Christ's resurrection, I think it was a perfect song to respond with. I love how this song declares the victory of Christ over sin and death. It moves me and encourages me as we sing it together. Although our church has only sung it together one weekend before, we are singing it well together.

This was a great weekend of worshiping the risen Christ. Jesus was lifted high and exalted for who He is and what He has done. We tried some different things with the leading of the songs, with Sarah and I trading off verses on a few of the songs ("Stronger" and "Jesus Paid It All"), and I liked how that pulled both the ladies and the men into singing the melody together. I am so thankful to be a part of this team and this church. God is faithful. May we all live a life that reflects the reality that Jesus is no longer in the grave. He is alive!

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!

Set List, 11/12 - 11/13/11 Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we focused on John 19:6-37, examining the cross. Joe shared about its meaning from several perspectives, and closed with a time to respond to what Jesus accomplished for us. We moved our on-stage cross to down stage center to help emphasize our focus for the weekend, and nearly every aspect of our services pointed to it. I am happy with how well everything tied together this weekend. Together, it served as a great reminder of what Jesus did on our behalf. He is so good to us! Here's our service plan from this weekend:

Time of Preparation/Prayer "Lamb of God" (Ab) [original] Welcome/Greeting Time Call to Worship -  "Let Me Sing" (Bb) [Todd Fields] "You Alone Can Rescue" (Bb) [Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin] Scripture Reading - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 "Jesus Messiah" (G) [Daniel Carson, Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves] "Nothing But The Blood" (G) [Robert Lowry] Prayer Message - John 19:6-37 - "The Cross" [Joe Hishmeh] Response Time "'The Wonderful Cross" (E) [Isaac Watts, w/ add. chorus by Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves] Offering/Video/Announcements Dismissal

"Lamb Of God" - We opened our preparation time with this song, since we were focusing on the cross this weekend. When I wrote this song, I was trying to encapsulate some of Isaiah 53, along with the crucifixion accounts of the Gospels. I think it was a fitting way to begin our services this weekend, because it set the tone for everything that would follow.

"Let Me Sing" - This song is a staple for us, and this song really fit with the theme of this weekend. It communicates the reason for our worship and obedience: the fact that God loved us first and sent His Son to die on the cross on our behalf. I love how this song relays this thought, when we sing, "Let me sing/ Louder than creation to You/ For the pain You bore in Your body/ To bring my soul to You." It really brings the two ideas together well.

"You Alone Can Rescue" - We haven't sung this song together in a while, and I think this week was a good week to bring it back. This song emphasizes our inability to rescue and redeem ourselves. We are dead in our sins (Eph. 2:1), and we were enemies of God (Rom. 5:10), but still God loved us and made a way for us where there was no way, reconciling us to Himself through the cross of Christ. Praise God for His grace!

"Jesus Messiah" - We prefaced this song by reading from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. The last verse of that passage is where the first line of this song comes from: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." That passage in 2 Corinthians is one of my favorites, as it helps clarify what Christ accomplished for us at the cross. He is our reconciliation.

"Nothing But The Blood" - This hymn is one of my favorites, because it makes no bones about declaring that the sole source of our redemption is the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. He is the only way of salvation. He is the only one who could rescue us and give us life and hope. We need to rest in His finished work on the cross. He died in our place. He has dealt with our sin and the righteous wrath of God against sin. It is finished, all because Jesus shed His precious blood for us.

"The Wonderful Cross" - This song was our response song this week. As Joe finished proclaiming the significance of the cross and the encouraging our people to respond to this truth, we wanted to sing a song that examined the cross and reflected on its great meaning for our lives. The hymn ("When I Survey The Wondrous Cross") by Isaac Watts, along with the additional chorus by Tomlin and Reeves, was a great fit for the moment, and helped us in thanking Jesus for the cross and in offering our lives in response to His great sacrifice for us. I have loved this song since I first heard it in college, and I was thankful for a good opportunity to sing it again.

All around, this was a great weekend of worshiping our Savior. Our team did a great job, and I'm so thankful for what the Lord is doing in us, and especially grateful for the cross. I would have no hope without it.

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!