Fellowship Bible Church - 05/06 - 05/07/2017

This weekend, we wrapped up our generosity series, The Flow of Everything, and we looked at what could be possible if all the church joined together to bless our community and our world with what we have. We also had our annual event, Sharefest, where we partnered with more than 30 churches in the city to bless area schools, the Boys & Girls Club, and the Topeka Rescue Mission by doing much-needed landscaping work and projects. It is always a beautiful picture of the church in action.

For our singing, we focused on how abundantly and graciously God has provided for our redemption through the cross. We concluded our services by celebrating communion together, remembering the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. He has done great things for us!

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

Pre-Service - "Worthy of Your Name" [Passion Worship Band]
"It Is Finished" [The Modern Post/Dustin Kensrue]
"I Stand Amazed" [Charles Hutchison Gabriel]
"Lord I Need You" [Passion Worship Band]
"Jesus Paid It All" [Traditional, Alex Nifong, Passion Worship Band]

It was a great weekend together! I am excited about what the Lord is doing in the Church in Topeka, and it is awesome to be a part of it through Fellowship.

I hope you had a great weekend!

in the Son,

Bill

Fellowship Bible Church - 03/26 - 03/27/17

It has been a while! It's been a busy month, but it's time to get back on the wagon with the blog posts recapping our weekends. This weekend was our next to last in our series through the Sermon on the Mount,  The Way of Life. In his message, Joe talked about the narrow way and the wide way, and the influences that will lead us down one path or the other. This is one of the more difficult teachings of Jesus, but it was a powerful challenge to follow after Jesus because His way leads to life.

Here's what we sang together:

Pre-Service - "I Am Set Free" [All Sons & Daughters]
"The Solid Rock" [Edward Mote, The Dispatch]
"Before The Throne" [Charitie Lees Bancroft, The Modern Post]
"The Lion And The Lamb" [Leeland Mooring, Bethel]
"Lord, I Need You" [Chris Tomlin, Passion Worship Band]

It was a unique weekend for me, in that I was leading from the bass guitar. I have never led a weekend here from the bass, so it was exciting and challenging. It requires a bit of a different mentality and rhythm of playing, so it took some extra focus to do along with singing, but I really enjoyed the stretch. The team did a solid job leading, and it was a great weekend of worship together.

For the songs we sang, we focused on Jesus as the foundation and forerunner of our faith, as expressed in Hebrews 12:1-2. He is everything we need for faith, for life, and for our eternity. He supplies us with the wisdom, strength, and guidance to follow Him. As He says in John 15, we cannot bear any good fruit apart from Him. Those truths directed our singing time together throughout the weekend.

I hope you had a great weekend!

in the Son,

Bill

Fellowship Bible Church - 02/25 - 02/26/17

We had a great weekend together as we continued our series through the Sermon on the Mount, The Way of Life. This weekend, the focus was on our secret practices, and how God is more concerned with our relationship to Him and who we are in private than with how we seek to impress other people. It was a great weekend, and I think we were all challenged to focus more on our internal lives and private practices than performing for others.

Here's what we sang together:

Pre-service - "Your Love is Strong" [Jon Foreman]
"Rejoice" [Dustin Kensrue, The Modern Post]
"Your Great Name" [Michael Neale]
"Hosanna" [Hillsong United]
"Lord, I Need You" [Chris Tomlin]

Fellowship Bible Church - 02/11 - 02/12/2017

This weekend we looked at Jesus' challenge to us to keep our word, both in marriage and in the promises we make. In his message, Pastor Joe shared how marriage and keeping our word is a picture of the gospel and the promises that God gives us through Christ. When promises–especially marriage vows–are kept, they remind us of God's faithfulness in His relationship with us as His people.

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

Pre-service - "Nothing But The Blood" [Andy Cherry, Robert Lowry]
"Grace Alone" [Dustin Kensrue, The Modern Post]
"Before the Throne" [The Modern Post]
"Good Good Father" [Housefires]
"Lord, I Need You" [Chris Tomlin]

In our singing, we focused on themes of God's grace for us, Christ being our Atonement and Advocate and Mediator, God's faithful love for us, and our desperate need for the Lord to be our Righteousness. It was a moving weekend together, as we have all been touched in some way by the brokenness and pain of divorce in our culture, and know the deep need we have for restoration, reconciliation, forgiveness, and repentance in our lives and marriages. May God gives us grace and strength to be people who keep our word and reflect His faithful love to the world around us.

in the Son,

Bill

Fellowship Bible Church - 01/14 - 01/15/2016

We had an interesting week, to be sure. There were many weather-related questions concerning the weekend, with a looming ice storm that threatened to hit right in the middle of our Saturday evening services and run through the night into Sunday morning. Because of the potential storm, we pre-recorded the service on Thursday afternoon so we could share it with the congregation just in case. However, we were able to get our Saturday 5 PM service in, but we canceled the remaining services to be safe and to keep our people off the roads as much as possible to prevent accidents due to icy conditions. As it turned out, the temperature danced around the freezing point, and the ice was minimal, but when we had to make the call, there was no way to know that for sure. Hindsight...

All that considered it was a great weekend. David Hinkle's message from Matthew 5:3-12 and the Beatitudes pointed us to the truth that our blessing comes to us externally because of what Jesus has done for us. His life, His righteousness, His character–they are shared with us as we depend on Him and look to Him for our satisfaction and our identity. It was a powerful message of the grace of God and being clothed in Christ.

For our singing, we focused on dependence, on the truth that we are children of God and He is our faithful Father, and on how we desperately need Him to lead us and guide us.

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

"All The Poor & Powerless" [All Sons & Daughters]
"Rejoice" [Dustin Kensrue/The Modern Post]
"Your Great Name" [Michael Neale, Krissy Nordhoff]
"Good, Good Father" [Housefires II]
"Lord, I Need You" [Chris Tomlin]

I hope you had a great weekend, whatever weather you were experiencing!

in the Son,

Bill

Fellowship Bible Church - 01/07 - 01/08/16

This weekend we began our spring series through Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew–The Way of Life. The message this weekend was an introduction about why and how to listen to God. I'm really excited about this series because the Sermon on the Mount is so powerful and shows us the righteousness of God in such a striking and challenging way. 

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

Pre-service - "Lead Me to the Cross" [Hillsong United]
"Jesus!" [Citizens & Saints / The Northwest Collective]
"Before the Throne" [The Modern Post]
"No Longer Slaves" [Bethel Music]
"Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" [Chris Tomlin]

I hope you had a great weekend and that you are resting in the finished work of Jesus as your hope!

in the Son,
Bill

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 - 08/20 - 08/21/16

This was our second weekend in our Storms series (I was on vacation last weekend) and the message this weekend was about Jonah, and how storms call us back to the Lord. Joe called those who have been running away to return to the Lord, and for those of us who knew people who had run away to pray for the Lord to bring them back.

Here are the songs we sang together:

Pre-Service - "Grace Alone" [Dustin Kensrue/The Modern Post]
"In Tenderness" [Citizens & Saints]
"Before the Throne" [The Modern Post, Charitie Lees Bancroft]
"I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)" [Charles Hutchison Gabriel]
"Lamb of God" [Vertical Church Band]
"Lord, I Need You" [Daniel Carson, Matt Maher, Christy Nockels, Jesse Reeves, Kristian Stanfill]

We had a huge band this weekend (11 people!!!), and it was a great time serving together. We had three leaders, two acoustics, three electrics, bass, drums, keys, violin, and banjo, and it was a beautiful thing. The team did a great job serving and leading. For our singing, we focused on how the Lord sought us out to serve us and save us in His incredible grace and kindness toward us, and how we all desperately need His continued working in our lives.

I am so grateful to the Lord for what He is doing in our church and in our team!

in the Son,

Bill

Fellowship Service Recap - 06/18 - 06/19/16

This weekend, as we continued our series through the life of David this Father's Day weekend, Pastor Joe looked at lessons and encouragement for Dad from the life of David. Also, we held our second annual guitar choir, which was a ton of fun.

Here's what we sang together:

Pre-Service - "Love Come Down" [North Point Community Church]
"I'll Fly Away" [Albert E. Brumley, Traditional]
"I Stand Amazed" [Charles Hutchison Gabriel, Traditional]
"Leaning On The Everlasting Arms" [Elisha Albright Hoffman, Anthony J. Showalter, Traditional]
"Lord, I Need You" [Kristian Stanfill, Passion]

I hope you had a great Father's Day!

In the Son,

Bill

FBC Service Recap - 04/23 - 04/24/16

For our fourth weekend of our Decided series, we looked at the choice to "confide or hide." Scripture calls us to confide in trustworthy brothers and sisters. With this, there are benefits in community with others – forgiveness, humility, authenticity, and vulnerability. For our singing, we focused mainly on themes of confession and the faithfulness of God to forgive us.

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

• "Made Alive" [Citizens & Saints, The Northwest Collective]
• "There Is A Fountain" [Citizens & Saints]
• "Lord I Need You" [Chris Tomlin]
• "Forever Reign" [Jason Ingram, Hillsong]
• "One Thing Remains" [Kristian Stanfill, Passion]

It was a great weekend. The team did a great job, as always, and it was great to be back celebrating the grace of God in Jesus with my church family! 

I just returned from Church conference at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, TX, and it was a refreshing time of learning and growing with some of the pastoral team. 

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

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]

Service Recap - 11/21 - 11/22/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, I was off, and Harper Compton and Kip Kraisinger did a fantastic job leading in my place for the fifth week of our Rebuild series, where Joe taught about our responsibility in making a difference in our community.

Here are our songs from this weekend:

"Sweetness of Freedom" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]
"Rejoice" [Dustin Kensrue, Stuart Townend]
"Made Alive" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]
"Our God" [Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin, Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves]

I hope you had a great weekend of worship, and that you have a great Thanksgiving this week!

in the Son,

Bill

Songs We Sing - 10/17 - 10/18 - Fellowship Bible Church

This week we concluded our Unstuck series as we looked at the often uncomfortable subject of "Fun." Joe shared how we can celebrate and have fun because of our joy and delight in the Lord. He pointed out how the entire Jewish calendar revolved around the concept of celebrating the work of the Lord for them. We can have fun in a way that both celebrates the work of the Lord and deepens our relationships with our family and our brothers & sisters in Christ.

Here are our songs from this weekend:

"Hosanna (Praise is Rising)" [Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown]
"In Tenderness" [W. Spencer Walton, Adoniram J. Gordon, Nate Garvey]
"Lord, I Need You" [Jesse Reeves, Kristian Stanfill, Matt Maher, Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson]
"Great Are You Lord" [Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan, David Leonard]
"It Is Finished" [Dustin Kensrue]

We had a great weekend of worship together. Our team did a great job, and all of our songs celebrated and reflected on God as our strength and our song, as our Father, and as our redemption and life. "It Is Finished" is fixed as one of my favorite anthems. It confidently declares the finished work of God for our salvation, and almost brings me to shouting for joy for what He has done for us. I don't think I will ever grow tired of the truth in that song (although I might grow tired from singing it–I have a hard time holding back when I sing those words!). 

It was great to be back after a weekend off. I absolutely love worshiping with my church family here, and I love experiencing how God is at work in His Church.

This week, I pray that God reminds you of His saving work on your behalf! It is Finished!

In the Son,

Bill

Songs We Sing - 09/12 - 09/13/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

This week we began our new series, "Unstuck," where we'll examine the areas of life where we all frequently get stuck. For this message about "The Intentional Life," Joe focused on the value of wisdom from the book of Proverbs, as well as addressing common reasons we resist wisdom in our lives. It was a powerful challenge to live intentionally and to seek out wisdom with all that we are.

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

"Rejoice" [Dustin Kensrue, Stuart Townend]
"This is Amazing Grace" [Phil Wickham, Josh Farro, Jeremy Riddle]
"Lord, I Need You" [Jesse Reeves, Kristian Stanfill, Matt Maher, Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson]
"Man of Sorrows (In My Place)" [Philip Paul Bliss, Bill Horn]
"Lord of All" [Kristian Stanfill]

We had another great weekend of worship together. Our team did a great job overall and led well. We sang some of our church's favorites in "Rejoice," "This is Amazing Grace," and "Lord of All." "Lord, I Need You" was a great moment in response to Joe's message, and we continued to teach our new rendition of a great hymn, "Man of Sorrows (In My Place)." It's always fun and interesting to sharpen a song as you continue to use it and share it with the church, as you see what parts work well and what parts don't connect with people. We'll continue to sharpen it in coming weeks, and I hope it's something we can continue to sing together, because Philip Paul Bliss' hymn lyric is definitely worth repeating.

I hope you had a great weekend of worship!

in the Son,

Bill

Songs We Sing - 08/01 - 08/02/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

Below is a recap of both our services and our worship night from this past weekend. It was a fantastic weekend of worship together! - bh

Weekend Worship Services

"It is Finished" [Dustin Kensrue]
"There is a Fountain" [William Cowper, Zach Bolen]
"Before the Throne" [Charitie Lees Bancroft, The Modern Post]
"Son of God" [Tim Neufeld, Jon Neufeld, Ed Cash, Gordon Cochran]
"Rock of Ages" [Augustus M. Toplady, Thomas Hastings]
"Lord, I Need You" [Jesse Reeves, Kristian Stanfill, Matt Maher, Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson]
 

Worship Night

"Lead Me to the Cross" [Brooke Ligertwood]
"10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)" [Jonas Myrin, Matt Redman]
"A Mighty Fortress" [Christy Nockels, Nathan Nockels]
"Great Are You Lord" [Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan, David Leonard]
"Lamb of God" [Jason Ingram, Andi Rozier, Meredith Andrews]
"Jesus Paid It All" [John T. Grape, Elvina M. Hall, Alex Nifong]
"This is Amazing Grace" [Josh Farro, Phil Wickham, Jeremy Riddle]
"Rejoice" [Dustin Kensrue, Stuart Townend]
"Made Alive" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]
"It is Finished" [Dustin Kensrue]
"Forever (We Sing Hallelujah)" [Brian Johnson, Kari Jobe, Jenn Johnson, Gabriel Wilson, Joel Taylor, Christa Black Gifford]
"He is Jesus" [Heath Balltzglier, Matthew Melton, Steve Fee]
"Your Great Name" [Michael Neale, Krissy Nordhoff]
"Rise and Sing" [Steve Fee]
"Jesus!" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]

Songs We Sing - 05/07 - 05/08/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we continued in our second week of or series through 1 Corinthians, Grounded. Joe shared a challenging message about the pursuing the wisdom of God from 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16. 

Here are our songs from this weekend:

Pre-Service - "Search My Heart" [Matt Crocker, Joel Houston - Hillsong]
"Hosanna (Praise Is Rising)" [Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown]
"Made Alive" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger - Citizens & Saints]
"Lamb of God" [Andi Rozier, Jason Ingram, Meredith Andrews]
"Son of God" [Tim Neufeld, Jon Neufeld, Gordon Cochran, Ed Cash - Starfield]
"Jesus Messiah" [Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves, Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash]

Our team did a great job leading, and we had a great weekend of worship together. We introduced Hillsong's "Search My Heart" in the pre-service slot, which is a song that I have wanted to incorporate since I first heard it. We also continued teaching Vertical Church's "Lamb of God," which is a fantastic song about the cross. I love it, and it has been beautiful to hear the church take hold of it over the past few weeks.

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

If you want to hear more of the songs that we sing with our church, you can find a Spotify playlist of our favorites here.

Also, you can watch our entire service here.

Have a great week!

- Bill

Songs We Sing - 04/18 - 04/19/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend we continued our series, Never, with a message called "Never Go Back," where Pastor Joe shared about biblical repentance. It was a powerful call to leave behind our old lives and to cling to Jesus.

Here are the songs we sang from this weekend:

"Jesus, You" [Bill Horn]
"Sing to the King" [Charles Silvester Horne, Billy Foote]
"Lord, I Need You" [Daniel Carson, Matt Maher, Christy Nockels, Jesse Reeves]
"Glory to God Forever" (Bridge Only) [Steve Fee, Vicky Beeching]
"Your Great Name" [Michael Neale, Krissy Nordhoff]
"Rejoice" [Dustin Kensrue, Stuart Townend]

It was a great weekend together. During "Jesus, You," we had a synced video that showed the first names of everyone who made a decision to either trust in Christ for the first time or to reconnect with Christ. It became an opportunity for prayer together, and to reflect on Christ's powerful work in all of us. Other highlights were "Lord, I Need You" and "Rejoice," as they provided opportunities for us to repent and to trust the Lord in the midst of our struggles, recognizing that He is faithful, He is with us, and He will remain with us, no matter what. "Rejoice" seems to be an anthem for our congregation right now, and I think there is good reason for that. it really encapsulates a lot in the lyric. It reminds us:

• of God's worthiness of all of our worship
• that His mercies are new every morning
• that He has reconciled us through the sacrifice of the cross
• that He is our faithful Father
• that He knows and understands our trials and sufferings, having walked the path before us
• that He hears us when we cry out to Him
• that one day, He will right all the wrongs of this life

"Rejoice/ Come and lift your hands and raise Your voice/ He is worthy of all praise/ Rejoice/ Sing the mercies of your King/ And with trembling, rejoice!"

Amen.

Set from our Worship Night - 08/03/14

Here's our plan from our Worship Night at FBC last night:

"Words in the Water" [Thrice]
"In Tenderness" [Citizens]
"This is Amazing Grace" [Phil Wickham]
"One Thing Remains" [Bethel Worship]
"Your Great Name" [Michael Neale, Krissy Nordhoff]
"How Deep The Father's Love For Us" [Stuart Townend]
"Carried to the Table" [Leeland]
"Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" [Chris Tomlin, et al]
"In Christ Alone" [Keith Getty, Stuart Townend, personal arrangement]
"I Am Set Free" [All Sons & Daughters]
"It Is Well" [Todd Fields]
"You Have Overcome" [Bill Horn, Erik Oldberg]
"Forever (We Sing Hallelujah]" [Bethel Worship/Kari Jobe]
"Before the Throne" [The Modern Post]

It was an incredible night of worship together. I realized last night that I have desired to plan a night like this for nearly eight years, but it has been hindered by various things during that span. It was a beautiful thing to see it all come together, and to see a dream realized, in a sense. My intern, Chandler Klamm, contributed to every part of the process, and I think it was cool for him to see it all come together, too. I'm so grateful for our incredible team that made it all happen!