Fellowship Bible Church - 01/21 - 01/22/2016

This weekend was our second in our Way of Life series, and Pastor Joe dug into Matthew 5:17-20 to highlight the difference that Christ has called us to be in our identity and impact in this world. 

Here's what we sang together:

Pre-Service - "A Mighty Fortress" [Christy Nockels]
"This is Amazing Grace" [Phil Wickham]
"Hosanna" [Hillsong]
"God With Us" [All Sons & Daughters]
"Forever Reign" [Hillsong]

It was a great weekend. Our leaders and team did a great job giving their best and helping the congregation sing together in worship. Our songs focused on the character of God, which is what He calls us into by extension. He wants our lives to reflect His glory and character to the world around us, and He is the one who makes that transformation happen as we open our lives to His influence and walk in step with the Spirit. We closed with "Forever Reign" because it highlighted the contrast between God's character and our own apart from His work in our lives. It gave us an opportunity to confess our hearts to God and call each other to run to Him and to make Him the sole recipient of our lives' devotion. I think it was a fitting response song for Joe's message this weekend.

I hope you had a great weekend of worship!

in the Son,

Bill

Fellowship Service Recap - 06/04 - 06/05/16

This week was the start of a new series called Rise or Fall: The Life of David. For the first message of the series, Pastor Joe talked about drawing on your foundations and remembering where the Lord has brought you.

Here's what we sang together:

Pre-service - "How Can It Be" [Lauren Daigle]
"This is Amazing Grace" [Phil Wickham, Bethel]
Communion - "Wonderful, Merciful Savior" [Dawn Rogers, Eric Wyse]
"O Come to the Altar" [Elevation Worship]
"Forever Reign" [Jason Ingram, Hillsong]

We sang some old and new favorites of our congregation, and celebrating communion together is always a highlight. Our team did a great job, and it was great to back after a weekend off with my family. I feel recharged and refreshed, and worshiping together with my church family is always a special time.

Have a great week!

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 - 04/16 - 04/17/16

This weekend was the third week of our Decided series, where Pastor Joe looked at the choice in the life of the believer when it comes to reading the Bible. We have to decide daily toseek God through His Word, and not merely scan the Bible for information about God. For the singing this weekend, we wanted to focus on an attitude of humble submission to God's Lordship and leadership in our lives, on what the Bible says about the character of God, and on trusting God's care for us.

Here's what we sang together this weekend:

• "Hosanna (Praise Is Rising)" [Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown]
• "Hail The King" [Citizens & Saints]
• "Cornerstone" [Hillsong]
• "Lord of All" [Kristian Stanfill]
• "Nothing But The Blood (Your Blood)" [Matt Redman]

Harper Compton and Jack Hishmeh led for me while I was off this weekend, and they did a great job serving and leading, as did the entire team. I'm so thankful for such an excellent and trustworthy team!

Have a great week!

In the Son,

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

Songs We Sing - 07/11 - 07/12/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we continued in our "Grounded" series through 1 Corinthians, and Pastor Joe focused on chapter 14 and discussed the subject of gifts in the Church.

Here are our songs from this weekend:

"Jesus" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger, Citizens & Saints]
"Before the Throne" [Charitie Lees Bancroft, Dustin Kensrue, The Modern Post]
"Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" [Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin, John Newton, Edwin O. Excell, John P. Rees]
"Great Are You Lord" [Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan, Brian Leonard, All Sons & Daughters]
"Forever Reign" [Reuben Morgan, Jason Ingram]

For our singing this weekend, we focused on Jesus being the center of our attention, and how every gift we have is both from Him and for Him. We are weak and flawed, but He gives us strength and equips us for serving our various roles within the body of Christ for His glory and His purposes. All eyes must be on Him as we serve, and our goal ought to be to draw attention to Him and not ourselves.

We introduced "Great Are You Lord" by All Sons & Daughters, which is a song I've been looking forward to singing together with our congregation. It is a simple song of praise that sings of how even the very breath we have to sing comes from the Lord, and ought to be returned to Him in praise. We cannot even worship Him without what He has first given us, which is a profound thought. It's connection with the message is that our gifts and abilities come from the Lord, and they are not something that we've given to ourselves. Therefore, the only fitting response is, just like our very breath, to use those gifts for the glory of Jesus and the service of His Church. Next weekend, we'll probably bring it down a step to make it a little more singable for everyone. 

Overall, we had a great weekend of worship together! I hope you did, too!

In the Son,

Bill

Songs We Sing - 03/21 - 03/22/15 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we continued in our series through Mark, called "Follow." We looked at Peter's denials of Jesus, and at what we can learn from him when we fall. It was a beautiful reminder of our need for grace in our own lives, and our need to give grace to others in our lives.

Here are our songs from this weekend:

"Every New Day" [Five Iron Frenzy]
"Faithful One" [Original]
"In Tenderness" [W. Spencer Walton, Adoniram J. Gordon, Nate Garvey]
"Your Great Name" [Michael Neale, Krissy Nordhoff]
"Forever Reign" [Reuben Morgan, Jason Ingram]
"Rejoice" [Dustin Kensrue, Stuart Townend]

This weekend was incredibly fun. We had a brass section on the team, and Ronnie, Haley, and David did a fantastic job with it. On top of that, Ronnie had suggested the Five Iron Frenzy song, "Every New Day" for this weekend, and this was a song that I have always wanted to try to play with a band. It was such a blast to play it together. The overarching theme for all of the singing this weekend was also the passage I shared to open the service:

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness."  - Lamentations 3:22-23

It was beautiful to see how it all came together, and to share in the encouragement of the gospel this weekend. Even when we stumble and fall, He is faithful, and He will pick us back up. May we leave a legacy of the gospel of grace for others in our lives.

Worship Gatherings, 10/11 - 10/12/14 - Fellowship Bible Church

I know this is a week late, but here here are the songs we sang two weekends ago:

"Unchanging" (G) [Chris Tomlin]
"Hallelujah To My King" (C) {Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown]
"Forever Reign" (A) [Reuben Morgan, Jason Ingram]
"Lord of All" (A) [Kristian Stanfill]
"Everlasting God" (A) [Brenton Brown, Ken Riley]

It was a good weekend together as we wrapped up our series on 1 ThessaloniansW!

Worship Gatherings, 09/27 - 09/28/14 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we focused on having a hope that informed by the truth of the gospel, with Joe's message coming from 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12.

Here's our set from this weekend:

Pre-Service - "Beloved" (Eb) [Derek Webb]
"Made Alive" (C) [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]
"I Stand Amazed" (D) [Charles H. Gabriel]
"A Mighty Fortress" (C) [Christy Nockels, Nathan Nockels]
"Stronger" (C) [Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan]
"Son of God" (G) [Tim Neufeld, Jon Neufeld, Gordon Cochran, Ed Cash]

Worship Gatherings, 09/06 - 09/07/14 - Fellowship Bible Church

Late update here. We started our series through 1 Thessalonians this past weekend, focused on having a Ready Faith, Love, and Hope. I'm excited as we continue this next weekend.

Here's our set of music from this past weekend:

"I Am Set Free" (E) [Leslie Jordan, of All Sons & Daughters]
"Sing to the King" (E) [Billy Foote, Charles Silvester Horne]
"Forever Reign" (A) [Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan]
"Forever (We Sing Hallelujah)" (A) [Christa Black Gifford, Kari Jobe, Brian Johnson, Jenn Johnson, Joel Taylor, and Gabriel Wilson]
"Before The Throne" (A) [Charitie Lees Bancroft, Vicki Cook, arr. by The Modern Post]

It was a fantastic weekend.

• We introduced "Forever (We Sing Hallelujah)" to our weekend services (we sang it for a worship night recently), and it was a very powerful moment.
• We did something similar to the Hillsong Chapel arrangement of "Forever Reign" for communion, and it was refreshing.
• We sang "I Am Set Free" by All Sons & Daughters in the pre-service time, and I love the harmony that the duo puts together. It's strong and beautiful. I look forward to singing that one again sometime soon.
• Our team did an excellent job with a few new tunes in the mix, and a fresh take on another. I'm so thankful for all their continued hard work and preparation!

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

Songs We Sing, 04/19 - 04/20/14 Easter - Fellowship Bible Church

This was an incredible Easter weekend with Fellowship! Pastor Joe shared how Jesus is our only remedy because of His life, death, and resurrection. The church sang out like I've never heard before. Our team did a fantastic job putting it all together, and I'm so privileged to serve with them. It was a beautiful thing!

Here are the songs we sang:

Pre-Service - "Suffering Servant" [Dustin Kensrue]
"Made Alive" [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger]
"Before the Throne" [Charitie Lees Bancroft, Vikki Cook, arr. by The Modern Post]
"Remedy" [David Crowder]
"Forever Reign" [Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan]
"This Is Amazing Grace" [Phil Wickham, Josh Farro, Jeremy Riddle]

Jesus is alive! Happy Easter!

in the Son,

Bill

Songs We Sing, 02/08 - 02/09/14 Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend we continued in the fourth week of our series, "Obedience," and Joe shared about David's life, leadership, and heart for God from 2 Samuel. You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here.

Here's our service plan:

"Made Alive" (C) [Brian Eichelberger, Zach Bolen]
"Glorious One" (C) [Steve Fee]
Greeting Time
Announcements
Message - "Obedience: Devotion" [Joe Hishmeh]
"Forever Reign" (Ab) [Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan]
"You Are God Alone" (Ab) [Billy Foote, Cindy Foote]
"Lord of All" (A) [Kristian Stanfill]
Dismissal

Thoughts: This was another great weekend of services. Joe's message was challenging for all of us, as he called us to be faithful and responsive to God throughout our lives, and to leave behind the emptiness that so often comes from living by our own will. Our team did a great job throughout the weekend. We began our services by celebrating Jesus and His finished work for us as we sang "Made Alive" and "Glorious One," which is one of my longtime favorites that we haven't sung much here at Fellowship since I've been here. It was great to sing it together this week. Sarah Oldberg led us powerfully on "Forever Reign" and "You Are God Alone," and the church engaged well as we responded to Joe's message with these songs. We closed out our weekend with a powerful declaration of God's sovereignty and surpassing worth in "Lord of All." I wanted this to be a moment where we could intentionally set our eyes on Jesus as Lord of all, and commit our way to respond to Him and His leading throughout our days. I love this song, and still maintain that it's a song that the Church (big "C") needs to sing, because it carries a truth that resonates powerfully in the heart of every believer: "There is none so high and holy/ King of kings, the One and only!"

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

- Bill

Songs We Sing, 08/17 - 08/18/13 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, our lead pastor, Joe Hishmeh, shared the the fourth message in our series, "Positive Identity," where he taught how we are secure in Christ. He reminded us that we have nothing to fear any longer in Christ, because in place of condemnation, desperation, and separation, Jesus gives us faith, hope, and love. It was a moving reminder of Christ's love for us and of where we now stand because of Him! You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:

"The Solid Rock" (E) [Edward Mote, William B. Bradbury, Charlie Hall, Trent Austin, Kendall Combs] "I Stand Amazed" (E) [Charles Hutchison Gabriel] Greeting Time/Announcements Message - "Positive Identity: Secure" [Joe Hishmeh] "Jesus Messiah" (A) [Daniel Carson, Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves, Chris Tomlin] "Forever Reign" (A) [Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan] "This Is Amazing Grace" (A) [Phil Wickham, Josh Farro, Jeremy Riddle, recorded by Phil Wickham and Bethel Live] Dismissal

Thoughts: It was great to be back with our church this weekend after being gone last weekend.

For our singing this weekend, we tried to focus on the finished work and all-sufficiency of Christ for us. "The Solid Rock" celebrates our firm foundation in Jesus. "I Stand Amazed," "Jesus Messiah," and "This Is Amazing Grace" all remember and praise Jesus' incredible, unfailing, and live-giving love for us, demonstrated at the cross. And "Forever Reign" worship Jesus for His perfect love and goodness in spite our own shortcomings. All of these songs bring us to one conclusion - Jesus is our only hope!

- Bill

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

Songs We Sing, 06/22 - 06/23/13 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we were in the fourth week of our series through 2 Timothy - "Lead In Christ." In his message this week, our adult discipleship pastor David Hinkle shared about guarding our hearts from things that would exalt us, and pursuing things in our lives that exalt Christ. It was a great reminder and challenge to seek Christ with all that we are, beause He is the only one who is worthy, and the only one who satisfies. 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] "Hosanna" (D) [Brooke Ligertwood] Greeting Time/Announcements Message - "Lead In Christ: Guard Your Heart - 2 Timothy 3:1-9" [David Hinkle] "Forever Reign" (A) [Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan] "You Have Overcome" (A) [Bill Horn, Erik Oldberg] "Before The Throne" (A) [Charitie Lees Bancroft, arr. by The Modern Post] Dismissal

Thoughts: This was yet another great weekend (I know--I say that a lot...)! David's message was very challenging, Becky Tindell did a great job co-leading with me, our team as a whole did a great job, and the church sang well. It was one of those weekends where things in the music that we didn't even expect connected well with the message. It serves as a reminder that God is the one who ultimately leads His people to worship Himself. If we seek Him and prepare as well as we can with His leading, He does more than we could ever ask or imagine. It's a beautiful thing when we are able to really catch it and see some of the ways in which He moved! I really love each of the songs we sang this week. In particular, it was great to bring back "Made Alive" for a refresher. That song is always enjoyable to sing together with our congregation in celebrating the beauty of the gospel and Jesus' gracious love for us.

- Bill

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

Songs We Sing, Overflow - 05/05/13

Here's the set of songs from our Overflow worship night on May 5, 2013. It was a powerful and beautiful time of worship! I love co-leading with my friends Erik and Sarah Oldberg, who always do an awesome job. Reading - 1 John 4:7-12 (NIV) "Our God Is Love" (E) [Joel Houston] "In Tenderness" (A) [Adoniram J. Gordon, W. Spencer Walton, Nate Garvey] "Before The Throne" (A) [Charitie Lees Bancroft, arr. by The Modern Post] Reading - 1 John 2:1-2 (NIV) "I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)" (E) [Charles Hutchison Gabriel] "One Thing Remains" (B) [Brian Johnson, Christa Black Gifford, Jeremy Riddle] "Forever Reign" (A) [Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan] Communion - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (ESV) "Sing To Jesus" (F) [Fernando Orgtega, Rich Nibbe] "Grace Flows Down" (D) [David E. Bell, Louie Giglio, Rod Padgett] "Nothing But The Blood" (A) [Robert Lowry,  arr. by All Sons & Daughters] "You Have Overcome" (A) [Bill Horn, Erik Oldberg] Reading - 1 John 3:16-18 (NIV) "To Our God" (A) [Brian Johnson, Jeremy Riddle, Joel Taylor] "The Stand" (A) [Joel Houston] "Hosanna (Bridge Only) (A) [Brooke Ligertwood] "Stronger" (Bb) [Reuben Morgan, Ben Fielding] "Beneath The Waters (I Will Rise)" (Ab) [Brooke Ligertwood, Scott Ligertwood] "10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)" (G) [Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin] "Rise (Bb)" [Joel Houston] Closing Prayer - Hebrews 13:20-21 (NIV)

Songs We Sing, 04/13 - 04/14/13 - Fellowship Bible Church

This was our first week of our new series - "Seven," which is about the seven marks of an intentional life. Our discipleship pastor, David Hinkle, started us off by preaching through the spiritual area of our lives, coming primarily from Galatians 2:20. It was a powerful challenge with four practices for help us seek and serve Jesus with our lives. You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here. Here's our service plan from this weekend:

Welcome/Call to Worship "All Because of Jesus" (B) [Steve Fee] "Happy Day" (B) [Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon] Greeting Time/Announcements Message - "The Seven: Spiritual - Galatians 2:20" [David Hinkle] "Because of Your Love" (E) [Phil Wickham] "Forever Reign" (A) [Reuben Morgan, Jason Ingram] "Jesus Messiah" (A) [Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, Ed Cash] Dismissal

Thoughts: This weekend was a fantastic weekend. David's message was a great reminder for our church, and our worship team did an awesome job leading together. I am so thankful to lead beside such amazing people. They love God, they love the Church, and they give their best to point our people towards Christ through our time of singing together. The church sang out beautifully this weekend, especially during the final three songs of the services. It was so much so that I was getting a little choked up at several points (It's a little hard to keep singing at those moments...). It was amazing. I felt the songs we sang really connected with the central message of Galatians 2:20, and I think it was really powerful all together.

I love my team. I love our church. Praise God for what He is doing in us.

- Bill

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

Songs We Sing, 01/26 - 01/27/13 - Fellowship Bible Church

This weekend, we continued in the second week of our series through 2 Corinthians-- "Purpose In Christ." Joe shared about growing in forgiveness, and how forgiveness can be the demonstration of the victory that Christ has over sin. 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, arr. by Citizens] "Sing to the King" (D) [Charles Sylvester Horne, Billy James Foote] Greeting Time/Announcements Message - "Purpose In Christ - Forgiveness" [Joe Hishmeh] "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" (E) [Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin, John Newton, Edwin O. Excell, John P. Rees] "Forever Reign" (A) [Reuben Morgan, Jason Ingram] "You Have Overcome" (A) [Bill Horn, Erik Oldberg] Dismissal

Thoughts: This was a great weekend. Joe's message was very powerful and challenging, our team led well, and the church was very engaged. Becky Tindell returned to co-lead after her maternity leave, and it was great to have her back. The entire worship team locked in really well and it was a solid weekend musically. I love the songs that we sang this weekend, and I felt like there was a good balance of both energetic songs and reflective songs. Also, our tech team did a great job, with three volunteers running sound, video, and MediaShout for the first time solo. It is really amazing to see how our team is growing and developing. God continues to bring people who have a passion to accomplish the mission of our church together, for which I am extremely grateful. God is doing some great things here, and I truly believe our best days are ahead of us.

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?

Set List, 11/03 - 11/04/12 - Fellowship Bible Church

This week our pastor, Joe Hishmeh, continued our discipleship series, "Ephesians - United in Christ." In the message for the weekend, Joe shared from Ephesians 5:9-21 about how we are called out of darkness and into the light of Christ; to shine the light of Christ by living wisely and loving deeply in a dark world. It was a great challenge for us to pursue a rich life of following Christ. You can listen to or watch the entire message and service here. In our singing, we focused on the gospel, and the life that we have been given through Christ. Our response ought to be one of worship and obedience, because He has done great things for us!

Here's our service plan from this weekend:

Welcome "All Because of Jesus" (B) [Steve Fee] "Happy Day" (B) [Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon] Greeting Time/Announcements Message - "Ephesians 5:9-21" [Joe Hishmeh] Communion "Christ Is Risen" (Gb) [Matt Maher, Mia Fieldes] "Stronger" (Bb) [Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan] "Jesus Paid It All" (Bb) [John T. Grape, Elvina M. Hall, Alex Nifong] "Let Me Sing" (Bb) [Todd Fields] Dismissal

"All Because Of Jesus" / "Happy Day" - We opened our services this weekend with the combination of these two songs. We went from "All Because of Jesus" right into "Happy Day," all with the focus of how we have been rescued and made alive by the finished work of Jesus Christ. We have great reason to celebrate and worship!

"Christ Is Risen" - This was our communion and response song to Joe's message this week. His selected passage from Ephesians included 5:14: "Awake, O sleeper/ And arise from the dead / And Christ will shine on you", which is the foundation for this song. This verse, according to the Expositor's Bible Commentary, was probably an early hymn that the Church would sing to celebrate baptisms. This makes sense with Paul's comments later on singing "songs and hymns, and spiritual songs" in verse 19. This song is a powerful song about the resurrection to life that we have because of Christ. He has brought us out of darkness into His light.

"Stronger" - After the Lord's Supper, we continued by singing this song together, which speaks of Christ's victory over sin and death for us. I love singing this chorus together with the church: "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."

"Jesus Paid It All" - From "Stronger," we went directly into this song, which is one of our church's (and I'm sure this is true for many other churches) favorites. During our Saturday night services, we only sang the second chorus (or bridge, if you prefer): "O praise the One who paid my debt/ And raised this life up from the dead," but we decided to sing the whole song on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful moment of worship together.

"Let Me Sing" - We finished our services with this song, which really put the exclamation point on the entire service, tying in all the themes that were emphasized: Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our redemption, walking in the light vs. the darkness, and living a life that shines the light of Christ in a dark world. We finished the song with mostly just the voices, and it was beautiful to hear the church singing these words of dedication and response to Christ: "Let me sing louder than creation to You/ For the pain You bore in Your body/ To bring my soul to You/ Let me shine brighter than the stars in the sky/ An offering of praise all my life/ To You, my holy King!" 

Thoughts: This weekend was a fantastic weekend. We completely rearranged our services, and it was refreshing and energizing. People were confused at first when the band left the platform after only two songs and Joe came up to preach, but we heard many comments about how people were engaged in worship because of the change. I always love singing in response to the proclaimed Word of God, since all of worship is a response to who God is, how God acts toward us, and what God calls us to. It just felt right. The team did a good job with all of the changes this weekend, and I am really grateful for our weekend of worship together. I am so encouraged by how our church engaged throughout the weekend, and all that is happening at Fellowship. I LOVE MY CHURCH!

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

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