Sunday Set List & Sermon Thoughts 8/14

Sermon Thoughts
Today, Pastor Robert continued his series on "Flesh Fighters, " not to be confused with the "Foo Fighters."

The text was I John 2 :15-16

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[a] is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

The topic was the "anti-Trinity" which consists of the lusts of the flesh and eyes, as well as the pride of life. Just about every sin or wrongdoing can be traced back to one of these things.
--Lust of the Flesh--unhealthy desire for something. Man chasing after the things of the world, which never seem to satisfy.
--Lust of the Eyes--unhealthy desire for things we cannot have, after something unholy. It's an unquenchable desire.
--Pride of Life--unhealthy desire for recognition. An attitude that demands attention and does not satisfy. Anything that exalts itself above God. Arrogance, worldly wisdom--think Eve in the Garden.

Satan tried these on Christ--tempted Him with food, with command over everything He could see, with pride in Himself that the angels would not let Him get hurt. And as Hebrews 4:15says:
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
The songs for Sunday were:

Come, Now is the Time to Worship (D)
I Am Free (D)

Offertory

Take My Life (F)
Here I Am to Worship (F)
Holy Holy Holy (C/D)

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Sunday Setlist & Sermon Thoughts--July 24

Pastor Robert started a series today about fighting out flesh today. The scripture he referenced was one of my favorite passages from Romans chapter 7:

14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[d] I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power[e] within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

Wow. Those words belong to the great Apostle Paul, the man responsible for most of the New Testament. He's talking about how our nature is corrupted. Pastor Robert mentioned a quote by Billy Graham:

Flesh refers to the old patterns by which we have attempted to get all our needs supplied instead of seeking Christ first and trusting Him to meet all our needs.

Seems like this could be a pretty depressing topic if there were no hope. But Paul continues with the answer to verse 24:

25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

How is Christ the answer? Well, we can do all things through Him who gives us the strength.

Setlist:
Holy is the Lord
Crown Him With Many Crowns

Take My Life
Give Us Clean Hands
Draw Me Close

The songs were geared towards a heart surrendering itself (and it's flesh) to Christ.

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Sunday Setlist--July 17

I didn't want to write any recaps the last few weeks. We have some people at our church going through some major struggles. The kind of struggles that, if you care about them, they affect you too. Some have family members who have gone through some very bad medical issues, some who have had tragedy strike their lives. Preachers will always say that the enemy will attack you when you become effective and start making progress in this world. I can see first hand now what that's like.

Our church is growing. Maybe not in numbers or building size, but spiritually. We've put an emphasis on reaching more people outside our church while at the same time getting the church members more involved. The attacks that we're taking on have made me want to stop. Made me say to myself, "well, if we chill out for a while, maybe things will settle down." Thankfully, God's Spirit is stronger than that.

We will not surrender. We will not give up. We may get knocked backwards a step or two, but we will keep going, because in the end, our side wins. Our God is stronger than the forces of this world. That is what I have to hold onto in the tough times. That is where faith comes in. That is when it's tested.

Today's Set List:
Blessed Be Your Name (A)
Today is the Day (D)

Offertory

I Am Redeemed (C)
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (C)
Healer (F)
How He Loves chorus


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Sunday Setlist June 19th

The illustration I like to use that defines the praise team's role in a worship service is that of a newly built house. The foundation and structure is in place, but there is nothing on the walls. No paint, pictures, or anything like that. The praise team's job is to create space for the Spirit to do His work. Houses aren't built over night. It takes time. Our team is continually on a journey into finding newer and deeper ways to welcome the Holy Spirit and have everyone in attendance, believer or not, changed in some way.

Maybe they come forward during an altar call. Maybe they make a decision within themselves that day to make a change. Whatever it is, that is what we want. That is what we are after. Not to impress people with our musicianship or get their emotions stirred up artificially. We want lives changed so that the Church will in turn go outside the walls of the building and influence this world for Christ.

Made to Worship (F)
I Will Give You All My Praise (F)

Offertory

Holy, Holy, Holy (C/D)
Healer (G)
Kindness (G)--this song was played during our altar call. A few women came down and prayed. While I was playing, and this is something I've noticed over the years (not necessarily in our church, but the current Church as a whole,) no men came down. While attending some classes at a Seminary years ago, the discussion of a woman's role in the church came up. There was a small faction of men who thought that a woman couldn't teach or direct a grown man in any way. Teaching kids was ok, but not men. The topic of female song leaders came up and some guys said that it wasn't scriptural because they would be telling the men which page to turn to. Ridiculous, right?

Well, my thought on the topic is this--where are the men? Where is the man volunteering to lead singing or teach a Sunday school class for adults? Why are there so many married women who come by themselves to church? Seems to me like the women are stepping up where the men have not.

So, as I noticed that it was all women down front praying, God started giving me thoughts. As we neared the end of the song, I spoke up. I don't remember everything I said, but it was to the effect of, "men...come down here. Come pray for your family, job, church, country....don't be too prideful, be a leader...." And sure enough, when I got through, we played the chorus a few more times and some men came down and prayed. It may have had something to do with what I said, but instead I'd like to think that I simply followed the Spirit and laid the foundation for them to respond.


Praise God.

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Sunday Setllist 6/12

Here's the set we worshiped to today:

To God Be the Glory (G)
Today (G/A)

Offertory

Open Hands (D)
Hosanna (E)
We Exalt Thee/Altar Call (E)

It was a great service that started out by offering thanks to God for everything He has given us. Open Hands is a wonderful song about making your life available for His purposes. We did the Hillsong version of Hosanna, but missed having a bass & electric guitar to really build the intensity the song deserves. Finally, we finished with a very powerful chorus, We Exalt Thee. It's technically "I Exalt Thee," but we change it for corporate worship purposes. Maybe it's my Church of Christ roots, but I love whenever we break out an acapella part to a song as we did during one of the choruses. Nothing gives me chills like the whole congregation belting out WE EXALT THEEEEEE!!!! Can't wait 'til Heaven!!

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Sunday Setlist and Sermon Thoughts 6/9

Here are the songs we used to glorify God this morning:

Today is the Day
Blessed Assurance

Offertory

How Great is Our God
Til I See You--This is a fantastic worship song by Joel Houston and the Hillsong team. Enjoy:


Awesome in This Place (altar call)

Pastor Robert continued his sermon series on Counterfeit Christianity. Today's message was regarding false teachings and what can lead you to become a victim of them:
--Ignorance of God's Word
--Boredom and complacency
--Seeking the approval of men, not God
2 Peter 2:1
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

Pastor Robert has taught us that a counterfeit is made to look like the real thing. The enemy can use people, themes, and messages that seem Biblical, but are in fact distorting the Gospel to meet their own needs. As the Bible says, the Gospel is an offense. It's supposed to "offend" you into realizing that YOU are the one who needs Him.

You can view this and every other service live or whenever you want on our UStream page



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Sunday Setlist May29th

You never know what you're gonna get on a holiday weekend, but we had very good attendance at church today. Some new faces and that's always encouraging. Sometimes I tend to glance at the new people and see what the Spirit does with someone who isn't used to being with us. Sometimes they worship openly as if they've been there for years, sometimes they kinda mouth the words, and sometimes they stand there and watch. And there's nothing wrong with any of those reactions, it's just interesting to see from a perspective where you can see everyone.

Our set for today was:

Arise (E)
Everlasting God (A)

Offertory

I'd Rather Have Jesus (Bb)
Here I am to Worship (F)
Healer (F)


You can view this and every other service live or whenever you want on our UStream page



http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/sunday-setlists-149/