Beside Still Waters Ministries

Today was a great example of the Holy Spirit helping us in our weaknesses.  I’ve been fighting some kind of bronchitis-sinus-type thing since Thursday afternoon, and Saturday night I had a fever of 100.7.  I wasn’t even sure I would make it to church Sunday morning, but my temperature was back down to normal, so I went but still really didn’t feel very good and was having a hard time breathing because my asthma was acting up.  I struggled to really feel like I was into it or was following where the congregation was, but after the service on my way out several people said that the music was really good this morning and the pastor e-mailed me this afternoon telling me that several more people said the same to him as well.  So, I have to say it was definitely all God, because it definitely wasn’t me, especially since I was losing my voice and struggled to sing the special music during the offering and the last hymn.

Another item to note was that I had the pleasure of having Sebastian, a young man who already knows that he is being called to go into youth ministry, play guitar with me for the first two songs this morning.  The bummer was that the battery in his pickup died about halfway into the first song in the service, so the congregation really couldn’t hear him.    We’ll get it fixed next week.

Opening Song:  Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King – the arrangement from Gateway Worship‘s Living for You CD.

Call to Worship/Greeting

Singing:  Lord I Lift Your Name On High – I was a little concerned that I was doing this one too fast, but they seemed to be following it okay. 

Scripture:   Psalm 119:97-99, 103-105

Singing: How Firm A Foundation – pretty much straight up from the hymnal.

Scripture:  2 Timothy 3:14-17

Message:   Bible Blitz: Reading For the Journey

Offering:  In Christ Alone – man, I love this song.  Keith Getty & Stuart Townend have written several great new contemporary hymns, you can check them out at the Getty’s website here.

Communion:  I played instrumentally Glorify Thy Name, arranged by Mark Hayes, and Be Still My Soul, arranged by Chris Rice.

Closing Song:  Have Thine Own Way, Lord – I didn’t really sing much on this one, except the last verse I had them sing it “mostly” a cappella, I say “mostly” because I interjected a little piano at the end of phrases to keep up the timing and keep us in tune since I wasn’t able to sing very well by this point.