Books I've Read this Year

A friend of mine did a post similar to this, but I thought I would post the books I've read this year. This is just a complete list and in no particular order as far as favorites or recommendations; just a list of what I've read this year. Hopefully next year the list will be even longer:

• The Gospel According to Starbucks by Leonard Sweet
• Aqua Church 2.0 by Leonard Sweet
• Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley
• it: How Churches and Leaders Can it and Keep it by Craig Groeschel
• Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger
• Crazy Love by Francis Chan
• Fearless by Max Lucado
• Tender Warrior by Stu Weber
• Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World by David Jeremiah
• My Heart's Desire by David Jeremiah
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

And here are a few books I am currently reading, though you can actually see this to the right:

• The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
• Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
• How to Reach Your Full Potential for God by Charles Stanley

Along with the books I am currently reading, for your fancy here is a list of books I have waiting to be read at this point right now:

• Here I Am to Worship by Tim Hughes
• Facedown by Matt Redman
• Forgotten God by Francis Chan
• Scouting the Divine by Margaret Feinberg
• Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
• A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
• What's So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey
• How Now Shall We Live? by Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey
• Called to Worship by Vernon Whaley
• Captured by Grace by David Jeremiah
• Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus

There you have it. Take from this what you will and hopefully maybe you can find some books on this list that you might enjoy reading.

2009 Coming to a Close

Well tomorrow is the last day of 2009, the end of another century. What a year this has been. Some of the worst economical times we have ever seen, especially my generation, and the inauguration of our first African American president. This year also held our 2nd anniversary, 2 years working at Starbucks and 2 years on staff at Bethel Baptist Church. We have definitely seen God's hand at work in our lives. We have both been blessed with jobs that have held on during the economy, a wonderful church family and some great friends.

As I look ahead to 2010 there are some things I really want to happen in my own life. On the top of that list is my time in the Word learning and growing in my relationship with God. Unfortunately that wonderful Book stays in my bag, sits on the nightstand or the bookshelf most of the time and not open in my hands, heart and mind. I really want that to change this coming year. One way I'm hoping this will happen is from the team at LifeChurch.tv. They have come out with a wonderful resource, YouVersion. It's an online Bible community with all kinds of great tools to get in the Word. Not only can you get on it from the internet, you can also access YouVersion on your smartphone. Now that I have a BlackBerry, I've got the app on my phone and have used it numerous times. Now has is YouVersion going to help me stay in the Word on a daily basis? Brand new are YouVersion's Reading Plans. They have over 20 different plans and I've set up one and will be starting on January 1, 2010 and Lord willing I will finish December 31, 2010. This also syncs with the mobile app and is capable of tracking your progress. Check it out if you get a chance. LifeChurch.tv and YouVersion have some great tools.

I also want to continue reading more. I really started reading more the later part of this year and have really enjoyed it. I'm thankful for my wife signing me up to be a Book Review Blogger through Thomas Nelson. I've gotten the chance to read and review some great books. I look forward to more in the future. Plus I've just picked up more books in general. Some that I own, ones that my wife owns, others I've won and others that I've gone out and bought. Right now I've got a stack of about 10 books on my nightstand that I'm anxious to read. Gotta make it through the ones you see on the right side of the screen first. If anyone has some great books out there that they've read, leave me a comment with the title and author. Always on the lookout for some more books.

Well there's a quick look at my thoughts as we come upon the new year. I hope I can continue writing on this blog with more topics than Sunday Setlists and some book reviews. Still getting used to writing things down. I really want this blog to become a place where I can share what I've been learning and what God has been doing in my life and hopefully encourage you in your own life. Praying God's blessing on each and everyone one of you as we enter into 2010.

Sunday Setlist - 12.27.09

Week #75 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, December 27th.

- Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You (Christmas version)
- Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (Travis Cottrell version)
- Glory to God Forever
- How Great Thou Art (Paul Baloche version)

This morning at Bethel we only had one service, which is rare, but also quite nice because it gave me the chance to sleep in on a Sunday morning which never happens. Also means my team for this morning didn't have to be at church anywhere near the length of time they usually are. Plus it's always nice to have the whole church together at the same time and see our sanctuary full. It's such a great feeling to be worshiping with the whole church. Our pastor was on vacation this week so the Word was brought to us by our former student ministries director. It's always great when he brings the Word. This morning we were challenged as we move ahead into the new year to really look at our priorities and really strive to live for God and be in His Word daily. It's a great toolbox full of tools to live our lives with, but only works best when it's open. "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12.1-2

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/12/27/sunday-setlists-75/

Sunday Setlist - 12.20.09

Week #74 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, December 20th.

- Angels We Have Heard On High
- Silent Night
- Angels From the Realms of Glory

We were also blessed this morning to have a friend of our pastor, Thomas Sorrentino, come up this morning and sing a couple songs. The first song was "Changed By A Baby Boy." I also put together a choir for this piece and Thomas sang solo with choir accompaniment. Then he also sang a fantastic arrangement of "Mary, Did You Know?" It was a blessing to have him with us sharing the gift that God has blessed him with. Our congregation also enjoyed hearing a choir as we don't have one very often. Last time I put one together was last Christmas. May be doing it a little more often in the future.

This morning was the 4th Sunday of Advent and we lit the Candle of Peace. We also continued in our "A Christmas Pursuit" series with a message from Luke 1.46-55. He focused on three words from verse 50 taken from the NIV, "His mercy extends." Great message and an overall great morning of worship! Spent a lot of hours getting ready for this, but I believe the Lord was honored and glorified this morning. Now to finish getting ready for Christmas Eve and then enjoying some much needed time off.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/12/20/sunday-setlists-74/

Sunday Setlist - 12.13.09

Week #73 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, December 13th.

- Everlasting God
- Glory in the Highest
- Joy to the World
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

This morning was the 3rd Sunday of Advent, and we lit the Candle of Joy and we also continued in our "A Christmas Pursuit" series. This morning we focused on why Christ came to this earth. This morning I also had some of the worship team read Luke 2.8-14 which ends with "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" From there we moved into Chris Tomlin's "Glory in the Highest" and the Spirit of the Lord was moving. What a wonderful morning of worship lifting high the name of the Lord in worship and praise.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/12/13/sunday-setlists-73/

Sunday Setlist - 12.06.09

Week #72 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, December 6th.

- Hosanna
- One Small Child
- What Child is This?

This morning was the 2nd Sunday in Advent, and we lit the Candle of Love. Our focus was on the love that God had for us in that He sent Love to the earth in the form of a baby that would one day grown up to be a man and die for our sins on a cross. And as we continued with our Christmas series "A Christmas Pursuit" we focused on the miracle of Christmas. One of our elders brought the Word as our pastor was on vacation.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/12/07/sunday-setlists-72/

Sunday Setlist - 11.29.09

Week #71 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, November 29th.

- Forever
- New Doxology
- O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
- Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

This being the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent, I wanted to combine a time of worship with the idea of giving thanks and the songs of the Christmas season. So we give thanks to the Lord because His love endures forever and praising Him because of his many blessings. This Sunday we lit the Candle of Hope as we long for the birth of our Lord Emmanuel.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/11/29/sunday-setlists-71/

Sunday Setlist - 11.22.09

Week #70 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, November 22nd.

- Your Grace Is Enough

We finished our set with a medley of a lot of different songs. I used different sections from these songs:

- Revelation Song
- It Is Well
- There Will Be A Day (Jeremy Camp)
- In Christ Alone
- Solid Rock

We concluded our Heaven & Hell Series this morning. This past week we also had Jeremy Camp along with Bebo Norman and Natalie Grant at our Center for the Arts here in town. These are a mixture of songs they did and as they lead them I kept thinking about Christ and what it will be like in Heaven for eternity with Him. I thought it would be great set to end our singing time the morning we finish this series. I believe God was honored and worshipped this morning.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/11/22/sunday-setlists-70/

Sunday Setlist - 11.15.09

Week #69 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, November 15th.

- Holy is the Lord
- Agnus Dei
- Revelation Song

This week we continued our look into heaven. A great time of worship singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty." I believe we honored the Lord amidst a lot of sound issues regarding our in-ear monitors.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/11/15/sunday-setlists-69/

Sunday Setlist - 11.08.09

Week #68 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, November 8th.

- The Lord Reigns
- New Doxology
- Revelation Song

It was a Kari Jobe/Gateway Church/Christ for the Nations morning with our songs. Regardless of that though, it was a great morning of worship at Bethel. This was the first Sunday we've done Revelation Song. The worship team really grabbed a hold of it and I believe the congregation did as well. We are currently in a Heaven and Hell series right now and that song just fit so well with getting a picture of heaven. That one will become a standard that we use for a long time I'm sure. Been wanting to do it for a while now and this morning was just the day to add it.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/11/08/sunday-setlists-68/

Sunday Setlist - 11.01.09

Week #67 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, November 1st.

- How Great Thou Art (contemporary version done by Paul Baloche)
- Glory to God Forever
- Jesus Paid It All (contemporary version done by Kristian Stanfill)

This morning we also had communion and during communion one of my worship team members, Annie, sang Chris Tomlin's "I Will Rise." Fantastic song and a great way to end an awesome morning of worship.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/11/01/sunday-setlists-67/

Sunday Setlist - 10.25.09

Week #66 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, October 25th.

- Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
- O Worship the King
- Shout to the Lord
- Blessed Be Your Name

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/10/25/sunday-setlists-66/

Sunday Setlist - 10.18.09

Week #65 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, October 18th.

- All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises
- Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
- How Deep the Father's Love for Us
- Amazing Love (You Are My King)

This morning we focused on missions. We had Joel Wright with us, who is one of the missionaries that we at Bethel support. Joel spent many years in the mission field in the country of Brazil, but now is state-side working to plant and build-up Brazilian churches and their pastors. This man has an amazing heart toward the country and the people of Brazil. This mornings message was on the inclusive love of God, a love for all peoples. One of the highlights for me this morning came at the end of his message. He shared about this outreach events that happen in Brazil. The people gather for worship, and there are more people than can fit in most stadiums, so they gather at these large amphitheaters, lift their voices and just worship. He played a video of some of the music they worship to at these events and even though I don't speak Portuguese and don't understand Portuguese, there's a connection through the music and the One that gave the music and I was worshiping as well. It reminds me of a missions trip I took back in college to the country of Greece with our brass choir from Cedarville University. One of the nights we were there we attended a youth outreach night. We played and then we got to take in what they do at these events. They had their own worship team and they began their time of worship. Some of the songs we didn't know, but then they got to some songs that we did know. So there we were, all these Greek students and us singing the same song, them in Greek and us in English. Though we are from two separate cultures and speak two completely different languages, there we were together worshiping the same God. We must not let cultures, languages, backgrounds, etc. get in the way of letting others know about the wonderful love of God, a love that is for all peoples.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/10/18/sunday-setlists-65/

Sunday Setlist - 10.11.09

Week #64 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, October 11th.

- Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
- Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King
- Mighty to Save

This morning we continued in our series on how to Rust-Proof our Relationships by Tony Redfern. This morning's message was "Rush Inhibitor: Invitation Initiates Reconciliation." The passage for the morning was Isaiah 55.1-8. We're called to invite others to begin the process of reconciliation by following a model that God has set for us; 1) God's invitation is appropriate (v.1a), 2) God's invitation is generous (v.1b), 3) God's invitation is gracious (v.1c), 4) God's invitation is irresistible (v.2a), 5) God's invitation is transformational (v.3a), 6) God's invitation is glorifying (vs.3b-5), 7) God's invitation speaks the truth in love (vs.6-8). This is our model of how we should approach others should we need to reconcile something with someone else.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/10/11/sunday-setlists-64/

Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World by Dr. David Jeremiah

What another fantastic book for our day and age that we are going through right now; the world is definitely a little chaotic right now. Since reading Fearless by Max Lucado, I was equally interested in reading this book by Dr. David Jeremiah when I found it. Part of me wanted to see how the books were similar or different, but knowing how centered on Christ Dr. Jeremiah is as a person I really wanted to see how he would relate the times that we’re going through ground in the Word of God. I believe he hit the mark with the verse on the back cover; “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14.1)

Reading through the book, I was drawn to chapter seven which is titled “Stay Confident.” I believe the subject of this chapter is the main point of the book and not just because of the words confident in the chapter heading and confidence in the title of the book. I believe it is the main point because the subject of this chapter is the Word of God. This book is full of scripture passages to back up what Dr. Jeremiah is saying, but there were a couple points in this chapter that really grabbed a hold of me and made me think this is how we live with confidence. Dr. Jeremiah tells us this, “I assure you that the most remarkable and powerful words of comfort and encouragement you’ll ever encounter are all in the Bible,” and “the Bible is the key to living with confidence in a chaotic world.” If we abide in His Word, I believe these patterns for living will come true, centered in Christ, committed to the Word, compassionate toward others, connected to the church, consistent in your walk, calm in your heart, certain of His coming, and confident in your faith. Not only are these great for living in the chaotic world we live in as a whole, but also in our own personal lives. We may not all be going through the loss of jobs or houses, total destruction because of natural disasters, but that doesn’t mean our lives are not chaotic. Even in the smaller chaotic times, we must not forget the Word of God and let God work in and through us to help us live with confidence.

Special thanks to Thomas Nelson and the Book Review Bloggers program for providing this complimentary book to read and review.

Sunday Setlist - 10.04.09

Week #63 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, October 4th.

- Doxology
- Hosanna
- My Savior's Love
- Holy is the Lord

Wonderful time of worship this morning. Starting off with the Doxology and then moving right into Hosanna was a fantastic way to start the morning off with praise. This morning we had Tony Redfern bring the message to us this morning. He does a lot of mediation and counseling and today, along with next Sunday and the following Monday night, he is giving a mini-series of Rust-Proof Relationships. This morning's message was "Rust Removers for Relationships: Dealing with Unresolved Conflict." He based his message off of Ephesians 4.25-32 and highlighted five rust removers: 1) Agree to deal with today's conflict today (v. 26), 2) Agree to deny permission for Satan to enter your relationships (v. 27), 3) Agree to be truth-tellers and grace-givers (vs. 25, 29), 4) Agree to stop the conflict cycles (vs. 30, 31), and 5) Agree to forgive each other (v. 32).

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/10/04/sunday-setlists-63/

Sunday Setlist - 09.27.09

Week #62 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, September 27th.

- Open the Eyes of My Heart
- I Am Yours (Take My Life)
- Your Name
- How Great Is Our God

This morning we ended our series "Summer in the Psalms" with Psalm 110. What a wonderful way to end our time as far as a Sunday morning sermon series goes by looking ahead to the life of Christ. We looked at five aspects of Christ in this Psalm. Our Pastor shared these with us; Jesus Christ is announced as:

1) God [we have been created w a purpose to fulfill]
2) King [we have a leader to follow and a kingdom lifestyle to live]
3) Priest [we have forgiveness and immediate access to the Father]
4) Judge [we've been pronounced not guilty]
5) Warrior [we must remember how the story ends, looking ahead to the book of Revelation]

I have enjoyed our time in the Psalms and being a musician I have always enjoyed my personal time in the Psalms. The honesty of the psalmists in prayer, praise, worship and crying out to God for cleansing, renewal and forgiveness has been inspiring on multiple occasions. As I was eating breakfast this morning, I was once again reading the Psalms and I was in Psalm 145. So to end this edition of Sunday Setlists, I leave you with this verse from Psalm 145. In verses 1 and 3a David says this, "I will extol [praise] you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised."

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/09/27/sunday-setlists-62/

Sunday Setlist - 09.20.09

Week #61 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, September 20th.

- Hear Our Praises
- Unfailing Love
- He Knows My Name
- Sanctuary
- Draw Me Close

We are nearing the end of our "Summer in the Psalms" series. This morning's message was on Psalm 139. We looked at three main points in this Psalm all pointing to attributes of God. He is omniscient (verses 1-6), omnipresent (verses 7-12) and omnipotent (verses 13-24). We also showed a fantastic video in the service. This video is funny as well as thought-provoking and convicting. It is done by the Skit Guys and called God's Chisel. God doesn't make junk. We are His original masterpiece. If you've never read Psalm 139, check it out and also read Ephesians 2.10.



To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/09/21/sunday-setlists-61/

Sunday Setlist - 09.13.09

Week #60 of Sunday Setlists. Here is our setlist for Sunday, September 13th.

- The Lord Reigns
- Glorious Day
- Jesus Messiah

This morning we had part II of Psalm 119 in our "Summer in the Psalms" series. What a wonderful Psalm it is. We began the service by listening to the entire Psalm. Our pastor challenged us to read Psalm 119 once each day this past week. It was wonderful to do that. I was really drawn to verse 89 and the first part of verse 90. Here is what it says, "Forever [everlasting], O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven [stands firm]. Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations." As much as this is a psalm about God's Word, more importantly, it's a psalm about God. The words You and Your, which are referring to God, are found 249 times in 176 verses. Our God and His Word are everlasting and the will stand firm through the ages. We have two more weeks in this series. Next Sunday we'll be looking at Psalm 42 and then Psalm 139 the following week.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/09/13/sunday-setlists-60/

Tender Warrior by Stu Weber

I bought this book when Mary and I attended FamilyLife's Weekend to Remember marriage conference back in 2008. We received admission to the conference as a wedding gift and what a great conference it was. So nice to get away for the weekend and spend some good quality time with my lovely wife. I wanted to come away from that conference with some material/books that I would be able to read and really come away with something. That definitely came with this book...just wish I had read it sooner. Stu Weber really get to the heart of man and really Who we should be modeling as men. He also talks about how we are supposed to be devoted husbands and loving fathers. I think most men feel like we have to be the strong one, the warrior, but at the same time we have to learn how to be sensitive to our wives, learn how to speak the language of women, be loving and approachable to our kids, and that is the tenderness in the midst of the warrior. This book is Biblically sound as well. Stu Weber is able to weave in scripture as he makes his point. Which ties in that Weber says we as men need to have a vibrant, growing relationship with our God and King. We need to be growing in our knowledge and personal relationship with God. We also need to be continuing to learn and stay in His Word. The Bible and how it portrays our heavenly Father and His relationship with His Son Jesus are the examples that are set for us to follow as men, husbands and earthly fathers.

There are a lot of discussion questions following each chapter and I hope to in the near future go through those questions. I have now been married just over two years and I'm definitely still learning (I'm sure I'll be learning the rest of my life) what it is to be a good husband. Eventually when we have a family, I really want to be a Godly example and father to my kids. I want them to grow up knowing who God is and how much He loves them, for them to believe in Him and grow in their own personal relationship with God. But it all starts with me, who I am as a man, husband, father (not yet though) and how I'm growing in relationship with my heavenly Father as the ultimate example.

Some Videos to Share

In the last couple days I've come across some great videos that I would like to share on here. These videos hold some wonderful testimonies of God doing great things among people like you and I.

These first two videos are previews of a new song "Heaven is the Face" on Steven Curtis Chapman's upcoming new CD. The first video is the story behind the song and the second video is the song.





This third video is the testimony of a family that went through a real tough time with their 5 month old little girl dealing with leukemia and a song that helped get the family through that time. The song is "Healer" by Kari Jobe. This isn't the first story I've heard about this song getting someone through a tough time. I was an intern at First Baptist Orlando while I was finishing my college degree and there is a family at that church that was trusting that God would heal their little girl and this song was constantly on the heart and voice of this little girl, Gracyn DenBesten. If you want to read more about her story and see a video of her singing this song at First Baptist Orlando you can click here. She also got the chance to sing this song with Kari Jobe at a night of worship held at First Baptist Orlando a couple weeks ago.

The Word of God

As I was checking my twitter this morning, I came across a blog post from another blog that I follow. It was a challenging word basically asking one question; are you reading God's Word? From that, are you meditating on the Word, are you memorizing the Word? I was convicted once again of my time, or lack there of, in the Word of God. It's something I'm working on, but still struggle with. Check out the following link to the original post.

http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/09/10/who-are-we-kidding/

Fearless by Max Lucado

Every one of us deals with fear, especially in this day and age where everything around us seems to be falling apart. There is a correlation between our faith and fear. Fear of “fill in the blank” can consume us in an instant, but as long as we have our faith in the one True God, He can bring us through any situation we find ourselves in. The way we live our life in light of the work that Christ did on the cross, that fear can be conquered, just as sin and death was conquered.

I was looking forward to reading this book as other titles I have read by Max Lucado have been wonderful. This one proved the same. This book has come out at the right time in the lives of probably just about everyone, as fear is becoming more and more prevalent. Life is a constant variable and out of the many circumstances surrounding us comes fear. There is however one constant and that is God. If we put our complete faith and trust in Him, He will be faithful to pull us through the situation. We may not understand the circumstance but we can fully believe that He will walk with us and take the fear away. This may not be the easiest thing to do, because as humans we don’t always understand God’s ways or timing. Even though we may not understand, we need to trust. I’m working on this myself as I have fears and questions, but I’m continuing to learn to put my trust in Him, completely. Reading this book is one more tool to help put me in the right direction. I would recommend that everyone read this book and don’t forget the words penned in Isaiah 40.31, “But they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (ESV)

Special thanks to Thomas Nelson and the Book Review Bloggers program for providing this complimentary book to read and review.

Sunday Setlist - 09.06.09

So since I've started to blog, I'm going to start in on posting our Sunday Setlist. This comes from Fred McKinnon, who is the worship director at St. Simons Community Church. He started this just over a year ago; it's now in its 59th week. I've been following it for a while checking out what other worship leaders are doing at their churches and figured I'll start doing the same. So here is our setlist for Sunday, September 6th.

- Your Grace Is Enough
- Thy Word
- Glory to God Forever
- Jesus Paid It All (during communion)

We are currently in a series called "Summer in the Psalms." This morning our pastor is preaching on Psalm 119! He's taking two Sundays to do it. What a wonderful psalm all about the Word of God! This Sunday was more of a background on the longest Psalm and chapter in the Bible and then next week we'll dive more into the Psalm.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out Fred McKinnon's blog at http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/09/06/sunday-setlists-59/

Here we go...

Well, I have decided to enter into the world of blogging. I've done this for a couple reasons; 1) I'm continuing to grow as a worshipper and a worship leader and would like to be able to share insights into what God is teaching me and hopefully be a blessing to others and 2) I'm in my first book as book review blogger for Thomas Nelson and needed a place to put my reviews.

So there will probably be a plethora of subjects to come as I blog, but my prayer is that this continues to be a blog that is honoring to the Lord, even though there may be sharing of struggles as well as blessings. I leave this first post with a couple passages that I post more for my reminder as I go about this blog and my life as a follower of Christ. Romans 12.1 says "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (ESV) and I Corinthians 10.31b which says "whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (ESV)