Sunday Preview

Please come to worship this Sunday prepared. It promises to be a great time in worship. As you prepare, consider what God wants to say to you. We will celebrate baptism of two of our young people, singing praises and hearing a word from our student pastor, Todd.

We will be singing songs of praise and testimony including: Victory in Jesus, I Will Boast, All Praise and Honor, and God of the Ages.

SINGERS! I will be announcing plans for a summer choir project open to all students and adults. We will meet weekly (day to be determined) and prepare a concert of modern hymns and songs of testimony to be presented in worship at the end of the summer.

Also, we are gearing up for some surprises as we move past the summer and into the fall. These directly impact how we train up our children in worship and praise. Please be prayerful about these coming announcements.

Looking forward to Sunday!
Kevin

Sunday Preview

I was so moved by the congregational praise last week - you all sounded wonderful in your praise! And this coming Sunday @ FBCHS is going to be GREAT! I am excited that Elliott will be returning to the piano after several weeks out.

Here is a preview of what we will sing together:

"Release Your Power"
"Blessed Be Your Name"
"You Never Let Go"
"Call Upon the Name of the LORD"
"Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)"

These are some great songs of testimony! Pastor Phil will be continuing his series "Dangerous Church" and from some points he shared with me yesterday, this is going to be some great and challenging teaching. Please come to worship prayerful and expectant about what God wants to do in your life and the lives of all who will gather.

ALSO... SUNDAY IS TIME-CHANGE SUNDAY..."Spring forward" an hour...sorry, Randy, this means we lose an hour's sleep! See you guys for Bible Study @ 9:30 and Worship @ 10:45!

Opportunities in Worship @ FBCHS

Dear Church family,

I am so excited about this new year in praise and worship at FBCHS! I believe it will be one of the best we have experienced in learning more about Him and more about each other, and in proclaming BOLDLY the Good News that JESUS SAVES!

I want to make you aware of some real opportunities that we have for service in the Music and Worship Ministry. Would you please make these a matter of prayer and action...pray, ask, invite, talk about until we see something happen!

We need musicians for the band! We have some great talent and some great commitment, but we need to provide backup and bring up new warriors in the ranks as well. Specifically, we need rhythm guitar, electric guitar, and bass.

We also need sound and video support. We need teachable people to step up and assist in meeting the sound needs for worship but also to man the computer which feeds the words to the screens during the service - we all know how vital this can be to our singing praise!

Will you pray about these? If so, send me an email to kevin.bragg@fbchollysprings.com and let me know that you hear the plea and are willing to take it to the Father on behalf of His church called FBCHS. No obligation other than to let me know that you are praying.

I love you and can't wait to sing praises with you on Sunday!

Kevin Bragg

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Let the New Year ...and the PRAISES...RING!

Christmas 2009 was great, as was the entire year at FBCHS. While we planned for our 40 Days of Purpose, we certainly did not plan for the renovations to the facilities. However, both were good things in the life of the church.

But I noticed something on December 27 and even last Sunday, January 3. As much as I loved singing the traditional songs of the birth of Jesus, I really missed being filled and fed by songs praise for Who He is, what has done, and what He is doing. It did my heart good to sing great songs of testimony as we sang some favorite hymns on Dec. 27 (something we will do again) and my heart jumped as we sang that its "All because of Jesus I'm alive...It's all because the blood of Jesus Christ."

I am excited about worship on Sunday. After the holidays and much sickness, I look forward to more band members being in their place and I look forward to worshipers braving the cold to gather...on purpose, for a purpose...to worship our great God.

I pray that we all come EXPECTING to meet with God and with His children! See you Sunday!

Kevin

Christmas in Holly Springs

Everyone is invited to this very special evening of fellowship and worship. It all begins with Open House at 4:00 p.m. Why have an open house at FBCHS? Because there are many, even in the church family, who have not seen the work done in renovation. From the new children's rally room to the updated offices and including all the new paint and carpet throughout the main building. We want to put our best foot forward and allow people to see just a bit of the blessing we have received in this great facility.

There will be cookies and other goodies to share in the Fellowship Hall and at 5:00 p.m. we will begin a night of worship in the Worship Center. "Come and see the goodness of the Lord" is how we will begin this time of special Christmas selections as well as familiar carols and worship songs. Featuring our extraordinary Praise Band, Singers and Worship Choir, this night of worship will also feature soloists and lots of congregational singing.

You are welcome...and so is your neighbor. INVITE THEM and don't forget to mention Christmas Eve Family Worship @ 5pm on Christmas Eve. Carols, candlelight, baptism, and a special word from our Pastor.

I can't wait to see you for these special days.

The Impartial Power of God

I have been reading and studying in Hebrews lately. This entry from Oswald Chambers hit so very close to home...

By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified —Hebrews 10:14

We trample the blood of the Son of God underfoot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only reason for the forgiveness of our sins by God, and the infinite depth of His promise to forget them, is the death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the result of our personal realization of the atonement by the Cross of Christ, which He has provided for us. ". . . Christ Jesus . . . became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . ." ( 1 Corinthians 1:30 ). Once we realize that Christ has become all this for us, the limitless joy of God begins in us. And wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is still in effect.

No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. God does this, not because Jesus pleads with Him to do so but because He died. It cannot be earned, just accepted. All the pleading for salvation which deliberately ignores the Cross of Christ is useless. It is knocking at a door other than the one which Jesus has already opened. We protest by saying, "But I don’t want to come that way. It is too humiliating to be received as a sinner." God’s response, through Peter, is, ". . . there is no other name . . . by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12 ). What at first appears to be heartlessness on God’s part is actually the true expression of His heart. There is unlimited entrance His way. "In Him we have redemption through His blood . . ." ( Ephesians 1:7 ). To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that we must die to everything that was never a part of Him.

God is just in saving bad people only as He makes them good. Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong. The atonement by the Cross of Christ is the propitiation God uses to make unholy people holy.

Stuff Christians Like...I Like this!

A friend of mine in Alpharetta has a website that has developed quite a following. In fact, it has led to a publishing deal with Zondervan that will bring his wit, wisdom and insight to store shelves in the Spring of 2010.

I read today's post and felt led to share it...God is weird...Prayer is weird...Faith is weird...read more: http://stuffchristianslike.net