Praise and Anticipation

The orchestra and choir started Sunday’s worship with the song “Anthem We Raise,” a song of praise with a great message and great energy. It was a terrific way to begin the morning. It set the mood for the entire morning. All the songs we sang had elements of praise in them. We followed the choir’s special with the song “Majestic,” which speaks of how all creation brings praise to God. One of the lines says, “So, I’ll join with the earth and I’ll bring my praise to you.” We sang the “New Doxology,” which begins with the words, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” We sang “Jesus Messiah,” which declares Jesus as “Lord of all.” And then Mike and Amy led us in the song “Jesus, We Crown You With Praise” to close the service. Plus, among all those great songs, Lyle Pettigrew and David Perine sang “Believing in You”, a song that Lyle and his wife, Susan, wrote. If you didn’t like Sunday’s worship, no offense, but there is something wrong with you.

I want to thank those of you who responded to my plea about buying tickets for the Gordon Mote concert on September 13. One of the things we try to do here at New Life is to do everything with excellence. That includes the guests we invite. I think we have done a pretty good job of doing that over the years. Sure, during the 20 years we have had a dud or two, but we have had far more top-of-the-line folks than duds. You already know about Gordon Mote. His talent is amazing, and his testimony of how God has used him is even more amazing. I do hope you will make the effort to join us on September 13.

This Sunday, we will be sharing with you some information about some events on October 12 itself. I’ve already shared with you that my good friend Mark Jones, whom I worked for and with in Indiana, will be our speaker. Still, we will also share with you information about a special guest for the morning worship services and then for a concert at 5:30 PM on the celebration day itself.

I am writing this on Wednesday, September 3, so if I have done the math correctly, our day of celebration and appreciation for God’s work here at New Life over the past 20 years is only 39 days away. I hate wishing my life away, but I can’t wait for October 12 to arrive.