Feedback from Concert of Praise

I just wanted to give everyone an opportunity to leave feedback for “Concert of Praise”.  I think we had a really great night, and would love to hear about some of your experiences throughout the Concert.  Be sure to check out the blog for Sunday, May 4th as well.  Thanks

Getting Ready for Sunday, May 4, 2008

May 4th Sermon “What Does He Mean By Whoever?”

There are many people today who just can’t comprehend that God would forgive them. There are even those in religious circles who feel that God will save some and reject others, but what does the Bible say about who can be forgiven, who can be saved, and who can have eternal life.

Set List for May 4, 2008

Song                              Author                        Recording

Jesus Loves Even Me	Philip Paul Bliss	Traditional Hymn
No Sweeter Name	Kari Jobe	“Living For You” Gateway Worship
O Happy Day	Ben Cantelon Tim Hughes	“Holding Nothing Back “ Tim Hughes
Mighty to Save	Ben Fielding Reuben Morgan	“Mighty to Save” Hillsong United
You Are My King	Billy Foote	“Better Is One Day” Passion

 

     What an awesome series this is already shaping up to be.  This week John Herring will be talking about what God means by “Whoever”.  It’s hard to believe that God could love the very people who turn their back on Him time and again, but He does.  No matter how many times I mess up, no matter how many times I go the wrong way, I know that Christ is still waiting for me to return with open arms.  This week our music focuses on our Savior’s love for us, and the power that He has to save those that we often think of as having no hope.

     We start off this week with the hymn “Jesus Loves Even Me”.  We’ll just be singing the chorus as we celebrate the fact that Jesus loves us.  In a world full of hurt and pain, this simple reminder helps us to realize that we are loved and cared for no matter what.

     We have only sang “No Sweeter Name” one time in the past here at Oasis.  This is such a great song of worship as we lift up the name of Jesus.  I especially like the chorus that says, “You are the life to my heart and my soul. You are the light to the darkness around me. You are the hope to the hopeless and broken. You are the only truth and the way.” My favorite part of the chorus is when we sing that He is the hope for the hopeless and broken.  O how true that is!  Take time to listen to this song by clicking the link in the chart above.  The video is about 10 minutes long, but the last 5 minutes is a lot of repetition.  I would recommend only listening to the first five minutes.

     “O Happy Day” is another song of celebration that we have become quite familiar with here at Oasis.  Let’s sing it out as we testify of the day that Christ rescued us.  Take a listen to “O Happy Day” by clicking the link in the chart above.

     “Mighty to Save” has become one of my favorite songs as of late.  There is nothing stronger than the love that Christ has for us.  Our Savior who conquered the grave can move the mountains.  Our God is truly Mighty to Save.  Let’s shout it out Sunday!  Take a listen to this song by clicking the link in the chart above.

     We’ll finish up the music portion of the service Sunday with “You Are My King”.  I don’t know about you, but so often I find myself questioning why the creator of the universe would love me.  The truth is that He does; and like we heard on Sunday, His love doesn’t depend on my actions  or abilities.  He has loved me from the very start.  Check out a version of “You Are My King” by clicking the link in the chart above.    

     Thanks for taking time to check out what will be happening on Sunday.  I really look forward to worshiping with you on Sunday.   

 

Bro. Doug

Getting Ready for Sunday April 27th AM

 

April 27th Sermon “What Does God Think of Me”

How do you see God? When you think of God, what images appear in your mind? Is he the old man upstairs? Is he too busy to really know or even care about the everyday things in your life? Is he the big bully just waiting to break up the party?  How you see God will have a dramatic effect on how you relate to him. Today we will discover how God see’s us and how he feels about us. “For God so loved the world.” (John 3:16)

Set List for April 27, 2008

Song                              Author                        Recording

All Because of Jesus	Steve Fee	“We Shine” Fee
Friend of God	Israel Houghton	“Live & to Another Level” Israel Houghton & New Breed
There Is No Greater Love	Doug Mickan	NA
Jesus Lover of My Soul	Daniel Grul John Ezzy Steve McPherson	“Shout to the Lord” Hillsong

 

     The music portion of our services on Sunday Morning this week will be a little shorter than normal.  I did this because of Concert of Praise, which will be taking place on the evening of the 27^th.  Please be sure to check out the blog “Getting Ready for Concert of Praise” to prepare for that special night.

     This week on Sunday morning we begin a new series entitled “One Simple Verse Answers Six Big Questions”.  This week Bro. Todd will be speaking about what God thinks of us.

     We will open up this service celebrating the fact that without Jesus we wouldn’t have life.  You can listen to a copy of “All Because of Jesus” by clicking the link in the chart above.

     After the welcome we will go into the theme of the morning.  I tried to pick out some songs that focused on what we are to God.  “Friend of God” was one of the first songs to jump out at me.  Even though I’m sinful, God still calls me His friend.  What an awesome testimony of God’s love for us.  Take a listen to “Friend of God” by clicking the link in the chart above.

     “There Is No Greater Love” continues this theme, but reminds us that we are not only friends, but sons and daughters of God.  There truly is no greater love than the love that our Father has for each one of us.

     We will finish up the music portion of the services with “Jesus Lover of My Soul”.  This song speaks once again of God’s love and how He rescued us from our sin.     

     Thanks for taking time to check out what will be happening on Sunday.  I really look forward to worshiping with you on Sunday.   

 

Bro. Doug

Getting Ready for Concert of Praise Sunday, April 27th 6pm

  

CONCERT OF PRAISE

From the very beginning of time Creation has been declaring the Glory of God. He made it just the way He wanted it to be, and then created us to enjoy it with Him.  We too where made for God’s pleasure, and we bring Him joy when we are what He created us to be.  Make plans now to join Sunday Night for this exciting Concert of Praise featuring our Choir and Worship Team.  This will be a special night of worship as we join together as one with All of Creation to declare God’s Glory. 

Set List for CONCERT OF PRAISE

Song                              Author                        Recording

How Great Is Our God	Chris Tomlin Ed Cash Jesse Reeves	“Arriving” Chris Tomlin
Everything to Me	Doug Mickan	NA
He Is Exalted	Twila Paris	“This is the Day” Twila Paris
This Is My Father’s World	Franklin Lawrence Sheppard Mary Crawford Babcock Arranged by John & Christina Anderson	Traditional Hymn
All Over the World	Martin Smith Matt Redman	“How Great Is Our God” Passion
All Because of Jesus	Steve Fee	“We Shine” Fee
Indescribable	Laura Story	“Arriving” Chris Tomlin
Wonderful Maker	Chris Tomlin Matt Redman	“Where Angels Fear to Tread” Matt Redman
Awesome Is the Lord	Cary Pierce Chris Tomlin Jesse Reeves Jon Abel	“See the Morning” Chris Tomlin
Doxology	Thomas Ken Louis Bourgois	Traditional Hymn
All of Creation	Doug & Cindy Mickan	NA
All We Need	Charlie Hall	“Flying Into Daybreak” Charlie Hall
Shout to the Lord	Darlene Zschech	“People Like Us” Hillsong
Sing to the King	Billy Foote Charles Silvester Horne	“Redeemed” Billy & Cindy Foote
Let Everything That Has Breath	Matt Redman	“Songs from Passion” Passion

 

     Concert of Praise is upon us, and I wanted to give the same opportunity for everyone to prepare as we do every week for worship at Oasis.  Many of the songs in the chart above can be listened to by clicking the title.  You’ll be taken to another site to listen to the song, so be sure to come back to listen to everything else.  I believe this will be an exciting night for us all as we lift our voices to praise the creator of us all.  Feel free to leave comments on this blog before and after the event.  See you Sunday!    

 

Bro. Doug

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting Ready for Sunday, April 20th

 

April 20th Sermon “Get Organized”

Most of us waste time because we are so disorganized. We waste countless hours trying to figure out what to do next or searching for things that we have misplaced. In this message, we will explore how to save time by becoming more organized.

Set List for April 13, 2008

Song                              Author                        Recording

To God Be the Glory	Fanny Jane Crosby Michael Adler William Howard Doane	NA
Song of Praise	Doug & Cindy Mickan	“Prelude” Doug & Cindy Mickan
Seek ye First	Karen Lafferty	NA
Everything to Me	Doug Mickan	NA
Everything	Chris Tomlin Jesse Reeves	“Not to Us” Chris Tomlin
Indescribable	Laura Story	“Arriving” Chris Tomlin

 

     In my worship team packets this week, I mentioned that I better clean my office.  I’m a little concerned that pictures of my office might end up being used as a visual aid during John’s sermon on Sunday morning.  I must say that I scrambled Thursday to clean up a bit, and amazingly you can see my desk and the floor.  I am really organized in some areas of my life, but other areas are lacking. 

     I’m not sure on the exact approach John will be taking with this sermon.  He shared several things that he was looking into a couple of weeks ago when this order of worship was formed.  It would be great if there were songs entitled  “Lord Let My Life Be Organized”, or “I Am Resolved No Longer To Clutter”,(It would be great to hear some possible song titles from you all in response to this blog.  That would be hilarious)  but since there are no such songs, I move forward trying to put together something that would go with a sermon on organization.  Here’s what I came up with. 

     Our God is an orderly God; you see it all throughout the Bible.  Look at Creation and how well everything was organized.  God tells us throughout the scriptures, “when you do this, then this will happen.”  Once again, organized.  Our God does not do anything randomly or by accident.  Everything is planned and goes according to that plan simply because our God is just that Great.  Today we will spend some time praising Him for what He has done in our own personal lives, as well as throughout all of creation. (No, that’s not a shameless plug for Concert of Praise. But now that you mention it, COP is Sunday Night, April 27^th at 6p.m.) 

     Today my focus begins with simply giving God glory for what He has done in our lives.  “To God Be the Glory”, and “Song of Praise” both deal with praising God for His goodness and work in our lives. You can listen to a copy of “Song of Praise” by clicking on the link in the chart above.

     After the welcome we move on to “Seek Ye First” which pretty much sums up what we should do in every situation we face in life.  Looking at your schedule to see what needs to change can be pretty overwhelming.  God can make things a little easier on us when we seek Him first.  When we seek God’s will, everything else falls into place, and He exposes those things that need to be removed.

     “Everything to Me” is our own testimony of what God is to us.  Without God, we couldn’t take the very next breath we need.  He truly is our everything.  Sing it out with me on Sunday as we proclaim our dependence on Him.  Check out a very rough version of the song on our soundclick page by clicking the link in the chart above.

     “Everything” by Chris Tomlin continues the thought of the previous song, but in a different way.  “Everything that’s beautiful, everything that’s wonderful, every perfect gift comes from you”.  We can praise God knowing that everything good in our lives comes straight from Him.  I especially love the line that says, “A thousand words can not explain, A thousand worlds could not contain every perfect gift comes from You”.  God can and does bless us in so many ways.  Once again, those perfect gifts don’t just float around and fall on someone by chance.  God strategically places those blessings in our lives just at the right time.  Check out the youtube video of this song by clicking the link in the chart above.  Most of the time the videos that I link to are not all that great, and I’m just directing you to the only place I have found to hear the song.  With that being said, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO AS IT IS REALLY GOOD.

     We finish up the music portion of this service with “Indescribable”.  This song talks about the greatness of the God who created everything that we have ever known, and then some.  “You are amazing God!”  Take a listen to “Indescribable” by clicking the link in the chart above.

     Well, there it is.  As always, thanks for taking time to check out what will be happening on Sunday.  Be sure to continue telling others about this blog.  You know, so often I get to hear how great the times of worship are at Oasis (and I love to hear it so don’t stop), but this week make a point to tell someone who hasn’t been to Oasis.  If you enjoy it, then share it with someone else.    I’m excited about the opportunity we have to come together and lift our voices to the creator of the universe.  I look forward to worshiping with you on Sunday.   

 

Bro. Doug

Getting Ready for Sunday, April 13, 2008

 April 13 Sermon “Taking Control of Your Schedule”

Does it seem like you have lost control of your life? Deadlines, commitments and high expectations from those around you and from yourself, does that sound familiar? A few years ago a good friend said these words to me. “If you don’t control your schedule, someone will control it for you”. Today, we will learn how to re-gain control of our lives and live them according to God’s schedule not the expectations of others.

Set List for April 13, 2008

Song                              Author                        Recording

I Have Decided To Follow Jesus	Author Unknown Arranged by Eugene Thomas	NA
Everyday	Joel Houston	“United Live” Hillsong United
You Are Holy	Marc Imboden Tammi Rhoton	“Worship Again” Michael W Smith
Marvelous Light	Charlie Hall	“Flying Into Daybreak” Charlie Hall
I’ll Give My All	Doug & Cindy Mickan	“Prelude Doug & Cindy Mickan

 

      Sorry I’m a day late everyone.  Most of the time I try to post this by Monday afternoon, but sometimes things don’t always work out the way they are planned.  What awesome times of worship we have been having at Oasis.  I’m really looking forward to another great week as we worship together.

     I don’t know about you, but I tend to be a people pleaser.  I want everyone around me to be happy.  The funny thing is that as I stress out trying to please everyone, most of the time it ends up backfiring and everyone ends up unhappy.  Sound familiar?  As Christians, God wants us to be a help, and a blessing to others, but not at the expense of not following Him.  Jesus himself knew that everyone would not be pleased with His ministry, but it didn’t matter as long as He was pleasing the Father.  That should be our goal as well.  This weeks songs deal with our devotion to Christ over everything else in our lives.

     We begin with “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” which is probably a song that is familiar to most of you.  When I went to look up the license info (author, publisher, etc…) it kept coming up with a copyright date of 1992.  I was sure that I remember singing that song at VBS when I was a kid, and I was a kid quite earlier than 92.  I did finally find out that the author is unknown, and the actual music was a folk melody from India.  The song was just recently re-copyrighted by word music, which explained my confusion.  Just a bit of information that I thought was interesting.  It’s a simple song with a powerful statement. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. And even if no one goes with me, I’m still going to follow Jesus.  Wow!  Let’s open up our services this Sunday making that proclamation.

     “Everyday” continues our theme by saying we will follow Christ every day of our life.  “It’s You I live for everyday”  This is something that I myself need to be reminded of. (hopefully I’m not the only one. Ha)  My relationship with Christ has to take priority every day for me to live the life that God has for me.  Let’s celebrate this week as we sing “Everyday”.  You can watch a video of Hillsong performing “Everyday” by clicking the link in the chart above.

     “You Are Holy” is a song that we haven’t sang for a while, but it is one of my favorites.  This is the song where the men and women have different parts that are sang at the same time.  When the ladies sing their part, and begin listing the many things that God is to us, I about need a seat belt to stay on the piano bench.  It compels me to dance, even though I have no ability (we have video to prove it)  We continue our theme with this song as we sing “I will follow, I will listen, I will love you all of my days. You’re my Prince of Peace and I will live my life for you”.  I expect the rafters (ceiling tiles in Conway) to shake when we sing this together on Sunday.  Take a listen to Michael W Smith’s version of the song by clicking the link in the chart above.

     “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9.  I’m so thankful that God called me out of darkness.  How thankful we should be that no longer do we have to stumble around in the dark, we can walk in His light.  Let’s sing it out on Sunday together.  You can start practicing by clicking on the link in the chart above.

    The title of, “I’ll Give My All” pretty much explains the entire song.  God has given us everything we have, so what better way to worship than to say “I’ll give my all to You”.  But wait, it’s not enough to just say it.  Can I truly mean it, and put action to my words?  Think about that this week as we get ready for Sunday.  What areas of your life are you still holding back for yourself?  You can listen to “I’ll Give My All” by clicking the link in the chart above.

     As always, thanks for taking time to check out what will be happening on Sunday.  Be sure to pass the word along about or blog.  I’m excited about the opportunity we have to lift our voices together to praise the one who gave His all for us.  I look forward to worshiping with you on Sunday.   

 

Bro. Doug