Independence day...

This Sunday we will celebrate a very special birthday…America!  A lot of us enjoy this time because we get an extra day off from work or we have a cookout and fireworks!  Lots of fun!  As I began thinking about what independence day is, I got a little overwhelmed thinking of all the men and women that have continued to fight for our right to be a free nation!  America was founded to be free and over these many, many years, men and women have lost their lives so I can have this freedom.  I am so thankful for this country; though it is not perfect it is still the best place on earth to live!  I am also grateful for the many men and women who put their lives on the line for our safety and freedom day after day.

As great as our freedom is in this country, nothing compares to the freedom we have in Christ!  When you really stop to think about “Independence Day”, I am in awe of what my Savior did for me on Calvary so that I can truly celebrate independence.  The day I gave my life to Christ is my “Independence Day”!  That was the day I experienced true freedom and became alive!

Colossians. 2:13-14 says, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.”

I did nothing to deserve this independence but Christ took it on himself because he loved me!  I was dead, but he took it away and nailed it to the cross…INDEPENDENCE!

So what do we do with this freedom?  

Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

It is by Christ’s accomplishment on the cross that we have this freedom, not by our fight to get it.  Our responsibility now is to live as free men and women! To honor Christ and give him glory for what he did for us!  So undeserving we are but through his glorious gift we are FREE!

As we enjoy this holiday weekend, may we celebrate and pray for our nation!  Pray that we become a nation that seeks our God.  May we also celebrate our freedom in Christ!  It is through him that true independence is accomplished and freedom prevails!

Have a blessed week!

Allison Jordan

SHBC Praise Team

6/27/10 worship set

I'll Fly Away
Let Creation Sing (choir special)
That's Why We Praise Him
You Are Holy (Prince of Peace)

Lord, I Run to You (praise team w/band accompanying)
   *tag after the message (Tommy w/band accompanying)

VBS...

What an exciting week it is!  Vacation Bible School is in full swing and we are having a blast!  Each year I have the awesome opportunity to lead the music for the kids (along with other brave women that don’t mind looking silly).  I have been working on the songs to lead in VBS and had such a great laugh at this 37-year-old mother of three trying to do all these crazy moves, but at the same time, so humbled at the words to these songs that brought such a sweet reminder of what my Savior has done for me.  Continuing bright, and early, tomorrow morning, hundreds of kids will storm the doors of SHBC to finish out their fun filled week at VBS!  What an awesome opportunity we have had to show these kids Jesus!  We get to teach them songs, tell them stories from God’s Word, and help them make crafts and all the while share God’s love with them.

I want to ask you all to pray for VBS.  Pray that many children will come to know Jesus.  What better way to start their summer than to give their life to him!  These kids are the church of today!  We have a tremendous mission field right in our very midst.  

In Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Tomorrow night these kids will stand on the stage in the Worship Center and share a message through song just as we do week after week.  Pray that they “get it”; pray that those in the audience “get it”; and pray that our God is glorified!  Vacation Bible School is not just for kids!  VBS is reaching the homes and neighborhoods of these kids and we are seeing lives transformed!  Praise God!

Blessings,

Allison Jordan

SHBC Praise Team

6/20/10 worship set

Meet With Me
Let There Be Blessing
Blessed By Your Name

Your Name (praise team w/band accompanying)
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) (Tommy w/band accompanying)

**REMINDER**

NO CHOIR REHEARSAL THIS WEDNESDAY, JUN 16.

6/13/10 worship set

You Are Good (Katie Furr w/choir accompanying)
Only a God Like You
Love the Lord

Welcome in This Place (choir special)

Jesus Paid It All (Tommy w/band accompanying)

saved by the bell...

Well, school is officially out at our house and my kids could not be any happier!  (me too, actually!)  We had the official countdown going for the last month and when that final school bell rang we all had a few tears of joy run down our faces.  Don’t get me wrong, this has been a great year!  Caleb finished Kindergarten and is going on to 1st grade, Callie made the A/B Honor Roll and Ben pulled out great grades for his second year of middle school!  We couldn’t be more pleased with the wonderful year they had, but to have a break from homework and strict schedules brings a sigh of relief to us all!

Now that summer is underway, I began thinking about all the fun things we have in store; vacation to Disney World, VBS, Music Camp, Basketball Camp, Cheerleading Camp, and relatives visiting.  Whew!  I am tired already!  As my mind got wrapped around our schedules, I began praising the Lord for each and every opportunity he places in our paths.  We can all look at our schedules and feel discouraged by the craziness or we can praise him for the ways that he can use those opportunities for his glory!  Our schedules may seem hectic and overwhelming, but what a great time for us to turn our focus on him to show us how to serve him more.  Find the opportunities he places before us to speak to someone about Christ, to show the love of Jesus to a needy soul, or to just be quiet and let God shine through us!

In Psalm 63:2-5, David poured his heart out to God to sense his presence and give him praise because he is better than life:

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 

This past Sunday we sang about how his love is better than life!  Now that school bells have rung and summertime is underway, may we continue to praise our Father for his love that is better than life.  May we show that love to others in our path that don’t know that there is something so much sweeter than life!  Praise him for who he is! Let our focus be on him so that he can be glorified!

Have a great week!

Blessings,

Allison Jordan

SHBC Praise Team

6/6/10 worship set

Better Than Life
Mighty to Save
From the Inside Out

Oceans Will Part (praise team w/band accompanying)
I Will Never Be (Tommy w/Crystal accompanying)

cell phones...

One of the greatest inventions is that of the cell phone.  What did we used to do before we had a cell phone?  We would have to wait and talk to people in person, or on our home phone.  What suffering!  HA! HA!  Back in the day when I was a teenager, (okay, it hasn’t been that long ago) I would have to call my parents and check in from a pay phone and that was a little hard to do.  They had no way to check in on me unless I called them.  Now we have easy access to everyone.  We can talk in the car, at the grocery store, and pretty much in the middle of anywhere.  What an amazing thing, I guess.  You see just as we have the luxury of this great invention, it is made by human hands and does malfunction from time to time.  You all know what I’m talking about; the dropped call right in the middle of an important conversation, the “dead” spots where there is no signal, and sometimes the “all circuits busy” message we can get.  I call it a “frustrating luxury”.

Well, a couple of weeks ago Matt was in Mexico and didn’t have the greatest of signals where he was at but he was able to call out sometimes.  Matt and I talk several times a day, so it is difficult not being able to pick up the phone and call him when I want to talk to him. Though I knew he was okay, I missed our conversations. The times I answered the phone and he was on the line was so comforting; it was so great to hear his voice.

I thought about the privilege we have to be able to talk to our Heavenly Father at anytime and any place we choose.  We never have to be concerned that he doesn’t have good reception, or run the risk of our call being dropped, or getting a busy signal.  We have a direct line and he is always there waiting to converse with us.  When I was a little girl I remember the first time my Sunday school teacher told me that God had a phone number.  I thought that she was going to give us the 7-digit number and I was prepared to write it down.  Instead she gave us this reference in Scripture:

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jer. 33:3)

It all made sense, God is on the line!  When we come to him with our requests, our hurts, our needs, our praise, and ourselves, he is there prepared to answer and tell us great things that we didn’t know!  WOW!  What wisdom and direction we get just by conversing with our Creator! There are things in our lives that are out of our control; a family member with cancer, job decisions, family dilemmas, financial hardships, and many more, but we have the assurance that when we call, he is there!  It is there where peace and comfort await!

If you want a 7-digit phone number for God, just remember this, 772-9377.  PRAYERS!  He is on the line 24-7!

Have a blessed week!

Allison Jordan

SHBC Praise Team