For the first time in…actually, I have no idea, let’s just go with ‘ever’…I was sick for our AM service today. Diane wasn’t very well either. So we slept. Still don’t like missing church for any reason (I really miss it when we’re on holidays, etc), but especially since it was one of the rare opportunities to have both of us in the congregation worshipping together since neither of us were in the team for this morning. Ah well…

I love that our team has grown to the point where I could quite literally not be in it at all if that was the direction we were heading (we’re not). I would surely (and sorely) miss being part of the worship team – the group who lead the church into God’s presence each time we meet. Just being the Music Director wouldn’t be ‘right’.

However, we were well enough for the evening service, which was great. Here’s the rundown of both anyway :

10.00am
Break Free (Hillsong)
You Deserve (Hillsong)
Lord Of Lords (Hillsong)
With All I Am (Hillsong)

and yes, as I’ve said before, we do a lot of Hillsong. There are many reasons for this – one of them being that they produce great music for contemporary churches

The morning service was dedicated to presenting our Connect Group program for 2009. I’ll have to get a copy of the presentation and the message!

5.00pm
Tell The World (Hillsong)
Stronger (Hillsong)
What The World Will Never Take (Hillsong)

The message was by one of our Forerunners ‘young adults’ pastors – titled “You’re a supernatural”, and about living our lives in the expectation of opportunity for the supernatural power we have through the Holy Spirit to be used any place any time. Heavily inspired by a recent trip to Melbourne for the Jesus Culture conference. Absolutely awesome message, and very real – no posing or preaching, just sharing real life desires and struggles and God using us anyway – when we let Him.

This set the atmosphere for a powerful time of soaking praise – yes, I do mean that and not soaking worship…

Worship+
Healer (Planetshakers)
Let It Rain (Open The Floodgates of Heaven)
Awesome God (Mullins, but our version with lots of rapping – yes, that’s right
What The World Will Never Take (Hillsong)
Tell The World (Hillsong)

A real power time tonight, and it was great to see some of the younger teens (sub-16) leading us in this. I love the diversity our Worship+ ministry brings, and the soaking praise style tonight – while a little ‘unorthodox’ – was certainly what I needed personally to be lifted out of the place of illness and weakness I’d felt in the morning. All praise to God, always!

Tonight PsG opened the meeting with an explanation of these prophecies, reading the Prime Minister’s speech from this morning’s festivities, and dedicating the evening to prayer as found in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 : for those in authority.

He then asked the worship team to come up to the platform. I’d prepared 3 songs (as had become the norm for these meetings) – Breathe (Barnett/Vineyard), Still (Morgan/Hillsong) and Welcome In This Place (Webster/Hillsong), but soon after we started on Breathe I knew the He had something else in mind.

An hour and 10 minutes later, I was speechless in His presence. Through the course of one set of chords, He gave me and the other singers songs for this time and place (“We declare this Great South Land is Yours, Holy Spirit”, “We stand in awe of You, our God, our Lord”, “We repent, we cry out to You for mercy Lord for this nation Lord”. That never looks as impressive as I retype it, but some words are for a time, a place, a moment. The atmosphere in the room was indescribable – a tangible presence of God.

As I sang one of the songs – “Wherever I go, I breathe You in, I breathe You out to change this world” – I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to get the band to stop playing, but without me having to do or say anything, one of the other team members gave the direction. I love how God does that We then sang the song a couple more times accapella, then total silence for a minute or so until people in the congregation began worshipping in tongues, which grew and grew and grew. What a night!

The meeting closed with PsG telling us to get out there and share what we did on Australia Day (in addition to the BBQs, which are law after all

While sharing with one of our elders afterwards, she shared her vision of the prayers being offered as like those in Revelation being presented in the golden bowls, and that the angel hosts were joined with us as we worshipped. What a blessing.

If you come around here a bit, you might remember what I wrote last week about having no idea what to expect of this week. That was confirmed tonight, and again, I come tomorrow free of expectation, but just wanting more and more and more of You Lord. I’m excited by the vision for new ministry being dropped into the hearts of the people in our church, and that as worship leader they share them with me, very often before anyone else. Such a privilege to serve in this way. Praise Jesus!

**note that this links to an ugly ugly site, but it has some great info, ok And just a note, this isn’t the place to go into the debate on whether it should be called Invasion Day for obvious reasons…