Daves Worship Notes

All Is Well

2010-11-06T14:37:00.002-04:00

Here is the video for All Is Well

It's Monday!

2010-05-10T09:19:00.005-04:00

Good Monday Team,
I trust your Mother's Day was special. Mother's Day for our family was celebrated in Columbus, OH. Coleen and I have a tradition for my mom on Mother's Day. We get her a hanging basket for her front porch. Here's this year's edition:
But this year was extra special and "we" got her another present this year:
Alexander James Hemsworth is her first great grandchild. Cool!!

I didn't forget Coleen and first time mom, Capri, however...

Sweet!

Mother's Day at Owego Naz was special as well. Thanks to moms Cindy Belokur, Karen Manwaring, Bev Manzer, Joy Hill and Polly Carman for participating in our services. Natalie Thomas delivered an encouraging message that you can hear on our website... OwegoNaz.com

I loved our new song, "Healing Is In Your Hands." Thanks Sue and Suzanna for sharing the solos with us.

We have only 2 more Wednesday rehearsals. NEW!! Starting time for rehearsal is 6:30pm.

Have an awesome week!

Dave

It's Monday!

2010-05-03T09:55:00.004-04:00

Happy Monday Team,

Well, what a week!! Last Monday morning, our daughter, Capri, called us and said that she was heading to the hospital to have our first grandson. Coleen and I were working at the church, so we wrapped up, quickly, and ran (actually, drove quickly) home to pick up our already packed suitcases and Cagney (our Yorkie) and at noon we were on the road to Columbus, Ohio. The 7 1/2 hour trip seemed amazing slow this time. Along the way, Coleen was kept updated by Capri's husband, Adam, through text messages. Coleen then relayed them to a long list of family and friends through text messages. It was so fun to listen to her phone explode with responses after each update.

Now, I heard that the first baby labor was supposed to be a long process. We are thinking 12- 18 hours. Not this time. We had just gotten into Ohio at around 5PM when Coleen got the text: "Capri is 9cm dilated!" Uh oh! We still had more than two hours to go before we would arrive at the hospital...

At 5:45 pm on Monday, April 26, we got this picture:

Alexander James Hemsworth was 5 minutes old when this pic was taken. My heart leaped when I saw it. What a wonderful creation and gift from the Lord!

And this Sunday was our annual Baby Parade with 21 babies and 6 children were dedicated to the Lord. Awesome!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

CHOIR REHEARSAL

THIS WED. NIGHT

6:15 PM

This is a change, but since we canceled last week, we need to rehearse!

We are singing "Revelation Song" this Mother's Day Sunday.

Here's a new song to start your week off right. We will be singing this song in church very soon...maybe this week :)

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2010-04-19T09:50:00.003-04:00

Good Monday Team,
The sun is shining...love it!

What a wonderful World Changers Day we had yesterday. Beginning with the Missions Ministry Fair and then our combined worship celebration highlighted a day of world mission awareness and our challenge to be involved in the kingdom beyond our walls and direct influence. A few shout outs:

To the Owego Naz Worship Choir... I told you how I get goosebumps when the Spirit takes hold of a song and yesterday, I had goosebumps. Fantastic job you all!! It is such a blessing to minister with you and you are being used to encourage and uplift God's people.

To Miss Cheryl and the Naz Kidz... The parade of nations was inspiring and everyone added so much to the world view of the service...Great job!!

To the Owego Naz Worship Band... Karen, Mark, Andy, Neil and Janet, you are a delight and a joy in my life. One of my greatest pleasures is playing and worshiping the Lord with you. Thank you for allowing the Lord to take your talents and use it to inspire His people...Woohoo!!

To the Owego Naz Tech Team... Ben, Breanna and Bob, you take our worship to higher heights with your control over the sound, lights, projection and video. While you are behind the scenes, you are a vital part of our team...Thanks!!

Finally, To Pastor Dennis... You inspire and are the glue that ties all the parts together. Your words are from God and everyone knows it. Your love for God's people overflows and spills out on all those around you...Thanks!!

CHOIR REHEARSAL THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 6:15PM... only 5 more weeks until summer break.

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2010-04-05T10:10:00.005-04:00

Good Monday Team,
Just some thoughts about the weekend...

Saturday's memorial service for Harry Espe was an amazing healing time as we gathered in the Lord's presence and lifted the family through supporting presence, words and praise to God. I think it was the first time I've ever had the band and sang "Blessed Be Your Name" at a funeral and it was so powerful!

Easter Sunday's traditional service was fantastic as we sang Easter hymns, shared scripture responsively and celebrated the resurrection. Thanks to Sherry on the organ; Sue on the piano; Sue, Kathy, Joy, and Linda in the praise team; Coleen at the sound booth; Breanna on projection and lighting; Don and Jean Schmidt greeting; Dick Stocum our head usher; Donna Striley coordinating our nursery; all our Welcome Center and Gathering Place workers... WOW! It's amazing how many people in our church are actively ministering for our first service.

Pastor Dennis showed us why Easter Sunday is his favorite Sunday...passionately delivering God's words of hope and new life!

Our discipleship classes involve many others ministering as teachers and helpers in our Sunday School. Our second service band and praise team meet during this time to rehearse. Thanks to Denise, Scott, Karen, Coleen and Anna in the praise team; Stephen, Phil and Neil in the band; Amy signing; Marie on sound; Breanna doing double duty on projection and lights; Bob on video; Ken Stuart our head usher; and our greeters, welcome center and Gathering Place workers, nursery and childrens workers!!!

How about our dramatic readers yesterday? Lisa Belokur made Mary come alive with her reading written by Janet Goodrich; Skip Hornick brought us face to face with the dilemma that Peter faced; Tim Lounsbury prepared the way as John. And then Gianna Quattrini cast a spell on everyone with her singing "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know." And then...

The Owego Naz Worship Choir! I love you guys! Thanks for your special spirit and yesterday you stepped it up. While many of our members were unable to join us, you delivered the Jesus story in a powerful and effective way yesterday and you thrilled my soul. One of my indicators that we are delivering what God wants is goosebumps. Yesterday, I had goosebumps. I experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in your singing and in your faces. Well done!

WE ARE REHEARSING THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT. We have only 6 more Sunday's until our summer break. Lets finish the year strong. All of you are important!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2010-03-22T06:54:00.003-04:00

Good Monday Team,
What a weekend! I have been in many worship celebrations over the years, but last Friday night was the best I can remember. Choir, you lead the way with joy and enthusiasm that honored God and showed all our visitors that Jesus is Lord in your life. We worked hard and you delivered. Awesome!

Another descriptive word for the night would be "freedom." With our Special Olympian guests leading the way, the sanctuary was filled with uninhibited expressions of love and praise. The clapping during our singing was not totally rhythmic, but it didn't matter because it was authentic, honest and from the heart. The signing took on special meaning as Talking Hands shared "You Raise Me Up" with passion and commitment. Amy taught the choir to sign "Our God Saves" and I watched the Special Olympians watching her as she signed our worship songs. And what was more special than when a couple of them spontaneously came forward and signed "How Great Thou Art" with her.

Your generosity was also overwhelming! We were able to restock our Food Bank with your "admission tickets" and our offering for Special Olympics was $1100! The cookie reception after the concert was such a blessing and I could see the joy on everyone's faces.

Well done team! Our prayer was that we would be the aroma of Jesus to everyone who was at the concert...Amen!

And then came Sunday! There is nothing that thrills my heart more than seeing new believers baptized. We were able to share this special time with both services yesterday and it was memorable. Congratulations to the newly baptized!

So... what's ahead?

March 28

Palm Sunday and "Hallelujah! We Will Sing!"
REHEARSAL THIS WEDNESDAY AT 6:15pm

April 4

Easter Sunday and "Jesus Saves" This will be particularly special because Gianna Quatrini will be singing "Jesus Loves Me" as the introduction.

April 11

We will take a break!

April 18

Faith Promise Celebration and a unity service at 10:30am. We will sing "A New Hallelujah/Send the Light" and "The Blessing"

REHEARSAL WILL BE EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 6:15PM :)

Have an awesome week...if you want to!

Dave

It's Monday!

2010-03-08T10:02:00.003-05:00

Good Monday Team,
Yep...a blessing yesterday as you shared "Revelation Song" with the congregation. It allowed our people to be in tune with Pastor Dennis and prepared them for the word from the Lord. Awesome!

Our plans for "A Night of Caring" are going well and we are on schedule with our preparations. Here's the schedule for the next 11 days:

Wednesday, March 10 - 6:15pm choir rehearsal

Saturday, March 13 - 1-3PM Bonus rehearsal
We will start at 1PM with the children
and work on our opening "Prepare Ye the Way"
Then we will do a full run through

Tuesday, March 16 - 6:30 PM - Band rehearsal

Wednesday, March 17, 6:15Pm - Full dress rehearsal

Friday, March 19 - 6PM - Band and Praise Team sound check
Praise team for the concert will be
Denise, Scott, Jennifer, Coleen, Suzanna, Tiffany

Friday, March 19 - 6:15PM - Choir sound check

Friday, March 19 - 7PM - "A Night of Caring!"

I have been meeting regularly with John and Gae Crosby, the directors of Special Olympics and I can't tell you how excited they are to see a church take and interest in them the way that we have. We will touch the lives of many unchurched people at the concert and I want to thank you now for all you have invested. Is there anyone you have forgotten to invite? Use all of the resources you have (email, facebook, text, phone, talking) to encourage your family and friends to attend this event!

I heard Joel Osteen last night talking about Mondays! Whether we have a bad Monday or a good Monday is not dependent on our circumstances, but our attitude. We get to choose. I choose happy and sunshine helps! Have an awesome day...if you want to!

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2010-03-01T09:10:00.005-05:00

Good Monday Team!
It is a good Monday... even though I'm away from Coleen, I know she is with Capri and our soon coming grandson. There is comfort in knowing that those we love are sharing experiences together. Alexander James Hemsworth (arriving in 8 weeks) had a wonderful party last night with Capri's co-workers. The family shower is next weekend and I'm delighted that Co is able to share in these special times.

The cost, however, is she missed one of the best Sundays I can remember at Owego Naz. When God shows His love for us by correcting our lukewarm spirits, all we can do is fall on our face and repent and then seek Him more and more. I'm thankful that His message was received by so many yesterday. Now, our challenge on Monday is to seek Him more and more. Has my heart regained the passion? Yes :)

TONIGHT!
OWEGO NAZ WORSHIP CHOIR
REHEARSAL
6:30 - 8:30

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2010-02-22T09:23:00.007-05:00

Hi Team,
Did you sense the joy yesterday as our kids shared their talents in both services. You know that our church is fulfilling the Lord's commission when we are loaded with children! Great job kids!! Speaking of kids, I found this video that is a great example of parents not realizing how much they will regret teaching their baby something new... http://video.yahoo.com/watch/6947489/18056395

We have an awesome 8 weeks ahead of us...
March 19 is our "A Night of Caring" concert:April 4 is Easter Sunday! We will sing "The Power of the Cross"
April 18 is our special Missions emphasis and Faith Promise. We will sing "A New Hallelujah" and "The Blessing"

Every Wednesday is important. Rehearsal at 6:15PM. Mark your calendar for Wed. March 17. This will be our full dress rehearsal.

As we prepare for what's ahead, be sure to enjoy the journey. Our rehearsal time is a wonderful opportunity to share together and have fun. The concerts and performances take care of themselves...enjoy the ride!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2010-02-15T09:06:00.004-05:00

Good Monday Team!
Woohoo!! Isn't it great to know the love of God in your life? I felt His presence so strong on Valentine's Day yesterday and it was an honor to lead His people in worship. Thanks Team!

Five (5)...yes, FIVE Wednesday's left before "A Night of Caring." Every week will be essential as we prepare for this special night of praise and sharing. Please make our choir rehearsals a priority in your weekly schedule. Your team members need you. WEDNESDAY @ 6:15PM!

A friend sent this video to me. Are you familiar with the poem "Pikes Peak?" No... enjoy!

http://www.citizenlink.org/videofeatures/A000010256.cfm

Have an awesome week...if you want to!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2010-02-08T09:32:00.007-05:00

Good Monday Team!
Today is a good Monday for all you Saints fans and for those who don't care, but like a good story. Congrats to Big Ten grad Drew Brees... Super Bowl MVP.

What energy you all showed in second service yesterday! I love it when our worship is electrified by your enthusiasm and your clapping was truly worship leading. Awesome! I hope I tell you all enough how special each of you are to our church. Your presence in the choir and the band and our tech people making it all come together helps everyone worship the Lord and speaks volumes to the visitors who are with us every week. Great job!

WE HAVE A SNOW STORM WATCH FOR WEDNESDAY SO WATCH THE WEBSITE FOR POSSIBLE CANCELLATION OF REHEARSAL.

We have started registration for the August 15 Brooklyn Tab trip. We are going to open the trip to worship team members and family first. We have 55 seats available and we will keep them open until Feb. 28. After that, friends and guests will be able to sign up. I am starting a waiting list for friends and guests so contact me if you want someone to be added. The cost will be $35 per person for the bus. You will be responsible for your own lunch. Dave Barton will be accepting your money when you register.

Have an awesome week everyone!
Dave

It's Monday!

2010-02-01T05:52:00.008-05:00

Good Monday Team,
Do you see the smile on my face? If not you can check my facebook page :) It is a smile of joy and pride and thankfulness for your contribution to the first service yesterday. I KNOW it was difficult for some of you, but you did it...THANKS! You capped off a wonderful worship time and Anna was great on the solo. You clearly delivered the message:

The time is now, come Church arise
Love with His hands
See with His eyes
Bind it around you
Let it never leave you
And the will know us by our love!

I'm excited to start learning to sign our song, "Our God Saves." Amy will be teaching us starting on Wednesday. We will be doing this as a part of our Outreach Owego Concert. Speaking of Outreach Owego, I met with the Special Olympics directors last week and they are on board to be a part of this very special time (Friday, March 19 at 7PM)

SPECIAL OUTREACH OWEGO REHEARSAL
SATURDAY
FEB. 13
1-3 PM

Ron Hutchcraft had a great thought this morning...

I'm holding a $20 bill in my hand. I don't get to do that too often, so this is a really special moment. If you were sitting here with me and I offered this $20 to you, would you take it? I think you would. Now you're going to have to use your imagination to picture what I'm about to do, but here goes. I am now crumpling that nice $20 bill and I am crushing it into a little wad. You still want this bill? If you were right here, would you still take it? It's all wadded up. OK, now I'm beating on this wadded up bill, and I am actually stomping on it with my foot. Now, if I still... (Boy, I get some exercise on this program. That's unusual.) Now, if I still offered to give you this $20, would you still take it? I mean, it's been beat up, it's crushed, stomped on? Well, of course you would.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stepped On But Still Precious."

And that's the point, isn't it? No matter how abused and beat up that $20 is, it's still worth just as much, and so are you.

I'll tell you, there's someone listening today who's been treated like I just treated this currency. You feel beat up, mishandled, treated badly, you've been crushed, and you've been trampled on. And when someone's been treated like that, they begin to believe a lie that they're not worth much. If they were, why would anyone treat them like that? When you think you're worthless, you start making choices based on that; throwing yourself away, settling for junk, doing anything for a little love. But the truth is, you're just like my beat-up $20 bill. No matter how you've been treated, you are still just as valuable. You're still precious because no one on earth gave you your worth - God did. So no one on earth can take it away.

We've got to go to God's Book to get the real truth about your value. And when we do, we find three worth-givers that can't be taken from you. First, your worth is based on your being made in God's image. In Genesis 1:27, the Bible says, "God created man in His own image." God made you as a reflection of Himself, so don't tell me you're not worth much!

Secondly, your worth is based on your being God's one-of-a-kind masterpiece. In Psalm 139:13, David says to God, "You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful." When you believe you're not worth much, you are insulting the One who designed you. From the moment that egg and sperm came together to start your life, you have been God's unique creation. If you don't believe it, look at your fingerprints. There's no one else on earth like you.

But most importantly, you are infinitely valuable because God paid for you with the life of His Son! Our word for today from the Word of God, Galatians 2:20 says, "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." I want to invite you to walk with me right now up a hill near Jerusalem called Skull Hill. At the top, imagine there's this blood-stained cross. That's where God's one and only Son thought you were so precious that He poured out His life for every wrong thing you have ever done. Why? Because that's the only way you could ever be forgiven of your sins; the only way you could ever have the love relationship with Him you were made for; the only way you could be with Him in heaven forever.

Have a great day!

Dave

It's Monday!

2010-01-25T08:14:00.005-05:00

Good Monday Team,
I start this morning with some special thank yous to our tech team yesterday. We did a major overhaul of our sound system this past week (replaced all the worn out wiring) and we had to do a full resetting of our sound board. Most people cannot understand how difficult this task was. Our sound techs (Coleen, Andy and Marie) did a marvelous job of setting mics and dealing with new speaker settings and avoiding feedback during our worship celebrations. Outstanding sound for the services...great job! And a special thanks to Bob Rutan for resetting the video sound and our DVD was great! We are so fortunate to have such talented musicians and technicians. God is good.

We currently have 18 going to the Casting Crowns/Kutless concert on Feb. 23. I'm ordering tickets later this morning so if you want to go, contact me RIGHT NOW!!

Our Reach Out Owego concert on March 19th is shaping up. Rehearsals are Wednesday night at 6:15pm in the sanctuary and we have 8 weeks to go. I appreciate your efforts to make every rehearsal. It will be a special night of worship and community service. More details coming soon!

What will you do special this week to make a difference in the lives of those around you? A word of encouragement? How about telling someone what you admire about them? Maybe an act of generosity? Think about it.

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2010-01-18T09:45:00.004-05:00

Good Monday Team!
I am still rejoicing in the ministry opportunities this last weekend provided. Thank you to all of you who helped us minister to the Kemp family. We had more than 1000 people come to the church on Saturday for the viewing and I witnessed my first ever fly over honoring a deceased fire fighter. Here's the video:

I want to give a special shout out to Bob Rutan who helped with the video production that allowed the overflow crowd at the funeral on Sunday to be a part of the service. Did you see the coverage on TV last night?

It was great having the Owego Naz Worship Choir back. Music for Easter and Spring 2010 is in. Rehearsal on Wednesday at 6:15PM.

Make today special for someone you come in contact with by offering an encouraging word or an expression of thanks for something they are doing!

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2010-01-11T07:39:00.003-05:00

Good Monday Team!
Coleen and I (and Cagney) are home in NY after a couple of weeks with family in Columbus, OH... Englewood, FL... Wilson, NC... Washington, DC. We put more than 4000 miles on our car and spent 46 hours traveling... it was awesome! Many people think that driving that much would be painful, but it is actually fantastic alone time for us. But it is always nice to be home!

We were gone two Sundays and the first one was in Columbus, OH and we attended the Heritage Christian church where my daughter and her husband...and our coming grandson attend. This is a very large church and we worshiped well. Check them out at Heritage Christian church.

Our second Sunday was in Florida and we drove 2 and a half hours to visit with good friends at Metro West Nazarene in Orlando. Metro West is an International church with a strong Caribbean influence. Very energetic and spirit filled with clapping, flag waving, dancing in the aisles...like it use to be in the early Nazarene church :) They have a brand new building that is debt free after they sold their old property to developers for several million dollars. Check them out here... Metro West Nazarene.

I was able to spend some of my vacation time in Florida listening to music and I am so excited to introduce the Owego Naz Worship Choir to our new Easter music. Rehearsal starts back up this

WEDNESDAY at 6:15pm.

It was great to be back home for worship yesterday. There is comfort as we gather together with friends and family and this is what the world is searching for. Invite your friends to come with you to church. They can develop friendships and meet Jesus...what could be better?

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-12-21T08:16:00.004-05:00

Good morning Team,
Yesterday was a wonderful Christmas Sunday as we gathered together to worship the newborn King. Thank you to Miss Cheryl and the Wee Naz Kidz for the Nativity recreation and to Ari Manwaring and the Naz Kidz singers for adding "Away In a Manger." Add the Owego Naz Worship Band and Praise Team and wonderful Christmas songs and we have an awesome worship celebration. Pastor's message that Christ came for all and the Owego Naz Worship Choir's finale brought it all home! And here's a surprise... if you go to our website and listen to the end of the podcast, you'll hear Tiffany and the choir's rendition of "Go Tell!!" Check it out:
http://owegonaz.com/current-sermon-series

Our most special service of the year is on Thursday night at 7PM. The Christmas Eve service will include all the elements that prepare us for Christmas Day...

Christmas carols
The Christmas story from the Bible
Special music
Pastor's Christmas message
Candle lighting to "Silent Night"
"Joy to the World"

Check your email this week and I'll give you information and times for all participants.

Coleen and I want to express our thanks to all of you for your generous gifts and expressions of love. We are blessed to be a part of the Owego Naz family and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

As you start this week, purposefully allow the specialness of the season to guide you through your days. Choose to dwell on the news that the angels announced and then be the angels to those you are with this week.

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-12-14T08:13:00.004-05:00

Good morning team,
I always have mixed feelings the Monday after we do a musical. I'm excited with the satisfaction that you all did a magnificent musical and that we touched so many lives over the weekend. I'm relieved that we pulled it off again. I'm sad, because I love the preparation and rehearsal road we travel to get to this point. But there's good news...EASTER'S COMING!! I especially like completing our Christmas musical because we always head to Florida after Christmas and I get to listen to Easter music on the beach...the hot, sunny beach!

But Christmas is still yet to come. We have 2 more special times that the Owego Naz worship team gets to celebrate. This week is Christmas Sunday and we will be singing, "Go Tell" in the second service. We will NOT rehearse this Wednesday night. Meet in the choir loft on Sunday at 10:40am for a run through.

Then, perhaps, the most special service of the year is our Christmas Eve service at 7PM. We will allow you to sit with your families for most of this service and then we will sing "One Child" as the introduction to Pastor's message. As always, the candlelight finale will be awesome.

"I vow to worship you this Christmas Day,
I'll stand and say,
'Glory, glory to the Highest in excelsis Deo.'
I pledge to celebrate the meaning of this holiday
Giving praises to the beauty of your holy name."

"More than anything I do, more than anything I say,
More than anything I say or do, I worship You.
More than any card I write
More than any Christmas light I light
More than any gift I give
I'll give you my praises from morning to night!"

May it be so, Lord Jesus!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-12-07T06:55:00.003-05:00

Good morning Team,
A special time yesterday as we gathered to worship the King. As you know, I'm all about preparation and rehearsal. While these are essential elements in our worship arts program, they don't replace the power of the Holy Spirit leading us. It was a good morning!

Tonight...6:30pm - 8:00pm... The Owego Naz Worship Choir will rehearse for Rejoice! Woohoo!

Wednesday... 6:15 - 7:45pm... The Owego Naz Worship Choir will rehearse for Rejoice! Hooray!!

Friday... 7:00pm... The Owego Naz Worship Choir presents "Rejoice!" a soulful Christmas musical. A cookie and coffee reception will follow in The Gathering Place.

I want to remind you about the power of a personal invitation. No amount of advertising is as effective in getting people to attend an event as a personal invitation. When you invite a friend, neighbor, co-worker...anyone, that invitation says, "You are important enough to me to get a personal invitation." Think now...who can you invite to our musical on Friday or Sunday? Send an email, text, phone call, or verbal invite right now to those you care about. The message of Christmas is life changing!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-11-23T06:13:00.004-05:00

Good morning Team,
I'm so looking forward to this week. Thanksgiving has always been a special time for our family and I suppose most families because it is a time when scattered kids gather together. It seems that our busy and structured schedules force us to use these planned holiday times to meet up with our parents and siblings and spend time together. Now, men and women look at these gathering times quite differently. Men tend to spend time just being together. This can be accomplished very well watching football or playing Wii. Conversation is of minimal importance. Women on the other hand, don't understand this male thing. They want to TALK! Sitting around chatting is all that is necessary for a wonderful time. Now, I'm not saying that's not perfectly fine to do...just don't expect us do it.

Well, now that I have gotten myself into some deep weeds, lets talk about what's ahead. We have 3 critical rehearsals before our Christmas musical, Rejoice! I need everyone to make a special effort to be at them all:

Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 6:15pm
Saturday, Dec. 5 at 10am
Wednesday, Dec 9 at 6:15pm

last Wednesday I gave a cool gift out to those present. That will likely continue for these remaining rehearsals as well.
Listen to your CD's often!

Have you ever wondered how monks who take a vow of silence can share in the traditions of Christmas music? Now you know...

Coleen and I wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to all of you for the time and talent that you offer freely to the Lord and makes our Worship Arts team so special. Your positive spirit and unselfish efforts are truly the aroma of Jesus to all who enter our sanctuary for worship. Thank you.

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-11-16T11:13:00.004-05:00

Good Morning Team,
We kicked off our week wonderfully yesterday with an awesome time of worship, teaching, fellowship, encouragement and recharging. I'm looking forward to what God has planned for us this week.

Here's the new song we will be doing this week...

Wow! How powerful and what a great way to launch us into the Advent season! Speaking of Advent, have you heard any new Christmas songs that would be worth looking at? Send them to me and maybe we can use them this year.

I'm getting charged up about our Christmas musical, Rejoice! Four weeks to go. This Wednesday I will have some posters for you to put up around where you are. Personal invitations are still the best way to get people to come and experience this exciting time of celebration.

Have a outstanding week!

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-11-09T09:49:00.006-05:00

Good Monday Team!
It's a beautiful Monday morning and I'm still celebrating an awesome weekend. Best highlight of the weekend was gathering together with you all for worship on Sunday morning. I love it when all the preparation matches up with the Lord's presence and true worship results. ONWC... your contribution of "Our God Saves" lifted me and inspired the congregation...WTG! The hymns in the first service were spot on as Pastor Dennis unraveled the mystery of the Trinity. The band and praise team joined the choir in leading the people in the second service to spirit filled worship. Thank you God for being so good!

The next best thing about the weekend was being an Ohio State fan. After a couple years of humble pie at the hands of Penn State, it was nice to turn the table on the blue and white. I posted a new pic for the PSU T-shirts on facebook :)

Last, but not least, it was great to be an American this weekend and honor our veterans. Without them, we would not be able to worship like we did this weekend or complain about what's happening in Washington. Here is the video we used yesterday...

Have an awesome week!

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday...OK, it's Tuesday morning!

2009-11-03T03:24:00.010-05:00

Good morning Team,
Andre Crouch wrote a song that starts with...
"How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me..." and while he was directing his thankfulness to God, forgive me for borrowing his words and directing them to you. Your displays of appreciation this past month were overwhelming and I cannot put into words, adequately, how much it meant to us. Thank you.

I also want to thank those of you who came out on Saturday to help us paint my office (and Judean's office :) Thank you, Bob, for fixing the desk that Coleen will be using. Thanks to all the guys who helped us move the furniture and bookcases and equipment. And a special thanks to Tim and Sherry French for staying with us to the end. You guys were AWESOME!!!

I'm starting to focus on Christmas. Here's something to help...

CHRISTMAS MUSICAL REHEARSALS...
Every Wednesday night...6:15 to 7:45PM

This Saturday... 10:00am to noon

Take time this week to help someone who doesn't expect you to do it.
Anonymous charity is true charity.
Purposefully, speak the name of Jesus to someone.
Call your mom.

Make your week special.

Blessings,
Dave

BONUS: Do you love nature photography? National Geographic has always been the best at this, but they have outdone themselves here. Check it out...

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/greenguide/infinite-photograph

It's Monday!

2009-10-26T08:23:00.011-04:00

Good Monday Team,
I'm still basking in our time of worship yesterday as we lifted up praise to our Creator and shared in the awesomeness of nature. Thank you for all your encouraging comments about the music this week. Our team works very hard to offer up excellence to the Lord. It was great to have Kyle Schreiner on drums and Neil on bass this week. We miss you guys when you are not with us. I'm so thankful for our praise teams and what they bring to our worship celebrations. Thank you all for sharing your gifts with us and the Lord. And Owego Naz Worship Choir... awesome this week! You are such a highlight to me personally. Thanks for your commitment and contribution to our worship. I clap my hands in thanksgiving for you!

Tonight the Worship Arts Team is meeting at our house at 6:30. We will be discussing our August 2010 trip to Brooklyn Tab as well as looking at our overall worship arts ministry. We want your thoughts too! Send me ideas or comments: worship.pastor@owegonaz.com

PODCASTS ARE AVAILABLE!
Check out our site owegonaz.com

Finally, sing to the Lord a new song today. What can you do differently today to allow you to focus on the Lord? Take time to look out the window at work... walk to lunch somewhere new... pray for someone you haven't thought about for a long time... send an encouraging email to another worship team member... LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU COME UP WITH!

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-10-19T15:47:00.004-04:00

Good Monday Team,
It's almost 4pm and I'm just now getting around to my blog. First thing...wasn't it great to have some of our college students home this weekend? Thanks Janel, Stephen and Phil for joining our worship team this week.

Four months ago, our Leadership team embarked on the journey to update our church's website. We recognized that reaching our community for Christ was going to take all the resources we can use and since 85% of first time church attenders visit a church's website before attending, it was time to move forward. Yesterday, we announced that http//owegonaz.com was online. I'm also excited to announce we will have our podcasts operational by next week. Thanks to all who stepped up! So what do you think? I'm interested in your comments about our new site...

Now that the website is up, my attention is going to be focused on Christmas... specifically, REJOICE! Here's the dates for it:

Friday, Dec. 11 - 7PM
Sunday, Dec, 13 - 11AM

A special performance will be on Saturday, Dec. 12 at Davis College for the Andrews Good News Christmas Party. We will share excerpts from REJOICE! for more than 4000 people sometime between 4:30pm and 6:30pm. It will be an awesome chance to share the love of Jesus.

It's not too late to join us for this great experience. Choir rehearsals are Wednesday's at 6:15pm. A special REJOICE! rehearsal will be on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 10am.

Make a difference this week...

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-10-12T08:29:00.003-04:00

Good morning Team,
Our worship arts team left for New York City at 7am yesterday to experience the noon worship service at Brooklyn Tabernacle. We sat in the balcony...we didn't get there in time to sit on the main floor! The reconverted theatre main sanctuary seats 3200 and it was full at the noon service. We will be sharing some of the experience on Wednesday night at choir rehearsal. Here's a preview:

Pastor Jim Cymbala's message continued Pastor Dennis' theme of sharing our love for Jesus with those around us...starting with loving Jesus ourselves. Then we have to show that love through our actions of helping those in need. It's awesome when we realize that God's word for us in Owego matches up with what's being preached in Brooklyn and around the world. We truly serve the God on the universe.

I'm looking forward to rehearsal Wednesday night! I trust that this week will be amazing for you. Bring a Jesus story with you to share! Blessings, Dave

It's Monday!

2009-09-28T08:04:00.003-04:00

Good morning Team,
I am still pumped up after our worship celebrations yesterday. The challenge that pastor Dennis shared with us to commit to being ready to share the reason for our hope and your response was exhilarating. Be sure to keep your yellow ribbon list in front of you daily. This Sunday will be the final week of this current series and promises to be a memorable worship experience.

I want to thank all of the worship team for your commitment to serving the Lord with your talents. I feel like the choir is back in gear after our summer break and you were awesome this week. "At the Cross" set the stage for an awesome prayer time! And the Band...woohoo! Thanks, Karen, Mark, and Janet!

This is an important week for us:
Tuesday @12:24pm - Coleen returns to NY
Wednesday @ 6:15pm - Choir rehearsal
Saturday @ 9am - Tech/Media/Video team workshop
Saturday @ 10am - Rejoice! Christmas rehearsal
Saturday @ noon - Pitch in Lunch for the entire worship team
Sunday @ 11:00 - Choir sings "Orphans of God" in the second service

Make this week special to someone you come in contact with as you are the aroma of Jesus in your world.

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-09-21T08:46:00.002-04:00

Good Monday morning Team!
And it is a good Monday. More about that in a minute...

So what happens when your strings break? What? OK... This week, my guitar needed to have its strings changed (I have to do that about every 3 weeks or so) and I decided to use some new, expensive, beautiful sounding strings that I had used before, but had a problem with them breaking on me. I thought, "This time will be different! Maybe these new ones are better than before." It had been several months since I had tried them so I was hopeful. Well, as you saw yesterday, I broke a string on the second song. Fortunately, I had a chance to quickly replace the broken string during the announcements. But after we began singing again, I broke another string. Guitars have 6 strings, so what if only one breaks...there are 5 more. Ha! It doesn't work that way. Every string is important and when one breaks, the guitar will not function properly. And its not just because one part of the chord is missing, but because when one breaks, all the others go out of tune.

Sounds like our lives sometimes. There are sins that have haunted us in the past and we sometimes think that if I go that way again, the results will be different. Nope. Sin doesn't change over time and its results on our lives will be the same...broken strings and a life that is out of tune and therefore, useless. And fixing only one of the strings and not the others doesn't work either. It wasn't until I replaced all the bad strings that my guitar functioned properly. Our lives will never be in tune until we give it all to Him. Are you hanging on trying to play music with a broken string? Replace it and make sweet music!

And that leads me to Monday... it's a great Monday, when we are in tune with our Lord. Go make sweet music this week!

See you on Wednesday at 6:15!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Wednesday!

2009-09-16T08:53:00.003-04:00

Hi Team,
I heard this on the radio and want to do it next Sunday in our contemporary worship celebration. Unfortunately, Michael Robert hasn't released the album yet (I think you might want to get this one) so here is the video from his site:

You can check out more about Michael Robert at

http://michaelrobertmusic.com/

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-09-14T08:56:00.003-04:00

Good morning Team,

"We will shine like stars in the universe
Holding out Your truth in the darkest place
We'll be living for Your glory
Jesus, we'll be living for Your glory!"

I have been challenged by pastor's message to begin living outside the Christian bubble. A friend of mine has done that by participating in a local theatre group, only to take "friendly" fire for being worldly. I wonder if I am strong enough to take that risk. Then God graciously reminds me that its not my battle, but His, and my job is to be obedient. Guess that excuse is shot down. Anyway, I'm still looking for ways to step outside the bubble...let's see what God has planned...

Speaking of stepping outside the bubble, the Owego Naz Worship Choir has a ministry opportunity that I'll ask you about on Wednesday...6:15PM. It was so good to have you back leading worship this week. There is a freshness and excitement that you bring to our worship celebrations and God uses that to bless His people and speak to everyone present. Thank you for stepping up for the Lord. He was pleased with our offering this week and my heart leaps for joy when we please Him. Well done!

Have a great week living outside the bubble!

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-09-07T09:39:00.004-04:00

Good morning Team,
Happy Labor Day everyone. It was great to see so many of you with us in worship yesterday. "Sing to the Lord a new song!" I could tell by your awesome spirit that you were singing fresh and living praises to our Lord.

So... for those of you who were unable to make it to our opening rehearsal of the Owego Naz Worship Choir... here's the HUGE announcement:

AUGUST 13, 14, 15, 2010
The Owego Naz Worship Team will travel to New York City and share in the ministry of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. This vision expanding trip will include a time of mission work and a time of fun in NYC. We'll conclude the trip on Sunday with worship at the Brooklyn Tabernacle and the opportunity to experience the 300 voice Brooklyn Tabernacle choir leading worship. Woohoo!

The trip will be open to Owego Naz Worship Choir members first and then other members of the Worship Team. What a nice incentive to join the choir :)

The choir will be singing this Sunday so our rehearsal this Wednesday is real important (not that every rehearsal isn't important!) See you Wednesday night at 6:15pm.

Have an awesome week!

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-08-31T10:01:00.005-04:00

Hi Team,
Two!!! Two more days until kickoff for the Fall 2009 season for the Owego Naz Worship Choir! I have finished up the lineup of songs for this year and will have CD's available for everyone at our rehearsal...

WEDNESDAY
September 2nd
6:15 PM - 7:30 PM
Owego Naz sanctuary

The choir will sing for the first time on Sunday, September 13 in the second service.

"Sing to the Lord a new song. Play skillfully and sing with joy!"
-Psalm 33:3

This is the theme for our Worship Team this year and I'm excited to share more about this with you at rehearsal. I am also going to make a HUGE announcement about a HUGE event coming up this year. HUGE!! See you Wednesday night!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-08-24T07:38:00.007-04:00

Good morning Team,
The countdown begins...10
10 days until we kick off the fall 2009 season for the Owego Naz Worship Choir!

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 6:15pm
IN THE SANCTUARY...WOOHOO!!

Yesterday, we worshiped the Lord joyfully and sent two of our worship team members off to college. Janel Lantz and Phil Rodgers will be leaving this week for Mount Vernon Nazarene University where they will undoubtedly be used in ministry. In fact, Phil is already lined up to lead worship at a friend's church when he arrives. I know they will appreciate our prayers.

Most of you know that Coleen and I made a trip to Niagara Falls last week to celebrate Coleen's ___th birthday! Here's a quick look at a highlight..

We enjoyed our trip home as we traveled along the west coast of NY on Lake Erie. There are some awesome estates on the Lake! I was actually surprised to find out that there are some significant bluffs on Lake Erie that make the shoreline very interesting. More later...

Coleen loves HGTV and with her real estate background, she loves the property shows like "Real Estate Intervention." This is a show where people who are trying to sell their home get a reality check about the market. The lesson they learn is that what you are selling is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it. How much are you worth? The Bible says,
“You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears” (1 Corinthians 7:23 LB).
Oh yeah! You are priceless! Praise God!

Have an awesome week!

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-08-10T08:59:00.011-04:00

Hi Team,
I am sitting in my chair, looking out the window at a beautiful morning...quite different from yesterday afternoon when that nasty thunderstorm hurricaned it's way through our area. My purpose driven devotion this morning was quite fitting. I've included it at the end of this blog.

Coleen and I had a wonderful couple of days last week allowing the Lord to speak to us. There is real benefit in getting away from the normal routine and letting God control our time. God had some wonderful things to say to us and I'm looking forward to sharing with our Worship Arts Team(Liam, Suzanne, Sue, Denise, Andy, Bob) tonight. We started our retreat at Kingdom Bound on Wednesday and were totally blessed by the Newsboys. They debuted their new lead singer, Michael Tate, best known as the lead singer for DC Talk. Their energy and the crowds enthusiasm was electrifying. But the biggest impact on me was from Phil Joel. Phil is a former lead singer and bass player for Newsboys who went solo and discovered how knowing Jesus, not knowing about Jesus, is our purpose. Check out this 4 minute video:

We only get to know Jesus in the same way that we get to know anyone...spending time with Him. How do we do that? There is only one way to make it work in our busy society. It must be intentional and regular. We must discipline ourselves to set the time aside every day to meet with Him. When that time is is up to you to decide. Phil found that it was early in the day. For some of us that's not the best time...then how about later after the kids are in bed. Is there anything on TV that is so good we couldn't shut it off and be quiet before bedtime? Whenever your time is...commit to it and make it a routine or better yet...a habit.

Here's my devotion from this morning...

August 10, 2009

Being Positive in Spite of Your Problems
by Rick Warren

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests
and challenges come at you from all sides.
You know that under pressure, your faith-life
is forced into the open and shows its true colors.
So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.
Let it do its work so you become mature and
well-developed, not deficient in any way”
(James 1:2–4 MSG).

So you think you’ve got problems?
Consider Brian Hise:
He had more than his share of bad luck
a few years ago in July. When his apartment
in Provo, Utah, became flooded from a broken
pipe in the apartment above his, the manager told
him to go out and rent a wet/dry vacuum.

That’s when Brian discovered that his car
had a flat tire. He changed the tire and went
inside again to phone a friend for help.
But the electric shock he got from the phone
so startled him that he inadvertently ripped
the instrument off the wall! Before he could leave
his apartment a second time, a neighbor had to kick
his door down because by now water damage had
jammed it too tight to open.

While all this was going on, someone stole
Brian’s car! But since it was almost out of gas,
Brian found it just a few blocks away. He then had
to push it to a gas station where he filled up the tank.

That evening Brian attended a military ceremony
at the university he was attending. He injured himself
severely when he somehow sat on his bayonet,
which had been tossed in the front seat of his car!

Doctors were able to stitch up Brian’s wound but,
in the meantime, no one was able to resuscitate four
of his canaries who were crushed to death from the wet,
falling plaster in his apartment. He discovered their
deaths after arriving home and then slipping on the
wet carpet in his apartment, badly injuring his tailbone.

Brian said he began to wonder if (and I quote),
“God wanted me dead, but just kept missing!”

The Bible says, “Is your life full of difficulties and
temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough,
your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow,
and don’t try to squirm out of your problems.
For when your patience is finally in full bloom,
then you will be ready for anything, strong in character,
full and complete” (James 1:2–4 LB).

Blessings, Dave

It's still Monday!

2009-07-27T18:17:00.007-04:00

Good evening Team,
Yes it's still Monday. It's been a busy day and I'm just finding the time to get to my blog.

Did you notice Dan Eash on bass in the second worship celebration yesterday? What a great surprise when Neil text ed me that his brother was in town and willing to play with the band! Thanks for adding to our worship experience guys!

Didn't you love the kids yesterday as they sang and did the motions for the Crocodile Dock program. It was a great time at Summer Bible Adventure and the best part is that 25 kids gave their hearts to Jesus. Woohoo!

CHRISTMAS! If you haven't picked up your CD of Rejoice!, our Christmas musical, they are on the front pew...still wrapped in Christmas paper. Start listening and enjoy.

Next week, I will be taking a few days away to get with God and plan for the year. My enthusiasm is growing as I get ready to see what's in store for the Owego Naz Worship Team. I would like to meet with our Worship Arts Team (Liam, Suzanne, Sue, Denise, Andy, Bob) at our house on Monday, Aug 10 and share! Lets meet at 6:30pm.

REMINDER! The OwegoNaz Worship Choir will be singing with Sweet Aroma next Monday night (Aug 3) at Muldoon Park in Waverly at 6PM. Let's meet at the church and take the van at 5:30pm.

We've been talking about getting real with God in our prayers. We talked about using normal language and pausing to concentrate on Him when we pray. Then we start our prayers with PRAISE. The next step in our getting real with God deals with giving Him our worries.

Philippians 4:6 says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (NIV).

Hmmm...do we really believe this? When we pray, trustingly, He hears our petitions. And notice the attitude we need when we petition the Lord...thanksgiving. Yeah baby! That's the ticket! Gratitude before the Lord is powerful. Keep that attitude at all times and see how many good things come your way!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-07-20T10:15:00.013-04:00

Good morning Team,
What a fun time we had Saturday at our OwegoNaz Worship Team Christmas Appreciation Brunch. Thanks to Coleen, Wayne and Darlene Cobler and Crystal Rutan for the awesome food...oh, yeah... and thanks to Sams Club for the pastries :)

We honored some of our team members:

Kyle Schreiner - Rookie of the Year

Bob Rutan - Techie of the Year
Sue Camin - Servant Heart Award

Suzanna Miller - Spirit Award

Our Christmas musical is here!! CD's are available now, so you can get an early start on Christmas. If you didn't get one on Saturday, you can pick one up at the church... they are on the front pew in the sanctuary...still wrapped in Christmas paper :)

Pastor Dennis continued his series on "Getting real with God" by sharing that we begin our prayers with Adoration for God. Praise is one of the best parts of being a worship team! Keeping our eyes wide open to the wonders around us is a great plan! Another idea is to pray the names of God. The names of God deal with His attributes. Rick Warren lists these:

• God is present with me.
• God is my Shepherd.
• God is my Provider.
• God is my Healer.
• God is my Peace.
• God is my victory in conflict.

Want more? Google "names of God" and see how many come up.

Have an awesome week with your
eyes wide open!

Dave

It's Tuesday!

2009-07-14T06:20:00.003-04:00

Good morning Team,
Guilty! I let yesterday get away from me and got caught up in the Monday crunch of stuff I had to do. And I didn't get everything that I needed to get done accomplished...like my blog. Oh well...it's OK. There are more important things than the stuff we think is so important...

It was an emotionally draining week as we said, "good-bye" to Crystal Paris and did our best to comfort Thad and the children...and dealt with the tuff question of "Why?" Thank you, Pastor Dennis, for helping us with that on Sunday. Thank you, Owego Naz Worship Choir, for stepping up and helping our people to heal. Ethan Paris is continuing to recover and you can encourage him and the family by sharing a note at Caring Bridge... http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ethanparis

Saturday, (yes, this Saturday) is our Owego Naz Worship Team Appreciation Christmas Brunch. If you haven't signed up...call or email me by Wednesday, tomorrow! Meet in the mini-hall at 10am.

"Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world" (Psalm 46:10 NLT)

Last week I talked about being real with God when we pray. Not the flashy, churchy, wordy stuff...the "it's me God...can we talk?" stuff. Another part of being real with God is one I have trouble with. I am a multi-tasker. You all know what that means. I don't like to do just one thing at a time and I like to get things done...NOW! That's a problem when it comes to talking with God. He's a jealous God and He wants all my attention when I talk with Him. That's tuff. I proved that at the openning of this blog. Guilty! Rick Warren says that when he prays, before he starts, he takes a deep breath and just lets the tension flow out of his body and then he can talk to God. Sounds like a plan. Next week we'll talk about "the quiet place."

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-07-06T10:21:00.007-04:00

Good Morning Team,
It crept up on me after the morning worship service yesterday. It was not very noticeable for most of the day, but by midnight it was here with all its vengance...a COLD! Dr. Coleen diagnosed it as a result of flying back from Orlando last week. I don't know about that, but its got me real good. I will do my best to not pass it on to anyone, but I'm still going to Karen's tonight for our rehearsal with Sweet Aroma.

Let's continue with our thoughts about being real with God. Last week, your staff from Owego Naz was in Orlando, FL with 25,000 other Nazarenes at our quadrennial General Assembly. We worshiped with people from all over this globe and we were one in the Spirit of God. Some people wore suits and dresses, some wore jeans and T-shirts. Some wore native dress of their country. Here's a video I took in the Exhibit Hall from one of the Missions booths...

It didn't matter what we looked like on the outside...we were united by the Spirit of God. That's what matters to God, not our outward appearance, but what is in our heart.

Matthew 6 teaches us that God is not interested in the flowery speech that we associate with great prayers. Rick Warren puts it like this:

Imagine I walked in the door one evening and my kids said: "O, almighty procreator of our family. How wonderful thou art, who sovereignly deposits our allowance to us. Oh, the majesty of thy wonderful self! We beseech thee to come eat dinner with us." I'd check their temperatures to see if they were sick! I don't want to hear that. I want them to say, "Hey! Dad's home. Good to see you, Pop!"

One of our focal points at Little Church has been on being authentic with our prayer time...not flowery speech, but simple sentence prayers in normal language. Now some are admittedly very "smooth" pray-ers. Again, God is not interested in how we are able to connect our thoughts and words together in a flowing manner...He wants to hear our hearts. So when you pray, don't think about the next line you are going to pray...just tell God whats on your mind...that's what He wants :)

If you haven't signed up or emailed me that you are going to attend our Christmas Brunch on Saturday, July 18 at 10am...do it now! This is for all choir members, band members and tech members. Basically, if you are reading this, you're invited. We need to have the number by this Sunday so please let me know. Gracias!

Have an awesome week!

Blessings,

Dave

2009-06-22T07:37:00.004-04:00

Good morning Team,
What a wonderful day of worship we had yesterday! I felt a unity of spirit that focused on God and His work in our world. Pastor Jesus Bernat's sharing and Bob Prescott's interpreting (or interrupting) highlighted a very successful Faith Promise campaign and kicked off a fantastic week for your church staff as we head to Orlando, FL tomorrow to attend the General Assembly of the Nazarene church. We will be gathered together with thousands of Nazarene believers from 125+ countries. I'll send you reports about the worship times!

I have been following Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life teachings for many years and I subscribe to his daily devotional. This past few have been excellent and I will be sharing some of these with you. The emphasis is on being real with God. Question... How much does the approval of men effect who you are? Ponder that for a minute... what motivates you to dress the way you do... groom yourself the way you do... talk the way you do... go places where you go... pray the way you pray? This is going to be fun to explore.

This Sunday, Jim Halton will be leading the first service and Scott Senko will lead the second service. Regular praise teams plan to rehearse at the normal times before each service. I will be emailing the service orders and songs today before I leave.

Don't forget to email me with your registration for the July 18, 10am,

Worship Team Appreciation Christmas Brunch

We want to let you know how much we love an appreciate all the time and effort you give to make our worship team so special. This is open to all choir members, band members, tech team members. Your spouses or a guest are welcome.

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-06-15T12:45:00.004-04:00

Good morning Team,
Although more accurately it's afternoon. I have been unable to get into my blog editing page all morning and finally got through. Anyway, I want to give cudo's to Andy and the teens for an awesome job yesterday leading worship. Well planned, well executed and spirit filled. A big "Woohoo!" to you!

Summer schedules are at the Ministry Center for our concerts with Sweet Aroma. Pick one up!

Someone sent me this video...if you have had a tuff Monday...check it out:
http://www.mayyoubeblessedmovie.com

Blessings,
Dave

OwegoNaz Worship Team Christmas Appreciation Brunch

2009-06-09T03:34:00.008-04:00

Saturday
July 18, 2009
10am
OwegoNaz mini hall

OwegoNaz Worship Team, you are invited to our first ever Christmas Appreciation Brunch! You and a guest will enjoy a wonderful brunch and a time of fellowship as we say, "Thanks!" for all the time and effort you give to make our worship team so special.

At 11am we will introduce our Christmas musical... Rejoice!

Reservations are required... so email me at

worship.pastor@owegonaz.com

or sign up at the Ministry Counter.

It's Monday!

2009-06-08T04:43:00.003-04:00

Good morning Team,

¹⁷ Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
¹⁹ The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,^e]">[e]
able to tread upon the heights.

(For the choir director: This prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)

I love this song from Habakkuk and the performance notes at the end :) When the world trembles at economic turmoil, we can rejoice in the Lord...our strength. We can stand strong in the face of tough times because we have a bigger, eternal picture than the world does. Our help comes from the Lord...BE JOYFUL TODAY!

A few notes:

...Welcome to Mark and Rachel Gabbidon, our newest worship team members. Mark played piano in the second service yesterday and Rachel will be joining the ONWC and praise team.

...Speaking of the ONWC...I have schedules printed up on the Ministry Center for this summer's Sweet Aroma concerts. Rehearsal is Monday, July 6 at 6:30pm at Karen's house.

...The Teens will be leading both services this Sunday so our regular praise teams and accompanists will have the morning to worship in the congregation.

...You're invited to Janel Lantz's graduation party! Saturday, June 27 starting at 3PM. 105 Henton Rd. Barton, NY.

MARK THIS DATE ON YOUR CALENDAR...

JULY 18, 2009...10AM!!!

I WILL GIVE YOU DETAILS TOMORROW....RIGHT HERE!

Have a child-like wonder full week!

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-06-01T05:25:00.009-04:00

Good morning Team,
Psalm 132:15-16 says:
¹⁵ I will bless this city and make it prosperous;
I will satisfy its poor with food.
¹⁶ I will clothe its priests with godliness;
its faithful servants will sing for joy.

David was talking about Zion when he mentioned the city and today it refers to His church, the body of believers...YOU! You are, indeed, His faithful servants. I have been reflecting on all that we have done so far this year and I am amazed at the amount of work you have done for the Kingdom. Now it is time for a rest. We always take July and August off for the summer, but because of all the special events in June, I have decided to add June to our vacation time this year. You deserve it! So our summer break has officially begun and we will not be rehearsing on Wednesday this week.

We still will have some special opportunities to serve Jesus during the summer thanks to Sweet Aroma. Many of you signed up to participate in their concerts and here is the schedule:

Monday, July 6 - rehearsal at Karen's home (6:30)
Wednesday, July 8 - evening concert in Sayre
Sunday, July 11 - afternoon concert in Owego
Monday, August 3 - evening concert in Waverly

I will prepare maps and details for you soon. If you didn't sign up and would like to participate...you are welcome!

Watch your email in the next few days... I have a special announcement!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Tuesday!

2009-05-25T19:58:00.006-04:00

Good morning Team,
I hope that you all had a wonderful Memorial Day! Coleen and I had a great day. It was very relaxing to lounge by our new pool! OK...its a blowup and the water was too cold...but it was luxurious and fun.

I am so looking forward to Wednesday night as we lead worship at the Tri-cities Holiness Crusade with Bay Forrest at Union Center Christian Church. Here's our schedule:

6:00PM - Band and Praise Team sound check.
NOTE: Come early enough to be on stage and ready at 6PM
6:15PM - Owego Naz Worship Choir sound check - see note above :)
6:47PM - Pre-service music starts with "Big Mighty God"

The Church is located north of Endicott at

950 Boswell Hill Rd, Endicott, NY 13760-6600

Take Hwy 26 north to Maple Rd and turn left to Boswell Hill Rd and turn left and the church is on the left.

Hard copies of the map are at the church or you can check out the directions at Union Center's website: www.unioncenter.net

What a great week to be "the aroma of Jesus!"

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-05-04T17:05:00.004-04:00

Yvonne J. Binkley
May 15, 1931 - April 29, 2009

It's Tuesday!

2009-04-28T13:20:00.003-04:00

Good Afternoon Team,
I'm in Florida with Coleen and her mom and Dad. I left Owego at 1PM on Sunday afternoon and met my daughter Candice for dinner in Washington, DC. I left after a nice dinner and sharing time with Candice and headed for Florida around 7PM. I stopped several times during the night for a snooze and arrived in Englewood at 3PM yesterday. It was great to see Coleen after being separated for 6 weeks and we are now preparing for Yvonne's passing. She is now bedfast and hospice is providing wonderful care. Thank you all for your prayers for Coleen as she has cared for her mom and dad. It has been a blessing that she could be here to care for them at this most difficult time. Please pray that Yvonne continues to be comfortable.

I want to share my thoughts about the New Life Celebration. When this idea hatched, we hoped that it would be a time when we united together as a church body and shared the wonderful news that Jesus loves me and you. That message was shared to more than 135 kids at the New Life Easter Egg Hunt... a good start wouldn't you say?

Then the Owego Naz worship team showed up in a BIG way at the New Life Concert on Saturday, April 4. More than 200 participated in this extraordinary event and heard through song, the pastor's message and powerful cardboard testimonies, the story that Jesus can change our lives.

Then came Easter! We joined Christians all over the world to celebrate the ressurection of Jesus and His life changing power.

The New Life Revival with Stephen Manley added the closing punch as we were challenged to have Jesus in our eyeball and in total control of all we do.

The climax of the event was last Sunday as we gathered together as a church family for the The New Life Jesus Party and the first ever baptism in our sanctuary. We rejoiced with those who were baptized and the entire morning was filled with worship and love for our Lord.

I want to thank each of your for the sacrifice of your time and energy this past month. I know it was a struggle for some of you and you came through like true servants. God's blessings on all of you!

The choir will not rehearse this Wednesday (April 29), but will rehearse with Jordan Schreiner next Wednesday (May 1) at 6:15pm. I know that you will give Jordan the same level of support you have given me. It will be a great time as you prepare to sing "You Are" in the second service on May 10. I will provide Jordan with some other songs to run through as we prepare for the next BIG event...May 27th Holiness Revival opening night. We will be singing "New Hallelujah" and "East to West" for this special service.

I will be in touch as things develope here in Florida.

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-04-20T08:32:00.008-04:00

Good morning Team,
The New Life Celebration has entered the final week. Let recap...

We started 4 weeks ago with the New Life Easter Egg Hunt that shared the Jesus story with over 135 kids and their families...

The next Saturday our sanctuary was filled for the New Life Concert and we saw new people added to the Kingdom and the choir and band ministered to all who attended...

Then came Easter. The most special day in all of Christianity was powerful as we gathered together and celebrated the living Christ...

Friday, Saturday and Sunday April 17-19 we were blessed with Jesus in our eye. Stephen Manley brought home the fundamental truth that its not about me or music or doctrine or church or power or influence or finances...its about Jesus. Our message to the world is that simple and that demanding. May it be so in my life...

That brings us to the finale...The New Life Jesus Party. This Sunday at 10:30am we will gather together and celebrate Jesus and have the first ever baptisms in our sanctuary at Owego Naz. It will be a time to allow Jesus to reign and His people to rejoice. Woohoo!

The OwegoNaz worship choir will sing and the combined praise teams will join the band to lead His people in worship. Choir rehearsal this Wednesday night at 6:15pm.

BTW...DVD's of the New Life Concert are available. Fill out a request envelope at the welcome center. DVD's are $2.

Bob Huffaker has a saying..."Have a great day...if you want to!" Go for it!

Blessings,

Dave

2009-04-13T08:44:00.005-04:00

Good day after Resurrection Day Team!
I had an awesome dinner yesterday at Pastor and Cheryl King's and I received the best compliment from him about you. He asked me if we used vocal trax for the choir! I explained that we NEVER use vocal trax and our choir is just that good. LOL!
You all did a marvelous job yesterday and I am so proud of how you consistently step up and deliver for our Lord. Beautiful!

Many of you have asked for an update on Coleen and her mom. Coleen has been in Florida for 4 weeks now taking care of her mom and dad as they fight her mom's cancer. Co tells me that she is getting stronger about seeing her mom's failing health and continues to provide the care she and her dad need to fight this battle. One by product of this is that she is getting a nice tan :) Thank you for your prayers for Co and her mom and dad. My daughter Candice is in Florida now and was able to spend Easter with her Nana.

The final time consuming event of our New Life Celebration is the Revival this weekend... here's the schedule:

Wednesday 6PM
Choir rehearsal (NOTE THE TIME CHANGE)

Wednesday 6:30PM
Concert of Prayer (done by 7:30PM)
Thursday 6am - 10pm
Prayer Vigil
Friday 7PM
Vintage Night as we share an old time revival feel
Saturday 5PM
Choir rehearsal (open to new singers)
Saturday 6PM
Contemporary revival night (Choir sings)
Sunday 8:15AM
Traditional service
Sunday 11:00AM
Contemporary service (Choir sings)

I would like to encourage you to invite people you know who might enjoy singing with our choir for the Saturday night service. This will be a good chance for them to see if the choir is a ministry option they might enjoy.

Have an awesome Monday!

Dave

It's Wednesday!

2009-04-08T07:52:00.011-04:00

Good morning Team,
It's Wednesday and I've already prepared for choir rehearsal tonight at 6:15pm because our new welcome center is completed and I am going to stain it today. What a great addition the Gathering Place and now the Welcome Center will be to our outreach program. Be sure to check out the photos at our facebook page...
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50354416009

Now a word about The Owego Naz Worship Band...

Karen Garrity represents ultimate in servanthood with her great spirit and amazing availability. You bring delight to my heart with your presence in the band. The song you wrote and debuted at the New Life Concert was outstanding and thanks to Sweet Aroma for delivering it to us. Thank you.

Janet Goodrich. You are a worship leaders dream. You can play anything in any key without music...woohoo! Add to that an amazing improvisation skill on the piano and a heart for God...awesome! Thank you. P.S. You need to join facebook :)

Mike Ebbers. Mike joined our band just recently and has discovered that I will take all that a person is willing to offer. That has evolved into a weekly keyboard experience and I love what you bring to our team. Thank you.

Our guitars are fantastic and I am excited at how these young men have offered their talents to the Lord.

Kyle Schreiner is our lead guitar and has brought that innocent enthusiasm of an 8th grader to the worship band. Thanks Kyle, for being willing to attempt whatever I throw at you and then pulling it off! Udaman!

Kit Burdick is a junior at OFA and shows the same talent on the bass as his brother did before him. Kit, you are a wonderful part of our team. Thank you.

I have to mention two other members of our band who had to work on Saturday night and couldn't make the concert, but add so much to our band.

Phil Rodgers plays guitar and bass for us and brings that freshness that a young man can. Thanks for using your talents for the Lord, Phil.

Neil Eash is probably the best musician in the band. He plays drums, guitar, keyboard and sometimes more than one of those at the same time. He is a gifted songwriter, producer, worship leader and we are fortunate to have you on our team. Thank you.

Well...enough blogging for this week...Easter's Coming!!

Blessings,

Dave

It's Tuesday!

2009-04-07T07:11:00.010-04:00

Good morning Team!
Now a word about the Owego Naz Worship Choir...

Our vision for the choir when we started last year was that it would be a worship leading choir, bringing the congregation into the presence of God when we gathered together as the body of Christ. That could not have been more evident than Saturday night at the New Life Concert. I firmly believe that your personal prayer time for this event was a significant factor, so not only did you lead in worship on Saturday, but you led by praying in the weeks before the concert. I always love it when the Lord comes through and puts His hand on our efforts. As we rehearsed, I know some of you were nervous that we weren't ready. I love that! It shows that you care. I knew we were ready because our goal is not perfection musically, but perfection spiritually. We were prayed up and ready spiritually...it was an awesome night. Excellent job!

Some notes...

Jordan Schreiner. I love your voice, but I love your gentle spirit more. God has gifted you and my prayer for you is that He show you His path for your life and that you are confident in His direction. Thank you.

Denise Mathewson. Another incredible voice with a spirit to match. Thank you for highlighting the concert with Jordan on "East to West." I felt that song and the cardboard testimonies delivered the exclamation point on Pastor's message and touched people to the point of changing lives. Thank you.

Suzanna Miller. You have led our sopranos and displayed an amazing positive spirit. You stepped up with a cardboard testimony and I am grateful. It is a joy to have you on our team. Thank you.

Jennifer Olsen. You are the ultimate committed worship team member and I know the sacrifice of your time that you give to us. Thank you.

Hal Coghill. You are an inspirational leader without even trying. You anchor our basses vocally and spiritually. I love having a Jesus Freak on our team. Thank you.

The Concert is over...but Easter is coming!! Rehearsal this Wednesday at 6:15pm.

Blessings,

Dave

2009-04-06T09:03:00.016-04:00

Good morning Team!

I am sure that I will be unable to express the multitude of thoughts I have about this weekend in one blog, so this will be the first installment...

The New Life Concert! We worked for 9 weeks...planning, rehearsing, singing, listening, recruiting, preparing...praying that Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 6PM would be a life changing event. I believe it was just that. I felt from the opening note until the lights were turned out that the Spirit of God was upon us and that lives were impacted. The comments I have received reinforce that. We received 2 cards where people indicated that they had accepted Christ that night and 3 others who indicated they want to know more about Jesus. Bibles were given out to several and I have heard from you that people you invited and attended the concert were touched by God. We have some more praying to do for those who attended and need some more encouragement to let go of themselves and give it up to Jesus.
There are so many people who worked behind the scenes to make this concert successful. An event such as the New Life Concert cannot be successful without a network of gifted servants who handle the nuts and bolts. Today I want to mention our tech team...

Marie Chianese was our sound technician. The sound is the single most important technical element. Marie, it was awesome and we are blessed to have you and your ears serving with us.

Eric Olsen was our projection and video trax operator. Eric, you are so consistent and a blessing to me, because it is one element I don't have to worry about...that means so much to me...great job!

Bob Rutan produced our video recording...YEP! We have a DVD that will be available of the concert! It will take a couple of weeks to get them produced, but if you want one, fill out a request form in the office managers box. DVD's will be $2.

Andy Kearney was the producer for the New Life Concert and kept everyone together and gave confidence to our operators. Mike Lanning was out spotlight operator and was "spot on!"

The video recording and broadcast of our services in The Gathering Place and the Mom's nursing room was made possible through your giving to The Gathering Place project. Thank you to all who have pledged to fund this awesome addition to our worship and outreach ministry at Owego Naz! Please remember that we need you to fulfil your pledge by the end of next month.

BTW...what do you think of The Gathering Place? Leave comments!

Enough for today...more later.

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-03-30T10:25:00.007-04:00

Good morning Team,
I woke up this morning and the cold that was just a tickle yesterday has hit with full force. The good news is that I have two days to kick it before band rehearsal on Tuesday, choir on Wednesday, dress rehearsal on Thursday, prayer vigil on Friday and the concert on Saturday. And oh yeah...finishing up the Gathering Place. No Problem!

It's going to be an awesome week! This weekend will be a great time of worship and ministry as we unite together as a body of believers to share the good news of Christ with our community. I was amazed at my Purpose Drive devotion today...check it out:

March 30, 2009

Servants Make Themselves Available

by Rick Warren

How timely for a busy week!

Coleen Update!

I talked to Coleen this morning and she had just finished getting her mom and dad off to Clearwater for her mom's treatments. Co is glad that she is there to help her mom and especially relieve her dad from the anxiety of day to day life as they care for her mom. Those of you who have been care givers know the struggle of seeing your once active and vibrant loved one becoming dependent. Yvonne is not doing well and continues to weaken as her cancer grows. Fortunately, we have a God that is bigger than cancer and we thank you all for your prayers.

Here's the schedule for this week:
Tuesday @ 6:30pm - Band rehearsal
Wednesday @ 6:15pm - Choir rehearsal
Thursday @ 6:30pm - Dress rehearsal
Saturday @ 10:00am - Cardboard testimony rehearsal
Saturday @ 5:00pm - Band meet for Concert sound check
Saturday @ 5:20pm - Choir meet for sound check
Saturday @ 6:00pm - New Life Concert
Sunday - Palm Sunday!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-03-23T13:59:00.003-04:00

Hi Team,
Well it's after noon on Monday and I'm just getting around to my blog. I've spent the morning with the video installers for The Gathering Place and its going well. I have also put together folders for the New Life Concert so that all your music will be together and in order. Please bring all you music with you on Wednesday so I can punch it and put it in your folder.

It's so exciting to think that the New Life Celebration kicks off on Saturday with the new Life Easter Egg Hunt. If you are available on Saturday morning at 10am...come on down and help with the fun! I know you will be able to impact someone by being there.

The New Life Concert is only 2 weeks away and our last 3 rehearsals are this Wed... next Wed...and next Thurs. Each one will be important and I know you will make every effort to be there.

Coleen sends her love and thanks for your prayers for her and her mom.

Did you ponder about being an admirer of Christ or a follower of Christ? I pray that we will all choose to give up control of our lives and be a follower. Only then can we love others the way God intends for us to love.

Have an awesome week and I'll see you on Wednesday.

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-03-16T09:19:00.007-04:00

Hi Team,
Just a taste...that's what we got when we sang "A New Hallelujah" in the worship service yesterday. We will be opening the New Life Concert with this song! Here's the schedule for the next month or so...

Wednesday, March 18 -
6:15pm rehearsal
Saturday, March 21 -
9am Worship Band and Praise Team rehearsal
Saturday, March 21 -
10am OwegoNaz Worship Choir rehearsal
Sunday, March 22 -
sing "Lord, You're Holy" in second service
Wednesday, March 25 -
6:15pm rehearsal
Saturday, March 28 -
10:30am New Life Easter Egg Hunt (we need workers)
Sunday, March 29 -
sing "East to West" in both services
Wednesday, April 1 -
6:15 rehearsal (No Foolin!)
Thursday, April 2 -
6:30pm DRESS REHEARSAL

SATURDAY, APRIL 4 -
6:00PM
NEW LIFE CONCERT!

The New Life Concert will be an awesome display of the power of the Holy Spirit to draw people to Jesus. Bring your unchurched and unsaved friends. Here's an example of the "Cardboard Testimonies" that will play an important role in the concert:

Have an awesome week!

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-03-09T07:30:00.005-04:00

Good Morning Team,
You know what? Jesus loves me, this I know! It shouldn't amaze me, but it does, that God always comes through when we need it. This past week, Coleen and I faced some of our most difficult times as we processed the news of Coleen's mom's cancer battle and the search for Coleen's health problems. As I planned worship for this past Sunday, songs of faithfulness and encouragement were at the forefront. Matt Redman's "You Never Let Go" starts with the line "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Your perfect love is casting out fear." It's cool that it's OK to plagiarize the Bible in our worship songs as Matt did taking this line from Psalm 23. And then this morning, My Purpose Driven Life devotional used this exact passage to further drive home the message. I wanted to share that with you today. I'll have more "stuff" for you tomorrow. Click on "God's Purpose in Suffering" below:

March 9, 2009

God's Purpose in Suffering

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-03-02T07:34:00.016-05:00

Good Morning Team,
I was taken by surprise yesterday. This past week I spent 4 days with Bob Rutan, Wayne and Darlene Cobler and Tim French laying the ceramic tile floor for The Gathering Place.

Our team did a great job! While my knees took a beating, it was rewarding to see what was accomplished. I went into the weekend looking forward to worship on Sunday with our great worship team leading our incredible congregation in worship to our AWESOME GOD! On Saturday, we received news that Coleen's mom has advanced pancreatic cancer. Wow! What a kick in the gut that was. I surprised myself as I was able to hold my emotions together and help Coleen deal with this terrible news. Then Sunday morning as our first service team gathered at 7:30am to warm up before church, we started singing, "When the music fades and all is stripped away, and I simply come...I'm coming back to the heart of worship..." the emotions came and I realized that nothing matters more than our relationship with Christ and that He has all that we need to heal our broken hearts. Then the love and comfort and prayers of our worship team and Pastor Dennis held me up and I was able to lead the congregation in a wonderful time of worship to our Lord. Praise God!

Then last night, I felt a breakthrough with our LittleChurch group as we shared from our hearts and opened up to each other and ministered to each other the way a small group is meant to function. What a blessing to have others who will support us and pray with us and help carry our burdens. Awesome!

We are going into this week looking for some answers for Coleen's health problems. Tests begin Tuesday. Once this is discovered, Co will be going to Florida to help her Mom and Dad. Thanks for your prayers.

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-02-23T05:36:00.010-05:00

Good Monday morning Team,
It seems that I sometimes have the same message on Monday lately...Our worship team was awesome; the pastor's sermon was life changing; I'm renewed for the week! This week I want to call out Eric Olsen, our projection tech. We had a tricky section when we switched to the DVD track for the choir's beautiful presentation of "Jesu Cristo" and he nailed it. Thanks, Eric, for sharing your talents with our worship team.

THE GATHERING PLACE IS EXPLODING!

Our foyer expansion is in full swing with the addition of one of the two new chandeliers (the second is going in on Thurday) and the demolition of the the walls for the new Gathering Place is done! Check out our facebook page for more photos!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50354416009

THE NEW LIFE CELEBRATION

Here's the song list for the Saturday, April 4th Concert:

"New Hallelujah" - Owego Naz Worship Choir (ONWC)
"Love the Lord" - Everyone
"Jesus Messiah" - ONWC
"Great Is Your Glory" - ONWC
"When I Think of You" - Owego Naz Children's Choir
"Mighty to Save" - Everyone

SPECIAL GUESTS - Sweet Aroma

"Yahweh" - ONWC

SHARING - Pastor Dennis
"East to West" - Jordan Schreiner and Denise Matthewson w/ ONWC

CARDBOARD TESTIMONIES ("Surrender" Band and PT)

"At the Cross" - ONWC
"O Happy Day" - Everyone w/ ONWC

It will be a memorable night as we communicate the love of Christ and His life changing power to our community.

Have an awesome week of Sub-Mission!

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-02-16T07:08:00.007-05:00

Good morning Team,
What an awesome day we had yesterday. First, a big welcome to Dick Stocum! Dick joined our first service team on the violin and added a great touch to our accompanist team. I was overwhelmed with Pastor Dennis' sermon on marriage. I hope you all will share with him your thoughts. It is always an encouragement to your staff to hear confirmations that our efforts touched your life in some way. Thank you to each of you for all your kind words to me.

Some of you asked to see the video we used at the close of the service. The song is "Holding Hands" by Steve Green...

THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT...
6:30 - 8:30
NEW LIFE CELEBRATION
REHEARSAL!!

We will work hard on the songs for this special Easter celebration.
CD's of the musical are in!

Don't forget to read chapter one of "Sacred Pathways" and we'll talk about it on Wednesday. If you didn't get your copy...they will be available Wed.

One last thought...
As musicians, our DNA causes us to seek appreciation for what we do. We rehearse and strive for excellence because its a part of who we are. Our challenge is to not allow our striving for perfection to become our goal. Our goal is to please God and He looks at our hearts, not our voices or our instruments. As we launch into our Easter preparations and the hard work ahead, lets be sure to keep our focus on Christ and His love for us. If we are successful in that... it's going to be an awesome New Life Celebration! I John 3:11!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-02-09T08:16:00.003-05:00

Good morning Team,
Sunshine! I love it! Even cold days are better when the sun is shining!

I was so blessed yesterday as you led God's people in worship. I read an article by Keith and Kristyn Getty about congregational worship. You'll remember them as the composer's of last year's Easter musical, "The Risen Christ." Their emphasis is on composing modern songs in a more traditional hymn setting. One of the main points they brought up is that congregational singing has diminished over the years. They look back at the times when hymns were the prevalent musical form in worship and suggest that contemporary worship lacks the participation of the past. I paid special attention this Sunday to our level of participation in both services. Here is what I noticed:

1. You sang very well this week
2. More people were singing than not singing
3. Participation increased when we sang familiar songs, regardless of whether they were hymns or contemporary songs
4. Participation was greatest on the hymn "How Great Thou Art" but was almost equaled by the contemporary worship chorus "Breathe."

My conclusion is that the familiarity of the song, not the musical style, determines the level of participation. My goal as a worship leader is to select songs that meet certain standards:

1. Is the song theologically sound?
2. Is the song easily sung by the congregation?
3. Is the vocal range of the song within the range of the normal singer?
4. Does the song fit the flow of the worship service?
5. Is the song playable by the band or accompanists?

Another challenge for worship leaders is introducing new songs. This week we introduced a new song in the second service, "You, You Are God." We started it 4 minutes before the service started and did it as a prelude with the band and praise team. I am interested in your comments about starting our second service like that. Did you like it? Dislike it? Suggestions?

This week we will rehearse the choir on Wednesday at 6:15 and the band on Saturday at 10am.

Mark your calendar...

Wednesday, Feb. 18...
2 HOUR EASTER REHEARSAL
6:30 - 8:30 PM

This rehearsal coincides with the children's special Winter Break at the same time.

Have an awesome week!

Dave

Fantasy Football

2009-02-06T15:33:00.009-05:00

Hi Team,
I'm in a football mood today! I want to share some photos that I received from my cousin from the Super Bowl. First, check out this link to a very cool story about my uncle...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09033/946315-155.stm

Now these pictures from Tampa will make some more sense!
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbtXDJszaNGYj

Finally...this is just too cool!

So here's the date...
September 5, 2009...
Noon...
Opening day for
Ohio State football!

Go Bucks!

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-02-02T07:57:00.007-05:00

Good Morning Team!

What a weekend!

Coleen and I joined Pastor Dennis and Cheryl and Pastor Andy and Angela and about 1000 others on Friday night and watched several of our worship team members in the OFA presentation of "Grease." Jordan and Kyle Schreiner were in the cast with Jordan bringing the house down with "Beauty School Dropout." I must say that Kyle makes a good T-bird (the black leather jacket gang)! Kit Burdick played bass in the excellent band that did all the accompaniment music. It was a fun night!

Saturday, after a successful Upwards Basketball morning, the staff went to the District Pastor Appreciation luncheon in Syracuse. We had a wonderful meal and great fellowship with about 100 pastors and spouses from across the district.

Sunday morning was blessed by a wonderful time of praise, worship, preaching and communion. Is Jesus FIRST in your life or the CENTER? Wonderful! While we were short handed in the second service due to "Grease," Karen and Phil were wonderful. It is such a blessing to have talented musicians who can play multiple instruments. Phil's ability to play guitar and bass is so handy and Karen is fantastic on keyboard and drums! Thanks Karen and Phil for what you add to our Team!

Sunday night was Super Bowl night at our house as our LittleChurch group got together to fellowship and watch the world champion Pittsburgh Steelers win an exciting game! Cudos to the Arizona Cardinals and their stars Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald for an amazing comeback. But in the end...the team with the best defense won the game...just like always. Hmmm... a life lesson. Check out Ephesians 6: 10-18:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=56&chapter=6&version=31

Finally, Here's my favorite commercial of the night. This ad was not done by a professional ad agency, but an ordinary citizen...Wow!

THE EASTER MUSICAL IS HERE! KICKOFF ON WEDNESDAY AT 6:16PM! WHOHOO!

Blessings,

Dave

My Day Off...

2009-01-30T10:50:00.004-05:00

Hi All,

Today is my day off so I thought I would do something that I don't like to do...talk politics. I have gotten quite cynical over the past couple of decades going back to 1992 when Bill Clinton was elected president. I got so tired of the partisanship on both sides of the aisle that I hardly want to read or listen or watch anything political. But today I read a Wall Street Journal article about the Obama Stimulus package and I couldn't keep silent. My hope when President Obama was elected was that he would be able to stand up to the Democratic leaders and say that the good of the country is more important than political gain or payback. Sadly, it didn't take long to destroy that hope. Ten days into the Obama presidency and I have already lost hope that "CHANGE" means anything other than who's gonna get fat on our tax dollars. Here's the article that did me in: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123310466514522309.html

Please comment and tell me I am wrong about all of this!

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-01-26T09:11:00.015-05:00

Good morning Team,
Did you worship well yesterday? Was your focus God centered?

It is easy sometimes to get so caught up in the "stuff" necessary to make our worship time meaningful that we sometimes miss the focus of our worship. Let me explain. Here is some of what took place yesterday...

1. 7:00am Coleen and I arrive at the church to turn on the lights, sound system, check the heat, set up and tune guitar, make sure the powerpoint slides are ok.

2. 7:30am First service praise team comes in for rehearsal. Thanks Bob, Joy, Kathy, Sue Camin, Janel, Sherry and Sue Lantz. Check batteries in mics.

3. 8:00am Pray with first service team.

4. 8:05 - 8:15am Help Hal fix sermon slides so they can be used. Thanks Hal and Coleen.

5. 8:15am First service. Pastor Dennis is hitting on all cylinders!

6. 9:30am End of first service.

7. 9:45am Rehearse second service Team. Thanks Denise, Jordan, Jennifer, Coleen, Tiffany, Suzanna, Anna, Janet, Phil, Kyle, Kit, Mike, Karen, Marie. Make sure sound from PT and Band is balanced..great job Marie.

8. 10:45am Pray with second service team.

9. 11:00am Second service. Pastor Dennis is even better second time through the sermon.

As you can see, There is a lot going on every Sunday morning. And that's just with the worship team. How about the children's program, Sunday School, Connections ministry (greeters, coffee, welcome center, ushers), Missions focus, Youth ministry, Finance? It takes a tremendous amount of effort by a lot of people to make Owego Naz what it is. Yesterday, I was busier than ever, but I worshipped wonderfully. God is good.

Sue Camin sent me this video of Buddy Green with the Gaithers at Carnegie Hall.

I had the priviledge of hearing Buddy Green and friends at a coffee house in Nasville with about 50 other people. Enjoy...

Have a great week!

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2009-01-19T07:04:00.016-05:00

Hi Team!
What a packed Sunday morning! I'm still getting use to all the snow this year. It didn't seem quite as heavy last year, but it's still pretty in Upstate NY.
So what did you think of the Gathering Place Project? Thanks to Sue Camin for the awesome model and to Pastor Andy for the cool people! I can't wait to see how you all respond with your pledges. Don't forget that we need them in by this Sunday. What part will God entrust to you for this endeavor?

My fingers are crossed... that our new choir music and Easter musical will come in before Wednesday. We will be rehearsing at 6:15PM on Wednesday and I will have the Spring 2009 CD's ready for you and the February - June Schedule!

Our Easter Event (we need a name) is set for Saturday, April 4th! Mark your calendars now and get ready for a Kingdom explosion. The Owego Naz Worship Choir will headline this special musical night aimed at bringing new believers into the family of God. We will have special guests, the Owego Naz Worship Band and the congregation of Owego Nazarene carrying out the mission of our church!

Did Pastor Dennis inspire you to dig into this book by Gary Thomas? I sure was and I'm not a big reader...you know I'm the Enthusiast! I think we will look further into this book as we learn more about how to know God more deeply and personally. Awesome! If you want this book, let me know and maybe I can get a volume discount :)

Would you all do me a favor? Email, call, snail mail, text or whatever an Owego Naz Worship Choir member and thank them for being a part of what God is doing here in Owego, NY. Encourage them to join us on Wednesday! You are an awesome team and I'm so excited to be a part!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

2009-01-12T09:07:00.024-05:00

Good morning Team,
Coleen and I had a wonderful time in Florida over the past couple of weeks and had Chamber of Commerce weather every day we were there. It was beautiful and restful.
Here we are at Mote Aquarium in Sarasota. We got to see sharks, dolphins and manatee. I touched a manta ray!

Coleen will chat with anyone!!

This is the beach where Coleen's parents live. I listened to Easter music while lounging here. It was tough, but someone had to do it!

THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 6:15PM THE OWEGO NAZ WORSHIP CHOIR WILL BE BACK REHEARSING. I've heard that we may have some new choir members! I'm excited to get back at it. I want to share our plans for Easter with you as well!

Do you have a new choir member in mind? Invite them to join us and send me their name and I'll contact them as well. Lets see if we can grow by 25% for Easter!

One of the benefits of going on vacation and being away from Owego Naz for a couple of weeks is that you gain a fresh appreciation for our Sunday experiences. When you visit other churches, you can see just how blessed we are with our worship here and the outstanding preaching of Pastor Dennis. I am so thankful for the talent and commitment of our worship team. God has great things planned for 2009 and we get to be a part of it!!

Blessings,

Dave

Angel Choir...

2008-12-22T06:33:00.005-05:00

Good morning Team,

LUKE 2:8-14

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great CHOIR of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and SINGING, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Of all the wonders of Christmas, I think this is my favorite. I love a good choir! Thank you Owego Naz Worship Choir for leading us yesterday to proclaim, "Joy to the World! The Lord has come!" Each of you has helped our congregation to worship our Lord this Christmas season.

The angel choir... from now on as I imagine this wonder at Christmas time, I will see Anna Contas as a part of that multitude...singing joyfully, in perfect pitch, with a huge smile. Her untimely death saddens me. I will miss Anna's wonderful spirit.

Merry Christmas!

Dave

2008-12-16T15:04:00.009-05:00

Owego Nazarene Church, Owego, NY

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE

12/24/2008

7PM
“Christmas Wonder”

“Sing We Now” Owego Nazarene Worship Choir

Opening Welcome and Prayer

Congregational Song and Advent Wreath Lighting

“The First Noel” (C) vs. 1,2, reading, vs.4

The Wonder of His Parents
Scripture Reading – Luke 2:1-7
Special Song: “Labor of Love” Scott and Denise Mathewson
Mini-Message: Polly Carman
Congregational Song “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” vs.1,2(D) vs.3(E)

The Wonder of the Shepherds
Scripture Reading – Luke 2:8-20
Special Song: “The Shepherds” Jordan Schreiner
Mini-Message: Liam Miller
Congregational Song “Angels We Have Heard on High”(E)(Third Day)

Children’s Moments with Pastor and Cheryl King

The Wonder of the Magi
Scripture Reading – Matthew 2:1-12
Special Song: The King Family
Mini-Message: Angela Fey
Congregational Song “O Come All Ye Faithful” (G) (Third Day)

The Wonder of Wonders
Scripture Reading – John 1:1-2, 10-14 Tim French

Special Song: “A Manger Is His Throne”

Owego Nazarene Worship Choir and Trio

Madison Hornick, Caroline Olsen, Nicole Cavataio

Mini-Message: Pastor Dennis King

Moments of Worship by Candlelight
Congregational Song “Silent Night” (A) vs. 1, 2, 4

We Leave Rejoicing in Our Savior’s Birth

“Joy to the World” (D) vs. 1, 4

I think you will agree that it will be a very special time and I hope each of you who are able to attend will be blessed, richly.

Blessings,

Dave

O Come Let Us Adore Him...

2008-12-15T04:32:00.009-05:00

Good morning Team,
I guess I was real excited yesterday! I have been a worship leader for almost 30 years now and I cannot recall a time when I was more excited about "Joy to the World" than I was after the Owego Naz Worship Choir gave it all up for the Lord this past Sunday morning. You allowed the Holy Spirit to take control and blessed me and the congregation and prepared the way for all that happened after that...it was awesome! Thank you for all your hard work and time. We will be doing "Joy to the World" in both services this Sunday! Rehearsal this Wednesday at 6:15 will be our final regular rehearsal of the year.

I'm so looking forward to Christmas Eve as well. This will be my first Christmas Eve service at Owego Naz and I know how special it has become. This year looks like it will be no different. One special addition for this service will be the Owego Naz All Church Choir and I hope you will invite some of your friends to join us.

REHEARSAL WILL BE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20 AT 11AM.

Email me anyone whom I should contact about being a part of this special group.

Here is a video we will be using this Sunday to help us worship the Lord. It is special because it is so simple...just like the Christmas message!

Blessings,
Dave

Perfect!!

2008-12-12T05:53:00.007-05:00

Hi Team,

How perfect! We had a fantastic dress rehearsal on Wednesday night. The winter storm came and gave us a beautiful snow covered earth Thursday night when we were off. I rescheduled our dress rehearsal from Thursday night to Wednesday night several weeks ago...perfect! Tonight, we will have a beautiful setting for our musical with plenty of time to have the snow cleared from the roads and parking lots...perfect!

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:11-12 (NIV)...PERFECT! A Savior...Jesus Christ...born for me and you...perfect!

Musical Notes for tonight:

1. Meet in the choir loft at 6PM

2. Leave cookies on the counter in the foyer

3. Wear black and white

4. Park farthest away so our visitors have the prime spots

5. Woohoo!

THIS VIDEO IS JUST TOO COOL...

Blessings,
Dave

Emmanuel...

2008-12-10T03:44:00.006-05:00

Good morning Team,
It's really early this morning and I'm thinking about how fortunate I am this Christmas. I have a wonderful wife who loves me completely. I have beautiful daughters who are happily living productive lives in big cities. I have my physical needs met with a wonderful and fulfilling job. I have friends who encourage me and give me joy. I have music that surrounds me with the presence of God. I have partners in ministry who value what I do and walk with me in the victories and the defeats. I have a Savior who is Emmanuel..with me always (Hebrews 13:5)

But not everyone has those things this Christmas. Loneliness is a tragic reality for many of the people you see out and about. Some of them have been abandoned by their parents or their spouses or their children or their friends. They have lost their jobs and are worried about the future. They have no hope.

No hope...it wasn't much different 2000 years ago when God looked down on His people and said, "It's time!" Emmanuel...God with us.
And he didn't stop giving when he sent Jesus to show us what He was all about. Today, He needs us, His people, to help Him. We are His hands and feet to help the lonely ones that He loves just as much as He loves you and me.

Here's a question...what can I do that will make a difference in the life of someone this Christmas? Lets share some ideas. I'm interested in your comments...

Here's something that will brighten your Christmas...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

Blessings,
Dave

P.S. See you tonight at 6:15pm for dress rehearsal. Woohoo!!

It's Monday!

2008-12-08T08:34:00.009-05:00

Good morning Team,

"Joy to the world, the Lord has come!"

I love this time of year. Music plays such an important role at Christmastime and you hear carols and Christmas songs everywhere. The name of Jesus can be heard in places that it would never be allowed at other times of the year.

And I'm excited to see the joy in the faces of our worship team. The Owego Naz Worship Choir brings joy to my spirit as I watch you sing songs from our Christmas musical...

REHEARSAL TONIGHT AT 6:30pm!

REHEARSAL WEDNESDAY AT 6:15pm!

PERFORMANCE FRIDAY AT 7:00pm!

PERFORMANCE SUNDAY AT 11:00am!

Anna Carman was awesome yesterday and will lead the Owego Naz Children's Choir wonderfully in the musical! Did you notice our newest 2 members of the Owego Naz Worship Band? Kyle Schreiner on the guitar and Mike Ebbers on keyboard were great examples of the joy of the Lord! Thanks guys for being a part of our team!

As we walk together through this busy week...let the "Joy to the World" overwhelm you and make it a special week. Woohoo! I love this time of year!!

Blessings,

Dave

The Christmas Pageant

2008-12-04T06:21:00.004-05:00

One of our team members sent me this. I'm sure many of you who are parents can relate:

THE CHRISTMAS PAGEANT

My husband and I had been happily married (most of the time) for five years but hadn't been blessed with a baby. I decided to do some serious praying and promised God that if he would give us a child, I would be a perfect mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with His word as my guide.God answered my prayers and blessed us with a son.

The next year God blessed us with another son.

The following year, He blessed us with yet another son.

The year after that we were blessed with a daughter.

My husband thought we'd been blessed right into poverty.We now had four children, and the oldest was only four years old.I learned never to ask God for anything unless I meant it. As a minister once told me, "If you pray for rain, make sure you carry an umbrella."

I began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they lay in their cribs. I was off to a good start. God had entrusted me with four children andI didn't want to disappoint Him. I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searching for baby chicks.I tried to be understanding... when they started a hotel for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch all twenty-three frogs. When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humor rather than the mess.

In spite of changing over twenty-five thousand diapers, never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than thirty minutes at a time, I still thank God daily for my children. While I couldn't keep my promise to be a perfect mother -I didn't even come close...I did keep my promise to raise them in the Word of God. I knew I was missing the mark just a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God, and she wanted to bringa bar of soap along to "wash up" Jesus, too. Something was lost in the translation when I explained thatGod gave us everlasting life, and my son thought it was generous of God to give us his "last wife."

My proudest moment came during the children's Christmas pageant.My daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man. This was their moment to shine.My five-year-old shepherd had practiced his line,"We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes." But he was nervous and said, "The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes." My four-year-old "Mary" said, "That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly. That's dirty, rotten clothes." A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing. I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representingBaby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, "Mama-mama." Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived.My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, "We are the three wise men, and we are bringing giftsof gold, common sense and fur."The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation. "I've never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one,"laughed the pastor, wiping tears from his eyes. "For the rest of my life,I'll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense and fur.""My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing," I said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin.

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2008-12-01T07:52:00.003-05:00

Good morning Team,

I'm sitting in my easy chair this morning drinking my coffee and looking at the Christmas tree. My thoughts are wrapped around the "wonder" of God that Pastor Dennis shared with us yesterday. The miracle that is Christmas is what I desire in my heart all the time and our goal as worship leaders is to help the congregation grasp that as well. Yesterday you did just that and I am so excited about what the remainder of this Christmas season has to offer.

The next two weeks will be awesome as we finalize our Christmas musical. 3 more important rehearsals that you need to make every effort to attend. See the post below this for the schedule.

Have you invited a friend for Friday night? This will be a great opportunity to share the Christmas story and message to your unchurched friends.

From Luke 2...

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

It's Monday!

2008-11-24T08:25:00.015-05:00

Good morning Team,
So what did you think when you walked into the sanctuary yesterday? The reality of persecuted Christians in other parts of the world is sobering and gives us much to be thankful for as we go into Thanksgiving.

I was moved by the Owego Naz Worship Choir's rendition of "Praise You In this Storm" and Jordan Schreiner's solo was magnificent. Thank you team, for helping lead the people in worship. Don't forget that we do not have rehearsal this Wednesday and this Sunday is our Sunday off.

I am working on our Advent services and very excited about what's ahead. Our musical presentation

"On This Very Night"
Friday, Dec. 12 @ 7PM

is a great opportunity to invite your unchurched friends, neighbors and co-workers. They may even want to come back on
Sunday, Dec. 14 @ 11AM
for an encore!
Here's the rehearsal schedule:

Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 6:15PM
Monday, Dec. 8 at 6:30PM
Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 6:15PM
(dress rehearsal)

I love this time of year...busy, but rewarding!
Coleen and I will be in Washington, DC celebrating Thanksgiving with our daughter Candice. Our prayer is that your heart is overwhelmed with the love of Christ and His grace during this special season!
Blessings,
Dave

Honor...

2008-11-19T07:23:00.004-05:00

Good morning Team,

"Honor your father and mother..."

"The Lord declared, Those who honor me, I will honor"

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."

When we honor the Lord, we show our respect for who He is. When we honor our parents, we show our respect for who they are and the role they play in our develpement. When we honor each other, we show respect as an attitude of our heart.

A friend forwarded me a link to a video that has been around for awhile, but it's always good to honor those who serve in our armed forces and especially those in harms way. It will be worth 5 minutes of your time to honor these brave souls: http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1

Thank you, Lord, for the sacrifice of these brave men and women and for the sacrifice of their families as they serve.

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

2008-11-17T07:06:00.007-05:00

Good morning Team,

Don't you just love a good surprise? Saturday night I got a text from Neil Eash that said his work schedule got changed and he could play with the band on Sunday. I rejoice when God brings us together in worship and His team gets to lead the people. It was truly joyful yesterday as the team lead the first service to worship and then my heart jumped for joy as the Owego Naz Worship Choir started us off the second service with "Alive, Forever, Amen" and the congregation joined in to celebrate our risen Lord. Hallelujah! The band drove us with "I Will Boast" and "Everlasting God." Pastor Andy's teaching was awesome, especially for his first time! God was present and our worship was honest and pure. Praise God!

This Wednesday we will be rehearsing "Praise You In This Storm" and more Christmas music. It's hard to imagine that we are less than 4 weeks away from our Christmas musical and only 2 weeks away from the start of Advent. Woohoo! It's going to be a wonderful Christmas season.

Do you have a story? Of course you do. Some of our stories are dramatic and some are rather plain, but each of us has a story of how God touched us. I thought I'd close today with a video that touched my heart. Check it out: http://www.rhchurch.org/pages/cardboard-testimonies/

Blessings,

Dave

P.S. INAU, IAFH!

It's Wednesday!

2008-11-12T07:25:00.000-05:00

Good morning Team!

As you can see, this is my first attempt at blogging and I'm curious at what you think. This will be fun.

Tonight the Owego Naz Worship Choir will rehearse at 6:15 and we will be nailing down "Praise You In this Storm." I want to spend some more time working on our Christmas music and specifically "Christmastime" in the musical. Anna Carman is going to be working with our children on their part starting next week...Thanks Anna!

We will also spend some time on a couple of new worship songs...well, new to us. "You Are God Alone" is a fantastic worship song about the awesomness of our God and "I Want Jesus to Walk With Me" is an old Negro spiritual with a "blues" feel. It will be a wonderful time of worship tonight!

Well, I'm going to post this and see how it works. I'm open to suggestions from any of you bogger pros.

Blessings,

Dave