Worship Reflections 09.14.08

Set list:
He Reigns (the Newsboys)
Love the Lord (Lincoln Brewster)
Before the Throne of God Above (Cook/Bancroft)
Holy is the Lord (Chris Tomlin)
Glorified (Jared Anderson)

Overall notes:
This week kicked off a sermon series called ‘Heart Rules’ which will run side-by-side with our building campaign this fall.  This week’s focus: ‘Sacrifice’. Our pastor brought a truly great message built around Romans 12:1-9.  Nearly twenty-four hours have passed, and it’s still giving me lots to think about.

Musically, for people in the congregation, it probably seemed like a normal Sunday. For a few of us on the stage, it was a bit shaky because of mixing up the band and including some less experienced players in the mix.  We also realized, when we got into rehearsal, that there was only one song in our list that was completely familiar to the entire band. So we had a band getting used to each other while attempting what turned out to be an mildly challenging set list in this particular case. 

As an aside… as we moved through our first worship service,  I realized I had assembled a ‘nice’ order of service.  ’Nice’… as in… it works and it makes sense. I’m usually shooting for ‘effective’, not ‘nice’. Blech.  

Song notes:
He Reigns: usually effective for our congregation. a bit of rhythmic tension going, probably more noticeable to the band.
Love the Lord: stinkin’ peppy. band had a bit of trouble nailing the rhythm in a couple spots, but, again, more noticeable to us.
Before the Throne of God Above: I just discovered this song a few months ago even though it’s about 10 years old.   It’s lyrically rich, so I usually feel compelled to pair it with something with more space in the text. we’ve arrived at a strong band arrangement for this, which offsets the hymn-like lyrics well.
Holy is the Lord:  the aforementioned song with more ‘space in the text’. Also the one-that-everyone-knew. 
Glorified: I LOVE this song.  The words were perfect for the theme of the day. Oddly, this was by far the most unfamiliar song for band members, but ended up being the ‘tightest’ of the set.  

Of all these songs, what’s still playing in my head? 

‘My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on his heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands,
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.’
(from ‘Before the Throne of God Above’,
by Charitie Lees Bancroft & Vikki Cook)

What’s still playing in your head?

This post is a part of Sunday Setlists on Mr. Fred McKinnon’s blog.