band preservice play-in: Hosanna (no vocals)
welcome/news
Psalm 47 excerpts on screen during intro to..
Sing to the King (Foote)
Hosanna (Fraser)
I Exalt Thee (Sanchez)
prayer
Take My Life (Tomlin arr.) [offering]
message: James 4:1-10
May the Words of My Mouth (Hughes, Hill)

We had an unusual rehearsal schedule this week, which meant a very familiar set of songs was in order. A worship set led by 1211 from Gateway Church in Austin at the re:create conference a couple weeks ago reminded me that ’I Exalt Thee’ should occasionally get to take a spin out of the ‘retired’ file. So, we had a set of songs that hopefully was solid and easy for our church to engage with.

Tried linking the first 3 songs together with excerpts from Psalm 47, highlighting the praise of God our King, reprising the last half of the chorus of ‘Sing to the King’ at the end of ‘I Exalt Thee’. 

I’m grateful to my good friend and talented musician, Tara, who did a beautiful job leading ‘Hosanna’ and ‘May the Words’, and to our entire band who brought great heart and a solid foundation to today’s set of songs.

For more reflections from worship leaders all over the world, visit The Worship Community.

Today’s worship service flow:

You are Good (Lincoln Brewster arr.)
welcome
ministry highlight: hearing from a church member who spent 6 weeks helping to build an AIDS orphanage in Thailand.  
prayer & scripture (Psalm 24)
Be Thou My Vision (traditional arr.)
Your Love Never Fails (Quilala)
Grace Like Rain (Agnew)
message: James 3:13-18
Wisdom (Jill Phillips)

As always, I’m grateful for the group of people who come together every week to make our worship experiences possible.  

The find of the week: ‘Wisdom’ by Jill Phillips. I had been looking for a song specifically about wisdom, and had put in place a much older song which was going to require some significant updating!  Dustin, our electric guitar player this week, found this song and it was perfect.  I was recently re-introduced to the music of Jill Phillips, and love love love her writing and singing style.  It was fun to learn a slightly different style of song and share it with our church today.

Thanks, Dustin. :)

read more about today’s worship services from churches all over the world at The Worship Community

This was the third installment of our ‘Amazing Race’ series, which is a blaze through the entire Bible in seven weeks.  This week, our pastor taught about the ‘wisdom & poetry’ books (Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,  and Song of Solomon), spending a little extra time on the story of Job.  We also took the Lord’s Supper together, which is an every-other-month thing for our church.

worship service
welcome/news
‘Blessed Be Your Name’ (Redman)
‘Mighty to Save’ (Laura Story arr.)
Lord’s Supper (songs: ‘You are My King’ and ‘Your Name’)
offering: ‘The Word is Alive’ (Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman)
message

Songs emphasizing the sovereignty of God? the story of Job?  as potential vehicles for processing the many thoughts and emotions we’re all feeling during this week of the Haiti crisis?  Yeah. You can’t plan stuff like that. In thinking about this series, I searched for songs about the scripture as a whole, which is how I found ‘Word is Alive’, recorded by Casting Crowns.  I had not heard this song before, but it is powerful.  Vocalists Greg & Dani did a great job singing it, and the band did a great job bringing the power.  Projected the words over this video loop, which fit beautifully. (Listen to entire song.) I leave you with the lyrics (by Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman)…

Looking out from His throne, the Father of light and of men, Chose to make himself known to show us the way back to Him. Speaking wisdom and truth into the hearts of peasants and kings, He began to unveil the Word that would change the course of all things. With eyes wide open all would see… (chorus) The Word is alive and it cuts like a sword through the darkness with a message of life to the hopeless and afraid, breathing life into all who believe. The Word is alive and the world and its glories will fade, but its truth it will not pass away it remains, yesterday and forever the same The Word is alive. Simple strokes on a page, eternity’s secrets revealed Carried on from age to age, it speaks truth to us even still. And as the rain falls from the heaven, feeds the earth before it returns, Lord, let your Word fall on us and bring forth the fruit You deserve With eyes wide open let us see…

This post is a part of Sunday Setlists at theworshipcommunity.com. Check it out!

This was the third installment of our ‘Amazing Race’ series, which is a blaze through the entire Bible in seven weeks.  This week, our pastor taught about the ‘wisdom & poetry’ books (Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,  and Song of Solomon), spending a little extra time on the story of Job.  We also took the Lord’s Supper together, which is an every-other-month thing for our church.

worship service
welcome/news
‘Blessed Be Your Name’ (Redman)
‘Mighty to Save’ (Laura Story arr.)
Lord’s Supper (songs: ‘You are My King’ and ‘Your Name’)
offering: ‘The Word is Alive’ (Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman)
message

Songs emphasizing the sovereignty of God? the story of Job?  as potential vehicles for processing the many thoughts and emotions we’re all feeling during this week of the Haiti crisis?  Yeah. You can’t plan stuff like that.

In thinking about this series, I searched for songs about the scripture as a whole, which is how I found ‘Word is Alive’, recorded by Casting Crowns.  I had not heard this song before, but it is powerful.  Vocalists Greg & Dani did a great job singing it, and the band did a great job bringing the power.  Projected the words over this video loop, which fit beautifully. (Listen to entire song.)

I leave you with the lyrics (by Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman)…

Looking out from His throne, the Father of light and of men,
Chose to make himself known to show us the way back to Him.
Speaking wisdom and truth into the hearts of peasants and kings,
He began to unveil the Word that would change the course of all things.
With eyes wide open all would see…

(chorus)
The Word is alive
and it cuts like a sword through the darkness
with a message of life to the hopeless and afraid,
breathing life into all who believe.
The Word is alive
and the world and its glories will fade,
but its truth it will not pass away
it remains, yesterday and forever the same
The Word is alive.

Simple strokes on a page, eternity’s secrets revealed
Carried on from age to age, it speaks truth to us even still.
And as the rain falls from the heaven, feeds the earth before it returns,
Lord, let your Word fall on us and bring forth the fruit You deserve
With eyes wide open let us see…

This post is a part of Sunday Setlists at theworshipcommunity.com. Check it out!

This was week two in our new teaching series, ‘The Amazing Race’, in which our pastor is taking us through the entire Bible in seven weeks.  He is, quite simply, teaching our church to know the overall story of the Bible better. There are charts and hand-outs, which is unusual for us, but I think people are enjoying it. Which is good because we should have some level of understanding of what it is we say we believe and follow.

This week, we reviewed the larger story of the whole Old Testament, but focused on the books of history (Joshua – Esther), specifically, the Israelites’ cyclical relationship with God.

Good thing we’ve all moved beyond THAT kind of thing, right? whew.

See the overview of this series here.

worship service
welcome & news
ministry highlight: compassion international
Love the Lord (Lincoln Brewster)
Glorified (Jared Anderson)
prayer
O God of Mine (Rita Springer)
message
Naive (Chris Rice)

a few notes
Overall, our short set of music went very well and seemed… relaxed. By that I mean, it was an environment of music that people could participate in without anxiety.  But it also did it’s job of pointing us all to God, together. At least, if one were paying attention.

Our pastor asked me on Wednesday afternoon if we could include the song ‘Naive’ because it matched so well with this theme of God’s judgment and our need for Him to come.  I had only a vague memory of the song, which was released by Chris Rice in 1998. We would need to learn it completely at rehearsal Wed night, and it’s an unusual style for us. But I found the music (with a little help from my friends), transposed it for my vocal range (with the short turn-around, I didn’t feel comfortable asking someone else to learn it), and we gave it a whirl. Our musicians nailed it.  I am so SO grateful for people who are willing to give extra time to learning something new.

In the end, ‘Naive’ was the perfect close to this particular sermon.  Like our pastor mentioned to me, it’s a song that expresses almost a desperate anger at God, but it’s wrapped in sweet music so it doesn’t seem arrogant.

Check out the song, and for that matter… check out lots of music by Chris Rice. He’s a great songwriter.

This post is a very late addition to Sunday Setlists on Fred McKinnon’s blog.  Check it out!

Guest blogger:  James Isaac

End-of-the-year / looking forward.

The big idea for this week was a definition and analysis of Faith: belief in God, acceptance of Jesus as the Lord of our lives, and finally the desire to seek after Him and to do His will.

Worship was led by a group of high school and college students, as Kim was off for the holidays. Lindsey Warwick (vocals) and Tara Taylor (guitar) met with Kim to pick the music selections, which turned out to be a veritable Greatest Hits Collection from the Sr. High worship. Ian Allison, another returning college student, brought the power chords and tasteful noodling on his electric guitar. Two high school students – Cameron Calvert on drums, and Jacob Sweat on bass – have stepped up to be regulars in the “big church” Sunday morning scene, and they brought their impeccable timing and locked-in groove to the rhythm section. Sam Klein, a college student, rounded out the vocals with his passionate and soulful talent. The “old guy on stage” (and substitute blogger) was James Isaac, filling the Paul Schaffer role on the keys as producer and musical director.

Intro by trombone chorale + piano
“Perspectives on World Missions” video
Sing to the King (Foote)
Filled with Your Glory (Neufeld)
Scripture
Revelation Song (Riddle)
Prayer / offering
Go Tell It on the Mountain (new arrangement)
Message
In Christ Alone (Getty)

All of these songs are very familiar to our congregation and their ready participation helped our musicians to feel comfortable leading worship. Sing to the King and Filled with Your Glory have been in our setlist for years but are still effective songs for setting the tone of our Sunday morning worship.

Revelation Song is a big, bombastic power ballad and is a particular favorite of Lindsey and Sam from Sr. High worship. Their emotional commitment to the song was plainly visible and helped to create a powerful worship experience.

We came to practice with no clear idea of what to do with Go Tell It on the Mountain. Playing it straight just seemed like a wasted opportunity when we could try something new. Ian quickly came up with a rockin’ guitar riff and we took it from there, with an opening verse nod to tradition.

In Christ Alone is another favorite, with deeply meaningful words. It put the perfect endcap on Pastor Brent’s message. Sam and Lindsey traded melody lines in this arrangement and the quiet underscore allowed the congregation to sing out with full voices.

I’ve played with these teenagers and young adults for several years now in various settings and events, and am constantly amazed at the talent and commitment they have, and how they desire to use their musical skills within the church. For me, it is the greatest joy to do something that I love – to create and perform music – for the God that I love. I’m so excited to see that attitude continuing on in these students.

This post is a part of Sunday Setlists at Fred McKinnon’s blog.  Check it out!

Today, we walked back through our entire ‘Light’ series and landed on a strong message about being ‘light bearers’… carrying the light of God’s truth everywhere we go.

Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy) (Tomlin) -  congregational song led by band, vocals
welcome
O Come All Ye Faithful – congregational song led by orchestra & choir
recap: the light of creation and the light foretold
Let There Be Light (recorded by Point of Grace) – orchestra, band, choir, kids’ ensemble
recap: the light arrives (Jesus’ birth)
Hallelujah (Light Has Come) (by Barlow Girl) -  women’s trio, choir, orchestra
scripture: excerpts from John 1 and Luke 2
Tonight – choir, soloists, orchestra
prayer
Hark the Herald Angels Sing – congregational song led by orchestra & choir
Advent narration: Light Bearers
message, including a first hand story of a light bearer
Carrier (Jared Anderson) – congregational song led by band, vocals
wrap-up
Go Light Your World soloists, orchestra, choir

Big music Sundays bring with them a different set of logistics, rehearsals, and technical needs of every stripe. Our team rose to the challenge and we had three very smooth worship experiences because of people who prepared well and allowed their gifts to shine.

If servants can make the day shine, they are heroes, right? The servant-heroes of today:
Bethany, who did ‘candle surgery’ on an obstinate Advent candle between services in order to keep it burning.
David, who created a powerpoint presentation containing all the words of every song, along with guides and prompts, projected to a rear screen so that all vocalists could be ‘off book’ with confidence.
Dave, who ran the aforementioned powerpoint flawlessly… a bit of a tedious job.
Jerry, who spent hours Saturday working through visuals for the entire service.
Adam, who was up until ? moving our projection screen, bringing in extra audio gear, and performing miracles on our PA system.
Nick, who agreed to run lights despite his stated lack of experience, but did a beautiful job and helped craft an atmosphere
Ryan, Brittany, and Kaitlyn, who have done a great job with narration pieces over the past four weeks.
Susan and Lyndon, who read beautifully.
Greg, Melanie, Kayla, Danni, Tanya, David, Kim & Wendell, who sang beautifully.
ushers who threw down lots and lots of extra chairs in little time to accommodate a packed 9:45 service
and an entire orchestra, choir, and band who did their part well three times over.

A live orchestra brings magic to almost any song.  But our goal wasn’t magic. Our goal was to celebrate this great story, this great rescue, this thing of God becoming human to save us. And our goal was to remind ourselves that the story doesn’t stop there, at this tiny barn with a tiny baby, but continues with us.  We are charged with carrying the light forward.

I come away from this morning grateful for all those people who participated, inspired to join the historical stream of light-bearers, and, through tears, adding a new song to my ‘favorite songs from Mary’ list,  ‘Hallelujah (Light Has Come)” by Barlow Girl.   Check it out.

And Merry Christmas!

This post is a part of Sunday Setlists… where you can read about other worship experiences. Check it out!

Advent sermon series: Light
week 3: Light Arrives

Order of worship
O Come O Come Emmanuel (traditional hymn)
recap of series, story of the birth of Jesus
O Little Town of Bethlehem (traditional carol)
‘Light of Creation’ narration
message part one: Mary & Joseph… trust & obedience
No Sweeter Name (Jobe)
message part two: Shepherds… message for everyone
The First Noel (hymncharts arr)
message part three: Wise Men… faith
Center (Hall) / Silent Night (traditional carol)
prayer
Glorious (Tomlin, Reeves) (offering)
church news

Notes
week 1 of this series
week 2 of this series

This week, our pastor pulled observations out of the story of Jesus’ birth, looking specifically at a few people we hear about every time the story is re-told. The overall takeaway was one of having faith… of trusting… of accepting God’s truth.

Best moment of the day: singing ‘No Sweeter Name’.  This is a simple song of worship sung to Jesus and seemed like a sweet choice following a focus on Mary and Joseph.  While I was listening to our pastor speak, it occurred to me that the words of the song could be sung from the perspective of Jesus’ parents.  I mentioned something about this as we began the song… and then that idea completely broke me down as we sang it.  Can you imagine THESE parents singing to their newborn baby ‘no sweeter name than the name of Jesus, no sweeter name have I ever known… you are the life to my heart and my soul, you are the light to the darkness around me’?  Good grief.  I’ve been thinking ever since that someone should write this into a drama… Mary sitting alone with the baby Jesus singing this song acapella, like a lullaby.

Have mercy.

‘Glorious’ by Chris Tomlin was a new song for us today.  I first heard this song at a Passion conference in 2006; this song was featured during one of the most powerful moments of that experience. Neil suggested I think about using it during Christmas.  It isn’t specifically a Christmas song, but it seems like anything that declares Jesus to be reigning, ‘glorious over us’, should be used to celebrate his birth. I was proud of how our band worked it up and how my friend Wendell sang it. It has the potential to be powerful once our church becomes familiar with it.  Thinking about bringing it back on Christmas Eve…. hmmm…

Next week, our story continues:  Light Bearers: we carry the light into the world

This post is a part of Sunday Setlists.  Check it out!

Advent sermon series: Light
week 2: Light Foretold (or Darkness)

Order of worship
O Come All Ye Faithful (Kim Hill version)
welcome… reintroduce series and this week’s theme
(lighting to black)
Genesis 2-3 excerpts (reader in back of room)
“Light of Creation” narration part 1 (sin enters the world)
Lord Have Mercy
“Light of Creation” narration part 2 (the promise of light to come)
O Come O Come Emmanuel (traditional hymn)
Message: Light Foretold
-artist creates images on black canvas under blacklight during message
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus’ (band arr. from hymncharts)

Notes
read about week 1 of this series

Light was created, chasing away the uncreated darkness… humans were created and offered a beautiful life of freedom and creativity… darkness re-entered the world through a destructive choice. Light of salvation is promised.

We spent most of this service with the lights out in the room.  This is rare for our church (specific factors are described here).  It’s amazing how this changes the atmosphere, focuses everyone, creates expectation. You can almost hear people quieting themselves.

In darkness, we heard about Adam & Eve’s story of choice and vulnerability. In darkness, 3 high school students spoke beautifully about light and darkness. In darkness, we sang a song of confession, and a song of expectancy.

Then, with a single light on our pastor, we heard about this cycle of darkness & light.  And watched as a breathtaking work of performance art was created under a blacklight with paint and canvas, accompanying the progression of the message.  A swirl of light became a tree bearing fruit, then was overcome by darkness, then swirled into images of redemption and hope.

It was like an ‘art score’ under the sermon and it was stunning. (I hope to have video that can be shared soon.) There were some beautiful moments… when the artist’s work and the pastor’s words converged completely… watching people of all ages watch the painting… watching the crowd of kids swarm the artist and the painting at the end of the service… realizing my son was drawing his own version of the painting that was being created.

This was the most collaborative worship experience we’ve had in a long time. The actors & director working on the narration… the tech crew… the musicians… and my dear friend Christi who brought her heart, her faith, and her talent to share with the church. Lots of people doing their thing to bring glory to God. I am awed and grateful to have been a part of it.

In the coming weeks, our story continues:
week 3: Light Arrives: Emmanuel…. Light with us.
week 4: Light Bearers: we carry the light into the world

This post is a part of Sunday Setlists.  Check it out!

Sunday marked the first week of Advent.
Our sermon series for these four weeks is ‘Light’. We are tracing God’s story using Light as the thread weaving throughout.

This week, Light of Creation

Order of worship
welcome
kids’ songs: 3-4-5 year olds
ministry highlight: Thailand trip (in Feb we’re sending a group to Thailand where we support a few missionaries)
intro to theme
“Light of Creation” narration / advent candle
Creation video: gorgeous artistic representation of creation
‘God of Wonders’ (Mac Powell/Caedmon’s Call)
‘O Come Let Us Adore Him’
‘Your Name‘ (Baloche/Packiam)
Message: Light of Creation
(offering) Since the World Began (from Glory Revealed II): a truly beautiful song.

Notes
Our current auditorium is a multi-purpose room with large halogen lights in the house, and a few theatrical lights hitting the stage. House lighting is either ON or OFF (no dimming), goes OFF immediately, and comes ON gradually.  There are also windows on 2 sides of the room.  So it’s a bit of an action to have a dark room and arrange lighting changes effectively. Nevertheless, we are going to play with light throughout this series, so we have to be able to control it.

We covered the windows, and prior to the narration, went completely black. We lit the narrators, but mostly had very minimal lighting until the message. To accomplish this, my brilliant husband wired our musicians’ stand lights and our giant Christmas tree to dimmers, so even those elements are  now controllable.

The narration and video come from a Christmas production by Willow Creek church.  We will be using their narration pieces every week as our customary Advent readings. We have asked a few high school students to present these narrations memorized; Ryan & Brittany were the actors this week and they did a truly great job.

In the coming weeks, our story continues:
- Light Foretold: Darkness, and the message of light to come
- Light Arrives: Emmanuel…. Light with us.
- Light Bearers: we are to carry the light into the world