Congregational Songs – New Songs for Corporate Worship

Corporate Worship – 3/27/11

April 4, 2011

I had been meaning to put this up last week, but time got away from me. This season is always the busiest of the year – Holy Week consists of Good Friday services, which are a unique blend of congregational singing, choir pieces, scripture readings and a short sermon all focused on the cross. Then, of course, Easter Sunday is a time of celebration and the only Sunday morning thus far in our church’s life where we have a choir. So, planning for these two services along with everything else (I’ll announce another fun thing that I’ve been working on later this week) makes for a crazy schedule.

On March 27, Scott’s passage was Luke 9:18-27 (I like this reference purely for its mathematical qualities proving my nerdy qualities). It consists of three different sections in which Jesus is progressively teaching his disciples how to follow him. Jesus asks the disciples to identify him – Peter answers that he is “The Christ of God” – and then tells them that he is going to the cross and that his call to them is to follow him in similar self-sacrifice. Scott emphasized that Jesus is the end of our faith. Following him is not a means to some other end. Such a claim flies in the face of any teaching that would have us reap gain here on earth as a “re-payment” of some kind for following Christ.

All Creatures of Our God and King – a Chris Hauser contemporized version of the old hymn.
Welcome & Ministry Opportunities
Glorious Impossible – iTunes, Amazon – if you haven’t heard this song, I strongly encourage you to take a listen. It’s a very well-written walk through the life of Jesus. It’s co-written by Wendy Wills who is a part of our worship team. I placed it here to give us a good summary of who Christ is and what he came to do to start off the service.
My Faith Has Found a Resting Place – in response to who Christ is as described in the phrases of “Glorious Impossible,” we can cling to him in faith as our Savior.
Psalm 62 – iTunes, Amazon – this great tune expounds on what it means to rest in God alone by adding theme of devotion to God in the midst of temptation and in daily living.
Scripture Reading – Philippians 3:7-14 – Paul’s declaration of losing everything for the sake of gaining Christ and pressing on toward the prize for which he has been called heavenward continue to emphasize the themes of losing all to gain Christ; that it is a heavenly prize that we are seeking.
Greatest End – iTunes, Amazon – this beautiful tune by Lee & Melissa Broadwell (also part of the worship team at Grace) is matched with a prayer that helps the participating believer express their desire for the devotion to Christ we have been singing about.
Give Me Jesus – iTunes, Amazon – going into the sermon with this simple statement – “Give me Jesus. You can have all this world. Give me Jesus.
Sermon – Luke 9:18-27: “Early Lessons: Clarity about Jesus and Commitment to Him”
Congregational Response
Benediction
Psalm 62 – we ended with the chorus.

Filed under: Service Orders