Church

9 April: Tuesday Refocus

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“The church - the body of Christ - is the place where God invites us to renew our loves, reorient our desires, and retrain our appetites.” - James K.A. Smith

Every person is a tangled mess of loves, desires, and appetites. At the moment of conversion, followers of Jesus have been given a new heart, and from a new heart flows new affections (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10). But we will spend a lifetime for our affections to be continually transformed - this is the ongoing work of sanctification.

Through the power of God’s Word, God’s Spirit, and God’s people that I…

…am reminded of who I am, who I am not, and who I am called to be. 

…come face to face with a life in community that breaks apart my desire for self-sufficiency.

…learn to serve rather than be served.

…am both wounded and healed.

…am reminded of who God is, and what He has done.

Father, may we joyfully submit to Your work through Your people for Your glory and our good, amen.

Amen,

AB

Good Friday: Liturgy + Set List

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  • TRISAGION

Invitation to Rest

God, it is good to be near You.

Would you help me become aware of your presence and nearness in this moment?

Psalm 46:10

  • MAN OF SORROWS

Invitation to Remember

God, where was I far from You today? Whether in thought, word, or deed?

Hebrews 8:12

  • LAMB OF GOD

Invitation to Rejoice

God, would you show me how to endure in light of the fullness of joy, and pleasures forevermore promised to me as a follower of Christ?

Psalm 16:11

  • JESUS PAID IT ALL

Sermon: Leviticus 16

Invitation to Repent

God, in Your kindness would You lead me to repentance?

Romans 2:4

  • HOLY MEDLEY

Holy Is Our God/We Fall Down/Holy Forever/Open The Eyes of My Heart

  • COMMUNION MEDLEY

Lord, I Need You/Grace Alone/Thank You Jesus for the Blood

The Lord’s Supper

Book of Common Prayer Corporate Confession

Invitation to Request

Father, would You give me the ability to respond like Jesus: requesting of You honestly, while also in humility surrendering to Your will?

Matthew 26:39

  • SON OF SUFFERING

Benediction/Sending/Further Time of Reflection

17 March: Liturgy + Set List

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  • GOOD GOD

    Call to Worship: Psalm 68:4-6, 19-20

    Good morning and welcome to worship on this Lord’s Day, and this fifth Sunday in the season of Lent. During Lent, we remember our death and the sin that has won for us death. But more than that, we remember the life of Christ - the life that is ours through Christ - because God is a God of salvation.

  • GRACE ALONE

  • TRISAGION

    BCP Corporate Confession

  • Sermon: Galatians 4:4-7

    If you want to know what God the Father is like - look to the Son. Scripture says we see the glory of God in the face of the Son, and Jesus says in the gospels: if you know me you know the Father, because I have done nothing that I have not first heard and seen from the Father. And if you want to know the Son, look to the Spirit - who leads us into all truth, which is Jesus, who seals and guarantees our salvation, and who reminds us of who we are. Let’s use these next few songs as prayers of invitation, inviting the Spirit to move the truth we may know in our heads, down into our hearts, and to be embodied in our lives.

  • HOLY (JESUS YOU ARE)

  • HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US

    Benediction

Guest Worship Leaders

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Whether leading worship for a specific event, filling in at the last minute because of an illness or joining the rotating of worship leaders for a church I did not attend, I have had the opportunity to lead worship as a guest many times over the years. It is a gift to be reminded that the Church is larger than my church. That the body of Christ is diverse, global, and growing down the street, across the country, and around the world. Here are a few things I have learned that I hope will help worship leaders who are leading as a guest, but also those churches who are hosting guest worship leaders:

A word to the worship leader.

  • You are there to serve. I know this might seem obvious, but in serving we must consider others more highly than we consider ourselves. Be willing to be inconvenienced, or to go with the flow of another style, setup, structure, or rhythm to a rehearsal and gathering. Practically, this might mean choosing songs that this body will know that are less familiar to you. Asking good questions about the team, the congregation, and the sermon. Offering yourself whatever is required and expected of others who serve weekly. Engaging relationally with the team - taking time to learn their names, and thank them for serving.

  • Be gracious. It can be disorienting and uncomfortable to play music for the first time with someone you have just met. Be as gracious to the team as you hope they will be with you.

  • Be a blessing. How can you encourage and speak life to the team, the leaders, and the congregation? How might you leave a blessing behind (Joel 2:14)?

  • Communicate ahead of time. What is the gear you need? What is the expectation as far as speaking, leading, prayer, transitions, etc? How can you be prepared walking into rehearsal as well as the service?

A word to the host.

  • Set Lists. If you are giving the guest worship leader the freedom to build the set list, provide them a master song list, as well as the last three to five weeks of songs. I once led worship for a church whose worship leader accepted a position and moved between Sundays. This church had no one to lead worship for the foreseeable future and was filling every week during their search for a new worship leader with guest worship leaders. In a situation like that, pair down a master song list to 12 songs or so - the band and the people will have enough change as you fill spots, do not also make them bear the weight of new songs every week in the in-between.

  • Over-communicate. What do you want? What do you need? What is the expectation of the worship leader? Will you be giving them access to Planning Center, and communication to the team? Will you distribute songs, keys, communication and all you need to do is have the worship leader plug and play? Are paying the worship leader for their time, or the travel?

  • Be generous. This does not necessarily mean financially - but how might you be generous in your encouragement and appreciation? Whether down the road or across the globe, taking time outside of your normal responsibilities, time away from your own community, and family is costly - can you celebrate and honor the people who are serving your community? Several times I have had people thank my wife and children or send me back with gifts for them because of their willingness to allow me to serve.

What would you add?

Pastoral & Prayers of the People

Often when our church is exploring the addition of new liturgical rhythms in our corporate gathering, I will be tasked with creating a one sheet for our elders and staff to review. Most recently we’ve been looking at incorporating a Pastoral Prayer - also called, Prayers of the People - during worship. What follows is a one sheet ‘On Pastoral & Prayers of the People’

People do not know how to pray. Even the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1-13). If one of the primary aims of the corporate gathering is the spiritual formation of the people of God, we must learn to incorporate prayer intentionally; and not - as seems to be all too common - use prayer as a transition between various elements of the gathering.

Overview:

  • The Pastoral Prayer or Prayers of the People is a form of intercessory prayer.

  • Offered on behalf of the congregation with varied levels of participation and involvement from the congregation depending on the goal.

  • Structured and purposeful in aim and scope, but can be extemporaneous, with the freedom to engage the unique cultural moment, as well as the needs of the congregation.

  • Shepherding happens in obvious and subtle ways that outlast the moment.

  • People are taught a framework to know how to pray, and how to move through prayer.

  • People are allowed to give voice to the parts of their hearts, lives, experiences, struggles, and joy that they may find difficult to place within any other part of the corporate worship gathering.

Format: 

  • A general, guided framework: (BCP, The Anglican Church in North America #140)

  • The universal Church, the clergy, and people

  • The mission of the Church

  • The nation and all in authority (local, state, federal)

  • The peoples of the world

  • The local community

  • Those who suffer and those in any need or trouble

  • Thankful remembrance of the faithful departed and of all the blessings of our lives

  • If guided: The leader reads each framework prompt (e.g.: Lord we pray for the elders of our church: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John…), pausing to allow the congregation to offer prayers silently. To conclude the section the leader offers something like: ‘Lord in your mercy…’ The congregation responds with something like, ‘Hear our prayer.’ These guided prayers rely heavily on the framework, but the content can be adjusted, or added to on the spot (e.g.: ‘We pray for there to be peace between Israel and Gaza…’)

  • Written: said in unison with the congregation, or as a call and response.

  • Extemporaneous: the leader prays using the framework as the guide to their extemporaneous prayer offered on behalf of the congregation. Like lines on a highway, the framework is used to shape the direction of this kind of pastoral prayer, without drawing attention to the framework itself - while still keeping the prayer ‘in its lane,’ and intended purpose.

4 February: Liturgy & Set List

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  • ALL I HAVE IS CHRIST

    Call to Worship: Psalm 25:1-15

    We gather we after week to gaze upon the Lord, to follow the path of steadfast love and faithfulness that is ours in Christ. But that is not something we can do in our own strength, we need the empowering of the Spirit in us, but we also need one another. So as we sing this morning, don’t just look at the screen, don’t just close your eyes, look around at your brothers and sisters - sing encouraging them to keep to the path of steadfast love and faithfulness.

  • CHRIST BE MAGNIFIED

  • THANK YOU JESUS FOR THE BLOOD

    Sermon: Mark 14:53-72

    Whether you are here this morning feeling the weight of sin and shame for your denial of Christ, or you are here this morning feeling like you have only ever followed Jesus at a distance, the invitation is the same: to draw near to the One who has first drawn near to us in Christ. Would you stand if you’re able, we’ll sing together.

  • THERE IS A REDEEMER

  • IS HE WORTHY

    Benediction

21 January: Liturgy + Set List

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  • PSALM 134 (BLESS THE LORD)

    Call to Worship: Psalm 139:1-6, 15-18

    God who created everything takes thought for you. And part of the reason we gather is to turn our thoughts, our attention, and our affection upon the Creator of all things.

  • HOW GREAT THOU ART

  • WHAT YOU SAID

    All sin is rooted in unbelief - that God is not who he says he is, that he is holding out on you. We need to sing words like: ‘You are good, and everything you do is good, you are kind and everything you do is kind, you don’t fail, you haven’t and you never will,’ first, because it’s true - it is who God has revealed himself to be in his word and in his son. But even on my best day, and in my own strength I don’t believe these things - I need the Holy Spirit to remind me of these truths, I need my brothers and sisters to remind me of these truths when I don’t believe. We’re going to take a few moments now to confess our sin to God and to one another:

Merciful God,
We confess that we have sinned against You
in thought, word, and deed,
By what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved You with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

In Your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us amend what we are,
And direct what we shall be,
So that we may delight in your will and walk in Your ways, To the glory of Your holy name.

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Brothers and sisters hear the good news: The Lord who loves you says in his word that his anger is for a moment, but his favor is for a lifetime. Amen.

Sermon: Mark 14:10-25

The Lord’s Supper

The Apostles’ Creed

  • A THOUSAND HALLELUJAHS

Benediction

When You Don't Feel Like Serving

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I love leading sung worship. But some days, I don’t feel like leading worship. Some days I feel mad at God, frustrated with my situation, at odds with a brother or sister in Christ, unprepared, empty, or too distracted to be remotely present to the gift and responsibility to stand before the people of God and invite them to behold the Lord.

Living in a fallen world means our circumstances will never be perfect, often they will not even be ideal. Following Jesus means following Him on the mountains as well as into and through the valleys.

So what do we do when you don’t feel like leading? Here are three suggestions:

Be honest. Sometimes the simple act of truthfully confessing to the Lord, or to a trusted brother or sister is enough to free me from a funk. They say admitting you have a problem is the first step. Take the first step, be honest. Acknowledging your feelings and emotions begins to loosen the silent stranglehold.

Confess. Sometimes my sin, pride, or ego are tied up with why I do not want to lead worship. Is there something I need to confess - to God and or to my brothers and sisters?

Serve. Part of growing as an adult is fulfilling your responsibilities even when you do not feel inspired or motivated. In the post last week, I shared about how serving is an invitation to something and Someone outside of self. Part of serving well is moving through my own emotions, preferences, and agenda to participate in the larger story.

What would you add to this list?

31 December: Liturgy + Set List

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  • WONDER AND GIFT

    The Church calendar says that Christmas is more than a day, it is a season. So we are still in the season of Christmas, remembering Christ’s coming, and anticipating His return. As we sing together this morning, I want to encourage you to look back over the past year and search for ebeneezers - remembrances of God’s care, help, and provision. Hold those things in your heart and mind, and sing from that place, sing from that remembrance this morning.

  • BEHOLD

  • HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarate Word: Grant that this light, kindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one god, now and for ever. Amen.

  • ONLY A HOLY GOD

    Readings: Luke 1:26-33, Matthew 1:1, 12-16

    This is the word of the LORD. The kind of people Jesus came from reveals the kind of people Jesus came for. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God.

    Sermon: Luke 1:26-56

    Writer Frederick Buechner says, ‘The grace of God means something like: "Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us... I love you." If you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, as you look back over 2023 and as you look ahead to 2024 you have nothing to fear, because the Lord who loves you says in His Word: ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ God is so kind, so good, so gracious, he can work all things for our greater good, and His greater glory. As we close out our morning and our year, we’re going to sing about God’s glory with a song that will have a familiar melody, but maybe words which are unfamiliar. Would you stand if you’re able…

  • All Glory Be To Christ

17 December: Liturgy + Set List

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  • WONDER AND GIFT

  • COME THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS

  • ADVENT HYMN/COME BEHOLD THE WONDROUS MYSTERY

    Readings: Ruth 4:13-17, Matthew 1:1-6a

    Sermon: Ruth 1-4

    God is not, and cannot be cruel. God is and does good. And my hope and prayer for you and me is that regardless of the past, regardless of the present, regardless of the future - we will be able to say with the Psalmist:

    Psalm 40:16-17

    But may all who seek you

    rejoice and be glad in you;

    may those who love your salvation

    say continually, “Great is the LORD!”

    As for me, I am poor and needy,

    but the Lord takes thought for me.

    You are my help and my deliverer;

    do not delay, O my God!

  • O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

  • LIGHT OF THE WORLD (SING HALLELUJAH)

    Benediction

Liturgical Resources

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“Tradition is a set of solutions for which we have forgotten the problems.” - Donald Kingsbury

I love hymns.

I love that liturgy forms us as disciples.

I love how reading, singing, and praying ancient words remind us that we are connected to a global Church that spans culture, continent, language, and generation.

Although some of my early church experience involved elements of formal liturgy, it was not until I was in college that I began to encounter liturgical rhythms and resources.

Other worship leaders, pastors, and liturgists would talk about the Church Calendar, seasonal colors, readings, prayers, and the intentional movements of the liturgy - but I could not understand how they knew all of that information. As I tried to find my feet in this context, the Worship Sourcebook was one of my most helpful resources. Explaining the seasons, and giving prayers, readings, confessions, and responsive elements for each season, and every service. Even as my understanding of Liturgical rhythms and the library of books has grown - this is always one of the first places I turn as I think, pray, and plan services.

More recently, I have incorporated the Book of Common Prayer into my preparation. A few of the elements I have come to appreciate about the BCP is that many prayers are incredibly succinct. Although I love using the Valley of Vision during times of personal devotion, I value the accessibility in language and the brevity of word count used in the BCP when it comes to corporate worship.

I think it is important to speak to current events in the gathering, but sometimes those events can feel like landmines in a service. But the BCP has a prayer for countless realities of living in a fallen world. When I can’t find my own words, when a topic feels important but delicate - I look for the ways the BCP can guide our congregation’s prayer and response.

How about you? Are there resources you use regularly that you have found helpful in thinking and planning intentionally for the gathering?