Gathering

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

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.

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

24 December: Liturgy + Set List

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  • WONDER AND GIFT

  • O COME LET US ADORE HIM

  • O COME O COME EMMANUEL

    If you have been with us this Advent season you know that we have been looking at the mothers of Jesus - women in the genealogy of Jesus. And we have said throughout this series, ‘The kind of people Jesus came from reveals the kind of people Jesus came for.’ And what Scripture tells us is that Christ came to win for Himself, to purchase with His blood, a bride made up of people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and language on the earth. This is part of what the angels say to the shepherds, ‘This is good news of great joy which will be for all the people.’ And this morning we get to hear some of our people - who call Life Church home - read us the story of this good news in a few of the languages representing the people Jesus came for:

    Luke 2:1-7 (in Spanish), Luke 2:8-13 (in Vietnamese), Luke 2:14-20 (in English)

  • COME THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS

    Sermon: 2 Samuel 11:1-27

    I love what the Psalmist says - even the darkness is not dark to you, for the night is as bright as the day. This is Jesus, the Light of the World illuminating the darkness of our sin, the darkness of our lives, the darkness of the world. Let’s sing about Him, and to Him, and to one another - would you stand if you’re able…

  • LIGHT OF THE WORLD (SING HALLELUJAH)

    Reading: John 1:9-18

    We light a candle to remember that Jesus is the Light of the World. And if you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, you carry the very life and light of Christ in you and with you as you walk into a darkened world.

  • SILENT NIGHT (SON OF GOD, SON OF MAN)

  • O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

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?

Participation Vs Observation

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“The church must worship, and worship and entertainment are at opposite ends of the table.” - A.W. Tozer

I have been thinking quite a bit about the line between worship and entertainment these days. In part because over the past 18 months, our church has been in the process of finding quotes, establishing a budget, raising money, and seeking grant monies for a major audio-visual update of our space. More than just the physical reality of new equipment, we have had to determine how our convictions shape not only the kind of equipment we purchase but how it is used during the weekly gathering.

Like many things in our world, there is an opportunity for polarization when it comes to style, equipment, and the implementation of technology in the corporate gathering. There are churches by conviction or default have a simple setup. Sometimes these churches will accuse the high production value of another church of being distracting, performative, and putting on a concert rather than leading people in worship. And there are churches that are early adopters of new technology, always at the cutting edge of the latest and greatest technology, style, or song. These churches can often accuse simpler churches of being distracting, unwilling to use technology to engage the world, and behind the times.

Everyone has personal preferences tied up in music, volume, aesthetics, and style that are important to acknowledge. I think it’s also important to acknowledge that in many cases the convictions we carry about the implementation of technology and how we chase the latest and greatest or cling to simplicity is a second and third-tier issue. Jesus-loving, Bible-believing Christians can hold different convictions around these ideas and still be in fellowship with one another.

This is an area that can be gray. But I have started wondering if we are asking the wrong questions. Perhaps the better questions here would be: Are the decisions we make encouraging participation or observation?

Participation is worship - it is liturgy - the work of the people. Observation is entrainment - it is passive and encourages consumerism.

I believe in some ways this question frees us to make decisions with our unique congregation in mind. It does however require an awareness of the culture, the people we serve, and a clear philosophy of worship that is rooted in something longer-lasting than style and technology.

Are the decisions we make encouraging participation or observation? In some ways, this question seems almost pre-Reformation. One of the things we see during the Reformation is the tendency all Christians have to outsource their faith to “the professionals.” The Mass was observed in a language many did not speak or understand - they became passive observers, rather than active participants. What was true 500 years ago is true today - participation is an essential part of the corporate gathering.

19 November: Liturgy + Set List

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  • HOLY HOLY HOLY

    Call to Worship: Psalm 63:1-8

    God’s love is stronger than death, and better than life. That is reason to sing….

  • ALL I HAVE IS CHRIST

  • HOLY (JESUS YOU ARE)

    Sermon: Mark 12:28-34

    Scripture says ‘we love because He first loved us.’ You can only love to the degree you understand how deeply, truly, and completely you’ve been loved by God. You can only forgive to the degree you understand how deeply, truly, and completely you’ve been forgiven in Christ. You can only give of yourself to the degree to which you realize you have been given all things in Christ. Let’s sing about those truths together. Would you stand if you’re able…

  • FORGIVEN FOREVER

  • HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US

    Benediction

12 November: Liturgy + Set List

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  • GRACE ALONE

    Let’s hear God call us to worship from His word - if you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, this is what is true of you:

    Call to Worship: Romans 5:1-6

    We are justified by faith, have peace with God, we have access and faith, we stand in grace, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, our suffering is not meaningless, God has poured His love into our hearts, we have been given the Holy Spirit, we are weak, but Christ has died for us. Those are reasons to sing and celebrate:

  • GLORIOUS DAY

  • I STAND AMAZED (HOW MARVELOUS)

    Sermon: Mark 12:18-27

    When my family lived in England, every funeral would begin with the entire congregation gathered outside and together we would walk in reading this passage:

    The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23)

    In life and in death, and in the life to come - if you are in Christ - goodness and mercy will follow after you, would you stand if you’re able and we’ll sing together:

  • GOODNESS OF GOD

  • LIVING HOPE

    Benediction

Advent Preparation

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We are only a few weeks away from the Advent season. One of the elements that has helped mark out this time as special for me in the last few years has been writing an Advent devotional. Collecting these quotes, prayers, Scripture, and writings helps set my attention and affection on the coming of Christ during a particularly busy season in the life of the Church.

If you are looking for something for you, your church, or your team, here are links to the last several years. I’ll also be posting a new Advent devotional in the weeks ahead.

If you’re looking for some practical resources for worship leaders, worship teams, or church here are some posts from previous years:

Teaching Concepts

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So many things seem normal and common when they are familiar. If you have grown up in church, or at least been in a church long enough to sense the rhythms and liturgy, to use context clues with language and word choice, you likely know this to be true. There are so many aspects to the gathering of the local church that might seem confusing if you have no context.

Why do we sing?

Why do we lift our hands?

Who leads us into God’s presence?

Why should we gather with the people of God?

Why do we sing and celebrate so much about the cross and blood of Christ?

Worship leaders are more than musicians or vocalists, we are theologians, and teachers. Sometimes I wonder if worship leaders do not lean into the responsibility to teach our people why these things matter, because we do not understand why these things matter. But everything becomes more meaningful when you know the story, the history, the intention, and the direction behind what is happening and why.

We cannot force people to worship rightly. We cannot lead well enough, or competently enough to will someone to worship. But we can shepherd people’s attention and affection toward Christ by teaching the truth in our songs, in our transitions, in our prayers, and in our liturgical choices. We can work to provide the context to make sense of raised hands, the purpose of singing, the power of the gathered people, and the only hope that is ours through Christ.

For a worship leader, teaching does not (and perhaps, nor should it) look like spending 20-45 minutes walking through a text of Scripture. But maybe it does look like spending 20-45 seconds thoughtfully articulating the concept behind a song, the definition of words, or a deeper theological truth that through the power of the Holy Spirit could open up the hearts and minds of our people to respond in wholehearted worship, wonder and praise.

11 June: Liturgy + Set List

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  • REJOICE

    Call to Worship: Exodus 34:6-8

    This is the posture of a worship - God reveals Himself, and we bow our lives. Many churches, denominations and Christians love to emphasize God’s transcendence - that He is holy, set apart, glorious and other than us. And still other churches, denominations, and Christian’s emphasize God’s immanence - that God is near, knowable, and close. But the reality is God is both of these things, fully, and completely at the exact same time. He is transcendent and immanent at once. One of the things that has struck me during our time in the 10 Commandments is how God has always desires to be near His people. We see this throughout Scripture, from the Garden of Eden, to the 10 Commandments, to the temple, tabernacle, and sacrificial system, and ultimately we see that through the person and work of Jesus. And this morning we are going to teach you a song that I hope will help us to hold both of these ideas together: God’s transcendence and God’s immanence:

  • HOLY FOREVER

  • A THOUSAND HALLELUJAHS

    Sermon: Exodus 20:7

    An opportunity to live on mission and restrain evil in the world: World Relief donation drive.

  • ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING

    Benediction