12 March: Liturgy + Set List

• GLORIOUS DAY

  Call to Worship: Psalm 24:7-10

  We get to do this as we gather - lift our eyes, lift our hearts, lift our lives to behold the King of Glory. But that only occurs when the Holy Spirit does what only the Holy Spirit can do - lead us in all truth, and reveal more of the character and identity of Jesus. We have been in the Gospel of Mark for several weeks, and we have seen the question about Jesus’ identity come up several times - ‘who then is this…’ this is the King of Glory. And this morning we will learn a new song that both asks and answers the question of Jesus’ identity - the one and only, the Holy God. We’ll teach you the chorus first, it goes like this:

• ONLY A HOLY GOD

• COME THOU FOUNT

  More than words we sing, that song is really the testimony of every follower of Jesus, because we all are prone to wander, we all are faithless. And still, God always remains faithful. We are entering the third week of Lent. And if the whole of your journey of faith has been as a part of churches that look and feel like ours, the season of Lent and its rhythms may feel unfamiliar to you. Because in Lent we pause, we reflect on our sins, we look to the cross, we confess our sins to God, and one another, we repent and turn from our sins, and turn to Christ. These rhythms and practices do not belong to a specific denomination, but they belong to the people of God. So we are going to spend some time now in quiet reflection, as you find your story in those words we have just sung - prone to wander - and we look with joy to the cross. Then we will confess our sins to God and one another:

  Corporate Confession

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. [From the Book of Common Prayer]

Brothers and sisters, hear the good news - God does not treat us as our sins deserve. He is faithful when we are faithless.

Sermon: Mark 5:1-20

No true encounter with Jesus ever leaves us the same. And if you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, you were not a good person made better by Jesus, you were not even a demon-possessed person freed by Jesus, you were a dead person who has been made alive in Christ. Let’s behold the power, wonder, grace, mercy, and kindness of the Lord. Would you stand if you’re able, we’ll sing together:

• RAISE UP THE CROWN (ALL HAIL THE POWER)

• GRAVES INTO GARDENS

  Benediction: Jude 1:24-25

8 May: Liturgy + Set List

• GOD SO LOVED

  Call to Worship

  Parent Commissioning

• GRAVES INTO GARDENS

• LORD, I NEED YOU

  Sermon: James 1:12-18

  If you are here this morning sitting in a trial if you are here this morning aware of how you have been lured away and enticed to sin from your distorted desires if you are here this morning sitting in the consequences of your own brokenness, let all of those things be to you an invitation to return to the Lord. Return to the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul, our good and gracious God. Let’s stand and sing in response to God’s Word preached:

• COME THOU FOUNT

3 April: Liturgy + Set List

• YES AND AMEN

Welcome to this fifth Sunday of Lent. Let’s hear God call us to worship through His Word:

Call to Worship: Psalm 50

My hope and prayer in this season of Lent are that we are awakened afresh and anew to the deep darkness of our own sin and brokenness, and awakened afresh and anew to the glory of God and His grace and kindness toward us in and through the work of Jesus. Because of what Christ has done for you, you are adopted into the family of God, with God as your Father. If you are here this morning as a follower of Christ, God is not apathetic or indifferent toward you, He is not distant or an acquaintance, you are an adopted and redeemed child of God. Not only has God reconciled Himself to us through Christ, but he has also reconciled us one to another. We were once enemies of God, we were once enemies of one another, now we are a part of the new family of God. Let’s celebrate those truths as brothers and sisters this morning.

• IS HE WORTHY

• MY JESUS I LOVE THEE

Sermon: Joshua 22

If we truly grasped the depth to which Christ descended to redeem us from our sin, how quick we would be to confess our sin to God, and to one another. How quick we would be to pursue one another in our wandering and sin, and walk together toward repentance and faith. All sin is first and foremost against God, but we also sin against one another. Your spiritual stuff is my spiritual stuff, my spiritual stuff is your spiritual stuff because we belong together as the family of God. So let’s practice our repentance and faith together, would you stand as we confess our sin to God and to one another.

Corporate Confession:

Almighty God, we confess how hard it is to be Your people. You have called us to be the church, to continue the mission of Jesus Christ to our lonely and confused world. Yet we acknowledge we are more apathetic than active, isolated than involved, callous than compassionate, obstinate than obedient, legalistic than loving.

Gracious Lord, have mercy upon us and forgive our sins. Remove the obstacles preventing us from being Your representatives to a broken world. Awaken our hearts to the promised gift of your indwelling Spirit. This we pray in Jesus’ powerful name. Amen.

[From the Worship Sourcebook]

Brothers and sisters, family of God, hear the good news: there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let your brothers and sisters in Christ be living markers of God’s faithfulness and redemptive work to you as His people.

• COME THOU FOUNT

• LION AND THE LAMB

Benediction: Romans 15:13

Preparing For A New Sermon Series

Starting a new sermon series can feel like starting a new school year - excitement, anticipation, maybe some nerves as you find your feet. As worship leaders, we have the opportunity to come alongside pastors and leaders to shape the corporate gathering to clearly articulate the thrust of the sermon series.

One of the rhythms that have been most helpful for me is sitting down with the pastor, elders, teaching team - whoever is responsible for preparing the series and will be preaching the sermons - to walk through the entire series. Look at a 30,000-foot view of the sermon series - the number of weeks, what texts, themes, and main points for each particular Sunday. These conversations enable me to fit weekly setlists into a broader framework of the entire series. If you do not have regular meetings with your pastor and elders, here are a few questions I always when looking toward a new sermon series:

• What do you hope people walk away understanding about God, the Church, themselves, etc?

• Why is this the right time for this sermon series?

• What are the main themes you will be drawing out throughout our time?

• Are there additional resources you’re using in your preparation (books, articles, other sermon series) that you think would be helpful for me to spend time digesting?

• Are there things that you would like to see incorporated into the rhythm of our gathering during this series?

• Are there songs that you think would fit well for this series?

Whether or not you have a meeting with your pastor to talk through each sermon in a new series week by week, one of the most helpful practices I have found in my own preparation is spending time in the text that will be preached. If you are preaching through an entire book of the Bible, do not just take it week to week, read the book in its entirety - again and again. Be familiar with the storyline, the themes, the movement and arc of the story. Again, a broader framework will help you build from week to week in a way that will make the entire series feel connected. Read some commentaries, or study Bibles to understand a little bit more. the Bible Project’s overview videos on the books of the Bible, and certain themes and words I find very helpful in preparation as well.

• Similar to asking questions of the pastor, here are questions that I always ask myself as well:

• What songs will work well with these themes and texts?

• Where are the holes in our song inventory? What do we need to be saying in this series that is not currently a part of our master song list?

• What liturgical elements will help our people respond to the truths from God’s Word?

• How do I need to equip the team’s understanding of this series so they are able to lead people, not just songs?

If you are preparing for a new sermon series, you may find these posts helpful as well:

Creating a Song Inventory.

Worship Leader Checklist (free download).

Building a Set List.

Connecting Songs + Sermons.

August 29: Set List + Liturgy

• THIS IS AMAZING GRACE

Call To Worship: Psalm 40:9-10

Part of the reason we gather is to remind one another about the saving work, the great deliverance of God, His steadfast love and faithfulness. We know these things in our minds, but often our lives do not reflect that we recognize these things are true. So when we sing, we sing to God, yes, but we also sing to one another reminding each other about the heart and character of our God. So lets sing to Him, and sing to one another.

• HIS MERCY IS MORE

• NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD

Read + Pray in Response: Psalm 106:47

SERMON: Psalm 133

Relationships are hard work. We never drift toward unity or oneness - it is always hard fought. But the unity we see displayed in this passage, unity which commands a blessing, is not anything you and I can summon in our own strength and power. This unity is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in us, through us and among us. And I think part of walking with the Holy Spirit toward unity and oneness with one another is recognizing God has already crossed the greater divide to reconcile, to redeem, to unify sinful people to Himself - a Holy God. Maybe one of the reasons we see such division among Christ-followers is because we don’t actually believe that is true - we look at others and think ‘Yeah, God had to cross the greater divide for those sinners over there, but He didn’t really have to cross too great of a divide to reconcile this sinner right here.’ Brothers and sisters, that is a lie. We all stand in great need of the redeeming, reconciling, unifying work of God. And if God can be reconciled to sinful people, who are we to not work toward unity and oneness with our brothers and sisters. Let’s use the words of this song to recognize the redeeming, reconciling, unifying work of Christ on our behalf.

• COME BEHOLD THE WONDROUS MYSTERY

• YES AND AMEN

Connecting Songs and Sermons

There is a critical 90 seconds every Sunday morning. That sliver of time between the end of the sermon, and the song. Part of our role as worship leaders is to connect what happens on a Sunday morning with all of life. To make sense of what we have heard in the Word preached, to fuel our worship in song and response. But many worship leaders struggle to feel competent and capable when it comes to speaking and communicating verbally to the congregation. If you struggle with knowing how to take advantage of those moments to hit home with the pieces of the sermon, and connect them to the songs of response, here are some suggestions:

Listen to the sermon. Be present and engaged, even taking notes of things you want to remember personally, and want to communicate to the congregation following the sermon. Don’t use the sermon as a time to check out mentally, or physically.

Read the text beforehand. Spend time in the particular Scripture passage being taught in your own time of preparation for Sunday morning. What do you see? What do you notice about who God is, what He has done, and how He has called us to live?

Speak with the preacher. Find out where the preacher is headed for the weekend. What are some of the main points? Any additional passages they will be using? How are they wanting to land the sermon? What is the one thing they hope people remember and take away from the weekend?

Connect everything to Jesus. Read the Jesus Storybook Bible. Sally Lloyd Jones does an amazing job of connecting every story to Jesus. How does the sermon/text and the morning point our lives, and lift our eyes to Christ?

Plan beforehand. After speaking with the preacher, and spending time in the text, and considering your final song(s), write down some thoughts about how you could connect the songs and sermon verbally. Practice speaking out loud to get used to hearing yourself connect and communicate in that way.

Write it down. As you continue to grow as a verbal communicator, write everything down. You can manuscript what you want to communicate so that you don’t miss any part of what you intended to say. Reading something that is written, will help to build confidence and familiarity, rather than trying to hold everything in your mind, and stumbling over your words.

Remember there is grace as we grow. Let’s not miss the opportunity to take those critical 90 seconds and point people to Jesus.