Gathering

5 May: Liturgy + Set List

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  • PSALM 134 (BLESS THE LORD

    Call to Worship: Psalm 84

    God is present everywhere, always. But at the time of this Psalm, the presence of God dwelt among his people in the temple. But now, because of the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Holy Spirit - the presence of God dwells in the heart of every follower of Christ. And perhaps we are never more aware of the presence of God because He is uniquely present when the people of God gather because he inhabits our praises, he is in our midst by the power of the Spirit. With our feet on the ground here in North Carolina, because of Christ we stand in the very presence of God, and God is in our midst right here and right now. We sing to a God who is not far from us, but has drawn near to us in and through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Let’s sing about who he is and what he’s done…

  • REJOICE

  • THIS I BELIEVE (THE CREED)

    Sermon: Ephesians 2:19-22

    If you are here this morning as a follower of Christ, you have not been saved to be a person, you have been saved to be a people. The people of God, the family of God, the dwelling place of God, the temple of God. And together we’ll remind ourselves of who we were, what Christ has done, and who has called us to be. Let’s read from Ephesians 2…

    LEADER:
    And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world,
    following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
    ALL:
    among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—

    LEADER:
    by grace you have been saved—

    ALL:

    and raised us up with him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
    in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

    LEADER:
    For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

    ALL:
    For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Let’s sing a song that has been on the lips of the Church for generations…

  • DOXOLOGY

  • IS HE WORTHY

    Benediction

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: