Liturgy

Prayer In The Corporate Gathering

in , ,

Prayer is important for the individual believer as well as in the corporate gathering of a body of believers. But I have often experienced prayer during the church gatherings in two extremes: beautifully poetic, staggeringly long pastoral prayers, and casual transitions. There may be a time and place for each of these kinds of prayers, but if we are serious about discipling our people, we need to consider how to lead and incorporate prayer more intentionally than:

Dead space? Prayer!

Transitioning between elements in the gathering? Prayer!

Changing a CAPO? Prayer!

Not sure what to do or say next? Prayer!

While there are many types of prayer, when thinking about the corporate gathering, I consider two primary categories for prayer: individual and corporate. How are we making space for both individual prayer - encouraging people to speak and listen to God personally, and directly as one member of the Body? And how are we using prayers to unite our hearts, profess our faith, and confess our sin together as the Body (corporate prayer)?

Here are some types of individual and corporate prayer that I believe every local expression of the Body of Christ would be well-served to incorporate more frequently:

Prayer of Illumination. A prayer said before the reading and preaching of God’s Word. Inviting the Holy Spirit to do what only the Holy Spirit can do, reveal Jesus to us by giving us eyes to see, ears to hear, minds to understand, hearts to love, and lives to obey.

Prayer of Confession. While taking Communion we may encourage people to examine their hearts and confess their sin (as instructed in 1 Corinthians 11), but are we leading and encouraging people to acknowledge their sin, confess their sin, repent of their sin, and turn from their sin as a regular part of our gathering? I am often personally convicted of how I assume God’s grace and forgiveness, and do not feel actually learn to regularly confess of my sin to the One who stands ready and willing to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Prayer of Lament. We know that the world is not as it should be, but we can be tempted to rush past reality of living in a broken world by saying, ‘But God is making all things new, it will be okay in the end, I should just trust Him…’ All of those things are true, but we can help our people learn to hold the tension of the already and not yet of this life of faith by acknowledging the world’s brokenness while at the same time resting and trusting in God’s good plan.

Praying Scripture. As our church has been in a sermon series on the Psalms of Ascent, each week I have read a handful of verses from a particular Psalm and prayed in response to what I have read. Taking God’s Word and praying it back to him in my own words - my hope is that this makes the connection for people that they too can read God’s Word and pray God’s Word.

Prayers of the Church. Using the Book of Common Prayer, the Valley of Vision, or resources like the Worship Sourcebook can be helpful resources to unite our voices in the room, to the voices of the Church throughout history as we pray corporately, and/or responsively to Truth handed down through the saints of old.

Written Prayers. It can be easy to slip into rhythms and patterns of prayer that say similar things again and again when you are praying extemporaneously. Maybe you could write a prayer specifically for the people you serve to pray with you, aloud, or simply by leaning in to actively participate in prayer as you read or pray.

What kinds of prayers have served your people well in the corporate gathering and beyond?

September 12: Liturgy + Set List

in , ,

  • ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING

Call To Worship: To all who are weary and need rest, to all who mourn and long for comfort, to all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares, To all who fail and desire strength, To all who sin and need a Savior, This church opens wide her doors with a welcome from Jesus Christ, the Ally of His enemies, the Defender of the guilty, the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners, welcome. [10th Presbyterian Church]

The human heart is one prone to forget. So we mark days that have marked us to remember. One of the reasons the Church globally gathers on Sunday is to remember the day that Jesus rose from the grave. Every Sunday is a mini Resurrection Sunday, a mini Easter celebration remembering that Jesus was dead but now is alive. Yesterday we remembered it has been 20 years since September 11, 2001. A day that has marked us as a people, a nation, and the world in subtle and significant ways. It is good to remember. When we walk through these doors we remember that we live in a broken world and we ourselves are broken. We do not take a break from reality for an hour or so, we carry these remembrances with us and remember a deeper truth, a deeper reality - and that is that Jesus is alive, ruling, and reigning. Seated at the right hand of the Father. The One who created the universe sustains it by the word of His power, there is nothing that has ever happen that has surprised Him, nothing has threatened to topple His rule as King, and there is nothing so broken that He cannot redeem and restore, that He cannot turn for His purpose and plan, for His glory and our good. So we remember that Jesus is alive. We remember September 11th. We remember the brokenness of the world and the brokenness of our sin, and we remember that Jesus is alive, sovereignly ruling, and reigning. Let these songs be songs of remembrance, remembering the heart and character of our Savior and King.

  • IS HE WORTHY

  • GOODNESS OF GOD

Message: Ephesians 5:25-27

Christ cares and cared enough for His Church to lay down His life for Her - She may be bruised, but She has never been and will never be a lost cause. We are going to sing ‘Jesus Paid It All’ - and I want you to sing this as someone who has sinned, and someone who has been sinned against. And I want you to remember the blood of Jesus is enough to cover the sin you have committed, and it is enough to cover the sin against you. We sing not hoarding forgiveness, because the blood of Christ is not just for me, not just for you, but for His Bride. We sing as the sinner, the sinned against. We sing as the forgiven Bride of Christ.

  • JESUS PAID IT ALL

  • IN CHRIST ALONE

September 5: Set List + Liturgy

in , ,

  • DOXOLOGY (AMEN)

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 16

  • KING OF KINGS

  • BE THOU MY VISION

Read and Pray in Response: Psalm 119:1-8

Sermon: Psalm 134

Worship is always costly. And the cost is always your life. Worship does not turn on and off but is the continuous outpouring of your life - all your affection, all your attention. And because worship is the continuous outpouring of your life, sin does not stop your worship, it redirects your worship to created things rather than the Creator. The cost of this worship always leads to death. But worship that is rightly aimed at God will still cost you your life, but for the follower of Jesus, dying to self always leads to life in Christ. We gather as people who can echo the hymn writer - that we are prone to wander, and we feel it. We gather to say to God and remind one another, here is our heart - our rightly ordered, rightly aimed worship - take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above. We are going to respond in songs of worship, that will fuel lives of worship. Let’s sing.

  • COME THOU FOUNT

  • LIVING HOPE

August 29: Set List + Liturgy

in ,

  • 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

Rubrics

in , ,

They same communication is the key to every relationship. The same is true in the relationship between worship leaders and the congregation. I often find many rhythms of our church gatherings are communicated non-verbally, as the congregation grows familiar with the types of patterns that exist in your church. They learn when to stand when to sit when to sing, when to bow their heads, and when to leave. Knowing what to expect is helpful - especially for those new to attending your church, or even those new to faith - but knowing why we are doing something is more helpful. This is the purpose of rubrics.

A detailed description from Brian Chapell’s book ‘Christ-Centered Worship’ is valuable here:

“…rubrics are the little directions that appear in the bulletin or are voiced by the worship leader to lead the congregation through the conduct of worship.  The rubrics are not the major elements of the worship service, but rather are the instructive transitions that tell the congregation what to do and why.  Rubrics verbally tie together key aspects of the worship service, explaining their purpose and sequence in relation to the theme(s) of the entire service.  Skilled use of rubrics helps the worship service to make sense and move along with clarity, purpose, and attitudes appropriate for each element.”  pg 203

When you attend a worship service that feels disconnect or disjointed, there are two possibilities: one, those responsible for planning the service did not have a clear understanding or intention behind assembling the pieces for the gathering. Or two, a worship leader, pastor, or service leader has failed to connect the service for those attending through helpful rubrics.

Bryan Chapell again:

Without rubrics, a worship service is just a spill of spiritual vegetables (we know the individual pieces are good for us, but they have no apparent order or purpose).  With rubrics, a worship service becomes a gospel feast carefully prepared and sequenced to communicate the grace of God.  But this caution is needed: too many rubrics or rubrics that are too long distract from the meal.  They should enrich the courses designed for our spiritual dining, not compete with them.  pg 204

If we as worship leaders are going to begin to engage helpful rubrics for our congregations, we must first understand the why behind everything that we are doing.

Why do we sing?

Why do we pray?

Why do we gather?

Why is God’s Word preached?

Why are we singing this song?

Why are we including this aspect of our gathering?

Why is our service in this order?

Why are we using this reading or saying this prayer?

Why this and not that?

When we ask why, we begin to expose all of the ways we have been forming - or sometimes malforming - our people. When we learn to answer the why with something more significant than ‘this is the way it’s always been done,’ or ‘this is what we do in church,’ we can begin to articulate rubrics for our people in ways that help them move through the ‘courses designed for our spiritual dining…’

22 August: Set List + Liturgy

in ,

  • ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK

Our world is not as it should be. Sin has warped and distorted and broken everyone and everything. Even creation itself groans under the weight of sin. Maybe you have experienced that first hand this week, or maybe you are aware of it as you have seen the devastation of another earthquake in Haiti and the chaos of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. Maybe you are thinking, ‘those things are sad, but I don’t live in Haiti or Afghanistan…’. One of the reasons we gather as the people of God is to be reminded that we belong together. If you are a follower of Jesus, you have not been saved just to be an individual, but have been saved to be a part of a family, a part of a Body of Christ, His Church. And if you are a member of this church, you belong to this local expression of the Body of Christ, but every follower of Jesus is also a member of the Global, Universal Church - the Body of Christ made up of followers of Jesus from every tribe, every tongue, every language and every nation on the planet throughout time, and history, even now. And right now, we have brothers and sisters, members of our family who we will never meet this side of eternity in Haiti and Afghanistan who are experiencing the weight and the brokenness of sin in a very acute way - and that should grieve us. But as followers of Jesus, we are people that hold tensions. We hold the tension of acknowledging that there is sin and brokenness in the world, and at the same time acknowledging that there is a firm foundation, a solid rock which is Christ - the One who will return to set all things right and make all things new. That is lament - grief and hope, grief with expectation, grief with anticipation of what God will do. We will continue in worship praying this prayer of lament particularly on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Haiti and Afghanistan.

PRAYER OF LAMENT:

LEADER:

Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?

    Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

ALL:

Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand;

    forget not the afflicted.

LEADER:

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

    How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul

    and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

ALL:

But I have trusted in Your steadfast love;

    my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

ALL:

Deliver us, O Lord, from evil men;

    preserve us from violent men, 

who plan evil things in their heart

    and stir up wars continually.

We know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,

    and will execute justice for the needy.

Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;

    the upright shall dwell in Your presence.

(Psalm 10:1-2, 12, Psalm 13:1-2,5-6, from Psalm 140:1-2, 12-13)

  • GRACE ALONE

  • BUILD MY LIFE

Sermon: Psalm 132

  • EVER BE

Communion

  • RAISE UP THE CROWN (ALL HAIL THE POWER)

Gospel Song Liturgy

in , ,

Song choice is important. Individual songs tell a story, and we contribute to a larger story in how we arrange those songs in creating setlists. While key, tempo, and your preference are worth considering, they are certainly not the most intentional way to create setlists.

Over the years I have tried many ways to create setlists that tell a cohesive story. But the most helpful way I have found is through what I call the ‘Gospel Song Liturgy.’ I was first exposed to this concept through these two episodes of the Doxology and Theology Podcast: The Worship Leader and Missions and Creating A Liturgy. This podcast in general, and these episodes, in particular, are well worth your time. The idea of the Gospel Song Liturgy is to tell the story of the Gospel throughout your setlist: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration, and Glorification.

You may be tempted to believe this is too restrictive or too complicated - I thought the same until I began using this framework. One of the unexpected benefits of this framework for me has been the way it has exposed the gaps or holes in the master song list I use to assemble my setlists. I may have plenty of songs that speak to the sacrifice of Christ (Redemption), but not enough songs that speak to the sovereign rule and reign of God (Creation), or the reality that Christ has reconciled us to God and our fellow man (Restoration).

So where do we begin? With understanding the basic movements of the Gospel Song Liturgy:

CREATION

Where does creation begin? With God. ‘In the beginning God…’ (Gen 1:1).

The sovereignty, rule, and reign of God extends from eternity past even before He created time, space, and formed the world. He is the ‘…only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see (1 Tim 6:15-16),’ and He alone is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise. As we gather to worship, there will be those who are following Christ, and those who do not. And both groups need to be reminded of the transcendent reality of our great God in a world overwhelmed by fear, and uncertainty. Our lives and circumstances may seem out of control, but nothing is ever beyond His control. “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.” Ps 115:3

FALL

Sin has distorted, warped, and broken everything and everyone. As we gather God’s people, some enter acutely aware of this reality – addiction, illness, suffering, death, fractured relationships, fears, the list is endless. Those people need to be reminded that they are not alone in their sin – here we are as a family of the wounded walking looking to our Suffering Servant King (Isaiah 53). As we gather, some enter believing like the Pharisee’s that outward law-keeping, rule-following, a polished perfect life shakes free the stain of sin and makes us right with God. As we gather, some enter with an awareness of sin lying dormant, waiting to be awoken by the Holy Spirit.

It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, and repentance only comes with the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit (Rom 2:4). So we do not run from the reality of sin and brokenness in our world and in our lives as we gather. In fact, as we trust the kindness of God to reveal the beauty and perfection of Christ, we will come face-to-face with the depth of depravity that is the human heart… thankfully this is not where the story ends.

REDEMPTION

If our Sunday services only acknowledged the reality of our broken Genesis 3 lives (The Fall), and did not continue to tell the whole story, we would be without hope. But it is exactly here – in Genesis 3 – where God promises Redemption. Redemption has been accomplished by the perfect life and perfect sacrifice of God’s perfect Son, Jesus Christ. ‘It is finished (Jn 19:30),’ is the victory cry of our redemption. ‘It is finished,’ is the deathblow to the consequences of our sin, which is death (Rom 6:23). So we want our songs, order, and services to allow people to look at their own sin – which is their death – and look at the death of Christ – which is their life. ‘And He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. And the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.’ Isaiah 25:8

RESTORATION

The redemptive work of Christ has restored and secured right relationship between God and man. When we are united with Christ, we are clothed in His righteousness and it is His perfect sacrifice that allows us to come boldly before the throne of grace crying, ‘Abba!’ (1 Tim 2:5, Col 2:11-12, 2 Col 5:21, Heb 4:16, Rom 8:15). Christ has also restored and reconciled us one to another in the family of God. He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility and made a people – a family – from strangers, foreigners, enemies, representing languages, cultures, ages, understandings, backgrounds of men and women, boys and girls (Eph 2:14-18, 1 Pet 2:9-10). And He will one day restore all creation – which even now groans under the weight of sin, death, and decay (Rom 8:19, Rev 21). So we sing with joy knowing that we have been restored. And we sing with hope, longing, and expectation when together face-to-face with the Father, side by side with our brothers and sisters, and in the new heavens and new earth we will fully realize our restoration for all eternity.

GLORIFICATION

Glorification is the ultimate consummation of Christ and the Church being united together for all eternity (Rev 19:6-9). Glorification will be the place where we see face-to-face, that which is perfectly seen in the face of Christ. It will be the place where we see free from the veil of sin. It will be the place where we know fully those things we have only known in part. It will be the place where we perfectly reflect God’s glory back to God, to one another, and out into the world (1 Cor 13:12, 2 Cor 4:6, 2 Cor 3:18). In the glorious presence of God, in glorified bodies, before a glorified Savior, we will live fully, perfectly, completely to the glory of God alone (Ps 145:5, Phil 3:20-21, Ps 86:12). So as we lead ourselves, pray that God would open our eyes to His glory. Then we serve our people praying that the Holy Spirit would open their eyes to the glory of God. And from God’s revelation of Himself, we respond by holding up the mirrors of our lives to reflect God’s glory back to Him, and to the world. Now in part. Then in full. Always for His glory, forever.

Creating Liturgical Rhythms

in , ,

Last week I wrote about liturgy. All worshipers are in fact liturgists, but worship leaders carry a unique responsibility to intentionally form the liturgy of our gathered time to form worshipers holistically.

How do we begin to think and plan intentionally in regard to the liturgy of our services?

IDENTIFY YOUR CURRENT LITURGY.

Do you have a set flow of service or number of songs? Do you share communion weekly, quarterly? What is the time allotted to each portion of the gathered service? As you think about worship as formation and discipleship, what elements would like to see more/less during the service? Even if your structure changes frequently as you look back you will see specific patterns emerge in the liturgical life of your church.

SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE OF…

…The People. Spiritual formation and discipleship does not happen overnight. Part of moving people in this journey of formation is identifying where they are right now. Is your church full of new Believers? Intellectuals and academics? Young families? What is the overall spiritual maturity and understanding of those you are leading?

…The Service. To begin integrating more liturgical rhythms into a weekly service we have to think outside of the weekly service. What is the current sermon series? What has been taught over the last six months? Where are the leaders headed after this sermon series? What themes are emerging in our churches, cities, cultures, and the world which need time to be absorbed deeply into the weekly rhythms?

…The Church. The Church is a body made up of many individuals. Being actively involved in the life of your church (apart from your role on a Sunday) as well as being in relationship with others in your church will help you have a sense of the overall direction of the Church. What things are your leaders noticing and wanting to pursue for the health of the community? Are there themes or patterns occurring at the moment? Where do the leaders of the church see the church in five, ten, twenty years?

INTEGRATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

As you begin to identify your church-specific liturgical rhythms in view of the bigger picture, you can begin filling in the places of formation. Scripture and prayer are two easy entry points for those new to intentional liturgy. With limited service time, worship leaders may be tempted to view Scripture and prayer as mere transitions as you tune an instrument, change a CAPO, or move from one element of the service into another. But crafting an intentional liturgy asks you to view the use of Scripture and prayer with as much thought as song choice.

The following are a few traditional liturgical elements that can begin to give some shape for the way you structure your service:

Welcome/Call to Worship

Instead of just shouting ‘Good morning! Please stand!’ how can you use Scripture, and prayer to invite people to join their lives of worship into the worship of God that is already in progress? We join our hearts, lives, and songs with the saints and angels, the Church global, and all of creation responding to who God is and what He has done.

Confession of Sin/Assurance of Pardon

Our congregations are filled with people who are both casual and flippant toward God’s grace, forgiveness, and mercy, and those who feel their sin has pushed them past God’s ability to save and restore. What a gift to give both of those people - and everyone in between - the ability to acknowledge all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that God in Christ has forgiven us and called us to go and sin no more? This is the beauty of times of Corporate and Individual Confession, and being assured of our pardon.

Confession of Faith

Corporate confessions of faith are at once a reminder to the believer and clarity for the non-believer about who we are, what we believe about God and self, and why it matters. Whether we are using traditional confessions handed down through the centuries like the Apostle’s or Nicene Creed, or a simple call and response like ‘God is good, all the time, God is good,’ we are forgetful people who need to be reminded of who we are and who God is.

Responsive Readings

Responsive Readings can take many forms - a simple call and response, reading Scripture in unison, having a phrase repeated by the congregation, etc. This is another way to put truth in our mouths, minds, and hearts in a way that allows us to hear and be united together as the people of God.

Scripture Readings

As the Western world grows more and more Biblically-illiterate, our people will never be underserved by intentionally hearing the Old and New Testament, the Psalms, and the Gospels read over and over again in our services. Statistics indicate that for some, what the hear from God’s Word during a weekly church service may be their only interaction with Scripture in the week.

Disciple-making is the long-game. Be thoughtful and intentional, move slow, serve well.

Dive deeper into the role and world of liturgical rhythms through these resources:

The Worship Sourcebook (my go-to resource for following the church calendar, prepared readings, and prayers).

Doxology & Theology Podcast (Their series on ‘Read, Sing, Pray, See the Word’ is incredibly helpful).

Know the Creeds and Councils (A book on Church History and the formation of the Creeds which have been passed down through the centuries).

Ancient Future Worship (A book that looks specifically at the liturgical practices of the Church throughout history and up until present day. An excellent resource for anyone new to the world of liturgical rhythms).

A Handbook to Prayer (Although this is intended for personal devotions, I have found it to be helpful in using these Scripture prayers in the corporate gathering as well).

14 January: Set List

in ,

Welcome/Call To Worship: Isaiah 44:6-8

  • JESUS!
  • I LOVE YOU LORD

Corporate Confession: 

We are not righteous, no, not one;
We do not understand;
We do not seek for God.
We all have turned aside; together we have become worthless,

Not one of us does good, not even one.

Our throats are an open grave, and we use our tongues to deceive.
Our lips are venomous, our mouths are full of curses and bitterness.
Our feet are swift to shed blood;
in our path there is ruin and misery,
and the way of peace we have not known.
There is no fear of God before our eyes.

From Romans 3:10-18

  • POWER TO REDEEM

Sermon

Communion: Psalm 86:8-13

  • MY JESUS I LOVE THEE
  • BEFORE THE THRONE
  • REVIVE US AGAIN

 

7 January: Set List

in , ,

WELCOME/CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 5:1-8, 11-12

  • PRAISE TO THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY/GOOD GOOD FATHER
  • JESUS MESSIAH
  • BUILD MY LIFE - Psalm 19:7-11

Sermon

  • WHEN I SURVEY/HERE'S MY HEART

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.

  • LET IT BE JESUS/BUILD MY LIFE
  • REJOICE