Here's what went down this morning at Highland Community Church in Highland, IL:
I'll Fly Away (F) [Brumley]
Welcome & Announcements
Offering
Choir - Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
Better is One Day (E) [Redman]
Scripture Reading - Psalm 121:1-8
Holy is the Lord (G) [Tomlin]
Everything Glorious (C) [Crowder]
Nothing But the Blood (C) [Lowry]
Special Music - Tom Barker
Message
Dismiss
I'll Fly Away (F)
BAND: (the usual)
Jonathan David Eckberg - acoustic guitar/vocals
Tim McDaniel - drums
Aaron McDaniel - electric guitar
Joe Szoke - bass/vocals - special "Congrats" are in order for Joe and his wife, Steph, as Steph gave birth to their first child last Sunday! We are all excited for the Szokes and the addition of their son, Eli, to the HCC family. We're looking forward to putting him into the worship rotation soon!
NOTES:
In any month that has 5 Sundays we take the fifth Sunday and combine our first and second services for the morning. While this is a TREMENDOUS (and I cannot emphasize that enough) time of worship with the body of Christ, it can cause a few issues with the team that is leading worship. In the past we have usually tried to combine worship teams for this and it has worked out ok. The problem is that we generally practice on two different nights, so to try to coordinate 8-10 people to get together on a separate night than is generally set aside can be frustrating. We've tried at times just to practice early on Sunday morning, but that always feels cramped on time. So, for this particular 5th Sunday we just had the first service band lead worship. The other issue that generally arises with the two services combining is that, since we use different "song books" we are a bit limited on songs that everyone knows or mostly knows. I've never been opposed to stretching people with a song that they are a little unfamiliar with, but you can only do so much. This week I tried to use some "standard" modern worship songs along with a few hymns. I think it bridged the gap well. Also for this week, I didn't know where Pastor Wise was taking the message. I didn't have any guidelines to go off of, so we set up the songs as a general time of praise. This is much more difficult for me. I always feel that the more information I have and the more focused that I need to be on a topic or theme the easier it is for me to select music. Whew! That's a lot of notes, so let's get back to the music.
SONGS:
I'll Fly Away - Nothing fancy with this song. It's a good old fashioned "hillbilly hymn" and I think we did our bluegrass/country roots proud. During rehearsal Aaron looked and me and said, "Now all we need is a jug player!" It honestly was a lot of fun to play. It's a great song to kick the morning off with by bringing some high-energy to the congregation.
Better is One Day - After the offering and the choir we kicked into "Better is One Day". Pretty standard arrangement, but we did it just a bit faster than when I've done this in the past, but it gave it a nice, subtle rock flavor to the tune.
Holy is the LORD - Again another standard arrangement. The scripture reading for the morning was Psalm 121 which begins, "I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." It goes on to speak of the providence and protection that come from our GOD. "Holy is the LORD" then seemed appropriate to follow. The speaks to the goodness and holiness of GOD filling the earth and being evident to all. When we understand that the war that waging in our souls right now is already won, despite what our individual battles may tell us, and that GOD's provision and protection is always upon us there should be no way that we can contain the joy of His Name.
Everything Glorious - We hadn't done this song in a while. At one point it was in fairly heavy rotation as one of our drummers, Cory Done, was a wiz with looping and we had a really cool loop that added a ton of depth to the song. However, when Cory took a job in Missouri we lost his services and so "Everything Glorious" was somewhat swept aside. We revived it, slowed it down a touch and gave it slight bluesy feel. It worked, maybe not the way I like it best, but it was good and it meshed well with "Holy is the LORD". Sometimes you try things musically and you hit a homerun, sometimes you strike out. This (small) experiment was a solid base hit.
Nothing But the Blood - We flowed straight from "Everything Glorious" into "Nothing But the Blood". This is another of my favorite hymns. So every time we play this one we keep it really simple and try to let the message of the lyrics fly well over the top of everything. It's a whole lot of eight note acoustic guitar strumming and vocals with the rest of the band just adding touches of flavor here and there.
That's about it. We reprised "I'll Fly Away" as the dismissal song.
To see what other congregations are singing throughout the weekend please visit the Sunday Setlist at theworshipcommunity.com.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Misusing the Name
I was recently listening through a sermon series by J.D. Greear (Senior Pastor at Summit Church Raleigh-Durham, NC). The series was called "This is what the heart looks like," and it walked through the 10 Commandments.
The thing that I've been wrestling with the past several weeks, the one things that's been bouncing around in my head, concerns his teaching on Exodus 20:7, "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your GOD, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name."
It seems like a pretty straight-forward command but, as with all of the Ten Commandments, this commandment itself merely scratches the surface of what is required of us. The core issue always comes back to the state of our hearts.
To misuse the name of the lord is often referred to as, "Taking the LORD's name in vain". So what does that mean? Most would say it is using the name of GOD or Jesus as a swear word, or an expression that is out of proper context. This is part of what the commandment is talking about, but it goes well beyond this. To misuse the name of the LORD encompasses our entire lives. It is a reference to the very way we live. In short, to misuse the name of the LORD is to misrepresent who GOD is and what He is all about.
Names in the Bible are a fascinating study. They carry much more weight to the Jewish people and the early Christians than they carry for us today. Our names are often determined by simple preference, but Biblical names were meaningful. Sometimes they were prophetic (as in Jacob's case - Genesis 25:24-26), other times the were marks of the past (Samuel means "heard of GOD", as his mother, Hannah, cried out to the LORD to allow her to have a child - I Samuel 1:1-20), Abraham's name was changed by GOD as a mark of the covenant between the two (Genesis 17:1-8), and in the Colossians we meet Paul's companion Jesus who goes by the name Justus out of reverence for the name of Jesus Christ. For the Jews, the Name of GOD was so revered that they wouldn't even speak it.
This is because a name is not simply what someone is called, but it represents who they are. All of a persons identity is tied to their name. In Proverbs 22:1 we are told, "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold." A good name is to be esteemed, to be known for righteousness. In Song of Songs 1:3 the beloved praises the Lover saying "your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens love you!" It is his NAME that she adores, not what he is called, but who he is. This is the significance of a name.
Now, I don't think that our view of names today is troublesome in anyway, however I do think that it sometimes leads us into confusion of the significance of verses like Exodus 20:7 which pertain to the Name of GOD.
When we come to understand the importance placed on the very Name of GOD we then understand how this relates to the very essence of the creator of the universe throughout scripture (Psalm 113:2, Isaiah 24:15, Ezekiel 39:7, Acts 2:21, Matthew 6:9, among others). We are called time and time again to lift up His Name, to make known His Name, to revere His Name.
As we have now seen, a name is a representation of character, so the "Name" of the LORD is entirely wrapped up in who he is. It speaks to His characteristics, His nature, His power, His presence, and His glory. It is impossible to separate who GOD is from his very name. That can create problems for those of us who take on the moniker of "Christian". For as Jesus Christ was, himself, GOD and Christian, meaning "little Christ", describes an imitation of the person of Christ, we are then proclaiming our allegiance to and our representation of who GOD is when we call ourselves "Christians".
This is where we all fall guilty of "misusing the name of the LORD". We call ourselves by the name of Christ and then fall short of upholding His character. In doing so, no matter how great or how small our misstep is, we present the world with a false advertisement of the nature of GOD. When we seek our own fame and glory we deny the greatness of His name. When we swear an oath on GOD that we do not keep, we take His name in vain. When we attach GOD's name to anything it should be involved in we profain His majesty. We we present to people a picture of GOD that is anything less than perfect, holy, powerful, loving and full of grace, we defame His character and misuse His name.
So am I capable of accomplishing this? Can I live the rest of my life without misusing the name of the LORD? NO!
The beauty here is that Jesus traded names with me. He took on my detestable and utterly incurable name and gave me His guiltless name of redemption. He accomplished through his blood the punishment that was promised to you and me in Exodus 20:7 - "...the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name." Because I could never live up to the law Jesus Christ paid for my offense.
It's such an elementary truth and teaching, but one that we can never be reminded of too often. And in light of this truth why would we present our GOD as anything less than who he truly is? Why would we withhold the grace, mercy, truth, and love that is GOD our Father?
Speak the name of the LORD in truth today.
The thing that I've been wrestling with the past several weeks, the one things that's been bouncing around in my head, concerns his teaching on Exodus 20:7, "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your GOD, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name."
It seems like a pretty straight-forward command but, as with all of the Ten Commandments, this commandment itself merely scratches the surface of what is required of us. The core issue always comes back to the state of our hearts.
To misuse the name of the lord is often referred to as, "Taking the LORD's name in vain". So what does that mean? Most would say it is using the name of GOD or Jesus as a swear word, or an expression that is out of proper context. This is part of what the commandment is talking about, but it goes well beyond this. To misuse the name of the LORD encompasses our entire lives. It is a reference to the very way we live. In short, to misuse the name of the LORD is to misrepresent who GOD is and what He is all about.
Names in the Bible are a fascinating study. They carry much more weight to the Jewish people and the early Christians than they carry for us today. Our names are often determined by simple preference, but Biblical names were meaningful. Sometimes they were prophetic (as in Jacob's case - Genesis 25:24-26), other times the were marks of the past (Samuel means "heard of GOD", as his mother, Hannah, cried out to the LORD to allow her to have a child - I Samuel 1:1-20), Abraham's name was changed by GOD as a mark of the covenant between the two (Genesis 17:1-8), and in the Colossians we meet Paul's companion Jesus who goes by the name Justus out of reverence for the name of Jesus Christ. For the Jews, the Name of GOD was so revered that they wouldn't even speak it.
This is because a name is not simply what someone is called, but it represents who they are. All of a persons identity is tied to their name. In Proverbs 22:1 we are told, "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold." A good name is to be esteemed, to be known for righteousness. In Song of Songs 1:3 the beloved praises the Lover saying "your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens love you!" It is his NAME that she adores, not what he is called, but who he is. This is the significance of a name.
Now, I don't think that our view of names today is troublesome in anyway, however I do think that it sometimes leads us into confusion of the significance of verses like Exodus 20:7 which pertain to the Name of GOD.
When we come to understand the importance placed on the very Name of GOD we then understand how this relates to the very essence of the creator of the universe throughout scripture (Psalm 113:2, Isaiah 24:15, Ezekiel 39:7, Acts 2:21, Matthew 6:9, among others). We are called time and time again to lift up His Name, to make known His Name, to revere His Name.
As we have now seen, a name is a representation of character, so the "Name" of the LORD is entirely wrapped up in who he is. It speaks to His characteristics, His nature, His power, His presence, and His glory. It is impossible to separate who GOD is from his very name. That can create problems for those of us who take on the moniker of "Christian". For as Jesus Christ was, himself, GOD and Christian, meaning "little Christ", describes an imitation of the person of Christ, we are then proclaiming our allegiance to and our representation of who GOD is when we call ourselves "Christians".
This is where we all fall guilty of "misusing the name of the LORD". We call ourselves by the name of Christ and then fall short of upholding His character. In doing so, no matter how great or how small our misstep is, we present the world with a false advertisement of the nature of GOD. When we seek our own fame and glory we deny the greatness of His name. When we swear an oath on GOD that we do not keep, we take His name in vain. When we attach GOD's name to anything it should be involved in we profain His majesty. We we present to people a picture of GOD that is anything less than perfect, holy, powerful, loving and full of grace, we defame His character and misuse His name.
So am I capable of accomplishing this? Can I live the rest of my life without misusing the name of the LORD? NO!
The beauty here is that Jesus traded names with me. He took on my detestable and utterly incurable name and gave me His guiltless name of redemption. He accomplished through his blood the punishment that was promised to you and me in Exodus 20:7 - "...the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name." Because I could never live up to the law Jesus Christ paid for my offense.
It's such an elementary truth and teaching, but one that we can never be reminded of too often. And in light of this truth why would we present our GOD as anything less than who he truly is? Why would we withhold the grace, mercy, truth, and love that is GOD our Father?
Speak the name of the LORD in truth today.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Patient Man vs. the Warrior
I have several different aspects to my personal devotion time each day. Not all days are the same, as I like to mix it up a little bit. Every day includes reading scripture, most days include listening to a sermon, somedays include journaling.
I think the journaling is one of the most helpful to me. I probably only do this once, at most twice, during the week because it is difficult for me. It's usually pretty rough as I haven't taken time to REALLY think through what I've just read. For those who know me, they will tell you that I am a very slow processor. I will think on something for a week before I feel like I'm ready to share my thoughts on the topic. So that makes journaling difficult for me. However, there is something to be said for spilling your initial thoughts onto paper. It is interesting then to go back after some time and read these thoughts. It often gives me a much clearer picture on what what GOD was doing in my life at that moment and how what he taught me during that phase led me to the place where I am right now.
So, I thought I would give you a look inside my personal journal. I will preface this by telling you that I'm not entirely comfortable with letting you into my less-than-polished thoughts like this, but that is part of why I'm doing it. This entry came from a this past weekend (October 16th). Given that it is a recent entry, I have no idea where GOD is leading me through this thought process, other than the fact that I have always struggle severely with the issue of patience. In any case, here is the entry.
________________________
PROVERBS 16:32 - "Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city."
There is great strength and power in the warrior, the man who proves himself in battle, the man of superior physical skill and control. The warrior is capable of imposing his will on men and determines the outcome of a great number of human lives (win the battle, win the war, rule over nations, change the course of history). This is a BIG deal. This is a position of honor and personal glory.
And yet, it is better to be patient and self-controlled. GOD honors those who are humble (Matt. 5:5) and submissive (I Samuel 15:22). Man honors power and physical strength, but the LORD looks beyond this (I Samuel 16:7) and tells us that such power is of little value to him (Psalm 146:3-4, Psalm 147:10-11).
This is always difficult for us to grasp. It is much easier to develop our physical strength than our spiritual lives. It hurts more to be patient than it does to train our bodies. Why? Because spiritual change requires that we die to ourselves. It requires us to recognize that WE are not the central focus of life. Patience is the epitomy of selflessness. It is placing the importance of others' time, value, and priorities above our own. Until we can do this, to see others as Jesus sees them, we have not taken full grasp of the gospel. Until we take such an understanding of the gospel we will never fully engage in the mission of GOD for toward others. Until we engage in the mission of GOD we will never completely praise, worship, or delight the LORD.
Start today with patience. Train yourself in loving others. Worship GOD. Live the Truth. Let your spirit, by His word, take the city.
____________________________
I think this type of record of our own thoughts, struggles, fears, and victories is important. Personally, I feel like it gives me some benchmarks in how GOD is growing me and developing my faith through perseverance and faithfulness to His call. When we seek to do our Father's will, we will grow. Sometimes that growth is slight and is hard for us to see in the moment, but if you have such markers to look back on you are able to constantly and consistently see the ways in which GOD has led you to where you are.
I think the journaling is one of the most helpful to me. I probably only do this once, at most twice, during the week because it is difficult for me. It's usually pretty rough as I haven't taken time to REALLY think through what I've just read. For those who know me, they will tell you that I am a very slow processor. I will think on something for a week before I feel like I'm ready to share my thoughts on the topic. So that makes journaling difficult for me. However, there is something to be said for spilling your initial thoughts onto paper. It is interesting then to go back after some time and read these thoughts. It often gives me a much clearer picture on what what GOD was doing in my life at that moment and how what he taught me during that phase led me to the place where I am right now.
So, I thought I would give you a look inside my personal journal. I will preface this by telling you that I'm not entirely comfortable with letting you into my less-than-polished thoughts like this, but that is part of why I'm doing it. This entry came from a this past weekend (October 16th). Given that it is a recent entry, I have no idea where GOD is leading me through this thought process, other than the fact that I have always struggle severely with the issue of patience. In any case, here is the entry.
________________________
PROVERBS 16:32 - "Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city."
There is great strength and power in the warrior, the man who proves himself in battle, the man of superior physical skill and control. The warrior is capable of imposing his will on men and determines the outcome of a great number of human lives (win the battle, win the war, rule over nations, change the course of history). This is a BIG deal. This is a position of honor and personal glory.
And yet, it is better to be patient and self-controlled. GOD honors those who are humble (Matt. 5:5) and submissive (I Samuel 15:22). Man honors power and physical strength, but the LORD looks beyond this (I Samuel 16:7) and tells us that such power is of little value to him (Psalm 146:3-4, Psalm 147:10-11).
This is always difficult for us to grasp. It is much easier to develop our physical strength than our spiritual lives. It hurts more to be patient than it does to train our bodies. Why? Because spiritual change requires that we die to ourselves. It requires us to recognize that WE are not the central focus of life. Patience is the epitomy of selflessness. It is placing the importance of others' time, value, and priorities above our own. Until we can do this, to see others as Jesus sees them, we have not taken full grasp of the gospel. Until we take such an understanding of the gospel we will never fully engage in the mission of GOD for toward others. Until we engage in the mission of GOD we will never completely praise, worship, or delight the LORD.
Start today with patience. Train yourself in loving others. Worship GOD. Live the Truth. Let your spirit, by His word, take the city.
____________________________
I think this type of record of our own thoughts, struggles, fears, and victories is important. Personally, I feel like it gives me some benchmarks in how GOD is growing me and developing my faith through perseverance and faithfulness to His call. When we seek to do our Father's will, we will grow. Sometimes that growth is slight and is hard for us to see in the moment, but if you have such markers to look back on you are able to constantly and consistently see the ways in which GOD has led you to where you are.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sunday Setlist / 10.17.10
So, here's the rundown of the 9:00 am service at Highland Community Church in Highland, IL.
THE BAND:
Jonathan David Eckberg - guitar/vocals
Tim McDaniel - drums
Aaron McDaniel - electric guitar
Joe Szoke - bass
NOTES:
We had a bit of a rocky start this morning. I showed up to the church and we had no power. No PA, no lights, no nothing. I scrambled for a few minutes and threw together a back up set of music that I could cover with just the acoustic if necessary. With no projection I wanted to make sure we had songs that people would know without seeing the words (and that I would know without a chord chart and lyric sheet - I don't carry my songbook with me). I planned on replacing our first couple songs with "Holy is the LORD" and "GOD of Wonders". Fortunately, at about 8:40 we got power back. We went over the set list VERY briefly as a band and proceeded to kick off the service. Our sound engineer made a great observation. He said something to the effect of "this kind of stuff makes you give up control, even though control is an illusion, we never have it". I think the morning went great after that because we were all forced to realize that we are not the ones in control. We are not the ones who are making the morning go. GOD simply offered us an opportunity to lead our brothers and sisters into the worship of his name throughout the course of the morning and none of what happens matters apart from his Spirit.
THE SETLIST:
Let Your Glory Shine (D) [Lincoln Brewster]
Welcome and Announcements
Offering
Baptism: Jeniba Johnson
I Stand Amazed in the Presence (F) [Charles H. Gabriel]
I Stand Amazed in the Presence (F) [Charles H. Gabriel]
Breathe (F) [Marie Barnett]
Hungry (D) [Kathryn Scott]
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
Message
You Are All That I Need (A)
Dismiss
Let Your Glory Shine (D)
THE BAND:
Jonathan David Eckberg - guitar/vocals
Tim McDaniel - drums
Aaron McDaniel - electric guitar
Joe Szoke - bass
NOTES:
We had a bit of a rocky start this morning. I showed up to the church and we had no power. No PA, no lights, no nothing. I scrambled for a few minutes and threw together a back up set of music that I could cover with just the acoustic if necessary. With no projection I wanted to make sure we had songs that people would know without seeing the words (and that I would know without a chord chart and lyric sheet - I don't carry my songbook with me). I planned on replacing our first couple songs with "Holy is the LORD" and "GOD of Wonders". Fortunately, at about 8:40 we got power back. We went over the set list VERY briefly as a band and proceeded to kick off the service. Our sound engineer made a great observation. He said something to the effect of "this kind of stuff makes you give up control, even though control is an illusion, we never have it". I think the morning went great after that because we were all forced to realize that we are not the ones in control. We are not the ones who are making the morning go. GOD simply offered us an opportunity to lead our brothers and sisters into the worship of his name throughout the course of the morning and none of what happens matters apart from his Spirit.
THE SONGS:
Let Your Glory Shine - We're trying to add this song into a more regular rotation as an intro song. It's a really good "call to worship" tune. Lots of energy, fantastic message, and our congregation has seemed to latch onto it. The bonus is that it is a BLAST to play. It's actually a pretty simple song, so it's easy to rock out to it and find a good groove to roll with.
I Stand Amazed in the Presence - We went with a very traditional version of this old hymn. We did pick up the tempo on it a little, but we didn't get carried away. It was a nice mid-tempo song. I've been walking around singing this song all week. I think there's is something phenomenal about that constant reminder of the marvelous and wonderful nature of GOD's love for us. I was talking with a friend of mine this week and I confessed to him that I often don't focus on the weight of GOD's love. I understand it in my head, but there are a lot of time when I fight to keep that head knowledge from penetrating my heart. I think one of the best defenses against this is to sing a song like "I Stand Amazed" (one of my other favorites for this pupose is "How Deep the Father's Love for Us").
Breath - be made a smooth transition from "I Stand Amazed" into "Breathe". The message for the week focuses on Jesus statement of "I am the bread of life" and Pastor Wise was discussing the importance of Jesus to our daily lives, the power, strength, and comfort we recieve, and how we must desire to submit 100% to His calling to receive His gifts. So coming out of a song that marvels at His love, we roll into Breathe" which speaks of our desire to have Christ and have Him fully. A song that touches on our inability to survive and function properly without His love and His guidance not on a daily basis, but on a moment-to-moment basis.
Hungry - We then worked our way into "Hungry". This is a similar song to Breathe, they carry a common message, but it's a shift from GOD as the one thing that is necessary for us to truly live, to a more focused expression of our desire to come before Him and to submit our lives in service to him. So it's really taking us from our need (Breathe) to our holy desire (Hungry).
Message - Pastor is beginning a series right now that looks at Jesus' "I am..." statements in the book of John. This week kicked it off with "I am the bread of life."
You Are All That I Need - This was our response song for the morning. I have no idea who wrote it (if you know and can help me out, please leave a comment and tell me). It's an amazing song I picked up from Dave Hunt in my time at Rolling Hill Community Church in Nashville, TN. The chorus is simply "You are all that I need / You are all that I need / When I am weak I will trust in thee / You are all that I need." It's beautifully written piece of music that has always been one of my favorites to play in my personal times of worship.
To see what other congregations are singing check out the Sunday Setlist at theworshipcommunity.com.
To see what other congregations are singing check out the Sunday Setlist at theworshipcommunity.com.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sunday Setlist / 10.10.10
Here's what went down at Highland Community Church at the 9 o'clock hour:
Counting on GOD (A) [Jared Anderson]
Welcome and Announcements
Offering
Our Love is Loud (E) [David Crowder]
I Could Sing of Your Love Forever (E) [Martin Smith]
Scripture Reading
Handbell Choir
Dismiss
Band:
Jonathan David Eckberg - Guitar/Vocals
Tim McDaniel - Drums
Joe Szoke - Bass/Vocals
Notes:
The Handbell Choir from Shepherds Ministries in Wisconsin was in the service yesterday, so music was short and to the point. We focused on the providence and love of GOD our Father. We were also a little short-handed as our other guitar player was in Chicago for the weekend. So, to fill the space I ran my 60's reissue Strat through a signal splitter with one channel running to a Boss Acoustic Simulator into my Behringer DI to the board. The other channel ran through my effects board into my brand new Randall RM-22 Head. One of the coolest features of the RM-22 is that is has a built in direct box (they call it a "mic simulator") so you can run an XLR cable direct to the board - great tone with no stage volume, absolutely perfect for a small church worship setting. The purpose of the signal split was to offer an electric and acoustic tone at certain points in the songs to help beef up the three-piece sound. Anyway, enough of the guitar-geek stuff.
Songs:
Counting on GOD - This is a fun song to play. We hit this one pretty hard to open up the morning and rocked it out properly!
Our Love is Loud - I always enjoy playing this song, whether it's solo-acoustic or full-band, I think it's a great congregational song. We gave it a little more of a bluesy feel today. Tim and Joe, had a nice little groove going which moved the song along well.
I Could Sing of Your Love Forever - I highly recommend the "additional chorus" to this song. I have no idea where you would find the melody on line, because I've never heard it recorded (I'm sure it's out there, but I've never heard it). I picked it up from Dave Hunt several years ago. It adds a little flavor to the redundancy of singing the chorus over and over at the end. The lyrics are "Everywhere I go I'm singing, Everybreath of air I'm breathing, Everywhere I go I'll sing of when Your love came down."
I know I'm short and late this week, but I've been running non-stop since the beginning of service yesterday. My apologies. I'll try to do better next week.
To see what songs others are praising GOD with, you can check out the sunday setlist at theworshipcommunity.com.
Counting on GOD (A) [Jared Anderson]
Welcome and Announcements
Offering
Our Love is Loud (E) [David Crowder]
I Could Sing of Your Love Forever (E) [Martin Smith]
Scripture Reading
Handbell Choir
Dismiss
Band:
Jonathan David Eckberg - Guitar/Vocals
Tim McDaniel - Drums
Joe Szoke - Bass/Vocals
Notes:
The Handbell Choir from Shepherds Ministries in Wisconsin was in the service yesterday, so music was short and to the point. We focused on the providence and love of GOD our Father. We were also a little short-handed as our other guitar player was in Chicago for the weekend. So, to fill the space I ran my 60's reissue Strat through a signal splitter with one channel running to a Boss Acoustic Simulator into my Behringer DI to the board. The other channel ran through my effects board into my brand new Randall RM-22 Head. One of the coolest features of the RM-22 is that is has a built in direct box (they call it a "mic simulator") so you can run an XLR cable direct to the board - great tone with no stage volume, absolutely perfect for a small church worship setting. The purpose of the signal split was to offer an electric and acoustic tone at certain points in the songs to help beef up the three-piece sound. Anyway, enough of the guitar-geek stuff.
Songs:
Counting on GOD - This is a fun song to play. We hit this one pretty hard to open up the morning and rocked it out properly!
Our Love is Loud - I always enjoy playing this song, whether it's solo-acoustic or full-band, I think it's a great congregational song. We gave it a little more of a bluesy feel today. Tim and Joe, had a nice little groove going which moved the song along well.
I Could Sing of Your Love Forever - I highly recommend the "additional chorus" to this song. I have no idea where you would find the melody on line, because I've never heard it recorded (I'm sure it's out there, but I've never heard it). I picked it up from Dave Hunt several years ago. It adds a little flavor to the redundancy of singing the chorus over and over at the end. The lyrics are "Everywhere I go I'm singing, Everybreath of air I'm breathing, Everywhere I go I'll sing of when Your love came down."
I know I'm short and late this week, but I've been running non-stop since the beginning of service yesterday. My apologies. I'll try to do better next week.
To see what songs others are praising GOD with, you can check out the sunday setlist at theworshipcommunity.com.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The Purpose of Worship Through Song
I've been posed this question a few times before, but I was just thinking about it again on my drive home from leading worship for a retreat this past weekend. The question pertains to the role of singing songs in the corporate setting of the Church.
First off, we are called to encourage each other through "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs"(Eph. 5:19) and James 5 tells us "Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise". There are also countless verses throughout the Bible that talk of singing songs of praise to GOD and significant moments that are accompanied by song (Exodus 15, Judges 5, 2 Samuel 22, Luke 1:46-55, 67-79, Psalm 96:1, Psalm 100:2, Isaiah 55:12, Rev 5:9, among many others). However, none of these speak specifically to the use/purpose of songs within the context of the corporate gathering of the saints.
So, where does that leave us?
I think the role that music plays in the corporate setting (for our purposes we will consider this the "Sunday morning service") varies with different groups people.
For the regenerated believers, those who have confessed with their mouths and believe in their hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord, our entire lives should be an act of worship. This, then, carries over into our time spent with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In the corporate gathering, singing songs and worshipping through music is a time to lift the name of GOD in unity, praising him for the victories of the week, thanking him for the blessings in our lives, and drawing near to feel His comfort through the unified voices of His people. This worship in unity is found when our voices rise together. We don't really feel that connection during the sermon, as we worship with our financial offerings, or even in the act of communion - these are very individual acts. They are done together, but are personal acts between us and Christ. In the singing of songs we offer ONE voice to our Father in Heaven. It is the collective praise of GOD's people.
I think there is also an element to preparation in the songs of the redeemed. Now, I don't believe that singing, in and of itself, can prepare us to enter the presence of GOD and to open our hearts to what He has brought us there to hear from Him - this is an ongoing process. I believe this preparation starts on Monday morning and must be cultivated throughout the week. However, there is something to be said for having a specific time where your focus is on the worship of GOD. This can be an excellent time to breathe and leave all the distractions of the morning behind while you remember who GOD is, what He has done, and what He is preparing you for in a life lived for His glory.
I think for those in an intermediate stage of faith, those who understanding or are starting to understand who GOD is, but have not yet become regenerated through belief and confession of who He is, it may be the only time in the week when they truly present themselves before GOD. When they let down all their defenses and praise Him for being the almighty GOD of Heaven and Earth. This is now a preparatory stage for GOD to truly speak into their lives through the preaching and teaching of the Word (be that from the Pastor or from the people that GOD has placed in that person’s life).
For the person who is still far from GOD, music creates an emotional tie that brings them near the family of GOD. It is an opportunity to speak GOD’s truth into their lives in a theologically sound and biblically relevant manner that they may not even be aware of. For these people it is often through the way that the congregation, the family, responds in song that shows the depth of love that GOD has been poured out on His people. In any scenario, regardless of style of music, I believe this is an important aspect of the corporate gathering.
First off, we are called to encourage each other through "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs"(Eph. 5:19) and James 5 tells us "Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise". There are also countless verses throughout the Bible that talk of singing songs of praise to GOD and significant moments that are accompanied by song (Exodus 15, Judges 5, 2 Samuel 22, Luke 1:46-55, 67-79, Psalm 96:1, Psalm 100:2, Isaiah 55:12, Rev 5:9, among many others). However, none of these speak specifically to the use/purpose of songs within the context of the corporate gathering of the saints.
So, where does that leave us?
I think the role that music plays in the corporate setting (for our purposes we will consider this the "Sunday morning service") varies with different groups people.
For the regenerated believers, those who have confessed with their mouths and believe in their hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord, our entire lives should be an act of worship. This, then, carries over into our time spent with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In the corporate gathering, singing songs and worshipping through music is a time to lift the name of GOD in unity, praising him for the victories of the week, thanking him for the blessings in our lives, and drawing near to feel His comfort through the unified voices of His people. This worship in unity is found when our voices rise together. We don't really feel that connection during the sermon, as we worship with our financial offerings, or even in the act of communion - these are very individual acts. They are done together, but are personal acts between us and Christ. In the singing of songs we offer ONE voice to our Father in Heaven. It is the collective praise of GOD's people.
I think there is also an element to preparation in the songs of the redeemed. Now, I don't believe that singing, in and of itself, can prepare us to enter the presence of GOD and to open our hearts to what He has brought us there to hear from Him - this is an ongoing process. I believe this preparation starts on Monday morning and must be cultivated throughout the week. However, there is something to be said for having a specific time where your focus is on the worship of GOD. This can be an excellent time to breathe and leave all the distractions of the morning behind while you remember who GOD is, what He has done, and what He is preparing you for in a life lived for His glory.
I think for those in an intermediate stage of faith, those who understanding or are starting to understand who GOD is, but have not yet become regenerated through belief and confession of who He is, it may be the only time in the week when they truly present themselves before GOD. When they let down all their defenses and praise Him for being the almighty GOD of Heaven and Earth. This is now a preparatory stage for GOD to truly speak into their lives through the preaching and teaching of the Word (be that from the Pastor or from the people that GOD has placed in that person’s life).
For the person who is still far from GOD, music creates an emotional tie that brings them near the family of GOD. It is an opportunity to speak GOD’s truth into their lives in a theologically sound and biblically relevant manner that they may not even be aware of. For these people it is often through the way that the congregation, the family, responds in song that shows the depth of love that GOD has been poured out on His people. In any scenario, regardless of style of music, I believe this is an important aspect of the corporate gathering.
Part two of this discussion generally comes around to how I, as a worship leader, make this happen.
I don’t make it happen. Only the Holy Spirit makes any of this happen. I find when I put all my effort into making this work it never occurs. However, I do try to come prepared to serve when the Spirit opens people’s hearts. The first step is for me to come prepared to worship. No matter how tough a morning, week, month, or year it’s been for me I have to be in a place, spiritually, where I can say, “GOD you are awesome and I love you and I NEED to praise you today”. That’s sometimes very difficult, but if the worship leader is not leading in worship, he is never effective. I also believe that I have to be willing to get out of the way. It is important to discern where the Spirit is leading you have to be able to bend to His will. Sometimes the Spirit may move you to say something, sometimes he may just tell you to sit down and let the people reflect on what GOD’s telling them. You have to be able to adjust either way. I think another means of being effective is to be excellent in a musical sense. This includes performance, ambiance, set list, order of service. The key is to present a service that guides people into GOD’s presence without distraction. This rarely goes off as planned (let's be honest, I don't think it ever goes off as planned), but if everything is well prepared, the flow is right, and you are open to the leading of the Spirit then the minor distractions that Satan will undoubtedly throw at you can be overcome.
For me this is a constantly evolving idea. As I progress in my Christian walk and as I continue to gain more and more experience as a worship leader I remain open to the knowledge and insight that GOD allows me to receive.
What do you think?
For me this is a constantly evolving idea. As I progress in my Christian walk and as I continue to gain more and more experience as a worship leader I remain open to the knowledge and insight that GOD allows me to receive.
What do you think?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
"HEIRS" RELEASED TODAY!
New album from UNTIL WE'RE KINGS released today!
"HEIRS" is out now!
Digital version available at digstation.com
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday Setlist / 10.3.10
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel to the Rainbow Christian Camp in Converse, Indiana where I led worship for a high school retreat with youth groups from Wabash and Bremen, IN. It's always a blast to be involved with high school groups. These kids cracked me up. We got in on Friday night and worked our way through to Sunday morning. It was incredibly exhausting, but worth every minute. The bonus for me was that I got to work with my buddy, Jordan Muck, who is now the Associate & Youth Pastor at Community Gospel Church in Bremen, IN. Jordan is a great friend who I have been through a whole lot with and he's been there for me to strengthen me in my faith, to encourage me when I'm struggling, and to constantly push me forward in following GOD's will. I miss having him (and his family) around so I jumped at the chance to drive 4.5 hours to lead worship for the weekend.
Here's what Sunday morning looked like:
I Have Decided [C]
Heirs [G]
Let Your Kingdom Reign [G]
Message - Jordan Muck - Acts 2:42 - PRAYER
Jonathan David Eckberg - Guitar/Vocals
NOTES: I led all weekend with just the acoustic. It's always interesting to walk into groups like this where you don't really know anyone. I knew the leaders of both groups, but I had no idea what songs the kids would or wouldn't know. This creates some anxiety on my part. On one hand, you want to do mostly songs that they know or at least have heard. On the other hand, you don't want to do a strict diet of songs from 1980. It's also often surprising what songs kids do and don't know. I've had a lot of times where I've put a song into a retreat thinking it's one that EVERYBODY knows, only to have kids look blankly at the screen or fumble through it. Other times I'll have a song in that compliments the message really well and I figure it's on that maybe one or two people will sing along with and then the kids are all over it. You just never can tell. So, after putting a lot of time in to trying to create a balance and get some songs that the kids could grab ahold of this weekend I (with quite a bit of help from Jordan) finalized the list.
I Have Decided - We sang the version off of the "Heirs" album (shameless self-promotion: the 6-song worship album from Until We're Kings is released this Tuesday and should be available on iTunes in the coming weeks - you KNOW I'll keep you updated). It's such a simple arrangement that the kids picked up on it really quickly and I think they had some fun with it.
Heirs - Another song from the, Until We're Kings album. This was the "theme song" for the week. I taught it to the kids on Friday night and we included it in every session on the weekend. It was cool to see the group catch on and really sing it out on Sunday morning.
Let Your Kingdom Reign - This is a chorus I use from Elevation Worship off of their last album, "GOD with Us." I LOVE this chorus. It's so perfectly beautiful. I knew that none of the kids would know it, but I put it in because it is so simple and singable. We repeated it several times and I heard a few kids singing it as we all sat down for the message and even after the session, so I think it went over pretty well.
To see what's happening in worship around the country check out out the Sunday Setlist at theworshipcommunity.com.
Here's what Sunday morning looked like:
I Have Decided [C]
Heirs [G]
Let Your Kingdom Reign [G]
Message - Jordan Muck - Acts 2:42 - PRAYER
Jonathan David Eckberg - Guitar/Vocals
NOTES: I led all weekend with just the acoustic. It's always interesting to walk into groups like this where you don't really know anyone. I knew the leaders of both groups, but I had no idea what songs the kids would or wouldn't know. This creates some anxiety on my part. On one hand, you want to do mostly songs that they know or at least have heard. On the other hand, you don't want to do a strict diet of songs from 1980. It's also often surprising what songs kids do and don't know. I've had a lot of times where I've put a song into a retreat thinking it's one that EVERYBODY knows, only to have kids look blankly at the screen or fumble through it. Other times I'll have a song in that compliments the message really well and I figure it's on that maybe one or two people will sing along with and then the kids are all over it. You just never can tell. So, after putting a lot of time in to trying to create a balance and get some songs that the kids could grab ahold of this weekend I (with quite a bit of help from Jordan) finalized the list.
I Have Decided - We sang the version off of the "Heirs" album (shameless self-promotion: the 6-song worship album from Until We're Kings is released this Tuesday and should be available on iTunes in the coming weeks - you KNOW I'll keep you updated). It's such a simple arrangement that the kids picked up on it really quickly and I think they had some fun with it.
Heirs - Another song from the, Until We're Kings album. This was the "theme song" for the week. I taught it to the kids on Friday night and we included it in every session on the weekend. It was cool to see the group catch on and really sing it out on Sunday morning.
Let Your Kingdom Reign - This is a chorus I use from Elevation Worship off of their last album, "GOD with Us." I LOVE this chorus. It's so perfectly beautiful. I knew that none of the kids would know it, but I put it in because it is so simple and singable. We repeated it several times and I heard a few kids singing it as we all sat down for the message and even after the session, so I think it went over pretty well.
To see what's happening in worship around the country check out out the Sunday Setlist at theworshipcommunity.com.
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