Here's how we got down at Community Gospel Church in Bremen, IN this week...
SERVICE
Great is the Lord (Chris Brown)
Welcome & Victory
Offering
All Creatures of Our God and King (St Francis of Assisi / Henry Draper)
Forever Reign (Jason Ingram / Reuben Morgan)
Backbone (Jonathan David Eckberg)
Message: Checkmate
Week 2 - Romans 2:
Give us Clean Hands (Charlie Hall)
Holy Nation (Jordan Muck / Jonathan David Eckberg)
Dismiss
TEAM
Jonathan David Eckberg - guitar/vocals/percussion
Randy Hepler - bass
Cyndi Leamon - vocals
Jess Yoder - vocals
Jeff Hutchens - media
Kevin Schmidt - audio
Showing posts with label Charlie Hall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charlie Hall. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Sunday Setlist / 1.27.13
The 10:10 service at Community Gospel Church in Bremen, IN...
SERVICE
When I Think About the Lord (Huey)
Welcome
Announcement Video
Offering
Before the Throne of God Above (Bancroft)
Marvelous Light (Hall)
Backbone (Eckberg)
Message: Backbone
Romans 1:16-17
Backbone (Eckberg)
Dismiss
TEAM
Jonathan David Eckberg - guitar/vocals
Nick Hostetler - drums
Randy Hepler - bass
Larry Ingle - vocals
Alli Hutchens - vocals
SERVICE
When I Think About the Lord (Huey)
Welcome
Announcement Video
Offering
Before the Throne of God Above (Bancroft)
Marvelous Light (Hall)
Backbone (Eckberg)
Message: Backbone
Romans 1:16-17
Backbone (Eckberg)
Dismiss
TEAM
Jonathan David Eckberg - guitar/vocals
Nick Hostetler - drums
Randy Hepler - bass
Larry Ingle - vocals
Alli Hutchens - vocals
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday Setlist / 5.13.12
Here's a look at how Community Gospel Church celebrated Mother's Day together...
SERVICE
Counting On GOD
Welcome & Announcements
Welcoming of New Members & Child Dedication
Offering
Offering
Marvelous Light [Charlie Hall]
GOD of Wonders [Marc Byrd/Steve Hindalong]
Let Us Shine [Jonathan Eckberg]
Mighty to Save (bridge only) [Ben Fielding/Reuben Morgan]
Message
Dismiss / Presentation of Roses
TEAM
Jonathan Eckberg - guitar/vocals
Beth Stemble - keys
Nick Hostetler - drums
Randy Hepler - bass
Cyndi Leamon - vocals
Alli Hutchens - vocals
Dale Graham - audio
Dale Graham - audio
Brent Wiseman - visual
NOTES
I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but we had an awesome day at CGC. So much cool stuff is happening at our church right now. Yesterdays morning we inducted 21 new members to our church family and did 9 child dedications. This comes on the heals of conducting 16 baptisms on March 11. On top of that we've got a few other big things that are coming in the next few month. This church is seeing GOD move in some incredible ways. He is awakening hearts and calling His church to action and the people of CGC are responding. I cannot tell you how excited I am for what GOD's going to do in this community over the next year, 5-years, 20-years, and on!
As for the message this week, we continued our study of 1 John 1. This week we looked at "Getting Back to the Fundamentals" in 1 John 1:5-7. In these verses John is talking about walking in the light and remaining true to our claim that we are in the light.
As we closed the service we had roses to give to all the women of our church in honor of Mother's Day.
I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but we had an awesome day at CGC. So much cool stuff is happening at our church right now. Yesterdays morning we inducted 21 new members to our church family and did 9 child dedications. This comes on the heals of conducting 16 baptisms on March 11. On top of that we've got a few other big things that are coming in the next few month. This church is seeing GOD move in some incredible ways. He is awakening hearts and calling His church to action and the people of CGC are responding. I cannot tell you how excited I am for what GOD's going to do in this community over the next year, 5-years, 20-years, and on!
As for the message this week, we continued our study of 1 John 1. This week we looked at "Getting Back to the Fundamentals" in 1 John 1:5-7. In these verses John is talking about walking in the light and remaining true to our claim that we are in the light.
As we closed the service we had roses to give to all the women of our church in honor of Mother's Day.
SONGS
Counting On GOD - Our opener this week is such a fun song about the dependence of God and the joy that accompanies knowing that no matter what comes along He give enough strength for the day. I have been playing this song for years, but it's not one that I see moving out of the rotation anytime soon.
[album - Overcome - Desperation Band]
[album - Overcome - Desperation Band]
Marvelous Light - We kicked off the mains set with this song. It seemed like an obvious choice for a message about walking and remaining in the light. "Into marvelous light I'm running/out of darkness out of shame". Enough said.
[album - Flying into Daybreak - Charlie Hall]
[album - Flying into Daybreak - Charlie Hall]
GOD of Wonders - As we come to know the light and walk in that light I think our response must be an acknowledgment of all that GOD is and all that GOD does. This "standard" worship tune gets to that point. With the opening lines, "early in the morning/I will celebrate the light" it fit into the theme of walking in the light and coming out of darkness well. In retrospect, I probably could have (maybe should have) switched the order of these two songs. I think in terms of walking through the message of the morning this song should have been first and it should have been followed by Marvelous Light, but musically it made much more sense to flow from GOD of Wonders into the next song. I went back and forth with this for a while, but in the end I thought the message flowed well enough to make it justifiable. That's one of those areas that can, from time to time, create some tension for me: finding the balance between music and message. The message always comes first, but this seemed to be a situation where that could go either way, so my final decision came down to one of musicality.
[album - In the Company of Angels - Caedmon's Call]
[album - In the Company of Angels - Caedmon's Call]
Let Us Shine - I wrote this song as part of our 1P29C (1 Peter 2:9 Christian) series in Jan/Feb. It was a great fit for this mornings message. It talks about remaining in the light and being a representation of the true light as we walk through the world. I particularly like how the song ties together our churches vision statement ("to make Christ known near and far") in the second verse to the action of the chorus, "let us shine/we will overcome the darkness/by the light of Your great love // let us shine/be Your hope among the broken/be the light of Your great love". I always think of Exodus 34:29-35 when I sing this song. I think about how Moses encounters GOD and he leaves with his face shining. He has no control over it. GOD leaves his mark and everyone knows, without a doubt, who Moses serves. I hope my face shines.
Mighty to Save - Coming out of "Let Us Shine" we went straight to the bridge of this one, "shine your light and let the world see/we're singing for the glory of the risen king", and sang it a few times as a closing chorus-style refrain.
[album - Mighty to Save - Hillsong Live]
That's how we worshipped yesterday. To see how others worship and what songs our brothers and sisters are singing in other churches check out the Sunday Setlist at www.theworshipcommunity.com.
[album - Mighty to Save - Hillsong Live]
That's how we worshipped yesterday. To see how others worship and what songs our brothers and sisters are singing in other churches check out the Sunday Setlist at www.theworshipcommunity.com.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday Setlist / 1.22.12
Holy Cow!
Welcome back to me, I guess, huh? It's been a crazy last 12 months. In that span I: started a new job at CGC, started into seminary on a full-time basis, got engaged, got married, and a bunch of other stuff happened. All that is simply my way of saying that I've had a lot on my plate and, therefore, have not blogged at all.
But I'm back!
So, without further ado, here's what went down at CGC on January 22, 2012
WORSHIP LEADERS:
Jonathan Eckberg - guitar/vocals
Beth Stemble - piano
Larry Ingle - vocals
Alli Hutchens - vocals
Kay Smith - vocals
SETLIST:
Everything Glorious (david crowder)
Welcome
Offering
Marvelous Light (charlie hall)
Heirs (jordan muck/jonathan eckberg)
Holy Nation (muck/eckberg)
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Message
Let us Shine (eckberg)
NOTES:
We are currently operating without a drummer. A year ago we had two drummers in the church and due to different circumstances we are currently drummerless. While I would prefer to have a full band behind us, it has been a nice change to dial everything back and approach the sets from a fresh perspective. However, if you are a drummer in the South Bend area looking for a church to plug into then I've got a spot for ya! :)
We are in the 3rd week of our "1P29C" series. This is a four week study of 1 Peter 2:9. The past two weeks our focus has been on the believer as the "Chosen People" and the "Royal Priesthood". This week we stepped into the believer as the "Holy Nation".
Everything Glorious - One of my favorite Crowder worship tunes. Just a good recognition of the greatness of God and the fact that he makes everything glorious and we are his... so what does that make us? (hint: transitive property states that if A = B, and B = C, then A = C). David Crowder is crazy smart. He's the only worship leader I know that incorporates mathematic equations into his songs.
Marvelous Light - Much of the message for this week focused on the imagery of light. So this standard was kind of a no-brainer. It's a great upbeat kick-off to the set.
Heirs - this is a song that Pastor Jordan and I wrote a couple years ago that was released on our Until We're Kings album, "Heirs", last October.
Holy Nation - I wrote this song for this series. Each line of the verse corresponds to a sermon topic from one of the weeks. We've been singing it for the past few weeks and are using it as a theme song, of sorts for the entire series.
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross - one of my favorite hymns.
Let Us Shine - Pastor Jordan closed the service with a quote from D.L. Moody that says, "Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine." We are called to be the light of the world and to reflect the glory of Christ to those around us. As I was searching for a suitable closing song to encompass the message I couldn't come up with anything that fit as well as I wanted. So I decided it would be easier just to write a song. I used a number of points from the sermon and it turned out really well.
Welcome back to me, I guess, huh? It's been a crazy last 12 months. In that span I: started a new job at CGC, started into seminary on a full-time basis, got engaged, got married, and a bunch of other stuff happened. All that is simply my way of saying that I've had a lot on my plate and, therefore, have not blogged at all.
But I'm back!
So, without further ado, here's what went down at CGC on January 22, 2012
WORSHIP LEADERS:
Jonathan Eckberg - guitar/vocals
Beth Stemble - piano
Larry Ingle - vocals
Alli Hutchens - vocals
Kay Smith - vocals
SETLIST:
Everything Glorious (david crowder)
Welcome
Offering
Marvelous Light (charlie hall)
Heirs (jordan muck/jonathan eckberg)
Holy Nation (muck/eckberg)
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Message
Let us Shine (eckberg)
NOTES:
We are currently operating without a drummer. A year ago we had two drummers in the church and due to different circumstances we are currently drummerless. While I would prefer to have a full band behind us, it has been a nice change to dial everything back and approach the sets from a fresh perspective. However, if you are a drummer in the South Bend area looking for a church to plug into then I've got a spot for ya! :)
We are in the 3rd week of our "1P29C" series. This is a four week study of 1 Peter 2:9. The past two weeks our focus has been on the believer as the "Chosen People" and the "Royal Priesthood". This week we stepped into the believer as the "Holy Nation".
Everything Glorious - One of my favorite Crowder worship tunes. Just a good recognition of the greatness of God and the fact that he makes everything glorious and we are his... so what does that make us? (hint: transitive property states that if A = B, and B = C, then A = C). David Crowder is crazy smart. He's the only worship leader I know that incorporates mathematic equations into his songs.
Marvelous Light - Much of the message for this week focused on the imagery of light. So this standard was kind of a no-brainer. It's a great upbeat kick-off to the set.
Heirs - this is a song that Pastor Jordan and I wrote a couple years ago that was released on our Until We're Kings album, "Heirs", last October.
Holy Nation - I wrote this song for this series. Each line of the verse corresponds to a sermon topic from one of the weeks. We've been singing it for the past few weeks and are using it as a theme song, of sorts for the entire series.
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross - one of my favorite hymns.
Let Us Shine - Pastor Jordan closed the service with a quote from D.L. Moody that says, "Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine." We are called to be the light of the world and to reflect the glory of Christ to those around us. As I was searching for a suitable closing song to encompass the message I couldn't come up with anything that fit as well as I wanted. So I decided it would be easier just to write a song. I used a number of points from the sermon and it turned out really well.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday Setlist / 9.26.10
Here's the setlist from the 9:00am service at Highland Community Church:
Heirs [G] (Muck/Eckberg)
Welcome & Announcements
Special Presentation - the Shoe Man
Offering
Hallelujah to My King [E] (Baloche)
Scripture Reading - Job 1:6-22
It Is Well With My Soul [A] (Spafford)
Song of the Redeemed [A] (Hall)
Message - Habakkuk 3:16-18
You Never Let Go [A] (Redman)
Dismiss
THE BAND:
Jonathan David Eckberg - guitar/vocals
NOTES:
After being out of town for work last week and spending Sunday morning at my dad's church in Erie, Illinois, it was great to be back with my church family! Due to schedules of the band I led solo this week. Things were a little rough getting going this morning, it was cold and wet outside and it seemed like we all were dragging. But once we got the morning rolling the congregation came around and it turned out to be a great day of worship and hearing GOD's word. It never ceases to amaze me how on the days when I don't see how GOD's going to get anything done, He works in incredible ways. Cool stuff.
THE SONGS:
Heirs - This is a song from the forthcoming Until We're Kings EP, "Heirs". It's a fun tune that is taken from Romans. I love using it as an opening song as a reminder that we don't come into the presence of GOD as a people defeated by the world and run ragged from the busyness of life, but we come before Him as co-heirs with Christ. We stand before GOD as his children who will one day share in the riches of His kingdom and see His glory in full.
Hallelujah to My King - After a presentation from the Shoe Man - he sells old shoes overseas by the pound and uses the money to dig wells in Kenya - I was glad that we were doing this song after hearing one of the ways that GOD is at work in the world both in our own neighborhood and around the world. This Paul Baloche song is one of my favorite worship tunes at the moment. It's so good theologically. To sing of the greatness, sweetness, goodness and peace of Jesus Christ through our trials with the promise of seeing His face as the saints sing "Hallelujah, what a Savior / I owe everything to Him - Hallelujah, what a Savior / Hallelujah to my King!" If you don't do this song I would encourage you to work it into your list, it's fantastic.
It is Well with My Soul - We did four verses of a straight forward version of this song. Coming from hearing the Word in Job and knowing that we were moving into a message of "unprosperity" (the idea that GOD never promises us worldly comfort and riches - but only peace and blessing in Him), it worked well.
Song of the Redeemed - We used the ending tag from this song as a reminder that although live can be difficult we are taken care of by the GOD of the universe (from "It is Well with My Soul"). We are His and His alone. All else in the world is worthless, so we have no concern if we lose all our worldly possessions. The tag in the song simply says "We are Yours" over and over again. It gave me chills to pull back from the mic and hear our people singing together - "We are Yours, We are Yours, We are Yours" - absolutely beautiful.
You Never Let Go - This seems to be one of our "go-to" songs. It's another tune that is just so theologically sound and speaks volumes of the peace and blessings of Christ apart from health, wealth, and prosperity on this earth.
To see what other congregations are singing visit theworshipcommunity.org and this weeks Sunday Setlists.
Heirs [G] (Muck/Eckberg)
Welcome & Announcements
Special Presentation - the Shoe Man
Offering
Hallelujah to My King [E] (Baloche)
Scripture Reading - Job 1:6-22
It Is Well With My Soul [A] (Spafford)
Song of the Redeemed [A] (Hall)
Message - Habakkuk 3:16-18
You Never Let Go [A] (Redman)
Dismiss
THE BAND:
Jonathan David Eckberg - guitar/vocals
NOTES:
After being out of town for work last week and spending Sunday morning at my dad's church in Erie, Illinois, it was great to be back with my church family! Due to schedules of the band I led solo this week. Things were a little rough getting going this morning, it was cold and wet outside and it seemed like we all were dragging. But once we got the morning rolling the congregation came around and it turned out to be a great day of worship and hearing GOD's word. It never ceases to amaze me how on the days when I don't see how GOD's going to get anything done, He works in incredible ways. Cool stuff.
THE SONGS:
Heirs - This is a song from the forthcoming Until We're Kings EP, "Heirs". It's a fun tune that is taken from Romans. I love using it as an opening song as a reminder that we don't come into the presence of GOD as a people defeated by the world and run ragged from the busyness of life, but we come before Him as co-heirs with Christ. We stand before GOD as his children who will one day share in the riches of His kingdom and see His glory in full.
Hallelujah to My King - After a presentation from the Shoe Man - he sells old shoes overseas by the pound and uses the money to dig wells in Kenya - I was glad that we were doing this song after hearing one of the ways that GOD is at work in the world both in our own neighborhood and around the world. This Paul Baloche song is one of my favorite worship tunes at the moment. It's so good theologically. To sing of the greatness, sweetness, goodness and peace of Jesus Christ through our trials with the promise of seeing His face as the saints sing "Hallelujah, what a Savior / I owe everything to Him - Hallelujah, what a Savior / Hallelujah to my King!" If you don't do this song I would encourage you to work it into your list, it's fantastic.
It is Well with My Soul - We did four verses of a straight forward version of this song. Coming from hearing the Word in Job and knowing that we were moving into a message of "unprosperity" (the idea that GOD never promises us worldly comfort and riches - but only peace and blessing in Him), it worked well.
Song of the Redeemed - We used the ending tag from this song as a reminder that although live can be difficult we are taken care of by the GOD of the universe (from "It is Well with My Soul"). We are His and His alone. All else in the world is worthless, so we have no concern if we lose all our worldly possessions. The tag in the song simply says "We are Yours" over and over again. It gave me chills to pull back from the mic and hear our people singing together - "We are Yours, We are Yours, We are Yours" - absolutely beautiful.
You Never Let Go - This seems to be one of our "go-to" songs. It's another tune that is just so theologically sound and speaks volumes of the peace and blessings of Christ apart from health, wealth, and prosperity on this earth.
To see what other congregations are singing visit theworshipcommunity.org and this weeks Sunday Setlists.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Sunday Setlist / 9.5.10
Here's a look at the setlist for the 9:00am service at Highland Community Church:
Worship Team:
Jonathan David Eckberg - Guitar/Vocals
Tim McDaniel - Drums
Joe Szoke - Bass
Aaron McDaniel - Lead Guitar
Notes:
We've had a couple weeks at church without the band. I lead with just me and my acoustic two weeks ago and last week we did a combined service with our more traditional and more contemporary services meshing, so it stays pretty low-key. It was a nice break for all of us, but we were itching to get back into the swing of things and that's what we did. I think this marks the first time since I've been at HCC that we haven't had an acoustic guitar in the mix. Kinda strange but lots of fun. I did play an acoustic-ish part on "Give Us Clean Hands", as I ran my Fender Tele through a Boss AC-2 (an acoustic simulator). If you listen to it even remotely critically you KNOW it's not an acoustic guitar, but the feel is close enough to pass in a pinch.
The Songs:
Let Your Glory Shine - This Lincoln Brewster tune is a full-force rocker. The band LOVES playing this song. We use it as an opener because it's one of those tunes that gets people up and singing and brings a ton of energy into the service right off the bat. The end of the second verse of the song says "Your love won't be shaken / You're taking who I am and making / something out of nothing for Your cause" into the chorus of "Let Your glory shine through me!" What an astounding truth. It reminds me of 2 Cor. 4:7, of how when left to ourselves we are nothing more than fragile, weak, worthless pieces of earth, but we are allowed to carry the all-surpassing power of GOD within our hearts. With this power we are able to shine with His light in a dark age. Seriously, how cool is that?
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee - We followed the traditional melody of this song, but we REALLY pushed the tempo and gave it a hopped-up-pop-rock feel to keep the energy up as came out of the time of worshiping GOD by giving back, financially, what He has blessed us with. Pastor Wise asked to have the worship set move more toward the communion service than the message this week. "Let Your Glory Shine" was a great way to focus on that. It's a song that highlights the power of GOD and the ministry He allows us to participate in. We then move to "Joyful, Joyful...", which again highlights GOD's great power, but moves from it's effect on us to simply marveling at who He is and what He has done in the world around us. It's really a song that celebrates common grace.
You Are So Good to Me - We floated seamlessly into this song from "Joyful, Joyful...". We did a version of this song last month that was much more driven and a little funkier than any version I've ever heard recorded and got a great response from the congregation on it. This Sunday was the perfect time to trot that version back out. As we came out of a song on common grace, we rolled straight into a more focused song that speaks of saving grace. This song tells of what GOD has done in the life of the believer and the love that overflows in our hearts because of the love He first showed us.
Mighty is the Power of the Cross - Musically we did a different take on this one. We kept it very open with lots of space. I ran my electric through a heavy chorus, lots of delay, and added some tremolo for good measure. I just played a slow arpeggiated pattern and the rest of the guys played sparse parts and gave it an ethereal quality. It turned out to be a cool sounding tune. The scripture reading (Isaiah 53:1-11) focused on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the blood shed for my sins. After spending the previous several minutes of the service focused on GOD's power, His boundless grace and love, how that grace and love is poured out in our lives, and the goodness of GOD, it was fitting to bring it all back to the Cross of Jesus Christ. Everything in our lives, good, bad, happy, sad, funny, and tragic, must always come back to the work accomplished on the Cross. It is the focal point of who we are and what we believe. It is where the price for our rebellion was paid once-for-all. Without it, nothing in our lives matters. Without the Cross it doesn't matter whether we are great people who help everyone and pour out the greatest acts of kindess on others or we are, quite literally, the worst person on the face of the earth - without the Cross we end in the same place, Hell. Our communion service is a time to stop and consider the gravity of Christ's sacrifice and to consider if we really believe what his blood accomplished.
Message - Habakkuk 2:2-20
Give Us Clean Hands - I wasn't sure if I had picked the right song as the response this week. Pastor told me he would be speaking on the wickedness of Babylon and how similar their culture was to the culture we live in today. This left me a little unsure what direction to take, but this was definitely a Holy Spirit driven choice. It worked perfectly with the message. The song asks for clean hands, pure hearts, and a love for GOD alone. It's a cry for the strength to be a generation that seeks the face of GOD and lays down the idols that we have raised around us.
That was our Sunday. To see how others congregations around the world worshipped GOD today, you can check out the Sunday Setlist at www.theworshipcommunity.com.
Let Your Glory Shine [D] (Brewster)
Welcome & Announcements
Offering
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee [G] (lyrics: van Dyke/ music: Beethoven)
You Are So Good to Me [G] (Pasely/Chaffer/Pasely)
Scripture Reading - Isaiah 53:1-11
Mighty is the Power of the Cross [C] (Tomlin)
Communion
Message - Habakkuk 2:2-20
Give Us Clean Hands [G] (Hall)
Dismiss
Let Your Glory Shine [D] (Brewster)
Worship Team:
Jonathan David Eckberg - Guitar/Vocals
Tim McDaniel - Drums
Joe Szoke - Bass
Aaron McDaniel - Lead Guitar
Notes:
We've had a couple weeks at church without the band. I lead with just me and my acoustic two weeks ago and last week we did a combined service with our more traditional and more contemporary services meshing, so it stays pretty low-key. It was a nice break for all of us, but we were itching to get back into the swing of things and that's what we did. I think this marks the first time since I've been at HCC that we haven't had an acoustic guitar in the mix. Kinda strange but lots of fun. I did play an acoustic-ish part on "Give Us Clean Hands", as I ran my Fender Tele through a Boss AC-2 (an acoustic simulator). If you listen to it even remotely critically you KNOW it's not an acoustic guitar, but the feel is close enough to pass in a pinch.
The Songs:
Let Your Glory Shine - This Lincoln Brewster tune is a full-force rocker. The band LOVES playing this song. We use it as an opener because it's one of those tunes that gets people up and singing and brings a ton of energy into the service right off the bat. The end of the second verse of the song says "Your love won't be shaken / You're taking who I am and making / something out of nothing for Your cause" into the chorus of "Let Your glory shine through me!" What an astounding truth. It reminds me of 2 Cor. 4:7, of how when left to ourselves we are nothing more than fragile, weak, worthless pieces of earth, but we are allowed to carry the all-surpassing power of GOD within our hearts. With this power we are able to shine with His light in a dark age. Seriously, how cool is that?
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee - We followed the traditional melody of this song, but we REALLY pushed the tempo and gave it a hopped-up-pop-rock feel to keep the energy up as came out of the time of worshiping GOD by giving back, financially, what He has blessed us with. Pastor Wise asked to have the worship set move more toward the communion service than the message this week. "Let Your Glory Shine" was a great way to focus on that. It's a song that highlights the power of GOD and the ministry He allows us to participate in. We then move to "Joyful, Joyful...", which again highlights GOD's great power, but moves from it's effect on us to simply marveling at who He is and what He has done in the world around us. It's really a song that celebrates common grace.
You Are So Good to Me - We floated seamlessly into this song from "Joyful, Joyful...". We did a version of this song last month that was much more driven and a little funkier than any version I've ever heard recorded and got a great response from the congregation on it. This Sunday was the perfect time to trot that version back out. As we came out of a song on common grace, we rolled straight into a more focused song that speaks of saving grace. This song tells of what GOD has done in the life of the believer and the love that overflows in our hearts because of the love He first showed us.
Mighty is the Power of the Cross - Musically we did a different take on this one. We kept it very open with lots of space. I ran my electric through a heavy chorus, lots of delay, and added some tremolo for good measure. I just played a slow arpeggiated pattern and the rest of the guys played sparse parts and gave it an ethereal quality. It turned out to be a cool sounding tune. The scripture reading (Isaiah 53:1-11) focused on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the blood shed for my sins. After spending the previous several minutes of the service focused on GOD's power, His boundless grace and love, how that grace and love is poured out in our lives, and the goodness of GOD, it was fitting to bring it all back to the Cross of Jesus Christ. Everything in our lives, good, bad, happy, sad, funny, and tragic, must always come back to the work accomplished on the Cross. It is the focal point of who we are and what we believe. It is where the price for our rebellion was paid once-for-all. Without it, nothing in our lives matters. Without the Cross it doesn't matter whether we are great people who help everyone and pour out the greatest acts of kindess on others or we are, quite literally, the worst person on the face of the earth - without the Cross we end in the same place, Hell. Our communion service is a time to stop and consider the gravity of Christ's sacrifice and to consider if we really believe what his blood accomplished.
Message - Habakkuk 2:2-20
Give Us Clean Hands - I wasn't sure if I had picked the right song as the response this week. Pastor told me he would be speaking on the wickedness of Babylon and how similar their culture was to the culture we live in today. This left me a little unsure what direction to take, but this was definitely a Holy Spirit driven choice. It worked perfectly with the message. The song asks for clean hands, pure hearts, and a love for GOD alone. It's a cry for the strength to be a generation that seeks the face of GOD and lays down the idols that we have raised around us.
That was our Sunday. To see how others congregations around the world worshipped GOD today, you can check out the Sunday Setlist at www.theworshipcommunity.com.
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