To check out the music set lists of many other churches this weekend, visit the Blog Carnival at fredmckinnon.com. Photos here courtesy of Dan Canales. Next Sunday the 28th I’ll publish “The Year In Photos” — many pictures from Sojourn worship services in 2008, by Dan. If you appreciate his photography, you’ll want to check it out.
1. Mary, Mary, traditional African-American spiritual. This folk gospel song was a fun way to start off our final Sunday before Christmas (it actually followed a Call to Worship reading from Isaiah 9). I like the way the writer portrayed the pre-Epiphany tension in the second verse:
Mary, Mary, who was here — who knew Him?
Mmmm … yes, did anybody know Him?
the ox and the donkey, they bowed right down before Him,
Glory be to the newborn King.
2. Hosanna in the Highest, by Sojourn’s Jeremy Quillo. This is on our Advent Songs album. We’ve been selling the digital download for whatever people want to pay, or for free, during Advent. We’ll continue doing so throughout the Christmas season and beyond. If you missed last Tuesday’s blog column, which included Jeremy’s story behind the song as well as a video of the band performing it live at this year’s Light Up Louisville festival, check out the video below:
Following “Hosanna in the Highest” we prayed a corporate prayer of confession.
3. Joy to the World, words by Isaac Watts, melody by Sojourn’s Jamie Barnes. This is track number one on our Advent Songs record. We love Isaac Watts at Sojourn, which is why we’re releasing two albums of music based on his hymns in early 2009. You can read Jamie’s story behind the writing of a brand new melody for “Joy to the World,” and also hear his original demo and see a video of Jamie and producer Neil Robins in the studio.
4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, English traditional. William B. Sandys first published this carol in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833), but Christians had been singing it for centuries. The classic even appears in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, when Ebenezer Scrooge manhandles the poor lead caroler. Fortunately, no one roughed up any of our worship leaders at Sojourn Gathered yesterday.
Not only is this one of the more popular Christmas carols, but it does one of the best jobs of presenting the gospel within a single verse:
God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay
remember Christ the savior was born upon this day
to save us all from Satan’s power
when we were gone astray
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy — comfort and joy.
Oh tidings of comfort and joy!
Following this we greeted each other in the Passing of the Peace. This week I met a couple that is preparing for missions work in Africa. You never know who you’re going to meet and what their story is.
Afterward, Pastor Daniel Montgomery finished our Romans series. He titled his exposition of Romans 16 “God’s Gift,” explaining:
- God’s gift results in relationships
- God’s gift brings victory
- God’s gift returns all glory to God
5. Come Then, Lord Jesus, words by Horatio Bonar, alt. and music by Kenny Hutson and Katy Bowser. We got this one from our good friends at Indelible Grace, who provide a free lead sheet download on their site. We sang this one as our communion hymn this week. It’s a plaintive cry, a lament, a song that emphasizes one of the main purposes of Advent season — to reflect on the need for Christ’s second coming:
The serpent’s brood increase, the powers of hell grow bold,
the conflict thickens, faith is low, and love is waxing cold.
How long our Lord, our God, Holy and true and good,
wilt thou not judge Thy suffering Church, her sighs and tears and blood?
6. Glory Be, by Sojourn Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper. This was another song that is not only on Advent Songs but also was a part of Sojourn’s Light Up Louisville performance this year. It is a fitting answer to “Come Then, Lord Jesus”:
Hallelujah! The Lord of life has come
to reconcile the nations to their God
Hallelujah! He’s coming back again
to finish what began in Bethlehem.
If you missed the original post that shared the “Glory Be” video and talked about the festival, you can watch the performance below:
7. Silent Night, words by Josef Mohr, arrangement by Rosie Thomas. This version is from Rosie Thomas’ Christmas album, A Very Rosie Christmas. Not only did we use her arrangement, but we’ve been linked with Rosie Thomas in the blogosphere quite a bit lately, in “best of new Christmas music lists” featuring her record and our Advent Songs. Check it out on websites like conversantlife.com and shanebertou.com. And Evade The Noise listed us at #3, right below Rosie — although we both finished behind A Charlie Brown Christmas. Hey, that’s fine. Linus is a pretty good liturgical reader — at least when it comes to Luke 2.
You can hear Rosie Thomas’ stunning version of “Silent Night” on her Last FM page. Then buy the album. Then ours. Then Charlie Brown’s.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Come back tomorrow and I’ll share a final home video recording taken from our appearance at Light Up Louisville — “Amen, Amen” (another Sojourn song based on an Isaac Watts hymn).
Worship band for the 9:30 am and 11:15 am services:
Jamie Barnes — vocals, keys and banjo
Charlie Richardson — vocals and guitar
Rebecca Dennison — vocals
David Weir — lead guitar
Simon Groce — bass guitar
Alex O’Nan — drums
Scott Slucher — liturgical readings
Worship band for the 5 pm and 7 pm services:
Brooks Ritter — vocals and guitar
Kate Robins — vocals
Mike Cosper — electric guitar
Neil Robins — guitar, keys
Eddy Morris — bass guitar
Smitty Smith — drums
Micah Revell — liturgical readings
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds like a great day!
Great setlist! love the videos! You guys rock!
Thanks Steffanie and Johnny.
On a side note, the “Year In Photos” blog post that I mentioned in the opening paragraph will not be published next Sunday the 28th — mostly because I want to incorporate a photo or two from that day as well. We’ll publish the photo blog post on Tuesday the 30th.
Thanks for the link back to our post on your guys’ music. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve recommended “Advent Songs” to—I love that album.