Read many church music set lists, like this one, at the Blog Carnival at fredmckinnon.com. Photos here provided by Dan Canales.
1. Warrior, by Dave Moisan, Neil Robins and me, Bobby Gilles, following a Call to Worship from Psalm 2. We based this song on the little known Isaac Watts’ hymn “David Rejoiced In God, His Strength.” You’ll be able to hear this one very soon, as part of our upcoming CD of new worship songs based on the hymns of Isaac Watts.
We’ll eventually publish a complete story on the writing of this song, for those of you interested in “The Story Behind The Song” pieces. This song took a lot of twists and turns, and in the end, we’ve come up with something that I love. Dave chose the original hymn to work with and came up with the extremely catchy melody, then we had a great time in the empty auditorium of The 930, writing and editing. Later, Neil did some amazing work with the arrangement and came up with some good revisions in the chorus, including one of my favorite lines from this project, the final line of our bridge:
Earth and sea will give up their dead
the nations gathered before Him
A day of glory, a day of dread
No one dares now ignore Him.
That line will give you some clue as to why Neil says “Isaac Watts will scare you.”
Anyway, I can’t wait for you to hear it. One of my favorite memories from the recording project was rewriting portions of this song with Dave in the studio, while he was tracking the piano part. High pressure, and loads of fun.
Following “Warrior” we read a prayer of confession, adapted from Psalm 74.
2. Shelter Me, by Buddy and Julie Miller. I’ve written a lot about this song in past editions of Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, because the lyrics are very well done, with powerful verbs and colorful descriptions. Rather than go into all that again, I’ll give you a sample. Great song. Here’s verse three:
The wind can break, the rain can pour
the deluge breaks, the tempest roars
but in the storm my spirit sings
(when You) shelter me Lord, underneath Your wings
Our liturgist then read words of assurance for us, from Hebrews 6:18-20.
3. In Christ Alone, by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty. This past Friday I shared a video performance of this song with you, featuring writer Keith Getty on piano, along with the vocals of his wife Kristyn. I hope that many of you can come to Sojourn’s home in Louisville, The 930 Art Center, for the free songwriting seminar by Keith and Kristyn on Saturday, February 7 from 9 a.m. to noon. What songwriter wouldn’t want to learn from people responsible for lyrics like these:
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
then bursting forth in glorious day
up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
for I am His, and He is mine —
bought with the precious blood of Christ.
After “In Christ Alone” we celebrated the Giving Of The Peace. The Pastor Daniel Montgomery preached the third installment of our sermon series on the Old Testament. This week we focused on “Sin, Judgment and Grace from Genesis 4-11. This was a panoramic view of Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, Shem and Ham’s descendents and the tower of Babel.
4. How Deep The Father’s Love For Us, by Stuart Townend. This was our communion song for the week, focusing on the gift of His body and blood, and the wonder expressed in these lyrics:
Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer.
But this I know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom.
5. Fellowship So Deep, by Aaron Senseman and Kinley Lange for Caedmon’s Call, recorded on their In The Company Of Angels 2 worship album. This was a great song for continuing the communion meal and bringing our offerings to the offering baskets in various spaces around our auditorium:
Christ the Lamb was made to suffer and to die upon a tree
So that we, sisters and brothers, could know fellowship so deep.
6. Great And Mighty, by Aaron Senseman, Cliff Young, Joshua Moore. Like “Fellowship So Deep,” we got this one from In The Company Of Angels 2 by Caedmon’s Call. Each week we rehearse the gospel in our corporate liturgy. Songs like “Great And Mighty” give voice to our dedication, in view of God’s holiness, our fallenness and Christ’s atonement for our sins:
So in You I will rejoice
make my life an offering
I’m enraptured by the mercies of my king
and I will sing
Worship band for the 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services:
Brooks Ritter — vocals and guitar
Kate Robins — vocals
Neil Robins — electric guitar
Daniel LeChance — keyboard
Robert James — bass guitar
Ryan Harvey — drums
Micah Revell — liturgy readings
Worship band for the 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. services:
Jamie Barnes — vocals and guitar
Katie Vaughn — vocals
Abby Harvey — keyboard
Raphael Starr — clarinet/ flute
Bryon Shrock — bass guitar
Matt Harris — drums
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great recap Bobby. Thank you. And great to see Buddy & Julie Miller listed as songwriters in a worship service set list too.
Thanks, David! Yeah, we Sojourners love Buddy and Julie Miller.
Bobby, I’m curious as to whether your clarinetist and cellist (not credited but appearing in photos) improvise their parts from a chord chart, or if someone is arranging their parts for them.
By the way, I am looking forward to connecting with you guys in Grand Rapids in a week or so.
Wes, we’re looking forward to it.
The clarinetist (Raphael Starr) and cellist (Christi Osterday, who must have been added to the lineup after I checked it) work out their parts together with the band, using chord charts. Pastoral assistant Jamie Barnes has said that they may do fuller lead sheets eventually, but I’m not sure on the details.
These musicians are great though, so they can improvise or play off charts as needed.
That’s helpful. We have a couple of string players, and we’ve tried a little bit of both approaches. Thanks!