Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs: Sojourn's Worship Liturgy – 3/15/2009

You can visit the blog carnival at fredmckinnon.com for links to many church worship music set lists, like this one from Sojourn in Louisville.  Photos here by Dan Canales. Dan was not able to shoot today, but I’m using a few of his pictures from past weeks.

We began the service with a greeting and a reflection on “the rhythms of life that God gave to Israel — rhythms of work and rest, fasts and feasts, celebrations and Sabbaths.” (Mike Cosper).  Then we stood together to acknowledge God’s sovereignty over our lives — even when we are “at rest”, by reciting a Call To Worship based on Psalm 27 and John 4:23, adapted from The Worship Sourcebook.  Then we prayed, using as our model a Collect by Thomas Cranmer, from The Book Of Common Prayer.

Hear last week’s Why We Do What We Do episode for an 8-minute discussion of the purpose for a “Call To Worship” in church services

1. Great And Mighty, written by Aaron Senseman and Cliff Young of Caedmon’s Call, which you can hear on their In The Company Of Angels II: The World Will Sing record.  This is a good song of adoration:

You are great and mighty, God

Clothed in majesty

You set us apart, and You set us free

as well as petition:

Hold my heart, O God

Keep me ever in Your will

Then the liturgist read from Isaiah 30:15,18 and then led us in a corporate prayer of confession.

2. Begone Unbelief, words by John Newton and music by Kevin Twit, founder of Indelible Grace.  You can read Sojourn Worship & Arts Pastor Mike Cosper’s two-part interview with Kevin Twit, in which they discuss the place of the guitar in Christian worship, here and here at sojournmusic.com. And check out “Begone Unbelief” from Indelible Grace IV: Beams Of Heaven.

Begone unbelief, my Savior is near

And for my relief will surely appear:

By faith let me wrestle with God in the storm,

And help me my Savior, the faith to adorn.

And help me my Savior, the faith to adorn.

Following this hymn our liturgist read from Matthew 11:28-30, reminding us that in Christ, we are forgiven.

3. All I Have Is Yours, words by me, Bobby Gilles and music by fellow Sojourner Rebecca Elliott, recorded on Before The Throne.  You can listen to this modern hymn on Myspace.com/sojournrecords and view the chord sheet from the Before The Throne page here.

I remember before I took the lyrics (which, for the hymnology nerds like me, are in 85.85.888.5 meter, with an unmetered refrain) to Rebecca, I had an idea of what it should sound like.  What I mean is, I had some idea of the aura that I hoped the music would evoke, although I didn’t have any melody in mind whatsoever.  Then a few short weeks later when Rebecca played her music for me, it was like magic — her melody was exactly what I’d hoped it would be.  People have told me they’ve used this song for weddings, baby dedications and funerals.  That’s a great honor.

After “All I Have Is Yours” we entered into the Passing Of The Peace, welcoming those near us whom we didn’t know and greeting those we did.  Then Lead Pastor Daniel Montgomery preached

4. Amen, Amen, by Sojourn’s Neil and Kate Robins (also of the rock band Dirt Poor Robins), adapted from the Isaac Watts hymn “Jesus Shall Reign.” You can hear the mp3 and view the chord sheet from our Advent Songs page here on sojournmusic.com.  We most often sing this song during Advent and Christmas season, but the lyrics fit any season of the year.  Today it was our hymn for the Lord’s Supper:

Peace like a river from His throne

Will flow to nations yet unknown

His word a light, where all hope is dim

and all tribes unite to cry “Amen”

5. I Sing The Mighty Power Of God, written by Isaac Watts, arranged by The Parsons, a Mars Hill Church (Seattle) worship band, recorded on their Rain City Hymnal record.  The flow of the verses on this hymn adaptation builds to an emotional crescendo on the chorus:

Kings of earth and everything that lives, now with us sing

And let your glory ring

O’er every mountain crest, Creation has confessed

That You have given breath

From heaven to the depths

Then we read together, thanking God for his goodness and dedicating ourselves to Him in a reading adapted from Psalm 107:1-3, 116:7-19.   Incidentally, you can browse through many of our readings and use them freely from theopensourcebook.org, a joint venture between Pastor Mike Cosper and Nathan Bierma of the Calvin Institute For Christian Worship.

6. Awake My Soul, written by Sandra McCracken and recorded on her album of “ancient and modern” hymns, The Builder And The Architect.  This is one of those songs that can fit in nearly any part of a Christian worship service.  Here, it made for a good Sending song before our announcements and Benediction:

The image of God invisible,

The firstborn of all life

Before and within, He holds it all in,

One name, one faith, one Christ

Worship band for the 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services:

Rebecca Elliott — vocals, keyboard

Brooks Ritter — vocals, guitar

Mike Cosper — electric guitar

Dony Erwin — bass guitar

Ryan Harvey — drums

Micah Revell — liturgy readings

Worship band for the 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. services:

Katie Vaughn — vocals

Chad Watson — vocals and acoustic guitar

Dave Moisan — vocals and keyboard

David Weir — electric guitar

Phillip Miller — bass guitar

Smitty Smith — drums

Dave Richards — liturgical readings