Psalms, Hymns And Spiritual Songs: Sojourn’s Liturgy, Nov. 13, 2011

Welcome to sojournmusic.com’s weekly worship music set list review & service recap.  You’ll not only read a list of the songs we led following the Call To Worship, but also the readings and prayers from our liturgy. You can find links to the set lists of this church and many other churches each week in the Worship Blog Carnival at theworshipcommunity.com. And you can learn about some of the songs we sing at Sojourn Gathered each week in advance of the Sunday service by reading my “Getting Ready For Sunday” post each Thursday at Sojourn’s online journal, TravelBlog.

Photos this week courtesy Chuck Heeke, Brad Weir, Tom Branch, David Alan Kidd and Sarah Horrar. These photos feature baptisms that took place at various Sojourn services and campuses yesterday, during our Baptism Sunday.

Call To Worship:
It’s baptism Sunday here! It’s a great day where we celebrate who God is and how he mends broken lives and saves sinners. As we unite our worship and give Him praise today, I invite you to hear what God has done through His Son Jesus.

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

-Hebrews 2:14-15
Because Jesus Christ was crucified,
we are free from the power of sin and death and given new life.
Praise the Lord!

Let the way that you sing out today be a celebration of God’s grace.

Song: God Who Saves written by Aaron Senseman. We sang this as a response to God’s Call To Worship.

Song: Cling to the Crucified the anonymously written hymn text from Bonar’s Lyra Consolationis, arranged by Kevin Twit, who also wrote the melody.

Confession:
Let’s pray:

God, Your Word tells us that Jesus frees us from our sin and shame,
but we still try to hide from You like Adam and Eve did in the Garden.
Satan whispers to us of our guilt and wants us to believe that God cannot rescue us.
Help us to turn from despair toward the cross of Jesus.
You don’t save us because of our good deeds or cleaned up lifestyle.
You call us out of our filth through the perfect work of Jesus.
Amen.

Let this song that we sing aloud be a song of both confession and assurance to us today.

Song: Before the Throne of God Above written by Charitie Lees Bancroft and Vikki Cook. We recorded this on our 2007 album Before The Throne. Hear this Sojourn version of “Before The Throne Of God Above” in full, here.

Assurance/Peace:
Hear God’s assuring Word:

Since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. -Hebrews 4:14-16

Let’s help one another to know God’s grace today by the way that we greet each other in love.

Giving:
[Set up communion as to specific campus needs]

Let’s pray:
Our Father in heaven, multiply these gifts and increase their usefulness. Magnify your purposes in their distribution, to the end that your kingdom may come and your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Then our pastor preached a sermon from our Genesis sermon series. You can hear Sojourn sermons in theSojourn Church iTunes podcast or in the Sermon Resource library at sojournchurch.com.

Song: Sovereign Grace O’er Sin Abounding written by John Kent and Sandra McCracken. This was our Communion hymn of the week, which we meditated on and sang as we came forward to receive the bread and the cup.

BAPTISMS (Our J-Town Campus moved Baptisms right before the last song.) We celebrated several baptisms yesterday across our campuses and service times. It’s always a thrill to witness this powerful symbol of new life in Christ.

Song: Beautiful Savior written by Stuart Townend.
Song: Jesus Paid It All written by Elvina M. Hall and John T. Grape. This country gospel classic was our song for the Sending.

Benediction:
As you go today, know that God gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord, Jesus Christ and that the Holy Spirit will continue to remind us of that victory.  Peace be with you all.