Sojourn’s Worship Liturgy Recap, 6-24-2012

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, but also the readings and prayers from our liturgy. You can find links to the 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 by Tom Branch, from Sojourn Midtown.

Prelude: Bow written by Sojourn’s first worship songwriter, Jeremy Quillo. We recorded “Bow” on our 2005 album These Things I Remember.


Call to Worship:
Each week we remember that worship begins with God. He speaks to us through His word and we respond in praise. God desires for us to rest in His provision and live with assurance of His love. Let’s begin by being reminded of who God is and what He has done:

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins;

he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him

is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
The Lord is like a father to his children,

tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.
Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here.

But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him.

-Psalm 103:8-17

Song: My Maker and My King written by Anne Steele and Sojourn Worship & Arts Pastor Mike Cosper. You’ll find this hymn of adoration on our Before The Throne record.

Confession:
God invites us to be open and confess our sin. We can rest knowing that he hears our prayers for mercy and is faithful to forgive. The book of Hosea says this:

Bring your confessions, and return to the LORD.
Say to him,
Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,
so that we may offer you our praises. - Hosea 14:2

Just as we practiced being still before God last week, Let’s take another moment to silently confess our sins to the Lord in prayer. (SILENCE)

Song: Psalm 51 written by Sojourn’s Rebecca Dennison. This is another song from our psalm-based project These Things I Remember.

Assurance: God does graciously receive us because of the sacrifice that Christ offered on our behalf. Rest in this truth:

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. – Ephesians 1:4-7

Song: Here is Love written by William Rees, Robert Lowry and Matt Redman.

Peace:
Let’s welcome another here today. Make an effort to introduce yourself to someone new.

Giving

Then our preacher taught from Exodus 20:8-11, Deut. 5:12-15 – “Rest in Remembering.” This was part of our Rest summer sermon series. You can hear Sojourn sermons in theSojourn Church iTunes podcast or in the Sermon Resource library at sojournchurch.com.

Song: My Rock and My Redeemer another song from our own Rebecca Dennison, recorded on These Things I Remember. This was our Communion song of the week.

Reading:
One day we will be free from suffering, pain and persecution. John had a vision that he recorded in the book of Revelation that foretold of the eternal rest that waits for God’s children:

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” -Revelation 14:12-13

Song: All My Tears written by Julie Miller.

Song: Let the Seventh Angel Sound written by Sojourn East Worship Pastor Jamie Barnes, based on Hymn 65 by Isaac Watts.

You’ll find this on The Water And The Blood: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume Two.

Benediction: May the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. Go in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
-based on 1 Peter 5:10