This first one was an evening of prayer, praise, and communion. We called it Near the Father’s Heart which grew out of the New Living Translation version of John 1:18: No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

Our original plan was to focus on worship and praying in some different areas that are near the Father’s heart. However, after participating in a study from Francis Chan on communion, the structure of the evening took a sudden turn. We recast a huge part of it to be able to spend time doing communion together in a significant way. Part of our desire in doing a joint campus event was to draw the two campuses into a greater unity, and it seemed that experiencing communion together would be a good idea.

Communion is one of most favorite things to lead as a pastor and have as part of worship. It is a deep, rich, symbolic act that we have the privilege of doing together as a church. It doesn’t have to be rushed or boring, and can be done creatively and with meaning eve if time is limited. I’ve posted before about some creative ways to do communion in services. Fortunately, in this instance, we had time do spend on it.

The first part of the evening focused on praise, thanksgiving, and confession. We had video elements, songs, scripture, and prayer.

The second part focused on communion. We began be recapping the gospel story and why God expressed such love to us. We talked about the significance of communion scripturally and in the life of the church throughout history, including its origin in Passover. We then had people break up into smaller groups. We began by having them share with one another about what God has been teaching them or how they’ve seen God working. Then each group came up to a station to receive a hunk of bread and juice. We prepared to take the elements by reciting a contemporary liturgy together. Following that, we had each group share prayer needs and spend time praying for one another.

We ended with a couple of songs that affirmed the power and greatness of Jesus.

I know it’s an extra step, but I encourage you to download the pdf of the service flow. This is from Planning Center and has all the details of what we did together, including some of the speaking parts and transitional pieces. There were a lot of different elements, and this way you can see the entire picture.

Here’s the file: Download

You can also download the talk about communion that I gave. There are influences from Scripture, worship history, Francis Chan, and Dan Wilt in it. Feel free to use or adapt as your would like.

Here’s the file: Download

The Communion Responsive Liturgy is a piece from WorshipTraining.com. Here is the page it is located on, but you will need to be a member to download it. If you haven’t considered joining WorshipTraining.com, you should take a look at it. There is a wealth of resources offered to equip, train, and challenge the worship team of any size church.

It was a great evening together. The time of worship, communion, and prayer was meaningful and participatory. It was great seeing the two campuses joining together in a common setting. Currently, the two campuses share a name and a common vision, but operate independently and uniquely. We are exploring how to function together better while still being unique to the community each campus is located in.

Have you ever done a special gathering for worship, prayer, and/or communion outside your normal corporate gathering time? If so, what did you do? What was it like? Feel free to share your experience as a comment.

Ours was well received. We are already looking forward to what the next one will look like in April.

Thanks for stopping by. This post is also a part of the Sunday Setlists collection that happens each week at The Worship Community. If you’re not familiar, be sure to check it out.

This morning, we looked at Luke 6 to see the role obedience plays in the discipleship way. Obedience is a hard thing. It means surrendering fully to another, and in this passage, Jesus asks why people call Him “Lord,” meaning Master, yet don’t do what He says to do.

Unless our foundation is built on obeying and following all that God commands, our foundation is weak and may not weather the storms that will come. And that means obedience, listening to God, and honoring Him in all we do.

That was our challenge for today.

Here’s what we did together:

Our Service Flow:

Welcome/Announcements

Also did a brief recap of the recent congregational meeting and where we’re heading as church in 2012.

Greeting Time

Video: A Majestic God – Psalm 8 from Bluefishtv.com

This was our call to worship.

God of Wonders (Byrd/Hindalong)

Holy, Holy, Holy (Dykes/Heber)

Prayer & Confession

Verses included Hebrews 4:15-16 and Psalm 17:6

Unashamed Love (Heibert)

Offering

Video: Foundations from Dan Stevers (during the offering)

Message

Response

Today’s response was simply asking people to quiet their hearts and begin to listen for God’s voice. We didn’t have anything on the screen or any music in the background.

I Surrender All (Van DeVenter/Weeden)

We did three verses of this and asked people to sing only if they could sing the words with authenticity.

Challenge: For people to prioritize making time to listen to God for His voice this week.

Psalm 5:3

Benediciton

Observations:

• It was a good morning together. We were down a bit in attendance, and there were some technical issues (keyboard switched to another setting and the computer froze), but that’s okay. It was good being together and turning our eyes and hearts again toward God.
• This was the second week doing Unashamed Love with this congregation. They have really caught on quickly to this one. During the service, I came back around again to the “Worthy” part after a moment of reflection, and invited those that were comfortable to lift their hands in praise, adoration, and surrender.
• We had had another song planned, Praise the Father, Praise the Son, after I Surrender All, but ended up not doing it. We were running a bit behind, and it just didn’t seem like it was necessary in that moment.
• This week, I’ll be moving forward in beginning to build a worship team. Pray for the Lord’s presence and guidance in this process as we look to involve others on Sunday morning so it’s not just my wife and I. Pray that the Lord would also send some musicians to be a part of our church.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope that wherever you gathered with other Christians this weekend to worship together was a highlight of your week.

To see what other churches did together this morning, be sure to check out Sunday Setlists at The Worship Community. See you next week.

This week we began a new series where we will be exploring The Discipleship Challenge. Our desire is to rediscover what it means to be a true follower of Jesus Christ. We’re challenge some commonly held assumptions about discipleship in the church today, and hopefully we will be challenged by the words of Jesus.

Today was all about laying a foundation. Not only for the series, but also the foundation of our relationship with Jesus and what it means to be a follower of His. Discipleship is a choice, and it isn’t always easy, but the burden is light (Matthew 11) when we join with Jesus.

Here’s what we did together:

Our service flow:

Blessed Be Your Name (Redman)

Greeting Time

Welcome/Announcements

Special Lay Leader Recognition

Call to Worship: Psalm 147:7-11

This week, my wife led us in the call to worship and reminded us of the greatness of Jesus.

Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King (Robinson/Miller)

Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Chisholm/Runyan)

Prayer

For our prayer time, reminded the congregation of the importance of our investment in prayer and that as we are faithful to pray, He is faithful to answer. I shared some needs with them, invited them to pray silently, and then we concluded this segment with the senior pastor leading in a corporate prayer.

Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting (Pigott/Hampton)

Before leading into this song, shared a thought about rest, communion with God and King David from John Owen

Offering

            During the offering, we introduced the song Unashamed Love (Heibert)

Message

Video: Plastic Jesus from Igniter Media

Response/Prayer

Encouraged people to consider Jesus’ call to discipleship, the kind of life they were living, and whether they were finding it too difficult, out of control, or just having a hard time. What was God saying to them, and what was their response?

Unashamed Love

During the song, read Psalm 91:1-4

Prayer

That we would know the rest of Jesus and that we all have ears to hear the words of Jesus over the next few weeks in regards to the truth of discipleship.

Close: Hebrews 13:20-21

Some Observations:

• We were a bit down in attendance today, but we also had some guests today. We are continuing to grow together. I’m looking forward to seeing what God will do in our midst over the next few months.
• I experienced a microphone failure today while giving announcements. The older wireless handheld mic just doesn’t like me for some reason. It always seems to fade in and out when I use it (and it’s not the sound guy being silly). Fortunately, I think I may have access to a replacement.
• We also had a song challenge today. Halfway through Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting I discovered that the congregation didn’t know it. There were a few valiantly singing, which I appreciated. Beck and I seemed to have a hard time getting in sync with the song, and at one point she lost her place in the words. Let’s just say that I wrapped that one up rather quickly and moved on. However, I think Unashamed Love was well received, and we’ll be coming back to that one.
• The message was good today, too. A great reminder and great challenge. Our hope is that many will hear and respond with a truer commitment in the weeks to come.

I hope your time together this morning was special and God-honoring. I hope that you found encouragement and strength to live the rest of this week in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

To find our what other churches did together this week, be sure to check out Sunday Setlists at The Worship Community.

See you next week!

Maybe I’m the only one, but I think it’s great to see what people are doing creatively with tools that most of use have ready access to.

Today’s video features some stop motion, Google Maps Street View, and a great story.

Enjoy!

What are you watching that you just have to share?

Christmas morning came, and…

…it wasn’t under the tree. When we had the opportunity to purchase the set, we didn’t. We thought we could get it later. We couldn’t.

Fortunately, he was very gracious and happy with the Lego sets he did receive.

Expectation is a part of life. Sometimes they are met, and sometimes not.

As I kick off 2012 here at the blog, we could talk about the expectations we have of a better year, a healthier life, deeper spirituality, a more pleasing work situation, and so on.

But, I would much rather take a step back and wonder if you have any expectations about…

…Worship.

Where does expectation fit into your journey of worship this year?

Individually and corporately?

• Do you expect that God is with you each day? Guiding you on your journey and hearing your hopefully heartfelt expressions of worship?

• Will you enter times of gathering and worship with the expectation that God will reveal Himself?

• Is it a right expectation that God will show Himself in a potentially different way than He might show Himself to you individually during the week?

• What would it look like or what might happen if we anticipated God showing Himself in the midst of a corporate gathering because we had already experienced His presence during the week?

The ideas of expectation, worship, and encountering God are very much connected. The worship patterns of the Mosaic period and David period involved expectation of God’s presence. The Israelites had an expectation of the Messiah coming to rescue them. The disciples expected and waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit because Jesus told them to wait.

Expectation involves waiting on the Lord, but also looking forward to and anticipating His arrival. We have reason to be people of expectation all year long, not just during the season of Advent. Jesus said that where two or three are gathered in His name, He would be among them. He also promised to never leave us.

Our worship is an act of response to God. Response to His presence, His purposes, and His promises. Response to Him. We call out to God as the Psalmist did, knowing that He hears and responds to His people. Our daily act of worship is living in obedience and submission to Him.

Are you expecting to meet God each day? Each time you gather with other believers. 

At each gathering, great or small, come with an expectation to encounter God. Live this year with a confident expectation that God will do what He says and be who He is.

It’s not always easy. It might not always be overtly obvious that anything is happening. Sometimes it might have to just be a conscious choice of faith.

Even so, as King David did, choose to live and worship in expectation of God this year.

Ask for it.

Believe it.

And then, worship.

For Discussion:
How do you think you might do this?

Worship is more than a Sunday morning thing. Leading worship should be more than a once a week practice thing. Planning worship is more than an hour before the service thing.

Unfortunately, it can be easy to default to some of those patterns.

• Time gets away from us.
• We get comfortable with our skill level and ability.
• We get weary of the constant cycle of Sunday mornings.
• We feel overwhelmed by all the great resources out there.
• As leaders, we’re unsure of how to best resource and equip our team.

I know I’ve found myself there before. We know it’s important to grow, play skillfully, prepare well, be spiritually growing, and to equip and mentor.

But how do we do all that? And with what?

One of my go-to resources is Musicademy.com.

Musicademy.com is a company based in Great Britain that started as a music school. They quickly found success and moved to offering a wealth of DVD based resources to train musicians. Their focus is to facilitate quality musicianship in churches, and thanks to the wonder of the Internet, they are able to do so around the world.

I’ve used a number of their resources in my ministry settings. They offer training courses for guitar, bass, keys, drums, vocals, and orchestral instruments covering a wide range of styles and skill levels.

One of my favorite products is their Worship Backing Band Practice Tracks. This is a DVD resource that features 54 mainstream worship songs. You can go in and turn off one of the tracks, for example guitar, and then play along with your guitar to learn the song. I’ve given this resource to some young drummers to help them learn the drum parts, but also to practice keeping time with a band.

They regularly introduce new products along the way. A recent addition to their options is a course on learning to play by ear.

They also have a great blog full of posts with relevant worship information of all types. These posts aren’t just promos for their products, but actual insightful articles. You should probably add it to your RSS reader.

If you haven’t ever checked them out, I encourage you to investigate Musicademy.com. Or, pass this resource along to your worship team playing buddies.

There are a ton of great resources out there, including Musicademy.com to help us grow in our skill and ability this year. For me, I’m looking to learn the guitar, and will be reaching for some of these resources along the way.

Musicademy – DVD lessons & online instruction in worship music for church based musicians.

For Discussion:
What resources do you use for growth and skill development?

For other great resources for the journey, be sure to check out the Worship Leader’s Toolkit series of blog posts from chrisfromcanada.com. Some great stuff there.

Note: In the interest of transparency, while this post is completely my opinion and thoughts, I will be receiving a free gift from Musicademy.com in exchange for sharing my thoughts.

We gathered and celebrated the saving grace of Jesus through singing, prayer, the Word, giving, and being together.

Here’s what we did together:

Our service flow:

Pre-Service Scripture: Psalm 86:9

Opening video: Be Light themed video from our denomination

Welcome/Announcements

Call to Worship: 1 Chronicles 106:47-48

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (van Dyke/Beethoven arr. Chapman)

Beautiful One (Hughes)

Prayer/Psalm 86:8-11

Invited people to first quietly give thanks for what God has been doing and who He is. Then to remember our need for forgiveness and celebrate that Jesus paid it all.

Jesus Paid It All (Hall/Nifong/Grape)

Transition

Video of Mexico and work being done there by missionary

Introduction of Missionary Speaker

Message: Matthew 5:14-16

Response: Focus on Great Commission Fund

Offering and Prayer

Your Name (Baloche/Packiam)

This was our first time using this song on a Sunday morning here. It seemed to be received well.

Mighty to Save (Morgan/Fielding)

Close: Ephesians 5:8

Observations:

• It was a good morning together. We are continuing to see growth and connection happening. It seems that we are beginning to grow in participation, too.
• It was good having the missionary from Mexico with us for the weekend. He had a number of opportunities to share and connect with people. It was good to be reminded of what is happening in other parts of the world, the needs, and the privilege we have to be a part of that in the Christian & Missionary Alliance.
• We had another transitional video element planned between the message and response time, but ended up not using it.

Hope that your time of worship and gathering was wonderful this past week.

To find out what other churches did together, be sure to check out Sunday Setlists from The Worship Community.

We take intentional steps to continually remind people of who we are and the importance of the Great Commission, including what it means for each of us. Being points of light is important not only around the world, but in our own neighborhoods and communities.

We will have a number of events this week, and we began by having a retired missionary to Mexico share about his experiences as a missionary, but how he continues to see God at work around the world.

Here’s what we did together:

Our service flow:

Sing to the King (Foote)

Greeting/Welcome/Announcements

Welcome New Members

Call to Worship: 1 Chronicles 16:23-25

As we gather, we proclaim the greatness of God through our praise.

Praise Him! Praise Him! (Crosby/Allen)

Mighty to Save (Fielding/Morgan)

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) (Newton/Rees/Excel/Tomlin/Giglio)

Prior to moving into the final verse, we took time to pray for various needs in the congregation as well as the church’s influence and presence in the community based on Isaiah 52:7-8.

Introduction of speaker

Message: Acts 16

Communion Transition

Video: Jesus Is from Eleven72

Communion

During communion, we used the song Wonderful, Merciful Savior (Rodgers/Wyse)

Offering

Days of Elijah (Mark)

Close: Ephesians 5:8

Observations:

• We went “a bit” over time today. That’s always the risk when having a guest speaker. He did a good job, and people didn’t seem to disengage. The stuff at the end wasn’t really anything we could have adjusted.
• I continue to be flummoxed at times by the songs that are sung well and those that aren’t. It’s hard determining a pattern. The later songs were sung much more robustly today than the first two songs.
• I almost introduced a newish song today (Our God Saves by Brenton/Baloche), but instead chose to go with Sing to the King. Even that is still somewhat new, though. Considering the unique set of circumstances here, I’m going to begin compiling a list of songs that will work well and update the song repertoire appropriately.
• My desire as we begin a new year together is that God would grow worshiping and prayerful hearts here. It is a process, and I desire to be listening to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit so that I can best serve this congregation that God has made us a part of.
• Not being exactly sure of the content or flow of the speaker’s message, the communion piece was built to help people transition into it no matter where the message went. It was really cool to see how some of the thoughts that I had jotted down prior to the service and the video worked really well to connect what he said with the expression of communion.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope that you had a great time of worship and gathering with your congregation in spirit and truth.

To find out what other churches did together this past weekend, be sure to check out Sunday Setlists at The Worship Community.