Sunday Setlist 6/7/09

In the morning PJ preached from Luke 16, lessons to be learned from the recent murder of George Tiller, abortionist

The music had been planned around a different theme, before the sermon was changed. Wonderfully, the songs fit! I'm grateful our pastors feel the liberty to speak, now and then, a Biblical response to current events.

walk-in
Arise, my soul, arise

set
Ps 100/doxology
Let your kingdom come
Because we believe
Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
How sweet and awesome

Before sermon
Come to the waters whoever is thirsty (Boice)

Evening Lord's Table
PK preaching

Walk-in
Psalm 62

Set
There is a fountain
How deep the Father's love
Jesus, thank you

At the table
Behold the Lamb
Read More......

Sunday setlist 5/31/09

Morning - Friend Sunday
Pastor Joe preached Matt 21:23-32, on the authority of Jesus. Music theme: Jesus our King & Redeemer

Walk-in
As the deer pants for the water
 (fixing the quirky mix of old & new verbs/pronouns in v.1)

Set
Rejoice the Lord is King (lifeway arr.)
We will glorify the King of kings
Psalm 45, "With hearts in love abounding" (tune: AURELIA)

  Harriet Auber's version (from her Spirit of the Psalms, London, 1829), rev.
King of saints! Incarnate God! (tune from "O great God"/kauflin)

  Joseph Hart, from Gadsby

b/4 sermon
Here is love vast as the ocean (did the Matt Redman version)

Evening
Pastor Sam opened up Romans 1:5-6, the "obedience of faith." Music theme: saving faith (which itself is obedience to the gospel)

Walk-in song
Psalm 62 (My soul finds rest in God alone)

Set
I know whom I have believed
Hark! the voice of love and mercy (tune: BEACH SPRING)
Amazing grace/my chains are gone
Beneath the cross (from hymnal, voices alone)

b/4 sermon
Psalm 51, "God be merciful to me"  (Christopher Miner's tune, see indellible grace)

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Never Alone

From "Let All Creation Sing," EMU music. Go here.

[first stanza]
We’re not alone, for Christ is here
Immanuel our God come near
We’re not alone, for to our world
Jesus has come, eternal Word.
And as he speaks, our souls laid bare
Naked, ashamed, sin is made clear
And yet he clothes us in his love
Never alone, Christ is with us, is with us. Read More......

Psalm singing / eighth of several

[Isaac Watts]
The fifth of eight reasons why we should sing the psalms regularly, intentionally and methodically.

When you sing the psalms you engage a collection of songs that address the full range of human emotions.

Godly anger, heart-wrenching sorrow, dark depression, effulgent joy, honest questioning, and exuberant praise are just a sampling of the emotional range covered by the psalms. Most churches sense the burden of teaching their people how to think. Very few consider their responsibility to teach their people how to feel. Christians do not struggle with feeling. Feeling just happens. But our feelings must be trained by the gospel as much as our minds must. The psalms serve as the classroom of our affections. 

[Another thought to Joe Holland's wonderful summary (a PCA church-planting pastor in Virginia). See him here. -- We'll only touch the full range of human emotions when we start singing through the psalter intentionally. It's just too easy, otherwise, to pick out the praise stuff and forego all that lament and sorrow. Even the wisdom/torah psalms (e.g. Ps 1, 119) are seldom sung.]

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Ancient prayer put to song

From Alcuin, 8th century, comes this prayer. Read about him here. 

Eternal light, shine into our hearts. Eternal goodness, deliver us from evil. Eternal power, be our support. Eternal wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance. Eternal pity, have mercy upon us, that with all our heart and mind and soul and strength we may seek your face and be brought by your infinite mercy to your holy presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

—Alcuin, 8th cent.

We sang this Christopher Idle hymn setting of this prayer. We used a new tune by Brian Murphy, retrieved from Red Mountain Music. 

This is a particularly appropriate hymn before the preaching of God's Word.

Eternal light shine in my heart
Eternal hope lift up my eyes
Eternal power be my support
Eternal wisdom make me wise

Eternal life raise me from death
Eternal brightness help me see
Eternal Spirit give me breath
Eternal Savior come to me —

until by your most costly grace
invited by your holy Word
at last I come before your face
to know you, my eternal God
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Sunday setlist May 24, 2009

AM
PT preaching on proper esteem -- God, not self

walk-in
One pure and holy passion (altrogge)

Set
All creatures of our God (lifeway)
Salvation belongs to our God
Grace unmeasured (Kauflin)
Open the eyes of my heart (Baloche)
The Lord is (Ps 23/Kauflin)

b/4 sermon
Captivated by his beauty (tune: tis so sweet)

PM
PS preaching Romans 1:3-4, on the person/history of Jesus Christ

walk-in
Psalm 62 [townend] -- we finally started singing it!

Set
Give to our God immortal praise
God in the gospel of his Son
Alas and did my Savior bleed (Kauflin)
Embrace the cross [John G. Elliott]

b/4 sermon
Eternal light
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Australian site for new songs

Since we've been 'across the pond,' now we should travel 'down under.' EMU music. This is awonderful site for new songs. They state their purpose: "Emu Music exists to resource churches with new songs of the Word and to train musicians in effective Biblical music ministry." Their music reminds of the reAwakening albums from Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN.

Right now my headphones are on and I'm listening to Emu's newest album, New song in my heart Read More......

UK website for new songs

No, Wildcat fans -- this has nothing to do with UK's basketball hopes for next year. Think 'across the pond.' See if anything works for you.

Songs for Today - Biblical songs for today's church

Read More......

Psalm singing / seventh of several

The fourth of eight reasons why we should sing the psalms regularly, intentionally and methodically. 

When you sing the psalms you guard against heresy.

[John Calvin]

Andrew Fletcher said, "Let me write a country's songs, and I care not who writes its laws." He was on to something. Songs drive information deep into our hearts. However, this power can be used for ill means. As long as the church has existed, songs have been used to inculcate heresy. There is an assumption that if you can sing it then it must be true. How shall we guard against sung-heresy? Sing psalms.

[I would want a bit more nuance to his suggestion. Yes, let us sing psalms -- and hymns (always using the psalter as our touchstone). To guard against heresy is an ever-present call to diligence.]

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Congregational song

Second Baptist Church of Coldwater, Mississippi

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Psalm singing / sixth of several

The third of eight reasons why we should sing the psalms regularly, intentionally and methodically. I'm taking the liberty of quoting directly from Joe Holland (a PCA church-planting pastor in Virginia). See his discussion here.

1. When you sing psalms, you literally sing the Bible.

2. When you sing the psalms you interact with a wealth of theology.

3. When you sing the psalms you are memorizing Scripture.

An important part of Christian maturity is the ability to recall passages of Scripture at need. Educational circles have long advocated the use of music to aid memorization. Music has a way of impressing truth into the mind in ways that reading alone cannot. This is no accident; it is the providential hand of our Creator God. He wants you to memorize his word and has provided a mnemonic for easy memory--the Psalter as Scripture set to music.

Read More......

Sunday Setlist for May 17, 2009

Morning
PB continued his sermon on affliction. The Lord used him for good in many lives today.

Walk-in
Brethren, we have met to worship

Set
Praise to the Lord (lifewayworship)
God is in control (T. Paris)
Be unto your Name
Whate'er my God ordains (Joy Malone's tune)
O thou in whose presence

b/4 sermon
Jesus paid it all 
   (a beautiful lifewayworship arrangment + the tag from Passion -- but an octave lower!; "Oh, praise the One who paid my debt, and raised this life up from the dead")

Evening: PS began a survey of Romans

Walk-in
For all the saints

Set
Your great name we praise (sov grace)
To Christ our King in songs of praise (Dudley-Smith hymn)
Song for the nations 
Immortal honors rest on Jesus' head (Wm. Gadsby)

B/4 sermon
Eternal light shine in my heart
    (adapting a prayer from Alcuin, 8th cent theologian)
Read More......