This coming Sunday I am serving as the worship leader at State College Evangelical Free Church. The message is titled “A Community of Grace (Part II).” The team will be small this week, I have one vocalist and a drummer to work with.
I did not have a concise theme in mind as I put this set list together. I suppose it is a bit of a thematic buffet.
Song #1- (C) Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing – Robert Robinson
This is a wonderful song to start a service with. I love the phrase “tune my heart to sing Thy grace” in the first verse. My heart seems to go out of tune more frequently than a $10 guitar on a rainy day.
Song #2 – (D) Holy – Brenton Brown
Since we just requested to have our hearts tuned to sing the praise of God, it seems fitting that a simple song of praise should follow. The mercy of God is mentioned int he chorus of this song, and I think that ties in well with the next song.
Song #3 – (G) Only Grace – Matthew West & Kenny Greenberg
I do not know this song well. Over the past two weeks I have been trying to learn it. Pastor Tober instructed the music coordinators to use the song in every service for the next several weeks. I really like the lyrics of this song, but I am not a big fan of parts of the melody. It seems it is written for individual (or well-rehearsed group) performance and not congregational singing. I am considering removing some of the notes in places where the melody takes a detour, but I haven’t decided on this yet. I also slid it back to the key of G to make it more congregant friendly (West sings it in B or Bb).
Song #4 – (A) Blessed Be Your Name – Matt Redman & Beth Redman
I have not used this song in a long time. It is a reminder to worship every day in every circumstance. I’m not sure why I have so much difficulty turning every blessing into praise, but it is a battle for me.
Closing Song – (G) How Can I Keep from Singing? - Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, & Matt Redman
I like leaving the service with this thought in mind: I should be more intentional in worshipping God with my life.
As I look back over this list the theme I see emerging is a reminder to worship. You could say the theme is reflecting on my ebenezer, though I’m using a version of Come, Thou Fount that does not mention Mr Scrooge.
