March 14

This Sunday was exciting - the projector kicked the bucket 10 minutes before our gathering began, and I had to call out lines during the songs for people to follow. It was tiring, but the projector has been cleaned out and is apparently working now.

The theme was the paradox of losing our lives to find them.

Let Everything That Has Breath

Praise you in the morning
Praise you in the evening
Praise you when I'm young and when I'm old...

Confession

God,

As you are re-creating the whole world,
we continually pursue our own happiness.

When you ask us to lose our lives,
we confess we often feign interest,
because we are afraid
of what you will ask of us,
where you will lead us,
who you will bring into our path.

But then we come to our senses,
and realize again
that if we grasp our lives too tightly,
we trade away your goodness.

Forgive us,
and help us die to ourselves,
so we can find and affirm your life
in our community and our world.

Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God
a thing to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.

And being found in human form,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death,
even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

(Philippians 2:5-11)

The Wonderful Cross

O the wonderful cross,
O the wonderful cross,
Bids me come and die,
And find that I may truly live.

I Will Offer Up My Life

What can I give, what can I bring,
What can I sing as an offering, Lord?

Your Grace Is Enough

You use the weak to lead the strong...

Response: From The Inside Out

Your will above all else,
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself,
In bringing you praise,
Everlasting, your light will shine
When all else fades,
Neverending, your glory goes
Beyond all fame.

March 7

The scripture for this Sunday is the story of the Good Samaritan (who might have been a good common Jew, but the point of the story still holds). I tried to focus on love of neighbor with the confession without tying in to the story too closely. I wasn't in the mood for taking the metaphor too far this week. The main portion of the confession is based on an inversion of Micah 6:8. Instrumentation this week is piano, violin and djembe.

Open Skies (Claas P. Jambor)

Everlasting God

Confession

God,

You invite us
to love deeply,
recklessly,
and unconditionally;

but instead—

We have pursued injustice
rather than your peace,
we have been hard-hearted
rather than merciful,
and we have considered ourselves
better than others.

Forgive us for neglecting
your law of love,
and inspire us,
through the example of Jesus,
to love as he loved.

We pray in his name,
Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

God is gracious!
Despite our failures,
he does not condemn us,
but welcomes us back
into a life of love.
Brothers and sisters,
we are forgiven,
we are restored,
we are loved.

Response songs during and after communion:

From The Depths (Sojourn Music)

Take My Life And Let It Be Consecrated

God Of This City

February 28

I was fortunate to be at a church planting conference in San Diego this weekend. Our church isn't a new plant; it's a few years old but we were invited to participate by the denomination. It was a great experience, bonding with other church leadership, agreeing and disagreeing with various session speakers, generating ideas on how to do ministry in our local church, and reading Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christianity on the plane and at night. Needless to say, my thoughts were all over the map during the weekend.

I didn't attempt to connect with the sermon for music and liturgy at all. The confession was inspired by the classical "what I have done, and what I have left undone" confession language. Instead of a time of silent reflection after corporately reading the confession, we paused after each paragraph for silent confession instead.

The music selection was largely random. The holy spirit was at work, though, and the music really ended up dovetailing with sermon in an amazing way.

Instrumentation was just piano, violin and a bit of shaker. Without further ado...

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Mighty To Save (Hillsong)

Confession

God,

We confess that we have failed this week
to live as you called us to live.

(pause)

We have committed wrongs
against people you created and love,
lashing out in anger,
taking what is not ours,
and looking down upon those
who are different from us.

(pause)

We have failed to live out
your mission in the world,
neglecting the poor,
ignoring those in pain,
seeing the face of Jesus
and looking away.

(pause)

Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

Assurance of Pardon

(from Romans 5)

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass
was condemnation for all men,
so also the result of one act of righteousness
was justification that brings life for all men.

For just as through the disobedience of the one man
the many were made sinners,
so also through the obedience of the one man
the many will be made righteous.

The law was added
so that the trespass might increase.
But where sin increased,
grace increased all the more.

God of Beauty (Solomon's Porch)

All The Way My Savior Leads Me

After sermon: The Benediction (Timothy James Meaney)