August 24, 2008

After a much-appreciated family vacation, I’m back to work and back to worship.vintage21.com. Yesterday was a beautiful day, here’s the set:

My Hope Is Built
Words by Edward Mote, 1834
Music: William B. Bradbury, 1863
Arrangement by Matt Stevens
This song is becoming a favorite opener, not only because of the energy in the new version but also due to the foundation it lays. As people come to church for the first time, they’re probably wondering what we’re all about. Even for followers of Christ who regularly attend, it’s easy to have a certain issue or notion on the brain that would distract from the purpose of Sunday and the purpose of the church. This song lays it out clearly, and foreshadowed the sermon on the church’s foundation.

“On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.”

By Thy Mercy (Jesus, Lord of Life and Glory)
Words by James Cummins, 1839
Music by Greg Thompson, 2004
Addtl. Music and Lyrics by Vintage21 Church, 2008
This is a beautiful hymn introduced by a friend in Charlottesville, Virginia. Alex Mejias is the founding worship leader and songwriter for High Street Hymns, whose self-titled album has been in regular rotation in my ears recently. For those of you looking for rich theology and beautiful music, check it out.
As a church, we are in a season of repentance as we seek to honor God with everything. This song is a plea to God’s mercy and deliverance. We added a few of our own elements for the band setup we have, and overall it seemed to go off well. I look forward to doing it again soon - it’s a song we need to sing.

Sermon: Acts 2:41-27
In our series “Through The Church” Pastor Tyler Jones is examining what God promises to do through His church, and what that means for us at Vintage21. This passage in Acts is one of the best descriptions of the early church, and always sheds light on how the church should function.

Jesus Paid It All
Words by Elvina Hall, 1865
We do a version made popular a few years ago from a Passion cd. Their version is so energetic, due in part by the crowd yelling that comes in after the first chorus. I love the part where we break it down and sing accapella:

“Oh, praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead”

You Made It All
Words and Music by Taylor Roberts
One of the best-loved songs at Vintage21. An acoustic guitar and hundreds of raised voices.

By Thy Mercy (again)

Willingly
Words and Music by Matt Stevens
In mid-July, I wrote that this song was catching on. With the college students returning and people done with traveling, it wasn’t sung quite as loudly, nor did there seem to be a familiarity among the congregation. For those unfamiliar with song planning and worship leading, there are so many factors that go into the songs we sing! Thankfully, the main one is prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

This post is in collaboration with other Worship Leaders as a part of the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival at fredmckinnon.com.