How We Plan For Sunday

It’s been 6 weeks since I’ve led at the Raleigh campus, the longest stretch ever for me, due mainly to leaving the schedule open for preaching when @PastorTyler’s baby boy was born. Since lil’ Jones took his time, I ended up preaching on the Sunday my band was going to play, which threw a monkey wrench into the schedule.

I can’t wait for Sunday. Not only do I love worshiping God through song, but it is such an honor to lead the music, and really it feels like a front row seat to what God is doing. There are times when the presence of God’s Spirit is overwhelming in the room, and it seems like people change right in front of me. At other times a lyric or moment hits me so hard I choke up, even in songs we’ve sung dozens of times. Still other times it’s a moment of brevity as the holiness of God and depth of the Cross are almost palpable, and the whole room feels this weight. Absolutely none of these things are caused by me but are the work of the Holy Spirit. So in preparing for Sunday, I seek to pray and listen to the Spirit, and look for moments where a certain passage of scripture will bring clarity or a certain word can guide us. The words of Bob Kauflin are inspiring when facing with the weight of a Sunday service:

“How can we arrange this time so people are best positioned to hear from God and receive his grace? What can we do to serve the church most effectively? I’m never immediately sure. That leads me to pray.”

The subject matter of songs, the instrumentation and energy, and the message should all be considered ahead of time. Personally, it works best when I pray, plan, rehearse, and repeat over and over again. As an example of the process, here are thoughts on this coming week’s service:

“Thank You” (@V21Church)
We usually play this song in the middle of the second set, because it was written as a response of thanks. This week it’s opening the service so people right away will realize, as the first line says, that our reason for everything is found in Christ’s love. Beginning with a song of simple thanks requires a call to worship, which will draw attention to what we’re thankful for. In this case a short passage of scripture that draws our attention to what God has done for us. One of my favorites is 1 John 4:9-10, which succinctly lays out that it’s not at all about us, but about Christ.

“God Of My Life, To Thee I Call” (Red Mountain Music)
This song challenges the congregation of their view of God. “Poor though I am, despised, forgot. Yet God, my God, forgets me not.” Do we really believe this? My hope is that singing this before the sermon shakes us up a bit, so that we’re not in a smug place as the Word of God is preached but our need of God will be apparent.

After this song Pastor @TaylorRobertsOK will come up and read the scripture while the band plays music. The words also appear on the screens. Following the scripture is @PastorTyler preaching. The sermon is the center of our service, and is given 40 minutes of the time. Following this, our time of response happens through communion, giving tithes and offerings and singing. The first two are constant, while the songs we sing change each week.

“Only Your Blood” (Sojourn Church)
The subject of this week’s message from our Gospel Uncut series is “The Gospel is Theological”. This song is perhaps one of the most dense and theologically packed songs we sing, as it deals with the Old Testament picture of sacrifice and atonement, and contrasts it to the work of Christ: “Only your blood is enough to cover my sin.” I’ll say two-three sentences to explain this, as the imagery contained in this song could isolate people who are new to church.

“Thy Mercy, My God” (@V21Church arrangement)
We have a new arrangement for this song, and it’s more reflective than most songs we sing. It’s sandwiched between two loud, rocking songs, and my hope is that it’s a moment where people really listen and reflect on the truth sung.

“All Creatures Of Our God and King” (@V21Church arrangement)
After we sing two songs of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, it’s time to respond with “hallelujah”. I’ll say that in 1-2 sentences, not because this song needs explaining but because people don’t often think about how songs are tied together. To realize we just sang about God’s mercy, and now is the time to respond to His mercy will hopefully direct people’s minds to this proper response. It’s a powerful, repetitive arrangement of “hallelujah! O praise Him!”, because that’s what our whole lives should be. This sets us up to leave the service, praising with our lives.

What do you think? For those of you who attend Vintage21 Church, are there moments of confusion or misdirection that we’re missing?