Welcome to Sojourn’s weekly worship music set list review & service recap. You’ll not only read a list of the songs we led, but also the readings and prayers from our liturgy. You can also watch the video stream of the whole service from our Facebook page or here below (you can also see a video of our sermon alone, from Vimeo).
Our liturgy is directed by Worship Director Justin Shaffer, in collaboration with our Creative Staff at Sojourn Church New Albany, our Liturgy writers, and worship staff at the other four Sojourn Collective churches in the Louisville area.
This Sunday Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Revelation 5:1-13 in our series on racial justice and reconciliation, Family Matters. It was also our 20th Anniversary service. We began with a photo montage retrospective. We were led in worship primarily by founding member Jeremy Quillo, who wrote the liturgy, and one of Sojourn’s earliest worship leaders Rebecca Dennison. All the songs from this service were songs featured in Sojourn services during our first few years. And some of our liturgical elements were read by original Sojourners. To learn more about Sojourn Church, click here.
Corrected Video-Our 20th Anniversary service – HD 1080p from Sojourn Collective on Vimeo.
September 13, 2020 – Jonah Sage – Power Of Jesus from Sojourn Collective on Vimeo.
Call to Worship (over music)
Welcome to Sojourn! Over twenty years ago, about a dozen friends gathered in an apartment with lots of doubt, questions, and desire. As many of you have experienced in your life, we were searching for a better way to live out this thing called Christianity. What would that “better way” look like? More truth? More authentic worship? More community?
Yes, all those were gifts we cherished, but God showed us that the better way was Jesus Himself.
God showed us that he can take a dozen believers and grow a beautiful, thriving church out of it. He’d done it before, long before Sojourn was born! What it took wasn’t just new methods of doing church, but receiving this gift of new life God had for us in Christ.
And that’s what we come to celebrate and be thankful for today. We come humbly before God to honor where we’ve come from, where we are right now, and where we’re headed. God is the one who built this church, the one who sustains this church, and the one who will carry us in the days and years ahead.
So we gather today, remembering that we do not place our confidence in what we’ve done in the past, or hang our hope on our goals for the future. We do not stand on the name of Sojourn, but on the name of Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Let’s read God’s word aloud together:
And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
You might recognize a few “early” songs today, and we invite you to sing out with us as we celebrate.
Song: Not To Us (JQ)
Lament/Confession
One of the very first songs we sang in that apartment years ago was called “The Heart of Worship,” and it repeats the refrain “…it’s all about you, Jesus.” God showed us how we had gotten so caught up in doing church, that we’d forgotten how to be the church. We were tired from a lot of over-thinking and over-complicating.
Let this confession from Psalm 38 be our confession today:
“I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
like the mute, who cannot speak;
I have become like one who does not hear,
whose mouth can offer no reply.
Lord, I wait for you;
you will answer, Lord my God.” Psalm 38:13-15
May we slow down this morning and come to Jesus with child-like faith, remembering that relationship with Him is where true life happens.
Song: The Heart of Worship (Rebecca)
Assurance/Giving
How do we hold fast to that confidence that God accepts us, that he loves us, that we will be safe? God’s word answers these questions in Paul’s letter to the Colossians:
“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6-7
At Sojourn we’ve always said that we give in response to what God has given us. Because of who God is in us, we can show generosity to a watching world, to feed the poor, to give away school supplies, to keep this building open for all the ministry that happens here, to plant churches overseas.
We remember that all we have belongs to the Lord. Feel free to give online, and if you’re a visitor with us today, please don’t feel any obligation to give, but let this service be a blessing and a gift to you.
Let’s continue to sing of the God of wonders, who is Lord over all we have.
Song: God of Wonders (JQ)
Passing of the Peace
Sojourn has been through a lot of joyous times, but we’ve also weathered lots of storms. But in every one of those storms, God has granted us a peace that is greater than our own understanding, a peace that comes from Christ alone. May we know that peace today, and as God’s word reminds us in Phillippians 4: “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Please take a minute to greet one another with that same peace.
*Allow a few minutes for the congregation to chat. Then invite everyone to remain standing for the reading of God’s word.
—————-Sermon/Communion—————-
Communion Song: My Rock and My Redeemer (Rebecca)
Thanks for celebrating twenty years with us today. Let’s sing it out with one more song:
Song: My Glorious
Benediction (Lachlan)
Sojourn. Church of twenty years, but part of the family of saints throughout all history. May God bless you as you live as His people, in the city for the city. May He draw you near, reminding you that you were created for community. May He be the redeemer of your past, and your hope for the future. Until Christ is formed in you… Peace be with you.