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 Isaiah 6:1-13 in our Advent series Finding God: Seeing Christ In The Darkness. To learn more about Sojourn Church, click here.
December 20, 2020 – Jonah Sage – God Of Fire from Sojourn Collective on Vimeo.
CALL TO WORSHIP: Ryan
Good morning and welcome to Sojourn! Today is the final Sunday of advent, and we’re preparing to celebrate when the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. This IS love… and so today, we light the candle of love on the advent wreath. We’ve heard prophecies of the coming of the Messiah, and we continue to acknowledge the longing in our hearts for Jesus to make all things new again. Whether you’re here in person or watching online, God has created you – yes, you specifically – to be a part of His great plan of redemption for all of humanity. Let’s join together in this season of advent, this season of waiting, and hear about the love God has lavished upon us through his Son, Jesus:
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins. -Psalm 130:5-7 NIV
God gave us this hope of redemption – of salvation, when he sent his Son as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem, the City of David. Let’s lift our voices and sing about that day when God gave us this wonderful gift of hope.
—Song 1: “O Little Town of Bethlehem” Key, Leader
CONFESSION: Band Member
[themes: compassion, mercy, patience, faithfulness and love… ]
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, the whole meaning of Christmas can be explained in one little four-letter word…LOVE. You sent your gift of pure love to us that first Christmas. Love descended from heaven to be born of a virgin. Love lay in the scratchy hay of a manger in a meager barn in Bethlehem. All of your love, God, was robed in the delicate skin of a baby and wrapped in swaddling clothes. This final week of Advent helps us to reflect on the magnitude of love that was made manifest in Jesus.
You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Messiah, and Ruler of All, yet you came not as a lion but as a lamb. You came as an innocent baby whose purpose was to walk this earth in complete love and then to sacrificially give your life as an atonement for the sins of your children. Emmanuel. God with us. Love in the form of a man.
There is no greater gift than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends. You willingly gave the gift of your life because of your love. Your righteous blood covered our sin. You redeem and restore us when we confess you as Lord and Savior of our life. In that moment, you give us the gift of your love for all eternity. We receive grace upon grace and mercy upon mercy in that moment.
The greatest gift of all came that first Christmas. It wasn’t wrapped in a beautiful package and set under a decorated tree. The greatest gift came wrapped in the flesh of baby Jesus and laid in the rough wood of a manger. Our perfect gift would later be rewrapped in the scars of our sin and nailed to the rugged wood of a cross on Calvary, all because of love.
Father, this final week of Advent, fill our hearts and minds with the significance of that truth. Thank you, Lord, for loving us enough to send Jesus. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen
—Song 2: “Away in a Manger” Key, Leader
ASSURANCE & GIVING: Liturgist
Even in seasons of waiting, even in times of social distancing, God has not left you. He is actively pursuing each of us, and he wants us to receive Him, to receive Jesus, through whom He pardoned our sins and made a way for us to be in relationship with Him. As you hear of what God will do for you as His child, consider that he didn’t ask us to find a way to come to him; He made a way for you through Jesus. And he is with you now. Hear God’s word:
Though you were once despised and hated,
with no one traveling through you,
I will make you beautiful forever,
a joy to all generations.
You will know at last that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Israel.
I will exchange your bronze for gold,
your iron for silver,
your wood for bronze,
and your stones for iron.
I will make peace your leader
and righteousness your ruler.
Violence will disappear from your land;
the desolation and destruction of war will end.
Salvation will surround you like city walls,
and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.
-Isaiah 60:15-18 NLT
Church, you have the promise that God is with you – that He Himself is your redeemer. You can rest in this wonderful assurance that Christ will save you, He can make you whole, and He wants good things for you. Let’s sing.
—Song 3: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” Key, Leader
PASSING OF THE PEACE: Band Member
Let’s greet one another with tidings of comfort and joy… I want to invite you to listen to God’s voice and say something specific that might bring comfort to each person you greet today, whether here in person or by text, messenger, etc.
—————————————— [SERMON & COMMUNION] ——————————————-
—Song 4: “Holy, Holy, Holy” Key, Leader
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Reader
BENEDICTION: Liturgist
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Go in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Peace be with you!
-Romans 15:12-13 NIV