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, and our Liturgy writing team (Rebekah Carroll, Ryan Marsh, and Lindsey Blair).
This Sunday Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Genesis 2:15-17 in our series Sacred. Erin Warmbier was our Lector.
—Prelude: “Morning Has Broken” Key, Leader
CALL TO WORSHIP: Liturgist
Good morning and welcome! We worship a God who has created the universe in all of its splendor and beauty. And in His generosity, He created us – you and I – and gave us a beautiful earth to steward, enjoy, and cultivate together. What a great and loving God we serve! Amen?! Let’s hear what Psalm 146 says about his character, and read the underlined portions together:
Praise the Lord!
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly.
The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
The Lord will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.
Praise the Lord!
-Psalm 146 NLT
Let’s lift our voices together as we praise God!
—Song 2: “All Creatures” Key, Leader
LAMENT: Band Member
Let’s hear God’s Word:
You are always righteous, Lord,
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
How long will the land lie parched
and the grass in every field be withered?
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.
Moreover, the people are saying,
“He will not see what happens to us.”
Jeremiah 12:1, 4 NIV
Let’s pray:
Lord, we lament the ways we have chosen consumerism over cultivation.
We have looked at the earth as a means to an end, rather than as a gift to steward.
We have looked at each other – your image bearers – as resources to use for our own purposes, instead of serving each other in love.
Help us to see the earth and each other as gifts, not as things to consume. Lord, teach us to be like Christ, laying down our desires for the sake of one another. Amen.
—Song 3: “Savior Like A Shepherd Lead Us” Key, Leader
ASSURANCE & GIVING: Liturgist
Hear this good news:
So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God.
-Hebrews 9:11-14
Amen! Let’s sing!
—Song 4: “Power In The Blood” Key, Leader
PASSING OF THE PEACE: Band Member
Because of the blood of Jesus, we are no longer at odds with God. We have peace with Him, and with each other. Take a few moments and greet each other in the grace and peace He has given us.
—————————————— [SERMON & COMMUNION] ————————————–
—Song 5: “Establish the Work of Our Hands” Key, Leader
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Reader
—Song 6: “Speed Away” Key, Leader
BENEDICTION: Liturgist
So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. Go, creating genesis moments through acts of generosity to last for generations, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you!
-1 Corinthians 15:58