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 full service from our Facebook page (see a video of our sermon alone below).
Worship Director Justin Shaffer directs our liturgy, collaborating with our Creative Staff at Sojourn Church New Albany and our Liturgy writing team (Rebekah Carroll, Ryan Marsh, Libby Thorngate, and Lindsey Blair).
This week Justin Shaffer preached Acts 2:42-27 in our sermon series The One That Changed Me.
—Prelude: “Lord Let Your Glory Fall” Key, Leader
CALL TO WORSHIP: Liturgist
Good morning church! I’m so glad to be here with you all today, worshiping our good and faithful Lord. We just sang “Lord Let Your Glory Fall” as a prelude. We do this each week as a warm up – a preparation, to turn our attention to God, and to worship him in adoration. Next, we begin a movement of liturgy called the “Call To Worship,” but this isn’t to call God down to us. Rather, it’s an invitation to respond to the good things he has done for us. Let’s do this now. I invite you to read the underlined portions along with me:
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
The Lord gives righteousness
and justice to all who are treated unfairly.
He revealed his character to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
-Psalm 103:1-8, 22b NLT
Amen! Let’s sing together!
—Song 2: “Psalm 34 (Taste and See)” Key, Leader
CONFESSION/LAMENT: Band Member
We just ended our “Call to Worship” where we sang of God’s goodness. Now we enter into the “Confession” liturgy. Some weeks, this liturgical movement is spent as a “Lament,” where we express honest grief in community, just as we see in several of the Psalms. But today we’ll spend this time in confession before God, being honest about our own sin and weakness, and our need for him. This means that we humble ourselves before God and ask him for forgiveness. This can be an incredibly liberating time as we experience the immensity of God’s grace. So whether you’re here today feeling like you’re in a good spot, or you’re currently facing challenges in your life, let’s bow before the Lord in this prayer together:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
-Psalm 139:23-24 NLT
Let’s sing to our good Shepherd, who never leads us astray, but keeps us and leads us to life.
—Song 3: “Psalm 23 (I Am Not Alone)” Key, Leader
ASSURANCE & GIVING: Liturgist
This time in our service, we move into the “Assurance of Pardon” liturgy, where we announce the good news of the gospel: WE ARE FORGIVEN! And we have a new life in Christ. We remember that we are no longer bound to a life of hopelessness that leads to death, but that God loved us so much that he gave Jesus so that we can have eternal life with Him. And we don’t just talk about the good news of the gospel based on our own hopes or desires, we announce it because God has promised it to us in his Word! Listen to his good news from the book of Hebrews:
You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”
No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
-Hebrews 12:18-24 NLT
Amen!
—Song 4: “The Anthem” Key, Leader
PEACE: Band Member
Each week during this time, we spend a few moments greeting each other and passing the peace. This is a short time of fellowship, but it’s also a time to remember that we have peace with God and with each other through Jesus. So pass the peace with each other as you say hello to a neighbor 🙂
—————————————— [SERMON & COMMUNION] ——————————————-
—Song 5: “You Are The Living Word” Key, Leader
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Reader
—Song 6: “Build My Life” Key, Leader
BENEDICTION: Liturgist
At the beginning of this service, we worshiped together, we sang of God’s good in the Call to Worship, then we Confessed our sin and weakness together before the Lord. We remembered the forgiveness, the Assurance of Pardon, God has given us through Jesus; we passed the peace with one another, heard the Gospel preached from Justin Shaffer, took part in Communion – the Lord’s Supper. Now, we are sent out with a benediction, a blessing for the road. If you’d like to participate, extend your hands with me and receive this blessing:
May the Lord bless you
and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor
and give you his peace.
[Go in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you
-Numbers 6:24-26