I received an email this afternoon from one of our vocal team members who helped lead today:
I had a moment that I have NEVER experienced before in the services today. Normally I am thinking about the words before we get to the songs and also saying God this is yours not mine let them hear and see you not me let it be your voice. I did that each time you read scriptures today. It took all I had not to break down during the last verse of At the Cross. Everytime I closed my eyes I saw what I felt like Jesus looked like and actually pictured what it'd be like to close my eyes and take my final breath only to open them and see Him standing in front of me smiling! It brought up so many emotions today! I can even tell you! I always prepare for worship but I was not prepared for that. I would say it was emotionally draining but it was the feeling of I don't want this to end!
Everyone worships differently, yet worship for everyone should be that kind of personal experience.
Do we really sence that we are standing in the very presence of God? We are.
Although we don't yet see Jesus face to face, He is with us in our worship.
We are not having a conversation with the people around us, we are having a conversation with God.
How can we put things aside and concentrate on the object of our worship?
Here is the complete setlist that we used as a tool to hear from God and respond appropriately.
Open the Eyes of My Heart - we just used the first part of the song and kept both the tempo and volume down. After a repeat of the chorus we stopped and ask the congregation to use their own words to initiate a conversation with God. We finished the time with one more repeat of the chorus.
Sing to the King - this is a great song and our congregation sings it with all their hearts. When we get to the line "satan is vanquished and Jesus is King" they sing it with a triumphant spirit. I love just to step back and watch.
Colossians 1:15-20, I Corinthians 15:54b-57. Before reading the scripture I stated: 'this is a description of the One we are singing about and to.'
When I Speak Your Name - this is a song our choir introduced a couple of years ago and now our congregation sing it well. We even add a bridge section builds from a single melody line to 4 time repeat adding parts each time. I think the congregation, on occasion, loves being included in choir songs.
Matthew 27:45-50,54 This scripture was used to explain the phrase, "He tore the vale, He made a way, when He said that it is done." We try hard to make sure that all the words and phrases we sing are understandable.
At the Cross - this is the song that is mentioned by the vocal team in the opening paragraph of this post.
All Because of Jesus - we could have ended on At the Cross, the big ballad, however adding this song gave us a chance to finish the set with a song of testimony: 'because of the cross and the sacrifice we too have life.'
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This post is my participation in the blog carnival Sunday Setlists which can be found at The Worship Community.