WEEKEND REVIEW #21 - JULY 31, 2011

This past Sunday we celebrated communion together as a church. My goal was to focus most of the song set on the cross. We also did an acoustic set w/ strings! Cello and viola, to be specific. I am trying to incorporate strings every so often, and am thankful that we have some very talented string players in our church, along with a few gifted arrangers that have helped in writing out the parts.

We had the congregation come forward and serve each other communion, and I feel it worked especially well this time around. People seemed engaged and eager to serve one another. A beautiful picture of the church being the church. During communion, we sang The Wonderful Cross, the powerful Isaac Watts hymn with modern chorus penned by Chris Tomlin & JD Walt.

Instrumental Prelude: Lead Me to the Cross (G)
Welcome / Announcements / Call to Worship - Psalm 108:1-4
-Hosanna / Praise Is Rising (G)
-Because of Your Love (A)
Message: Revelation 2:12-17
Offering
-On the Cross (G)
Communion Intro - Dave
-The Wonderful Cross (D) - during communion
Closing Prayer:
"Lord, as we remember your death together through the taking of communion, we also remember your resurrection, which empowers us to live a changed life. As we go from this place, may we live to glorify You. Just as Christ gave His life for us, so we give ourselves to You, to be used as You see fit. We pray it in the strong name of Jesus, Amen."

WEEKEND REVIEW #15 - JANUARY 24, 2010

Yesterday we celebrated communion together as a church. We typically do this once a month, and our "normal" way of doing it is to have one of our pastors or elders transition into and explain the significance of communion, tie it into that day's message, give thanks for the bread, have the ushers distribute the bread, and each person holds onto it until everyone is served, and then we take it together. Then we do the same with the juice. This is how we did it yesterday, and it is always a significant part of our services when we spend time confessing our sins to the Lord and giving thanks for Christ's death on the cross. We also vary up the way we serve communion from time to time, because we believe each method can be instructive in different ways, and it also keeps communion from becoming too routine. The other ways we have celebrated it include: having everyone come forward and serve each other, having all of our pastors and elders at the front serving the congregation, or giving an extended period of time for confession of sin and where people can come up when they are ready and receive the elements. I would be interested to hear how communion is administered at your church, and if you have tried anything different from the "norm" that has worked well. Feel free to leave a comment.

Anyway, here's what the services looked like:

Instrumental Prelude: Here I Am To Worship (E)
Announcements
-Jesus Saves (B)
-Revelation Song (F)
Message: "Preparing For the Inevitable" - Pastor Dave
-Soon (D) - great song from Brooke Fraser and Hillsong that tied in with our series on end times
Transition to communion - Dave
Instrumental: Give Us Clean Hands (G) - during passing of bread
Beautiful Jesus (A) - during passing of juice
Closing Prayer & Dismissal