NEW MUSIC

Being a worship leader, something I get pumped about is new music. There's been a lot of great music coming out lately, and a lot that's coming out very soon.

Here's some great worship albums that have been on repeat in my car for the last few weeks:

Hillsong Live - God Is Able
My first few listens of a Hillsong album always leave me thinking that it's more of the same. But in this case, it's a good thing. Hillsong has some gifted songwriters that continue to write accessible melodies that weave in the truths of the gospel. Standout tracks include "Unending Love", "Alive In Us", and the title track, "God Is Able".

Matt Redman - 10,000 Reasons
Worship leaders, you've probably had this album since the day it came out, but if not, get it. This may be Redman's best album to date, and it was recorded live, which is really what Redman does best. I think every song on it is good. Our church has been singing "Here For You" for a few months now - great song. Others I hope to get into our church are "Never Once" and "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)".

And here's a few I'm excited about that release next Tuesday:

David Crowder Band Christmas Album - "Oh For Joy"
Crowder + Christmas = guaranteed to bring some great tunes.

Harvest Worship - "Heaven Opens" EP

An album of original songs from Harvest Naperville. From watching the promo video, it looks like Dan Lidstone and crew knocked this one out of the park. I can't wait to hear it.

WEEKEND REVIEW #23 - AUGUST 14, 2011

Powerful services yesterday. Occasionally we will use a video call to worship, like we did this week. We had the band play underneath it (instead of using the pre-recorded audio on the video), and went right into Here For You.

Instrumental Prelude: Hosanna (G)

Call to Worship video: Psalm 95



-Here For You (C)
I love how we were talking about the church in Sardis, and how they had a reputation for being alive, but Jesus said they were DEAD (Revelation 3:1). Brought a freshness to singing, "Let what's dead come to life!"

-One Thing Remains (Bb)
We taught this song yesterday. I set it up by reading Ephesians 3:16-19 and then explaining:
"We want to teach you a new song that focuses on the love of Christ for us, and that is rooted in these verses from Ephesians 3. It talks about how strong Christ’s love is for us, how it is constant, and is always with us. No matter how many times we’ve sinned against God, His love is always there to comfort us, strengthen us, and change us."

-Glory To God Forever (Bb)
Welcome / Announcements - Chris
-Speak To Us (C)
Message - Dave - Revelation 3:1-6 [listen here]
Offering
-You Alone Can Rescue (B)
Benediction: 2 Corinthians 13:14

WEEKEND REVIEW #22 - AUGUST 7, 2011

Yesterday was Brion Kendzora's last Sunday leading worship at ACC. Brion and his wife Annette are leaving in a few weeks for missionary training school for the next two years to prepare to do missions in a tribal community and share the love of Christ with them. I have been privileged to work with Brion and have him serve in our worship ministry over the past three years. It has been neat to see Brion grow as a worship leader and musician over that time.

Since I wasn't on worship team yesterday, I had the opportunity to sit back and take in the service from a fresh perspective - something I only get to do a handful of times throughout the year.

Instrumental Prelude: Blessed Be Your Name (G)
-Famous One (E)
-Lord Most High (E)
-Your Love Never Fails (F)
Welcome / Announcements - Jamie
-In Christ Alone (D)
Message - Dave - Revelation 2:18-29 - [listen here]
Offering
-Center (E)

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 #20 - AUGUST 15, 2010

Yesterday in church we used a video concept that I have wanted to utilize / create for some time: a scripture video with the text creatively displayed over background images and narrated aloud. I initially got this idea from the opening video of WorshipGod 08, and thought it was a great way to use scripture and video together.

The scripture we used was Psalm 57:7-10 and Psalm 100:1-5. We placed the video immediately after the bridge of How Great Is Your Faithfulness, had the piano continue playing softly underneath, and then went back into the chorus twice to end the song. The theme of these two particular Psalms of responding in song to God's love and faithfulness fit well with the song, and provided a creative venue to portray the scripture.

The service shaped up like this:

Instrumental Prelude: Come Christians Join To Sing (G)
Welcome & Announcements - Allison
One Hit Wonders song intro - David
-I'll Be There For You (G)
Call to Worship - Psalm 33:1-5
-Unchanging (G)
Reflection on God's faithfulness and unchanging nature
-How Great Is Your Faithfulness (A) w/ scripture video
-Glory To God Forever (A)
Message: 2 John - Matt Myers
Offering
-How Great Is the Love (Bb)
Closing prayer

Below is the scripture video we used.

WEEKEND REVIEW #19 - MAY 23, 2010

Yesterday we had a guest speaker at our church, Justin Laib, who is a friend of Dave's. Justin spoke on learning to rest in God from Matthew 11:28-30, both in the sense of observing a weekly Sabbath, and also in the sense of laying our burdens down and trusting God to carry them. It's always a mixed bag when planning a service with a guest speaker, because every speaker has their own style. But Justin did a great job in our context.

While planning the songs, I was looking through our repertoire and couldn't find a single song that touched on the theme of rest. That's when I remembered a song I heard about a year ago called "My Soul Finds Rest (Psalm 62)" written by Aaron Keyes and Stuart Townend. The song fit the theme well, and is also one I would like to sing again in the future at our church because of its deep theological content and singable melody. The only slightly funky aspect of the song is that the verses are in 5/4 and the chorus is in 3/4 - but that just makes it all the more fun to play!

Here's how the service shaped up:

Instrumental Prelude: Unchanging (G)
Welcome & Announcements - Elissa
Call to Worship-Responsive Reading: Psalm 100
-How Great Thou Art (B)
Time of silence for confession of sin / prayer
-Jesus Messiah (A)
-Glory To God Forever (A)
-We Fall Down (D->E) - We also had Isaiah 6:1-3 read in the middle of this song just before we hit the key change
Message: "I Can't Breathe" - Justin
Offering
-My Soul Finds Rest-Psalm 62 (C)
Benediction: Ephesians 3:20-21

WEEKEND REVIEW #18: EASTER!

Easter Sunday was one giant celebration as we sang and shouted about the one thing worth getting excited about: the fact that Jesus has beaten death and is alive!

Here's what we did:

Instrumental Prelude: Happy Day (C)
-Christ the Lord is Risen Today (C) - procession of the Christ candle
Welcome / Passing of the Peace ("He is risen ... He is risen indeed!") - Dave
-God Is Alive (B)
-You Have Saved Us (A)
Message: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 - Dave
Offering / kids hand out jelly beans
-Jesus Messiah (A)
Spirit promo video & series preview - Dave
-Amazing Grace / My Chains Are Gone (F)
Benediction - Scott
"Now may the risen and reigning Christ, who has broken every chain and set you free, shine brightly in your lives and give you strength through His Holy Spirit to live for Him this day. Amen."

Bringing in the lit candle during the first song tied in what we did on Good Friday and illustrated Christ's resurrection in a powerful way.

We decided to give the children a part in the service by having them hand out a jelly bean craft they had made, immediately after the offering was collected. We've found it's always a win for us when we involve the kids in the service. We also purposely began and ended the service with hymns that we new most everyone would be familiar with - which I think was also a plus for all the visitors that were present. Overall, it was a great Sunday.