There always seems to be a flurry of activity on our church campus each Sunday morning and that's a good thing. We are church filled with young families, therefore I can assume there has been a flurry of activity around their home in the hours before they arrived on our campus.
So how do we get the people of our congregation to connect in the conversation of worship?
Here are a few of the ways we try to do that:
- talk to them on a consistent basis about the fact that worship doesn't start when they walk in the door but it starts in their heart
- give them tools to start that conversation. (One of the tools we use is a blog series called Preparing for Worship)
- encourage them to be prepared for the sermon of the week. They can do so by reading the text before arriving. (We go verse by verse so where our pastor left off last week is where he begins this week.)
- Start the worship service in variety of ways so they don't become so familiar with the routine that they miss the content.
This week we planned to start in a different way and I think it help people connect. Well if nothing else it helped me connect.
Pre-service Music
Greater Is He (recently we have been using the pre-service time to introduce new songs that will be used in up-coming weeks. The new song was written by one of our gifted staff members and you can find it on his web-site.)
Songs and Scriptures
Introduction:
I confessed to the congregation that I too struggle with initiating the conversation of worship and sometimes I need to be still and hear about all God has done for me.
Song:
Be Still and Know (a Stephen Curtis Chapman song, that we did with solo voice and piano. We also turned our the lights so that the words were the focus, not the singer)
Prayer:
worship team member was encouraged to take the thought of the previous song and use that as the foundation of her prayer.
Song:
Doxology (used as a close to the prayer.)
Scripture:
*these scriptures serve as a connection between the prayer and next song. Daniel 6:26-27 (a declaration from King Darius that the God of Daniel is the true living God) Isaiah 55:8,9 (His ways are higher than our ways) Job 1: 8-12, 13-21 (this is a long passage but it is the perfect introduction to the next song. The keyboard played under the reading and the band entered on the last few verses so that there was a seamless transition from scripture to song)
Welcome
Songs and Scripture
One of our strong beliefs in planning services is that we tell the story of God each week and no re-presentation of that story is complete without a celebration of the Risen Christ.
Song:
Christ Is Risen by Matt Maher
Song:
Healer by Mike Guglieimucci
Scripture:
I Peter 1:3-5 (this scripture celebrates the resurrection of Christ and speaks of the promise of heaven
Song:
I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin
Sermon
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This post is my participation in the blog carnival Sunday Setlists which can be found at www.theworshipcommunity.com