Setlist 11-26-2017

Yesterday was Christ the King Sunday, and the songs were selected with that in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Crown Him With Many Crowns

Mystery by Jameson McGregor (adapted from Charlie Hall)

Pulse by Jameson McGregor

Rise Up by Bifrost Arts

Inbreaking by Jameson McGregor

Chariot by Page France

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Crown Him With Many Crowns: We sang this song because it was basically made to be sung on Christ the King Sunday.  It speaks both to a conceptual crowning of Christ in one's life, and also to a more eschatological vision of the Kingdom.

Mystery: This song proclaims the story of what kind of king Christ is--the kind that would suffer and die for his people. In singing this song, we began to pose a question to ourselves of what Christ's reign might mean for the way that we live and move in the world.

Pulse: We most often refer to the Holy Spirit as the Breath of Life undergirding all of Creation when we sing this song. But Pulse can also be taken to refer to the way in which all of Creation holds together in Christ, which is the angle we took yesterday.  At the bottom of everything, we are connected to the people least like us by our mutual connection to the grace of Christ.

Rise Up: This song is a petition for the King who stands with the oppressed to rise to their defense, and a charge to those who claim to be formed in the way of Christ to do the same.

Inbreaking: This song is a plea for the coming of the Kingdom and the re-Creation of all things.

Chariot: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Chariot then: This song is a looking ahead toward the re-Creation of all things.  This looking ahead in some way embodies the posture of Ordinary Time, insofar as we allow this looking ahead to motivate us to live as though the Kingdom has already come in fullness.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

Liturgy 11-19-2017

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the One who sees us

the one whose gaze pierces
through our outer appearances
and finds our true selves

to be drawn into God’s story

to come to know what it means
to be a part of this story

and to seek the Spirit of God

to shape the way we live and move in the world
and form us more fully in the way of Christ.

Amen.

 

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:4-12

Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”

He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”  Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”

Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”  Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?”

And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.”

Philippians 1:3-11

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.

It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Setlist 11-19-2017

This was the twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, and it was also youth Sunday.  That means the songs were picked by the youths.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Chariot by Page France

Fall Afresh by Jeremy Riddle

Wandering by Jameson McGregor

Wild One by Jameson McGregor

Up On A Mountain by The Welcome Wagon

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Chariot: This song is a looking ahead toward the re-Creation of all things.  This looking ahead in some way embodies the posture of Ordinary Time, insofar as we allow this looking ahead to motivate us to live as though the Kingdom has already come in fullness.

Fall Afresh: This song is a petition for the Spirit to infuse our lives with vitality and purpose, and to protect us from growing numb to the work of God in the world.

Wandering: We sang this song to proclaim the faithfulness of God, despite our tendency to be selectively faithful toward God.

Wild One: This song is a reminder that our ideas about who God is are never synonymous with who God in fact is, and draws us into a posture of worship predicated on our inability to comprehend God fully.

Up On A Mountain: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Up On A Mountain then: We sang this to proclaim Jesus' solidarity with us in suffering, the depths of human pain, and the ongoing presence of God with us via the Spirit.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

Liturgy 11-12-2017

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to devote our attention
to the One who draws near to the afflicted

the One who desires justice
more than religious gatherings

to hear the story of God

and find ourselves drawn into it

until our desires are re-shaped
by the desires of Christ

and our lives are driven
by the hope of Resurrection.

Amen.

Scripture

Joshua 24:1-3, 14-15

So Joshua summoned all of the tribes of Israel together at Shechem, all the leaders, judges, officers, and elders, and they stood in the presence of the True God.

Joshua: The Eternal One, the True God of Israel has told me to give you this message: “Many years ago, your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River where they served other gods.  But I took your father Abraham and led him over the river and into the land of Canaan, and I made his descendants numerous.

So remember: fear the Eternal and serve Him sincerely and faithfully. Put away from you any gods your ancestors served across the Euphrates River or in Egypt, and serve only Him.  

If you decide that you’re not willing to serve Him, then today is the day for you to choose whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors bowed to in the land beyond the great River, or the gods of the Amorites whose country you possess. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Eternal.

Matthew 25:1-13

Jesus: Or picture the kingdom of heaven this way. It will be like ten bridesmaids who each picked up a lantern and went out to meet a certain bridegroom.  Five of these women were sensible, good with details, and remembered to bring small flasks of oil for their lanterns.

But five of them were flighty, too caught up in the excitement of their jaunt, and forgot to bring oil with them. The bridegroom did not turn up right away. Indeed, all the women, while waiting, found themselves falling asleep.  

And then in the middle of the night, they heard someone call, “The bridegroom is here, finally! Wake up and greet him!” The women got up and trimmed the wicks of their lanterns and prepared to go greet the groom.  The five women who had no oil turned to their friends for help.

Ill-prepared Bridesmaids: Please give us some of your oil! Our lanterns are flickering and will go out soon.

But the five women who’d come prepared with oil said they didn’t have enough.

Prepared Bridesmaids: If we give you some of our oil, we’ll all run out too soon! You’d better go wake up a dealer and buy your own supply. 

So the five ill-prepared women went in search of oil to buy, and while they were gone, the groom arrived. The five who stood ready with their lanterns accompanied him to the wedding party, and after they arrived, the door was shut.

Finally the rest of the women turned up at the party. They knocked on the door.

Ill-prepared Bridesmaids: Master, open up and let us in!

Bridegroom (refusing): I certainly don’t know you.

So stay awake; you neither know the day nor hour [when the Son of Man will come].

Prayer

This week's prayer was taken from An Iona Prayerbook (26), and is labeled as being from the Philippines.

Lord, in these times
When we fear we are losing hope
Or feel our efforts are futile,
Let us see in our hearts and minds
The image of your resurrection,
And let that be the source of courage and strength.
With that, and in your company,
Help us to face challenges and struggles
Against all that is born of injustice.

Amen.

Setlist 11-12-2017

This was the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Hope by Jameson McGregor

Up On A Mountain by The Welcome Wagon

There by Jameson McGregor

Wearing Thin by Jameson McGregor

Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Hope: This song is a declaration of hope against hope.  It offers us language to acknowledge God's presence in the midst of pain, and to raise the stubborn cry that all of this is headed toward a day where every broken piece finds its place again.

Up On A Mountain: We sang this to proclaim Jesus' solidarity with us in suffering, the depths of human pain, and the ongoing presence of God with us via the Spirit.

There: This song locates God as an Anchor over and above every source of anxiety in the world, and reminds us of the good news that God's commitment to be God for us outlasts the world itself.

Wearing Thin: This song is about the wearing thin that comes with facing the myriad seemingly unsolvable problems in the world, and turns to a petition for God to enable and embolden people to rise to challenges that seem insurmountable.

Lord, I Need You:  We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Lord, I Need You then: We sang this song to begin our time together with a confession of our dependence upon God to transform us into people who live as the presence of Christ in our particular time and place.  These words offer us a chance to rehearse a prayer that might be offered in some way or another every day.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

Liturgy 11-5-2017

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship
the One who hears the cries of the troubled

the One who delivers the distressed

to be drawn into the Story of God

and find ourselves transformed by it

into people who carry
the love and grace of God within us

sowing hope into the depths
of trouble and distress.

Amen.

Scripture

Joshua 3:7-17

The Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” Joshua then said to the Israelites, “Draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God.”

Joshua said, “By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.

When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”

When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest.

So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off.

Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

Matthew 23:1-12

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.

They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.

And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father-- the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” 

Setlist 11-5-2017

This was the twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher

Be Thou My Vision

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go by Jameson McGregor (adapted from Ascend the Hill)

When the Saints by Jameson McGregor (adapted from Louis Armstrong)

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Lord, I Need You: We sang this song to begin our time together with a confession of our dependence upon God to transform us into people who live as the presence of Christ in our particular time and place.  These words offer us a chance to rehearse a prayer that might be offered in some way or another every day.

Be Thou My Vision: This song carries the theme of the previous song, and adds the particulars of God forming our vision, wisdom, security, and hope.

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go:  We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about O Love That Will Not Let Me Go then: This song gives voice to the hope against hope that not even death can separate us from the love of God.

When the Saints: This song expresses the truth that we are a part of a story that greatly precedes us, locates us in community with those who have gone before us, and looks ahead to the Resurrection as a great parade that we join as a completed community united around Christ. Since we don't play this song often, I threw together a demo (read: not good) recording of it in case you wanted to listen again:

Wayward Ones: We sing this song every time we take communion to remind ourselves of a couple of things.  First, we are a broken people--though we are seeking to become more like Jesus, we often fail at this.  Second, Christ has given Himself for us despite our brokenness.  We take communion to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, even though we did not, and do not, deserve it.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM