May 4, 2008 Worship Set

Today I stepped back and let one of my female vocalists run with the call to worship. Honestly, it was kind of nice to jam with the guitar, worship and dance without having to worry about singing. So I thought I would try that again this week...

Here's what we have planned for the May 4th worship set:

Call to Worship:

• "Glorified" by Jared Anderson - a great song and worship leader with New Life Church and Desperation Band

Worship:

• "Unchanging" by Chris Tomlin - the church really grooves to this tune so we keep playing it
• This Is Our God" by Glenn Packiam - another great worship leader at New Life Church and Desperation Band
• "From the Inside Out" by Joel Houston - amazing worship leader and songwriter with Hillsong United

Offering:

• "I Still Believe" by Jeremy Camp - great tune about how we trip, stumble and have our doubts, God remains faithful and loving to us

Communion:

• "Fire Fall Down" by Matt Crocker - this tune was introduced by Hillsong United and a lot of progressive worship teams are playing it. I LOVE this tune and have been dying to play it for a while. Since it's a bit on the longer side it makes for a great communion song.
  

Worship Set for April 27, 2008

This weekend should be interesting as all of my electric guitarists are going to be out of town. I am scrambling to find some replacements to help fill in the sound. As a result, I am keeping the set somewhat simple.

Call to worship:

• "Taste & See" by Brian and Jenn Johnson - amazing worship leaders at Bethel Church in Redding, CA

Worship:

• "Holy Is the Lord" by Chris Tomlin - no introduction needed for either the song or songwriter
  
• "Beautiful Jesus" by Kristian Stanfill - awesome worship leader with 722 and Passion
  
• "Love Came Down" by Ben Cantelon - mostly an undiscovered worship leader originally from Canada now living in England. I really love his style and his voice, honestly. It's raw and authentic.

Offering:

• "Shining" by Phil Wickham - this song has been around for a little while but it hasn't been played much in the church unfortunately.

The Media Equipment Hates Us

For the second week in a row, we had major media problems and the projectors went down just prior to worship. Thankfully this week, I had a "In case of emergency, break glass" worship medley up my sleeve. Prior to starting our sound check today, I handed out the medley to the band which more or less highlights choruses from recognizable tunes like Here I Am to Worship, Light of the World, How Great Is Our God, Majesty, etc.

Last week was a good reminder to be prepared for the unexpected. I'm thankful that I had this medley ready when I did so that we could transition out of an awkward situation.

April 20, 2008 Worship Set

This week we're playing...

Call to worship:

• "Come and Let Your Presence" by the Merchant Band, one of my favorite International House of Prayer (IHOP) bands

Worship:

• "Endlessly" by Desperation Band, one of my favorite worship bands from the New Life Church in Colorado, Springs
• "Glorious One" by Steve Fee, now just Fee (as in the band)
• "How Great Is Our God" by Chris Tomlin. This song is really special to me this week because it was one of my friend's favorite songs. Lori passed away suddenly last week at the age of 42 and I was able to honor her by singing this song at her funeral. The scripture reading for this week comes from Psalm 104 so this song fits perfectly.

Offering:

• "My Drink" by Charlie Hall. I've wanted to play this song for a couple of years now and stumbled onto it again this week on my iPod. Felt like a good time to bust this out and jam!
  

A Blog for the Hope NorthBranch Worship Ministry

Members of our church, Lutheran Church of Hope NorthBranch in lovely Ankeny, Iowa, have been asking me about the music we use for worship during our services. I thought it might be helpful to create a blog that recaps what songs we lead during worship as well as provide CD and concert reviews. This way I'll way an opportunity to point people to a website when they ask about the music.

Welcome to the new blog for the Hope NorthBranch Worship Ministry!