2 Songs from Holy Week

Here are two of my favorites from our Good Friday and Easter services.  Theo Campo sings the lead on "Majesty", and Jessica Martinez leads "Up From the Grave He Arose."  If you go to St. Andrews and haven't yet picked up a CD, you can get one at the kiosk!  Enjoy!

  

Recap from Last Week

We had a wonderful time of worship this past week as we presented "Belong", our Passion Week Concert. The meaning behind "belong" was birthed from my own personal study of the Passion account, and the theme that jumped out at me was how, after the resurrection, the disciples still belonged to Jesus and were still used by God to jump start the spread of the gospel despite their poor performance when Jesus was arrested, beaten and crucified. It just reminds us that the death of Jesus Christ is what included them (and us), not the grade they got on their report card after Jesus rose from the dead.

We had a total of 22 choir members along with guest musicians Tom Lippincott (nylon string/electric guitars), Sandy Poltarack (acoustic guitar), Rajan Purcell (bass), and Arturo Garcia (drums). Much thanks to these guys for their solid effort in learning these tunes and performing them to a "t". Here was our set list:

• God So Loved the World - arr. Benjamin Harlan


• King of Glory - Thrid Day


• The Gospel Song - Bob Kauflin


• Nothin' - Chris Rice


• O Love that Will Not Let Me Go - George Matheson/Jason Sears


• He Never Said a Mumbalin' Word - arr. Lloyd Larson


• I Thirst - Pamela Martin/Craig Courtney


• He Was Wounded - Craig Courtney


• Your Love is Extravagant - Darrell Evans


• I Belong - Kathryn Scott


• Jesus Loves Me - arr. Rick Barnes

We also had a Good Friday service in which we simplified the music to piano/choir. We did some traditional hymns such as "Jesus Paid it All" and "Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder" (Jars of Clay version). We also did my re-write to "Jesus, My Great High Priest."

For Easter, we sang Jesus Lives and So Shall I, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Worship Christ, the Risen King, and My Jesus, I Love Thee. For the offertory, I found a choral arrangement of Chris Tomlin's I Will Rise which was nicely written. We also added a "bonus song" after the sermon which was James Ward's Just Like He Said - fun black gospel tune. Marie Randel (violin) joined our usual piano, guitar, bass, drums combo to add a different flavor. TJ preached from Acts where Paul was observing the idols in Athens and began debating with the locals about the truth of the resurrection. The main point of the sermon was this: "If the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a hoax, who would want to die for that? And if it isn't a hoax, then we cannot continue on with life as usual. We must face it and it's implications...

I've so much to write but will spread it out into other posts. Be sure to check out my blog list and read up the blog me and my wife share ("For Your Information"). There you can read about some details on our newborn, Fiona Joy!

Drawing Closer

The Passion Week Concert and Easter Sunday services are a month away. I've been finishing up the charts for our musicians and choir. It's that time of year when just about everything else in ministry takes a back seat to these events - and rightfully so. There's a lot of things that need to be finished, and once that happens, rehearsals intensify, parts need to be tweaked, and we have to run the concert through a few times. We also have to start thinking about transitions between songs, when to sit/stand, and even what to wear! Pray for us, that we'll keep in perspective what it is we're doing and why. Pray that the Holy Spirit will be at work in us, helping us to personalize each of the songs we're singing.

Stacy is now 38.5 weeks pregnant. The baby has been dropping lower as of late, so we know that special day is just around the corner. Please continue to pray for us, that Stacy would have a safe delivery and that baby Fiona would be healthy and happy. Pray also for me, that God will help me pull past my fatigue to care for my family in this exciting time.

An Early Plug

This year our Passion Week Concert will have a sub-theme: belonging.

Instead of just throwing together a bunch of songs about the crucifixion, I wanted to do a read-through of the entire account, from the Last Supper to the death & burial, in hopes of peeling back another layer. What I found is this:

When you think of the disciples, do you picture them as saints with halos over their heads, or ordinary men? Are they the image of the perfect Christian, or are they flawed? In my study, I discovered that these men are exactly like me: intending to pray one moment, falling asleep the next; desiring to turn the other cheek, cutting off a soldier's ear the next; promising to carry a cross, denying Him the next. These men had poor performances as followers of Jesus, AND YET...Jesus accepted them. They were the ones Jesus entrusted with the gospel. They belonged to Him. By dying on the cross, He bought their souls forever.

Do you ever feel guilty because of a poor performance as a Christian? Do you, like the apostle Paul, find yourself "joyfully concurring with the law of God" but seeing "a different law in the members of [your] body"? I struggle with this alot. Reaping rewards for good behavior is gratifying. Receiving approval for good grades from your teachers and parents keeps you going, right? What about as a Christian, when you completely mess up (because you know it happens)? How does Jesus reward/rebuke you?

He calls you back from your silly fishing boat and bids you come eat breakfast. With eternal love and forbearance, he says to you and to me, "You belong to me. I paid for your sins. Receive mercy and grace, and keep fighting the fight of faith."