Sunday Setlists – 3-29-09

Happy Monday!  Yes, I normally would have posted these as two separate posts, but I just didn’t get to posting the am service yesterday afternoon, so you get a 2-for-1 today!

Let’s start with the morning service…

Da List…

• Lord, Light The Fire Again [D]
• Everlasting God [Ab]
• Forever [F]
• Amazing Grace – My Chains Are Gone [D]
• kids message – David & Goliath
• You Never Let Go [F]
• announcements
• message – Going Nullo/Facing Your Giant Fears
• Communion – Matt 7:13-24
• Lead Me To The Cross [D]
• Doxology

Due to the  ears, I wasn’t sure if I would be singing yesterday morning or not.  I’m actually starting to get used to not hearing (although I will be thrilled with they finally clear up & I can hear again!) so the vertigo was the larger concern.  To help with that I tool a stool to church today just in case I needed to sit down.  I hate feeling handicapped in this way!

Because of the possible change in singers (me) we changed the original list to all well-known songs and postponed the new ones again… We had been planning to teach Sing, Sing, Sing at least once before Easter, but it didn’t work out that way.  Bummer.  But it also meant that I got to step back and let Art lead yesterday and sing harmony.  It was lovely.  Unfortunately, it also meant that I was on the mic that hates me.  Well, it doesn’t hate me, it’s just that no one can hear my voice through it if I’m talking or if Chris is playing or if anyone else is singing.  But I think I fixed that… more later.

The only “problem” we had yesterday am was the kids song.  While I love You Never Let Go – and the kids like it a lot – we opted for instruments for them instead of motions b/c Jennifer was out of town.  This meant that 1 or 2 of the kids were banging out any-ol-rhythm all through the song (unfortunately one of them was mine!) and very nearly threw off the band.  I forgot that they would be getting them, so I didn’t instruct them to look at us for the rhythm to play (oops!)  I was ever-so-very-thankful that we have a real drummer again!  Warren, you rock, man!  

Oh, being on that mic also meant that any comments I made between songs were completely lost… the 2nd row couldn’t even hear them.  ugh.  However, that mic works beautifully for Chris (go figure) so he got to step up and speak (again) yesterday.  I love that he’s good at that, and doesn’t mind doing it (too much).

Regarding that mic… I think I figured out a way to “rig the system” into letting us have another mic to run through the sound board… we just have to unplug the jack that connects the computer to the board (only a problem if we plan to run any videos through with sound… I sure hope I remember what I did!)  That means that we now have 4 mics + the one in the little perch… it came in handy on Sunday night… everyone got their own mic for the very first time!  Yay!

The message was a really good one too – the passage was 1 Samuel 17 about David & Goliath.  Pastor Chris talked about the giants that our fears can become – how frightening their offense appears, and how well defended they look, as though nothing we can throw at them will penetrate their armor.  Then he reminded us that when we have God on our side, we are stronger!  Fears come when we are down, or tired, or not feeling well – not when we are filled up and passionate about God.  Our giant fears come when we are at our low points, and they taunt us relentlessly.  But – and this is a big one – they are just paper tigers.  Yes, they can still cause us harm (paper does still cut, after all) but they aren’t as powerful as we can imagine them to be.  All it takes is the faith that a smooth stone will land right where God wants to put it and they will disappear – dead and no longer able to harm us.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a recording this weekend.  The recorder’s battery went dead and we didn’t know where the charger was.  The wonderful woman who usually takes care of that is on vacation with her family for Spring Break.  (Jennifer!  We need you!) 

Onto the evening “candlelight” service…

• Lord You Have My Heart [D]
• Grace Flows Down [D]
• Communion intro
• Jesus Blood [G]
• Take Me In [Em]
• Majesty (Here I Am) [Em]
• Short message on Romans 8:28-30
• Take My Life (Tomlin) [D]
• reading – Erasmus
• I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever [D]
• Glorious [G]

This service went really, really well.  We were missing both of our lead guitarists (they were headed for CA for the week) so I called a friend from my old church to come up and play with us.  I like a lot of guitars, even if they are all acoustic.

Yes, you will note that songs are grouped together by key… WE HAD FLOW!!!!!  It was beautiful.  One song flowed seamlessly into the next and it just carried everyone through them.  It was beautiful (well, what I could hear anyway)

Confession:  I was a bad leader again.  Yep, I tossed a bunch of (old) new songs at the team, and since I wasn’t able to make practice this week, they didn’t really get a chance to learn them.  Oh, and Chris didn’t know too many of them either, so he couldn’t teach them.  Oops.  Most of them are AT LEAST 10 years old though… I figured they might have heard them around somewhere…  Good thing Youly knew them all (after all, we used to sing them together regularly!)

The problem song?  Take My Life… again.  I need to practice it more with someone other than me or a recording playing it.  I can sing it fine acapella, I can sing it fine with a recording, I can even pick out some chords and sing it, but I just can’t seem to get the rhythm right when I’m leading it.  In theory it’s easy – the words just fall on the off-beats – but in practice it seems ever so much more difficult.  Although that may be a key word – practice (ha ha ha).  I love the song though, so we’ll have to work on it more.  Sorry gang, you have to put up with me figuring it out for a bit!  I think the trick is to play AND sing it… then you know the rhythm you are choosing and can follow (or lead) yourself.  I’m open to ANY tips on this one!

The only other “thing” was I Could Sing… I love the verse & chorus, but if I never sang the bridge again I could live with that.  I feel foolish when I sing it because I’m just standing there… I don’t especially feel like dancing sometimes, but I’m singing that I not only feel like doing it, but that I AM doing it.  oy.

Oh, and the whole “candlelight” thing?  We may have to bump the service to 7 if we want candlelight… but the evening sunlight streaming through the windows was beautiful none the less!  We had an hour of the little white church being filled with golden rays of sunlight, so we left the candles unlit.

The best part?  I wasn’t dizzy ONCE.  The worst part?  My ears blocked up right before the first song and I couldn’t hear Youly & Taya AT ALL for the first 2 songs.  We turned up their amp just a touch and all was right in the world again.

And… we were done 10 minutes early.  Check!

So, we went and had sushi.

That was our Sunday!  How was yours?

To take part in the setlist carnival, head over to Fred’s blog and join in the fun – or just read about the other worshippers that posted their Sunday worship time.

** added in question **

So, for special services that aren’t an “every week” thing, what do you do to help people remember them?  Our evening service is a once-a-month-thing, and some months there are more people leading worship than there are sitting in the pews… or at least the numbers are really, really close.  Those that DO come love this service – it’s 45-60 minutes of music, communion and prayer.  Just a time to worship our wonderful God!  But, we usually get the elders and most of the spouse of those on the worship team… and maybe one or two other people.  Any thoughts?