Worship Recap: 8/19/2012

I ran into somebody a few weeks ago who asked for details regarding some of the songs we do at PCC. A few years ago, I tried to post a regular update on our worship service every Sunday evening. I got out of the habit.

Getting back into the habit. Here we go! Hopefully this will help anybody who might want to pick up some of this music. I'm posting links to iTunes for each song.

We're doing a series called Imprint, focusing on several verses that we think are worth learning and digging into. Sammy Frame brought the message this week on Micah 6.8: 8

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? 

The song lineup:
You by Hillsong from their album A Beautiful Exchange. Find it here. Love this song because of the fun - and incredibly repetitive - keyboard part. Amie Bonner did a bang-up job. It's only six notes, but they go like crazy and they NEVER stop. I always get a cramp in my hand when I play that tune. Amie rocked it.

Like A Lion by Daniel Bashta. We do the David Crowder version, mostly. I love hearing Matthew O'Donnell sing this song, and today, Mariah Lewis sang the harmony part gloriously. I nearly came unglued. Today's band interpretation of this song was the best I've ever heard. Find the Crowder version here; the Newsboys did it, too, but I'd go with Crowder.

Our God by Chris Tomlin. This song changed a lot from rehearsal; originally, Travis had placed it in a different key for a female vocal and asked Mariah to sing it. She did a great job, but the tune just didn't have the same punch in a lower voicing. We tweaked it in rehearsal to the key of B (Tomlin's original key) and asked Matt O'Rear to sing it, but after rehearsal ended, we changed it again to A and decided Travis should sing it - simply because that would give everybody one song to sing. Sign of a great band: nobody blinked at the key change, even on Sunday morning when we picked the third key. Sign number two: no prima donnas. Everybody said, "Whatever's best for the day. I'm cool." Find Tomlin's version here; in fact, Like A Lion and Our God are both on Passion's Awakening album. Well worth your investment.

Forever Reign byKristian Stanfill and / or Hillsong. This song has been around for a while, but we just started doing it at PCC, thanks to Matt O'Rear's influence. The refrain, "My heart will sing / no other name / Jesus / Jesus" has great power, I think. Elijah did a beautiful job with the vocal. It is imprinted in my heart and I find myself singing it all the time. That's not a bad thing. Find the Hillsong version here.

All the Poor and Powerless by All Sons and Daughters. Incredible duo that we first heard at the STORY conference last fall. This song....I'm sitting here, blank, because I have no words to convey the experience of worshiping together while singing this song today. Incredible. Matt brought such passion and vulnerability to this song. It's a little different, as it has a measure of 5/4 time in each line of the verse. It feels a little unusual, but it fits. When we sing, "Shout it / go on and scream it from the mountains / go on and tell it to the masses / He is God", I just come unglued. I highly recommend this EP - great, fresh music. You'll love it. Buy Brokenness Aside by All Sons and Daughters here.

Lindsay Harris made the verbal video with the words, a great - and very creative - piece she put together with voices she found in the office (you never know what you'll get yourself into if you come around the office during the week!) After Sammy's message, we showed a short black and white clip of various folks talking about ways they had experienced or lived out Micah 6.8, and then we sang the bridge from Courageous by Casting Crowns. I like the song, but I really like that bridge. It'll stick with you - great way to memorize a verse! Mariah did a beautiful job.

Speaking of Micah 6.8, we've created a Facebook page; we'd love to hear from you. How do you live out that verse? How do you see others "do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God"? How would you LIKE to live it out in our community? Go like the page and let us know. We are convinced that our community can and will be changed if we walk this way.

The band at rehearsal this week

A final note about today: we had an incredible band on the stage. Nathan Wheeler continues to grow as a musician - a self-taught drummer, he is the glue that held it all together today. Travis Wagner led the band with humility and left a lot of room for everyone to rise to the occasion. Elijah Schiarelli, back from his mission trip to Guatemala, did a fabulous job on acoustic guitar and vocals. I love to listen to Elijah play, and I love to watch Elijah; he just beams the entire time he is playing music. I've never seen somebody exude joy like that guy. Every time I glanced his way, he was beaming. Loved it! Matt O'Rear, who has been leading at Westchester, made his first trip to Powhatan and did a fine on electric guitar. Matthew O'Donnell led on bass, and Mariah Lewis sang all the girl parts. Amie Bonner played keys and I snuck in there for a song or two as well.

Big shout out to our technical artists: folks like Hank Cosby, Caleb Glasco, Sean McLane, Tom Lewis, Jeannie Ashman, Brian Gayle and Andy Vaughn - and our number one hero, Kevin Mann, who manages the stage and gets us all where we need to be at the right time.

It was a great day at church. Your comments are welcome!

Find the FB page here.  

You can see the entire service here.