Worship Confessional – Sunday, October 11, 2009

Great weekend at OBC. It was Thanksgiving up here in Canada (and, no, it’s not “Canadian Thanksgiving” for us – you folks down in the US just got the date wrong :) ) and we finished up our Elijah series. Here’s what our morning looked like -

Everyone Needs A Little – Kari Jobe – E
Welcome/Announcements
Because Of Your Love – Paul Baloche – F
Hosanna – Paul Baloche – G
Meet & Greet/Offering
Glory To God Forever – Steve Fee & Vicky Beeching – Bb
Communion
Once Again – Matt Redman – D
Message – How Big Is Our God? 2 Kings 2
Lord I Give You My Heart – G

Three things from Sunday’s service -

1. We had one of the most solid band lineups ever on Sunday. All of our musicians at OBC can play at a very good level but if you’re a worship leader you’ll know that there are certain combinations of talent, personality and instrumentation that just work really well together when you get them on stage. When I saw who was scheduled to play this week, I knew we would be having a special time together in rehearsal and on Sunday – and that’s exactly what happened. The musicians who play together here week after week are really talented and do a great job but so much more than that I appreciate their hearts and who they are as worshipers themselves.  Having band sound great is one thing but having a band of friends sound great is pretty much out of this world. I am so thankful that I get to play alongside the people who serve in our worship ministry.
2. Having said all that, the talent on stage Sunday was priceless. One of our guys can play pretty much any instrument you drop at his feet so I asked him to pull out his mandolin (yes, mandolin!) on Sunday for some of our songs. He played it on “Everyone Needs A Little” (if you haven’t heard this song, you must) and then brought it back for “Once Again”. For the rest of the morning he played electric. It added a really nice touch to the sound of the band and some good diversity to the songs when it was played.
3. As our pastor was beginning his message at our 11:00 service, he took a couple of quick moments to thank the worship team and to recognize the work and preparation that goes in to planning our services, rehearsing the songs, praying for the people who will be there, etc. He said that it’s not something we do often but it’s something we should do because the work that happens is appreciated. After each service every week I try (sometimes I forget or get sidetracked) to personally thank each person involved in our worship ministry – band, singers, techs – and to let them know that their work was appreciated. But.. I should also thank them publicly here and perhaps encourage you to thank worship ministry volunteers at your church, whether you’re the worship pastor, part of the worship team or just part of the congregation that gets the benefit of the work they do. So.. OBC worship  ministry folks, thank you! Thank you for your dedication to Christ and His church. Thank you for your dedication to this church and to her leadership. Thank you for your willingness to use your talents and abilities in a way that honours God and serves our congregation. Thank you for giving time away from family, hobbies, sleeping in, raking the lawn and a million other things so that you can be the first ones to arrive on Sunday and the last ones to leave. It is a real joy to serve alongside you as we continue to lead our church in worship. My prayer is that we’ll be faithful every step of the way, honouring God with everything we do and loving every minute of it!

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You can read more posts like this over at Fred’s blog.