This was my first Sunday after missing 2 on my vacation in Lake Tahoe. Had an absolutely incredible time, very restful and rejuvenating. This weekend was also our Encounter weekend. If you aren’t familiar with Encounters they are basically a weekend where people are taken through the reality of sin, need for repentance, forgiveness, breaking of generational sin, filling of the Holy Spirit…it’s a super intense weekend for all involved, attendees and leaders. God shows up in power and makes a mess of all of us each time.

This weekend was no exception, so there is always great anticipation for the Sunday that concludes an encounter weekend as drug addicts, prodigals, prostitutes testify to their new freedom in Christ. I’ll blog more about that later. Now for something much less powerful…the Sunday Set List. Those with an asterisk (*) had a loop.

1. Solid Rock - Delirious arrangement*
   
2. You Love Me Forever - Merchant Band*
3. So Near - Vineyard UK* (link to loop used)
   
4. How He Loves - John Mark McMillan
5. Come Thou Fount - (use an arrangement similar to E-pop piano arrangement)

This week’s set was changed almost right up until service time. Things just weren’t falling into place. I spent a solid 4 hours searching for a particular sound I had in my head for Where You Go I Go (Brian & Jenn Johnson) song I was programming a sequence for and I just couldn’t find the right one. I wasn’t happy hearing the loop without that sound so I abandoned that and that kind of threw a monkey wrench into the set. But it ended up going really well and the band handled the last minute changes perfectly.

Part of Fred McKinnons’ Set List Sundays

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed 

Related posts

• Sunday Set List - “The Our Rising Sound Relaunch” (7)
• Sunday Set List - “My Soul Sings” and “Where You Go I’ll Go” (3)
• How to properly use simile in worship songwriting (0)

Come Thou Fount is one of the greatest songs of God’s grace I’ve come across. It’s lyrics are challenging, thought provoking, honest, desperate, vulnerable, humbling and encouraging. I’ve probably listened to the E-Pop version about 100 times the last few months. I literally cry every time, it is gut wrenchingly sweet and full of truth. I wanted to do a little series on here breaking it down line by line. And what God speaks to me, convicts me on in each line. It’s always evolving and right when I think I’ve received a good glimpse of God’s grace, He goes deeper, His grace expands, deepens and I see God for who He is and me for who I am in ever clearing sight. The first line is this:

“Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace”

God led me to this scripture in John 1:16John 1:16
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
16 For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace.  

, “From the fullness of His grace we have received one blessing after another”. Through grace I have received continued blessings. This line challenges me to put into proper perspective my life, past, present and future. That everything good, every blessing has it’s origin in grace. From the breath of life to the birth of my children, God has extended abundant grace the depths of which I can’t comprehend but pray for God to reveal.

That in response to grace that my heart would be tuned to sing thy grace. God has created in me a new heart that thirsts for him. Out of the overflow and outpouring of my heart, my mouth would sing thy grace, how could it not. I can testify now that is my deepest desire, that my life would be a song of God’s grace. By His grace my heart be tuned, molded, formed that the outpouring of my life would be a song of grace, love and hope.

I love that this line demonstrates everything empowered by God. We the believer accomplished nothing here. God in his goodness gives us every blessing, then in continued grace tune’s our hearts that we may reflect that very grace. Stay tuned(no pun intended) for line 2 tomorrow.

 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed 

Related posts

• Exposition of Come Thou Fount (Part 3) (2)
• Exposition of Come Thou Fount (Part 2) (2)
• Exposition of Come Thou Fount (Part 7) (0)

A small group of us recently went to the Continuous Worship conference at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I’ve read much of Mark Driscoll, subscribed to his podcast and I love what he’s doing so I was really excited about this conference. I knew very little of their worship music theology or style. I think I had heard one or 2 tracks that I thought were very strange but couldn’t quite remember why I thought so. I would be reminded why shortly.

They opened up the conference with their style of worship and it was such an interesting dichotomy of current, cutting edge music set to hymnals. I found myself loving the music, and really they play exactly the style of music that I love to write and love to play, but being lost in the words. Despite being raised in the church, I didn’t know hyms because I was raised in the Vineyard and we didn’t sing hymns. So I didn’t know really any of the lyrics and the things about hymns is there are 5 verses and none of them repeat. So I found it very tough to sing although I really wanted to. From the looks of it a lot of people were in the same position as I. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what they played at all, they are powerful songs, I just didn’t know them. I’ve never attended a regular Sunday morning service at Mars Hill but I’d imagine the congregation doesn’t have trouble since they’ve heard the songs numerous times. For us non-hymn knowing visitors it was a challenge.

Since then I’ve downloaded a ton of their songs from their music RSS feed and the songs have really grown on me. I admire their creativity, their maturity in arrangement and how much they value theologically sound worship music. My taste doesn’t line up exactly by any means, it’s hit and miss for me, but that’s not unique at all. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone that I like every tune from(not even Jeff Buckley). One of my favorites is the arrangement of Come Thou Fount by E-Pop. The leader of E-Pop, by the way, is in a band called Barcelona who’s recent album is amazing. Checkout Come Thou Fount below:

E-Pop: Come Thou Fount

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed 

Related posts

• Video: Spontaneous Baptisms on Easter at Mars Hill (2)
• Mark Driscoll on idolatry at the Continuous Worship conference (2)
• Love songs - the good the bad and the tacky (0)