This weekend was the fifth weekend of our "Hope" series, and Brian Tryhus preached about our hope of redemption through Jesus, the Suffering Servant, coming from Isaiah 53 (one of my favorite passages of Scripture). It was a beautiful reminder of the amazing grace that Jesus has shown us through the cross, and the incredible hope we have through Him alone!
For our services, we had a great pair of brass players (Ronnie and Haley Murphy) on our team, and they were a fantastic addition. It made for an incredibly challenging and fun weekend for the whole team.
Here are our songs from this weekend:
"Felix Culpa" (Am) [Kings Kaleidoscope] - Our team has been trying to get me to incorporate this song for a few months now (it started before Easter!). It's not really a great congregational song, but it was a great fit thematically and it is just an incredible song overall. It's not an easy one, though.
"In Tenderness" (G) [Nate Garvey, Adoniram Judson Gordon, W. Spencer Walton, arr. by Citizens/Kings Kaleidoscope] - This weekend, we took a stab at the Kings Kaleidoscope arrangement of the Citizens arrangement of this song (got all of that?), which incorporates a great brass part that complements it all very well.
"Made Alive" (C) [Zach Bolen, Brian Eichelberger] - This song is one of our staples now. I am trying not to wear it out around here, though, but it's tricky. It is a great celebration and thanksgiving song from Ephesians 2.
"Suffering Servant" (G-A) [Dustin Kensrue] - This song was a perfect fit for the message from Isaiah 53. This song captures the essence of that passage better than any other song I have heard. It is incredibly powerful and beautiful. While it is quite wordy, I think it is one of those songs that breaks the rules and the congregation wants to sing anyway.
"Jesus Messiah" (G) [Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves, Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash] - We hadn't sung this in a while, but it is still one of our church's favorites, and it helps us look to the cross of Jesus for our hope and redemption.
"In Christ Alone" (G) [Stuart Townend, Keith Getty, arr. by Kings Kaleidoscope] - Again, we used the Kings Kaleidoscope arrangement on this one (they are one of the only modern worship bands I know of that have brass players). This was a fantastic way to end our services, because the statement, "In Christ alone my hope is found" sums it all up very well. That is what we needed to walk away with (maybe what need to walk away with every week...). Jesus is everything we need, and our hope is in Him and Him alone.
This weekend was simply incredible–definitely one of the best yet! I love our beautiful church and our amazing team of leaders!