Musical Notes From St. Paul's Lionville

Choose Kindness Kindness in Action Romans 12: 1-21 8am Service  Gathering Hymn : God Is Here! A lovely text from Fred Pratt Green. I challenge you to consider the true purpose of our shared worship. This sanctuary holds a sacred space for us to come together with a common interest in mind. To sing praise to God, to remember the sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ, to learn how we can to keep faithful...in daily living...in an age of change and doubt. Hymn of the Day : Love Consecrates the Humblest Act It is difficult to imagine a more perfect example of blessing those who persecute you, than Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet "in the shadow of the cross." He washed all of their feet, even those he know would deny or betray him.  Sending Hymn : Savior Again To Your Dear Name May we depart with God's peace, that it might guide us in our actions. May those actions come from a place of love, gentleness and understanding. And when that becomes challenging, may we be r...

Choose Kindness: OUR WORDS MATTER Today's reading is James 3: 1-12 8am Service Gathering Hymn:  Let All Things Now Living A joyful hymn to begin our worship, set to the hymn tune ASH GROVE! Our scripture reading today will allow us to pause and reflect on our words and the impact they have on ourselves and those around us. Let our voices resound as we sing together the words of the second verse: "We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing." Hymn of the Day : Lord Speak to Us That We May Speak Thank you to Frances R. Havergal for penning this text for us back in 1872 (pictured on the left)! You may recall we learned about Fanny Crosby  back in March. When I realized that the two women composers were contemporaries, I immediately popped their names into a Google search and learned that Frances (who lived in England) never met Fanny (who lived in America)... but Frances wrote a poem to Fanny, whose work she admired, as indicated by the verses of the poem. While both wom...

Choose Kindness LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR 8am Service: Gathering Hymn : Oh, For A Thousand Tongues to Sing Through our gathering prayer we praise God and ask for guidance us as we honor Him throughout all the world. In our Gospel reading today, we will hear Jesus' message to us that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us recognize the neighbors in our lives, that their "broken hearts [may] rejoice" through the actions we take as followers of Christ. Hymn of the Day:  Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service When we love God as Jesus teaches us (with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind), we become better able to serve Him by offering "love in living deeds" to one another. We pray for knowledge of where we can be of service, ever watchful of God's "making known the needs and burdens [His] compassion bids us bear."  Sending Hymn : The Spirit Sends Us Forth to Serve Let us depart St. Paul's as missionaries of our local communities, committed thro...

  The Tabernacle: Exodus 40: 34-38 Gathering Song: Guide Me Ever, Great Redeemer The themes of our gathering song directly reference the Tabernacle of today's Exodus reading. We imagine the weary Israelites traveling through the desert ( pilgrim[s] through this barren land), and we hear reference to the fire and cloudy pillar of the Tabernacle which eventually land[s] [them] safe on Canaan's side . Song of the Day: How Great is Our God? It has been a long journey for us through Exodus...and an even longer journey for the Israelites! Plagues, Passover, the parting of the Red Sea, the Ten Commandments...as we reflect on all we have experienced this summer, both through Exodus and our own personal journeys, let us pause and marvel at the awesomeness of God.  Closing Song: Send Us Out Taking with us the lessons from our journey through Exodus, let us renew our commitment to: Grow in Faith. Serve With Love. Invite Into Fellowship. 

  The Golden Calf: Exodus 32: 1-14 Prelude: Beginning at 9:25 am, guest artist Jeff Krick will be singing three spirituals for our congregation. Our service today will also include several African spirituals. Gathering Hymn: Wade in the Water The praise team performed this selection as a prelude on June 28th , and we look forward to singing it with the congregation today.  Song of the Day: In Jesus' Name (God of Possible) We have been singing this quite a bit over the past month (both as a prelude and a communion song), and today we are going to try to sing it together as a congregation. Written and performed by Katy Nichols, this selection was born from Katy's personal journey through multiple spinal surgeries, leading to additional mental health struggles. The powerful and insistent refrain is a testament to the healing power found through Jesus in the face of suffering.  Sending Song: Let It Rise We conclude our service with an uplifting and energetic call to Let the g...

  The Ten Commandments:  Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 Gathering Song: Come Thou Almighty King It's quite a powerful classic. When God imparts The Ten Commandments to Moses to share with the Israelites, it is a compelling declaration of God's sovereign majesty . The text of our gathering song asks God to rule now in every heart  and refers to the almighty power of the King.  Song of the Day: Shout to the Lord Today's Exodus reading is calling for this St. Paul's favorite! Power and majesty, praise to the King! I look forward to singing this as a community, inspired by the message of the day.  Sending Song: Lord of Justice The refrain asks God to guide us in the path of righteousness. May we feel God's peace and eternal love as we confront the challenges we encounter in the week ahead. 

  Leadership Advice from Jethro: Exodus 18:13-27 Prelude : In Jesus Name (God of Possible) The praise team performed this selection on August 2nd, and to help familiarize the congregation with this selection we will be doing it several times over the next few weeks. We will have the slides available during the prelude, in case anyone would like to sing along with us! Gathering Song:  We Are All One in Mission The hymn tune of our gathering song today is called Kuortane (sometimes referred to as Nyland) and originated in Finland as a folk melody in the 19th century. The reading from Exodus describes Jethro's encouragement of Moses to share the leadership workload so that he does not become burnt out from the excessive burden. The text of our gathering song describes the unique part each of us play in our ministries within the church. Let this serve as a reminder that although our talents and specific ministries may be different, we all are one in mission.  We are able to g...

“Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink. -Exodus 17:6” Gathering Hymn : I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say Set to the familiar English folk tune Kingsfold, the text of ELW 611 contains several passages that illustrate the reading from Exodus, which depicts God's provision of water to the the Israelites water through Moses' striking of the rock: Lay down, O weary one...behold, I freely give the living water...my thirst was quenched, my soul revived Song of the Day : My Life Flows on In Endless Song  <-- This links to my favorite choral arrangement of this hymn The text from Robert Lowry continues the thematic references to water by professing the unending calm experienced via the peace of Christ...a fountain ever springing . Despite the tumult and the strife  the question is repeated: How can I keep from singing?  I know the feeling.  Sending Song: By Grace We Have Been Saved Just as the Israelites experienced the saving grace of G...

Our selections today support this memorable Exodus reading : Exodus 14:19-31 Of all the scriptural references that pop culture and society has adopted across all fronts, this is close to the top of the list. "Parting the sea" evokes an instantaneous image in even the non-Judeo-Christian's mind, and it is synonymous with effecting great and sudden change within something as insurmountable as the raging sea.  Gathering Hymn : Crashing Waters at Creation Verse 2 is a direct homage to the enslaved Israelites, and the accompanying verses help to underline the power of water as a vessel to cleanse, reveal and create. Hymn of the Day : Blessed Be Your Name Commemorating the parting of the sea from today's reading warrants recognizing the many blessings God bestows on us daily. Even when times are challenging and the outcome is unclear, it is safe and certain to fall into the promise of His unending love for us.  Sending Song:  Let It Be Said of Us There's something milit...

Today's music draws on the themes of our Exodus scripture , which is Exodus 12:1-14. Gathering Hymn :  Holy God, We Praise Your Name 🎶 "Prophets swell the glad refrain...bend the knee while we own the mystery." 🎶  God's proclamation to Moses that all firstborn people and animals would be struck down, unless they observed the specified rituals of the Lord's Passover, marked a significant event in both Judaism and Christianity:  The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt...This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.  It is difficult to imagine the unquestioning devotion of the Israelites, currently enslaved and enduring daily suffering at the hands of Pharaoh, following the instructions from Moses with the firm belief that this would ultimately lead ...