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Weekly Worship Thought – Whole Heart

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photo-1469571486292-0ba58a3f068bPsalm 111:1 says, “Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.” At the very center of all true worship is an attitude of thankfulness. The word “Eucharist” comes from the Greek word for “thanksgiving.” We call communion “thanksgiving” because the scripture tells us that when Jesus was eating with his disciples “he gave thanks, broke it, and said, this is my body….” Following Jesus’ lead, our worship at God’s table is centered in an attitude of thankfulness. Back to Psalm 111. It says “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.” I’m interested in the idea of whole-heartedness. What does it look like to give thanks with a whole heart? What are the things that divide our heart and keep us from wholly giving ourselves in thanks to God?

FREE Download – My Eucharistic Setting

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Eucharistic Setting graphic

For a while I’ve wanted to create my own setting of Eucharistic liturgy music for use in worship. I wanted something that could be used in a contemporary/post-modern service with a guitar or band. I also wanted to use fresh language and imagine some of these well-known texts in a different way.

I ain’t gonna lie – this recording is a little rough. I recorded it at my home studio with a couple of mics. I played and sang all the parts. So there are some exposed edges – which is kind of how I like it anyway.

This music was meant for the church. We have been singing them at Faith Lutheran. Please use them if you think they’ll work in your context. Permission is granted for use in worship. The mp3s are free to download. If you’d like the lead sheets they are available at the PayPal link below for $5.

Eucharistic Setting (2014) – Click here for all mp3s

Let me hear from you if you find these songs useful.

Benediction

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You are sent out into the world.
Each of us carry God’s love, Christ’s light, and the Spirit’s breath.
Go in peace, and live the church.
Amen.

This is a benediction I composed that we have been using at Theophilus the last few weeks. I like it for several reasons. It captures the “sending” component of the benediction, which is important because every service ends with the final “sending” fold of the fourfold order. The Gospel and Meal propel us outward into the world. I also like it because it’s Trinitarian. As we exit a service we are stewards of the Father’s love (1 John 3:1 “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!”), the Son’s light (Philippians 2:15 “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”), and the Holy Spirit’s breath (John 20:22 “Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”).