Frustration and blessing of set lists and James

By Josh Weisbrod in Thinking About Sunday in Worship on 9/22/11

This series in James had been really good. The messages have been spot on and convicting, while also giving great encouragement into being the church and people God has called us to be. I really enjoy it. Many of you have heard Pastor Brandon talk about how he has had to wrestle through these messages the whole week, and though I have not been wrestling anywhere close to his level, it has been an interesting complication in my normal processes.

With every sermon there is a theme, and with that theme the worship leader can make a set list. Normally after praying over the scripture and following the direction of the Holy Spirit and the speaker we can pick a solid set list that moves the hearts of our congregation in a way that allows for openness and growth. The James series provides an interesting change though. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t heard large amounts of worship songs about favoritism, which was the message last week. How does one prepare the hearts of the congregation in worship so that the message of favoritism is responded to correctly? We want to honor God and worship him, and open ourselves up for what the Holy Spirit can do in us, but sometimes picking that set is a struggle. I would almost say it is frustrating.

The great part about this issue is that at the very moment that it is frustrating it also becomes a blessing. Picking these set lists has really enforced an idea in me that maybe through time and repetition I had begun to pass over. That is, the Word of God is deep and vast. It is full of knowledge and wisdom. It is important to dive into the Word as a living thing. The Holy Spirit speaks to you through the Word of God, and so picking a set list becomes more of a form of worship than just picking songs to prepare for worship. This is a moment where the leader gets to worship God by seeking Him and choosing Words which to glorify Him with.

This week’s sermon is on James 3, and I would encourage you to read it beforehand. When you look at the surface of this message you can see it being about taming the tongue and wisdom, but deeper in that is the message of humility. In the mindset of humility is where the set list is found. We must humble ourselves before God in order to tame our tongue or gain true wisdom. We worship God with a humble spirit. We hold nothing back from Him, and when we acknowledge His love it is with a humble heart that sees the grace and underserved mercy that He has given.

Larry Baty sent me this verse this week that I think goes great with this:

Isaiah 66:1-2
  This is what the LORD says:
“Heaven is my throne,
  and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
  Where will my resting place be?
2 Has not my hand made all these things,
  and so they came into being?”
        declares the LORD.
  “These are the ones I look on with favor:
  those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
  and who tremble at my word.
I think this series on James is short, but will provide massive amounts of growth both for us personally and as a congregation. Though sometimes it can be difficult in picking a set that has strong direction, I think that this process is a blessing. Any time you have to dive more into scripture it can only be seen as a blessing.

Peace
Josh Weisbrod

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