This article is part of the worship series
Whistling in the Dark
Series Introduction
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4
WEEK 1: DOWNWARD MOBILITY
Prelude (violin with full orchestra)
"How Beautiful," Paris, arr. Bruce Greer, Fletch Wiley; Almighty God—12 Great Songs for Solo Instrument (Word Music; full score and orchestration available separately).
Welcome, Announcements, and Prayer
One of our pastors leads this opening part of the service, greeting everyone and offering a special welcome to guests, who are invited to come to the guest center for further information about the church and its various ministries. The guest center is a well-labeled area where we have staff members waiting to answer questions and provide information as well as a professionally recorded fifteen-minute message from the senior pastor that visitors can listen to.
The welcome concludes with an invitation to pass the Friendship Folders, which the congregation is asked to sign. The folders include prayer request and comment cards that can be filled out and placed in the offering plate later in the service.
The pastor then highlights important announcements that the entire congregation needs to know about (such as church socials and programs or prayer needs that are not included in the bulletin).
Musical Call to Worship (ensemble or choir)
"Let Us Praise the Lord," words and music by Landy and Joy Gardner, Gary Prim;
"In This House", words and music by Richard Smallwood.
Both from the Christ Church Choir collection Hand in Hand (Star Song Chora. Publications, available through Brentwood Music; orchestration available).
Greetings
God greets us in words of Scripture, and we greet one another.
Exaltation (congregation)
"Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty”Fitts
“Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” Wesley
"People of God," Watson
The three exaltation selections are to be sung in a medley form with brief key-change modulations between each selection. For the keyboardist needing assistance with modulations, I would suggest the Worship Planner Edition of Songs for Praise and Worship (Word Music). Modulation charts are found on pages 550–562.
Congregation Prayer
This prayer begins immediately following the exaltation songs, and the piano continues to segue softly through it, playing variations on the previous selection and then moving into an introduction of the song that follows. This time of prayer is assigned in different services to various individuals, including pastors and lay leaders. The prayer concludes with an invitation to worship God with our tithes and offerings.
Our Gifts of Tithes and Offerings
Offering of Music and Drama
"They Will Know Us by Our Love," [see drama printed below] words and music by Kenny Mann and Bobbie Mason, arr. Clydesdale. From the musical Make Us One—The Body of Christ United in Praise (Word Music; full score, choral parts, and orchestration all available separately). Drama used by permission.
In order to give a visual sign of unity among our musicians, I used both of our worship ensembles as well as two of our soloists to perform the musical part of this selection. A choir could be used as well. The larger ensemble (thirteen members) sang the SATB choir parts, the smaller ensemble (six members) sang the SAB Praise Team parts, and the soloists sang the tenor and alto solos. I also used the two-scene drama (see below) that is included in the musical during the interludes of the song.
To prepare for this offering in song and drama we held separate ensemble and drama rehearsals during the two weeks prior to the service, then one joint rehearsal with a partial orchestra on the Wednesday night before the Sunday service and one run-through on Sunday morning before the service with the full orchestra.
Message
“Downward Mobility”
Scripture: Philippians 2:1–4
As chapter 2 begins, we get the sense that Paul is writing to a healthy church, but one in which rumblings of dissension are being heard. Picture a healthy garden in which some weed seeds have already been sown (this is confirmed in 4:2–3).
Over the course of our life's journey, we all have been made painfully aware of the way strained relationships with other believers can be anything but joyful. What a difference we see in a church when the believers are seeking to reflect Christ in the way they relate to each other! Not only will they experience Christ's joy as they do so, but they will be instruments of joy in the lives of their brothers and sisters in Christ. Instead of sowing seeds of dissension, they will sow seeds of God's peace!
In verses 1–4 we find four amazing and interrelated ingredients that lead to a garden of joy-producing relationships in the body of Christ.
1. Amazing grace (v. 1). Instead of a trite and superficial, "Please just get along with each other," Paul takes the Philippian Christians to the very source of their life: the love and grace Christ has shown to them.
"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ:" Take an inventory of your church or a fellowship group you have visited recently. You can usually tell quite quickly if a person or a church is encouraged by the reality that they are united to Christ. If they are, it will show in their relationships!
"If any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion": If we have truly grasped the incredible reality of Christ's love, and if the Spirit's agenda is dominant in our community, then we will have no room for fractious, divisive attitudes. If we believe God's grace is really amazing, then it will affect how we relate with one another! It will produce an amazing unity.
2. Amazing unity (v. 2). This man, who had started their fellowship with his proclamation of Christ's greatness and grace while modeling Christ's love, is now telling them that true, complete joy comes in the context of healthy relationships in the body of Christ. Paul gives four exhortations in verse 2 that many believe correspond to the four "if" statements from verse 1. In verse 1 he has given them the motivation; now in verse 2 he gives them the instruction: be like-minded, love one another, be one in spirit, and be one in purpose.
Paul's cry is not for uniformity, but for unity. The metaphor of a body with very different parts but a common purpose casts its shadow over these exhortations: as Christ's body, we must be unified under him as our head. We do not all look alike, but we must be unified in heart and purpose.
But how is this unity cultivated in a body of believers? Paul has already conveyed the absolute necessity of a common conviction, authentic appreciation, and current enjoyment of God's grace. He now adds on the instruction regarding the "how" by continuing his teaching in verse 3.
3. Amazing humility (v. 3). When we begin to genuinely grasp the amazing reality of grace, it will inevitably lead to amazing humility. When I become aware of the amazing nature of grace, my addiction to self-interest begins to melt. When I realize I truly need grace—that it is a necessity, not just a nicety—my haughty attitudes dissipate.
We mistakenly believe that diversity is the enemy of unity. Yet God's Word teaches us that selfishness, not diversity, is the antagonist of an atmosphere of unity. The selfish ambition Paul warns us against is also mentioned in Galatians 5:19–20, where he describes the acts of the sinful nature. Sin trains us to see ourselves as the center of our own little universe. (After all, what determines if you like your group's photo: how everyone else looks? Probably not!)
When I lack the humility to see others as more important than me, I am inevitably running from unity, not toward it.
4. Amazing servanthood (v. 4). If humility is present in my life, servanthood is an inevitable companion. If a church or fellowship is struggling in the arena of unity, it is a sure indication that the heartbeat of a servant is an unfamiliar sound. In the eyes of the watching world, the credibility of God's love is reflected in our unity and love for one another, and our love is nowhere more powerfully demonstrated than in the arena of servanthood. Servants' hearts (illustrated in vv. 5–11) are grown in the soil of humility. Humility is cultivated by the water of amazing grace. The result is a garden that accurately reflects Christ and brings great joy to those involved.
Musical Response
"We Will Stand," Taff & Taff
We used both worship team ensembles and a soloist to sing the SATB score. The ensembles began singing in a choral formation and then walked forward and formed a solid line on the last chorus to once again emphasize unity.
Closing Response (Congregation)
"Bind Us Together," Gillman
Parting Blessing
Postlude
Reprise on “We Will Stand”
THEY WILL KNOW US BY OUR LOVE
A drama
| Introduction | |
| Worship Leader: | The body is a unit. And though it is made up of many parts, they form one body. So it is with the body of Christ—if one suffers we all suffer. If one is honored, everyone shares in the honor. In fact, God has arranged the members of the body just as he wanted them to be. And along with the unity of the body, he has given us faith, hope, and love. But of course, the greatest of these is love. |
SCENE 1
| Twelve-year-old Boy: | Since my dad moved away, things have been really strange around here. Mom has to work all the time; she's always tired. At school they are having this father-son camping trip. I really wanted to go ... but Dad said he would be out of town with his "new wife" then. I guess he loves her more than me. |
| Twenty-five-year-old Man: | I can't believe we've been married two years already. And this will be our first long separation. You see, this summer she's going to Argentina on a missions project. I'm so proud of her, but…it will be a long, lonely two weeks without her. We were having coffee at work today, and my assistant mentioned how frustrated her son was about this school camping trip. I guess it's about time for me to figure out if I'm any good with kids, huh? So where did I put that old sleeping bag? |
SCENE 2
| Middle-aged Man: | Money is so tight these days. Just when I get back on my feet and get a decent job again, my car breaks down. Five hundred dollars! I don't have five hundred dollars—I don't even have credit for five hundred dollars! Lord, what am I going to do? |
| Middle-aged Woman: | We got the bonus—I can't believe it! A fifteen-thousand-dollar bonus. But that's not the fun part. All of a sudden Jim says, "Let's do something crazy." I thought an adventure to the Bahamas, a new kitchen. But no, Jim tells me about this guy in his men's group who shared a prayer request about his car breaking down. Then Jim says, "So here's the plan: a brown paper bag, five hundred dollars in unmarked bills, and a secret midnight drop into this guy's mailbox." [laughs]'Well, I wanted an adventure. But . . . I've never seen Jim so excited about giving before. Oh, I almost forgot—I need to synchronize my watch; we make the drop tonight! |
[Repeat chorus to "They Will Know Us By Our Love."]
SCENE 3
| Sixteen-year-old Girl: | This isn't supposed to happen to people like me. In the movies, sixteen-year-olds don't get pregnant. Oh, but if they do, they have a wonderful boyfriend who doesn't abandon them ... like Josh abandoned me. And even if he did, her parents wouldn't throw her out like mine did. I've only been a Christian three years... and Jesus really did change my life. But ... I guess I kind of messed things up a little bit. |
| Older Woman: | Things are pretty quiet around here these days . . . just Jake and me, an empty house, and a lot of wonderful memories. Three wonderful grown-up children and five perfect little grandchildren. They don't visit real often. I guess life is busy for young, upwardly mobile parents these days, but it sure is quiet. |
| Sixteen-year-old Girl: | I don't want to make things worse. I am going to have this baby. And somehow, somewhere, I know there are people who will love my baby, who are just waiting for a child. Waiting... that's my problem now. No place to go and no one to wait with. |
| Older Woman: | I got a call this morning from an agency that helps church folk adopt new babies. I started to laugh. Me…[laughing] adopt a little baby? "Oh no," the lady said, "No, no, they just needed a loving home for a scared young mother-to-be." You see, she would live with us for a few months. I would even be her labor coach! |
| Sixteen-year-old Girl: | Just someone to hold my hand…someone to care for…us. |
| Older Woman: | My girlfriend Edna from church, she just looked at me real funny when I told her today. Then I saw it comin'—she put both of her big hands on her big hips, got her real spiritual face on and said, "But what will people think?" I just looked right back at her. "Edna, Edna, never forget—they will know us by our love!" |
[Repeat chorus to "They Will Know Us By Our Love."]
| Twelve-year-old Boy: | Mom, I'm going camping! |
| Middle-aged Man: | Five hundred bucks! I can't believe it! |
| Older Woman: | It's a girl! |
[Repeat chorus to "They Will Know Us By Our Love"]
—Drama reprinted from the cantata Make Us One: The Body of Christ United in Praise by Babbie Mason, Kenny Mann, and David T. Clydesdale, pp. 81–82. © Word Musk, 3319 West End Ave., Suite 200, Nashville, TN 37203; (615) 385-9673. Used by permission. For permission to use this text, use your CCU or Licensing license or contact the publisher.
Revised Common Lectionary
Year A - Season after Pentecost - Proper 21 (26)
