Message Series: “The Blessed Life”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“This is Amazing Grace” – Phil Wickham – Key of E – Female 1 Lead
“God Is Able” – Hillsong – Key of E – Female 2 Lead
“Your Great Name” – Natalie Grant – Key of A – Female 1 Lead
“Broken Vessels” – Hillsong – Key of G – Female 1 Lead
“Holy Spirit” – Jesus Culture – Key of A – Male 2 Lead

At the top of the month we like to do corporate Communion. It not only starts off the month fresh, but it resets our focus as a body on Christ and His love, mercy, grace, forgiveness & sacrifice for us. This also works well to support the beginning of a new series. With that being said, our set list began with with “This Is Amazing Grace,” which reminds us of the impact of the cross. If you have read any of my set list posts before, you know I love the synth lead line in this as well… very addictive!

We continued in the key of E as we sang “God Is Able,” another great description of the victory we have in Jesus and a staple song for us at Connect. Transitioning to the key of A using the Ableton pad via midi keyboard, we sang “Your Great Name.” Again, common theme here: the cross! Sometimes having a universal theme throughout your set is good, especially if it is leading up to a particular message/moment. Just make sure the songs are theological rich in content.

Pastor then came up to read scripture and set up/administer communion as we transitioned and softly played the intro to “Broken Vessels” behind him. (Right now we do the peel back cups and place them at every chair.) We then sang “Broken Vessels,” the song we introduced last week. I knew going into Communion week I wanted to do this song. Therefore, I introduced it last week so it wouldn’t be completely new to our church. I wanted to ensure connection with the lyrics/story/melody of the song, even though it has the familiar hymn “Amazing Grace” as its pre-chorus.

For response time following the message we played an abbreviated version of “Holy Spirit,” which is attached above. During this time, Pastor invited everyone to just ask themselves the simple question: “What is the Holy Spirit saying to me through this message?” while asking the Lord to help them put Him first in every area of their lives.