Message Series: “The Blessed Life”

Song / Version / Key / Leader
“Running” – Hillsong – Key of B – Male 1 Lead
“Beneath the Waters (I Will Rise)” – Hillsong – Key of A – Female 1 Lead
“Holy Spirit” – Jesus Culture – Key of E – Female 2 Lead
“Set A Fire” – Jesus Culture – Key of E – Female 1 Lead

This week was the final week of the “Blessed Life” series. We opened with a staple up tempo song for us and actually was the very first fast song we introduced to our church. On the weeks I’m introducing a new song, I like to have those staples mixed in to make sure the congregation can engage. This time around, we had a male lead it, which is more like the original recording by Hillsong.

Following our opener, we transitioned to the key of A via pad to sing “Beneath the Waters (I Will Rise)” by Hillsong, which we played the intro quietly while Pastor Devin welcomed everyone. This mid-tempo, theological sound song was written especially for Baptisms and is a beautiful picture of the cross and resurrection. With its simple driving chorus and anthem type bridge, I couldn’t recommend it enough.

We ended with a down chorus and shifted to the key of E for “Holy Spirit,” the Jesus Culture arrangement. This again is a staple song for our church and along with “Running,” we did it for our launch Sunday. Because “Beneath the Waters (I Will Rise)” and “Holy Spirit” are quite lengthy and meaty songs, we decided to do “Set a Fire” for our last song in the set. I love this song because it’s easy for the church to participate in. They can simply close their eyes and sing this as a prayer, even if they have never heard it before.

Following the worship set and the message, we showed a giving testimony video to conclude the series, which was powerful. After the video, there was a short response time as we played the intro to “Beneath the Waters (I Will Rise)” under prayer time and then dismissed the baptismal candidates to change clothes. While they were changing, we all sung “Beneath the Waters (I Will Rise). Since it was a special song just for this service, it didn’t hurt to reemphasize the message. We then concluded with Baptisms.