Christmas Eve

I liked the carolling in the narthex as people walked in.  I think it helped them to prepare for our Christmas celebration.

Deep words

I love the depth and richness of many of the Christmas carols, especially in the later, less well known verses.  We sang one of those on Sunday.

Come Desire of nations come

Fix in us Thy humble home

Rise the woman's conq'ring seed

Bruise in us the serpent's head

Adam's likeness now efface

Stamp Thine image in its place

Second Adam from above

Reinstate us in Thy love

Hark the herald angels sing

Glory to the newborn King

December 6 service - walking in step with the Spirit

I'm thinking that I must have missed something.  Bruce said at the start of the service that the focus on the services during a\Advent were going to be Christ's first coming, his coming now, and his coming again.  I didn't catch that in the service on Sunday,  however.  Maybe he was talking about Wednesdays.

At any rate, a couple of things from worship that I am wondering about any feedback.  First, the songs in the first worship set (with the exception of the last one) all moved directly from one to the other without any pause.  This was intentional. 

• Come, Now is the Time to Worship =>
• O Come Let Us Adore Him =>
• Celebrate the Lord of Love =>
• Trading My Sorrows =>
• Joy to the World

The intention was that the message of each song would build on the previous.

Secondly, for the offering song I chose one that I was hoping would be easy for the congregation to pick up on.  I think they did.  "You are the vine, we are the branches, Oh- - -" etc.

First Advent service

I really enjoyed the music at this service.  I think it was easy for the congregation to pick up on (once the timing on O Come O Come Emmanuel was understood) and had a mood that reflects the mystery of the incarnation.  One of the things that music can do is to communicate in a way that grasps not just the brain, but the heart too.