Call to Confession - Kneeling before God: Psalm 95

by Mike Cosper on March 10, 2010

God is our refuge, and we need to cling to him for many reasons. Sometimes, we need shelter from the suffering of our everyday life. Sometimes, we need shelter from ourselves and our sin.

When we open the Psalms, we often hear the Psalmist singing an invitation to be humbled before our God. The Psalm we opened with today also says:

6 Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
7 for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the flock under his care.


Today, as we sing this prayer of confession, we want to invite you to come forward – step into the aisles, or walk right up front and kneel here, and let’s sing this song with a posture of prayer and humility, calling out to God as our only hope.

As used by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Ky on March 7th, 2010

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Call to Worship - Psalm 95

by Mike Cosper on March 9, 2010

Psalm 95

1 Come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
3 For the Lord is a great God,
 a great King above all gods.

Our God reveals himself to us as the perfect King, Jesus, who leads us now in worshiping God the Father. Let’s join our King in worship by lifting our voices

As used by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY on March 7th, 2010

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Psalm 24 - Shouting to the King of Glory

by Mike Cosper on March 3, 2010

Lets shout the bold portions together as we proclaim Christ’s royalty:

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

8 Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

10 Who is he, this King of glory?

The LORD Almighty—he is the King of glory.

- Psalm 24

As used by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY on February 28th, 2010

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Call to Worship - Psalm 99, A Posture of Praise

by Mike Cosper on March 2, 2010

The scriptures call us to do many things when we come before the presence of God. We’re supposed to yell, shout, sing, weep, clap, dance, and bow, laying prostrate before him. The only thing that it never tells us to do is sit. This is because we’re coming before royalty: The God of the Universe is here, and we would never do a king, or a president the dishonor of staying seated before him.

Some of you may not be able to stand for a whole service– that’s okay… But we challenge you to take a posture before our God of honor, of fear, and of reverence. Let’s stand together and worship our God.

Psalm 99

1 The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.

2 Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.

3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.

4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.

5 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.

As used by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Ky on February 28th, 2010

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Benediction from Psalm 146

by Mike Cosper on February 17, 2010

Go in the name of Jesus, who lifts up those who are bowed down, watches after the fatherless and the widow, and who reigns forever in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit, Peace be with you all.

All: And also with you

As used by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY on February 14th, 2010

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Prayer for dependance on God

by Mike Cosper on February 16, 2010

Is our trust in our great and mighty God? Is it in the conquering warrior? Or is it in our bank accounts, our cleverness, and our ability to work things out on our own? God calls us to be utterly dependent upon him. Let’s pray together that this would be so:
O Lord of Grace,
The world is before us today,
and we are weak and fearful,
but we look to you for strength;
If we venture forth alone we stumble and fall,
but on the Beloved’s arms we are held firm.


If we were left to our own treacherous hearts,
we would bring shame to your name,
But if guided and upheld by your Spirit,
We will bring you glory.


Lord of Mercy, be the arm that supports us,
our strength to stand,
our light to see,
our shield to protect,
and our sword to repel the enemy.
We know that all lovingkindness is in your Son,
and we plead his blood to pay our debts.


By the power of your holy spirit,
accept his worthiness for our unworthiness,
his sinlessness for my sin,
his purity for my uncleanness,
his humility for my pride,
his obedience for my rebellion,
his glory for my shame,
his death for my life. Amen.

As used by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Ky on February 14th, 2010

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Call to Worship - Psalm 146

by Mike Cosper on February 15, 2010

The words of Psalm 146 call us to worship. Let’s stand together let’s sing, let’s declare the greatness of our God. Read the bold portions with me…

Praise the LORD, O my soul.
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save,
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
the maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
(Psalm 146:1-6)

As used by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Ky on February 14th, 2010

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Assurance from Psalm 3

by Mike Cosper on February 10, 2010

Hear the word of the Lord:
To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
-Psalm 3:4
God hears your prayers, he knows your fears, and he promises to one day conquer all of the enemies that plague us – sin, death, disease, and suffering will all be subjected to Jesus because he has conquered them on the cross. In our crucified savior, death has lost its sting, amen?

As used by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY on February 7th, 2010

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Singing the Psalms: Lament from Psalm 3

by Mike Cosper on February 9, 2010

The Psalms don’t leave us detached from everyday life. Instead, they root us in the realities of the here-and-now, and enable us to cry out to God in our weakness, fears, and sins. The words to this next song come to us from Psalm 3, where the psalmist cries:

O LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.


Before we begin singing it, let’s pause, and allow God to bring to mind the challenges we face. What are your fears? What overwhelms you? What robs you of sleep? Let’s not shut those things out of our worship, but bring them boldly before our God and cry out for help.

As used by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Ky on February 7th, 2010

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Words of Assurance - 1 Timothy 1

by Jamie Barnes on January 8, 2010

God’s grace truly is amazing.
We can share in this astonishment by hearing the famous words of the apostle Paul in this passage:

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord,
who has given me strength.
He considered me trustworthy
and appointed me to serve him,
even though I used to blasphemer, a violent persecutor and the very worst of sinners.
But the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
So here are words you may trust,
words that merit full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
To all who confess their sins and believe in Him
he says, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Amen! Praise God for his mercy!
-Based on 1 Timothy 1: 12-17
As used by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY on January 3rd, 2010

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