Monday, September 28, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Time of Preparation

Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?

When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.

A Call To Worship

On Mondays we use the Hebrew Psalter to focus in on the invitation to approach God in worship.

Read through the Psalm slowly and prayerfully, either silently or out loud. Pay attention to the movement of your soul and the longings of your heart as you read. How does it stir you to worship? What focus might you find from this Psalm for this coming week?

Psalm 27

Of David.

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger;
    you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
    God my Savior.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.
Teach me your way, Lord;
    lead me in a straight path
    because of my oppressors.
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
    for false witnesses rise up against me,
    spouting malicious accusations.

I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 27 - The Lord is My Light (lyrics here)

Saturday & Sunday, September 26/27, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Benediction

“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’”
—Revelation 5:13 (NIV)

SONG OF BENEDICTION: Be Unto Your Name (lyrics here)

Friday, September 25, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Time of Preparation

Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?

When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.

Commission

In this final movement, we are encouraged and equipped for the work God would have us do.

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,
’This is the way; walk in it.’”—Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

One of the best illustrations I’ve ever heard about how the guidance of the Holy Spirit works came from pastor and author Henry Blackaby in his book “Experiencing God.” As he tells it:

For twelve years, I was the pastor of a church in a city surrounded by farming communities. One day a farmer invited me to visit him at his home. His directions went something like this: “Go a quarter mile past the edge of the city, and you will see a big red barn on your left. Go to the next road, and turn to your left. Take that road for three-quarters of a mile. You'll see a large poplar tree. Go right for about four miles, and then you will see a big rock. …” I wrote all of this down, and only by God's grace did I eventually manage to find the farm!

The next time I went to the man's house, he was with me in my vehicle. Because there was more than one way to get to his house, he could have taken me any way he wanted to. This time, I didn't need the written instructions. You see, he was my map. What did I have to do? I simply had to listen to him and do what he said. Every time he said “Turn,” I did what he said. He took me a new way I would not have discovered on my own. I could never retrace that route by myself because the farmer—my map—knew the way.

In our lives we often wish for God to give us the whole plan up front, but often as we make our way on the journey we have to trust that the Spirit of God is alongside us, guiding us to where we need to be. Our task is to listen and act when he says “Turn.”

How have you experienced God’s guidance in your life? What voices has he used to help you stay on the path? How have you been used by the Spirit to help guide someone else?

And what about this moment for you? Are you seeking guidance? Perhaps today is a good day to stop, be still, and listen—not for the entire map, but for the next turn.

Spend some moments in silent prayer, thanking God for his faithful guidance thus far and asking him for ears to hear what the Spirit whispers as your next step.

SONG OF COMMISSION: Step By Step (lyrics here)
Today we feature two songs by Rich Mullins. The first is a simple chorus he released in 1991. The second is an expanded version of the song he released in 1992. Let the first song be a time of simply declaring your trust in God. Let the second be a time of reflection on the deeper themes of trust and guidance.

SECOND SONG: Sometimes By Step (lyrics here)

Thursday, September 24, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Time of Preparation

Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?

When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.

Assurance

In this third movement, we receive the good news of the gospel: we are forgiven.

“From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”
—John 1:16 (NRSV)

The great Scottish theologian William Barclay tells this story:

When a missionary came to one of the ancient Scottish kings, the king asked him what he might expect if he became a Christian. The missionary answered: ‘You will find wonder upon wonder and every one of them true.’

This story came to mind as I found myself reflecting on John 1:16 for the second week in a row, especially John’s words, “grace upon grace.” The Greek in this verse is fascinating, because it literally means “grace instead of grace.” What in the world does that mean?

I like the way the NIV translation puts it: “grace in place of grace already given.” The image this brings to mind for me is that of waves hitting the shoreline—one breaks, another takes its place, and the cycle continues again and again. That’s the image of grace I think John was trying to convey—grace that is endless, a blessing that continues on and on without end.

In other words, grace is endless. Wave upon wave, endlessly washing our sins away.

Thanks be to God.

SONG OF ASSURANCE: Grace Upon Grace (lyrics here)

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Time of Preparation

Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?

When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.

Confession

In this second movement, we simply see ourselves for who we are: people who need God.

“Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word”
—Psalm 119:37 (NLT)

One Sunday many years ago we sang "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" in worship, and afterward a member pulled me aside, dismayed by the line "the things of earth will grow strangely dim." They felt it preached a "pie in the sky" theology that ignored the world God calls us to serve.

I was taken aback, and almost agreed. What does it mean for the things of earth to grow "strangely dim"? Wrestling with that question for a few days, though, actually left me with a deeper appreciation for the hymn. It isn't inviting us to ignore the world. It doesn’t encourage us to be "so heavenly minded we're no earthly good." It invites us to examine our attachment to earthly things, and how those attachments might become disordered and unhealthy. When the things of earth grow dim, we don't stop seeing them; we stop being ruled by them. Their shine fades, and they fall into proper perspective.

As we enter a time of repentant prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart for anything in this world that has an unhealthy grip on you — any disordered attachment that needs to be brought to the cross. Spend some time gazing on the love of Jesus shown for you, and let that love put everything in perspective.

Watch how your priorities shift in light of our Saviour's love. Because grace doesn't steer us away from this world — it sends us back into it, to tell what Jesus has done for us.

His Word shall not fail you He promised
Believe Him and all will be well
Then go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell

SONG OF CONFESSION: Turn Your Eyes (lyrics here)

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Time of Preparation

Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?

When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.

Encounter With God

In this first movement, we simply seek to see God for who He is: the One worthy of worship.

“I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen”
—1 Timothy 6:13-16 (NIV)

One of my favorite movies has this remarkable, highly memorable line of dialogue:

“Son, in 35 years of religious study, I have only come up with two hard, incontrovertible facts: there is a God, and...I am not him.”—Father Cavanaugh in “Rudy” (1993)

The opening movement of worship highlights these two truths: that God exists, and that he exists as completely “other,” meaning he is far beyond the realm of our understanding. The 50-cent theological word for this is “transcendent,” meaning that God exists completely outside and independent of our mortal existence.

And yet in worship this transcendent One invites us into his presence—in Christ, and in the power of the Spirit, he has made himself immanent. We worship the God who has revealed himself to us, which is an absolute wonder. By entering worship with a moment of pure, God-focused, vertical praise we are acknowledging this unbelievable truth: the God of the universe is in relationship with us.

Many classic hymns highlight this “otherness” of God, but perhaps note quite so poetically as “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise.” Below you’ll find two recordings for today’s moment of worship—first is a traditional performance of the hymn, followed by a modern worship song by Laura Story based on the hymn.

May these songs invite you into the presence of the transcendent yet immanent God.

TRADITIONAL SONG OF ENCOUNTER: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (lyrics here)

MODERN SONG OF ENCOUNTER: Immortal, Invisible (lyrics here)

Monday, September 21, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Time of Preparation

Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?

When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.

A Call To Worship

On Mondays we use the Hebrew Psalter to focus in on the invitation to approach God in worship.

Read through the Psalm slowly and prayerfully, either silently or out loud. Pay attention to the movement of your soul and the longings of your heart as you read. How does it stir you to worship? What focus might you find from this Psalm for this coming week?

Psalm 131

A song of ascents. Of David.

My heart is not proud, Lord,
    my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
    or things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
    I am like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child I am content.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord
    both now and forevermore.

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 131 (lyrics here)

Saturday & Sunday, September 19/20, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Benediction

“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.”
—Thomas Ken, 1674

SONG OF BENEDICTION: Doxology

Friday, September 18, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Time of Preparation

Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?

When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.

Commission

In this final movement, we are encouraged and equipped for the work God would have us do.

“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
—Hebrews 13:16 (NIV)

The first three movements of worship are focused on how we relate to God. We praise the One who created us, who is worthy of glory and honor. We confess our sin. We receive grace. The flow of these movements is vertical in nature.

In this fourth movement, the flow extends outward. There is still a vertical dimension as we receive instruction and empowering from God, but now we are invited to consider how our relationship with him impacts the world around us. We are called to serve others, to lay down our lives for them as Christ laid down his life for us.

In the call of Isaiah this is represented as a call-and-response. God asks, “Whom shall I send?” and the prophet replies, “Here am I, send me.” Thousands of years later the call is the same, and our response should be the same as well.

How is God calling you to serve others in this season of your life? How are you responding to that call? Spend some time offering yourself anew to God for the work he would have you do.

SONG OF COMMISSION: Here I Am, Lord (lyrics below)
This reflective musical moment contains the chorus of the well-known worship song.
Below you can find a link to the full song as well.

Here I am, Lord.
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord
If You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.

FULL VERSION (with lyrics)

Thursday, September 17, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Time of Preparation

Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?

When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.

Assurance

In this third movement, we receive the good news of the gospel: we are forgiven.

“From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
—John 1:16-17 (NRSV)

The song for today is typically used during the Advent and Christmas season, but it has something to say to us all year long. For this movement of worship, where we ponder the grace and mercy of God that brings forgiveness for sin, why not spend a moment or two reflecting on Bethlehem? As Paul reminds us:

“The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners—of whom I am the foremost.”
—1 Timothy 1:15 (NRSV)

As we remember and celebrate God’s grace, the language of the incarnation is perfectly appropriate. Mercy and forgiveness are why Jesus came. He is the grace of God with us.

SONG OF ASSURANCE: Grace of God With Us (lyrics here)