St. Andrew's United Methodist Church - Musical Musings

 Greetings St. Andrew's Family This Sunday, we enter the holy season of Lent. On the First Sunday in Lent, we step with Jesus into the wilderness as told in Gospel of Matthew 4:1–11. Christ is led by the Spirit into a place of hunger, silence, and testing. Temptation does not arrive in chaos, but in quiet. It comes when He is physically weak and spiritually focused. The enemy offers comfort, spectacle, and power. Yet Jesus answers not with argument, but with Scripture. His strength is not loud. It is rooted. It is obedient. It is steadfast. This Sunday, our music becomes the congregation’s prayer in the wilderness. When we sing Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah , we give voice to our pilgrim hearts. We are travelers in barren lands, asking for daily bread and steady footing. The hymn reminds us that faith is not self-sufficiency; it is daily dependence. In Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley , we remember that no temptation we face is foreign to Christ. He has walked it. He has felt it...

This Joy Sunday, our youth lead us in every part of worship, and their leadership reminds us of something simple and beautiful. Prayer belongs to everyone. It does not require perfect words or polished faith. It begins with an open heart. As our students share their stories and testimonies about what prayer means to them, we are invited to rediscover prayer with fresh honesty and childlike trust. Our music traces that journey together. We begin with the familiar comfort of “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” remembering the quiet gift of time spent with God. As it weaves into “Build My Life,” our prayer grows into commitment. We are not only seeking comfort. We are asking God to shape who we are and how we live. Prayer becomes the foundation beneath our feet, steady and strong. “Be Thou My Vision (Will You Guide Me)” centers us and turns our hearts toward God’s guidance. In a world full of noise and distraction, we ask God to be our wisdom and our focus. As we listen to the voices of our youth...

Grace and Peace St. Andrew's Family This Sunday’s worship invites us into a journey shaped by grace. Worship is more than a sequence of songs and prayers. It is a movement that carries us from God’s invitation, through transformation, and into a renewed calling for the week ahead. Our scripture from Ephesians 3:1 to 14 reminds us that grace is not only a gift we receive, but a gift entrusted to us, meant to be shared for the life of the world. We begin worship grounded in gratitude and assurance. The opening music weaves together Your Grace Is Enough and Great Is Thy Faithfulness , setting the tone by naming what is already true. God’s grace is steady, sufficient, and faithful in every season. Before we speak, pray, or act, we are reminded that grace has gone before us and surrounds us still. As worship continues, Spirit of the Living God leads us from proclamation into prayer. Sung in both English and Spanish, this moment reflects the breadth of God’s grace and the diversity of...

GRACE and Peace to you St. Andrews Family  As we prepare for worship next week, our music traces a clear and hopeful journey—one shaped entirely by grace. We begin with “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” lifting our hearts toward the God whose love initiates all transformation. Renewal does not begin with our striving or effort, but with God’s grace entering our lives—healing, shaping, and calling us into deeper life. This opening hymn sets the foundation, reminding us that divine love always moves first and will carry us through every step of the journey ahead. From there, “Living Hope” draws us inward, centering our hearts on the risen Christ. Grace meets us in the present moment—right where we are, even amid doubt, weariness, or struggle. Hope begins to take root as we proclaim again that God’s power is stronger than anything that seeks to separate us from life, love, and joy. This song serves as a bridge from old ways of living into the new life God offers. Paul’s words i...

Grace and Peace St. Andrew's Family  This Sunday, our worship tells a single, grace-filled story—from beginning to end. We open with “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” a hymn of praise that lifts our focus immediately to Christ. Before we speak of ourselves, our struggles, or our faith, we name who Jesus is: Savior and King. Grace begins not with what we do, but with who God is. As worship continues with “Open Our Eyes, Lord,” the tone gently shifts from proclamation to prayer. Having praised God, we now ask for open hearts and clear vision. This simple song invites us to become attentive—to the Spirit, to the Word, and to the grace already at work in our lives. The Gloria Patri , sung through the first verse of “Amazing Grace” set to a new tune, reminds us that God’s grace is both familiar and ever new. These beloved words point us to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, praising the God whose saving love has been at work long before we ever noticed it. Our scripture reading...

Greetings St. Andrew's Family This week we begin a five-week worship journey centered on Grace, and our first step into that journey echoes the promise at the heart of Norma’s sermon: “And the Lord is With Me.” Our Scripture from Genesis 39:1–6 leads us into the story of Joseph in a season of displacement and uncertainty. Though far from home and living in circumstances he did not choose, Scripture repeats a grounding truth — the Lord was with him . God’s presence does not remove challenge from Joseph’s life, but it shapes his spirit, directs his work, and allows grace to flourish even in unfamiliar places. As a worshiping community, we hear in Joseph’s story a reminder that God’s nearness is not dependent on setting, status, or comfort — God accompanies us wherever we stand. Our worship begins with the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” a prayer that God would tune our hearts to grace the way Joseph’s life was tuned toward trust and faithfulness. It invites us to look ba...