This Is My Song
Pass It On
Sunday, September 10. Traditions online worship service.
This Sunday, we wrap up our summer series “This is My Song, Too” with the campfire favorite “Pass it On.” Composer Kurt Kaiser had an inspiration that a single spark could ignite a fire and his song has become a favorite for all ages. We hope you will join us in person or online as we “shout it from the mountaintop!” The Lord of love is with us – pass it on.
Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Matthew 28:16-20
Come, Ye Sinners Poor and Needy
Sunday, September 3. Traditions online worship service.
We are very near the end of our “This is My Song, Too” series. This Sunday, September 3, as we celebrate the sacrament of holy communion, our favorite hymn is “Come, Ye Sinners Poor and Needy”. This Hymn of Invitation comes from the Revivalist tradition and was written by Joseph Hart way back in 1759. Join us, “Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love and power.”
Luke 15:1-3,11-32
Jesus Loves Me
Sunday, August 20. Traditions online worship service.
We’re back to our This is My Song, Too series this Sunday with one of the first songs many of us learned as a child, “Jesus Loves Me.” Anna Warner’s hymn was first published in a novel written by her sister Susaner, Say and Seal, in 1860. At one point in the story a sick little boy, Johnny Fax, is comforted by his Sunday School teacher, John Linden. He rocks the child in his arms, and when Johnny asks him to sing, he begins a new song, and Anna B. Warner provides the four stanzas of this hymn. Join us this Sunday, August 20 as we sing “Yes, Jesus loves me!”
John 15:9-11
Ephesians 3:14-21
Standing on the Promises
Sunday, August 6. Traditions online worship service.
This Sunday we continue our summer series on our favorite hymns and songs of faith. R. Kelso Carter was a Methodist minister, an academic professor, a physician, and he also had a military background. In 1886 he composed and published the stirring hymn “Standing on the Promises”. As we gather for worship this Sunday may we continue to stand firm in God’s living Word. Welcome to worship at White Plains UMC!
Ephesians 6:10-17
Hymn of Promise
Sunday, July 30. Traditions online worship service.
“In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed an apple tree; in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.” -Natalie Sleeth, 1985
Though we often sing the “Hymn of Promise” at funerals and memorial services, it’s an appropriate song for any time we are pondering the mysteries of life. Join us this Sunday, July 30th as we consider the teaching and hope found in this beautiful hymn.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
John 11:17-27,12:24
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Sunday, July 23. Traditions online worship service.
Our highlighted hymn this Sunday is “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” one of the best-known hymns in English language. Written by Henry Van Dyke in 1907, this joyful ode is sung to an adaptation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770-1827) of the melody from the final movement of his Ninth Symphony. Join us in worship in-person or online as we sing and live into these words:
“Mortals join the mighty chorus
which the morning stars began,
love divine is reigning o’er us,
binding all within its span.
Ever singing, march we onward,
victors in the midst of strife;
joyful music leads us sunward,
in the triumph song of life.”
Psalm 98:1-9
This is My Father’s World
Sunday, July 16. Traditions online worship service.
Our favorite hymn to be highlighted in worship this week is “This is My Father’s World” written by Maltbie Babcock in 1901. Referencing multiple psalms and the work of all creation in praising the Creator God, this hymn calls us to “listen” to God’s handiwork with auditory images like: “listening ears”, “nature sings”, “birds their carols raise”, “rustling grass”. How is God speaking to you this week in the music of creation?
Nehemiah 9:6
Psalm 24:1-2
Lord I Lift Your Name on High
Sunday, July 9. Traditions online worship service.
This Sunday, July 9, we continue in our worship and sermon series, “This is my song, too” based on some of our congregation’s favorite hymns and worship songs. We focus on “Lord, I Lift your Name on High” from The Faith We Sing hymnal, written in 1989 by Rick Founds. During the 7 years between 1995-2002, this song remained the number-one song sung in American churches. Join us as we lift God’s name together in worship in person or online!
Psalm 148:1-14
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
This Is My Song
Sunday, July 2. Traditions online worship service.
This Sunday we continue our series on our favorite hymns and songs. Some songs come as a flash of inspiration from a single author while others take shape over a period of years with additions from multiple lyricists and composers. Today’s hymn is known by several names but in our Hymnal it is known simply by its first line: “This is my Song.” The history of this beautiful prayer of peace is a recipe that blends disparate ingredients into a finished work. Join us in person or online as we offer ourselves and our songs to God.
Revelation 22:1-17
Bless the Lord O My Soul 10000 Reasons
Sunday, June 25. Traditions online worship service.
What does it look like to ‘bless someone, with all that is within you?’ The Psalmist sings: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!’ (Psalm 103:1). We’ll be exploring this beautiful Psalm this week in worship along with one of our favorite worship songs it inspired, ‘10,000 Reasons’ by Matt Redman. Join us in person or online for worship this Sunday, June 25!
Psalm 103:1-18
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Sunday, June 18. Traditions online worship service.
This Sunday, June 18th, we continue in our series “This is My Song, Too” as we consider some of our favorite hymns and songs of faith as a congregation. There’s no tragic or dramatic story behind the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness. It’s just the fruit of a faithful man with a simple faith in a faithful God. Join us in worship online or in person to learn more!
Lamentations 3:22-24
James 1:17-18
Heart of Worship
Sunday, June 11. Traditions online worship service.
This Sunday, June 11, we focus on another one of our favorite worship songs as a congregation: “Heart of Worship”, written by Matt Redman in 1998.
Every now and then, we need a basic reminder of why and how we worship God and this song reminds us that worship isn’t about us, it’s about God. Our worship is always a response to God’s initiative and grace. And as Christians, we understand that in worship we are responding to what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. Whether we are singing songs of praise, offering prayers, giving of our tithes and gifts, hearing the Word proclaimed, or coming to the Lord’s table we do so as a grateful response to God’s all-embracing love and grace.
1 Chronicles 16:23-36
Luke 4:5-8
Because He Lives
Sunday, June 4. Traditions online worship service.
This Sunday we begin a new Sermon series based on the favorite hymns and worship songs of our congregation – This is My Song, Too! You may remember we featured some of your favorites last Summer and that series was so popular we are dhoing several more of your selections. We begin with “Because He Lives”, Jesus is the foundation for all that we are as believers and as a church. It is because of Jesus that we face today and tomorrow without fear. Come join us in person or online as we lift our voices in praise and thanksgiving to God.
John 14:18-21
It is Well with My Soul
Sunday, September 11 “This Is My Song” series. Traditions online worship service.
We live in a wonderful world, but the truth is…life in this world is hard. Eventually we—like the writer of Psalm 23—have no choice but to go through the valley of the shadow of death. How do we deal with our greatest fears and losses and still trust in the goodness of life?
Join us this Sunday, September 11 as we consider the story of our #1 favorite hymn as a congregation, “It is Well with My Soul” and how we might sing:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll—
whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Isaiah 43:1-7
The Old Rugged Cross
Sunday, September 4 “This Is My Song” series. Traditions online worship service.
This Sunday we continue our series on our favorite songs of Faith. The Old Rugged Cross was written by a Methodist Minister in 1913 but didn’t find its way into our hymnal until the 1960s! It remains one of the most popular hymns in church and in popular culture. Join us in worship as we share in Holy Communion and sing praises to God.
1 Corinthians 1:20-25
Colossians 1:15-20
How Great Thou Art
Sunday, August 28 “This Is My Song” series. Traditions online worship service.
This Sunday, August 28th we will consider the beloved hymn “How Great Thou Art”. This inspiring hymn of praise and adoration reminds us of God’s unlimited power and love in creation and God’s work in our redemption. Although the original text was written in the 19th century, the version of the hymn we have now only became familiar to congregations since the close of World War II. Join us as we consider the unfathomable greatness and nearness of God as we sing:
“Then sings my soul, my savior God to Thee;
How great thou art, how great thou art!”
Psalms 8:1-9
Here I Am, Lord
Sunday, August 21 “This Is My Song” series. Traditions online worship service.
Our highlighted worship song this Sunday, August 21 is the popular hymn “Here I Am, Lord” written by Daniel Schutte in 1981. Often sung to commission mission teams or at ordination services, “Here I Am, Lord” is certainly a hymn about our calling by God and our response to tend to God’s work in the world. It is also a hymn of transformation. God transforms the darkness into light, melts ‘hearts of stone’ with love and nourishes the ‘poor and lame’ and invites us to respond to the question “whom shall I send?” by singing:
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.
Isaiah 6:1-8
In The Garden
Sunday, August 14 “This Is My Song” series. Traditions online worship service.
We continue in our sermon series on our favorite worship songs this Sunday as we consider the 20th-century hymn: “In the Garden (I come to the Garden Alone)”. “In the Garden” was written by C. Austin Miles in 1912 as he envisioned himself walking with the resurrected Jesus just as Mary Magdalene experienced the first Easter. Join us as we are invited to imagine ourselves walking and talking with Jesus one on one. What might Jesus say to you as you walk together?
Genesis 2:5-9
Genesis 3:1-8
John 20:11-18
Amazing Grace
Sunday, August 7 “This Is My Song” series. Traditions online worship service.
In today’s sermon, we continue our sermon series “This is My Song” by focusing on one of the most recognizable songs throughout the world: “Amazing Grace”. It’s a song about spiritual conversion, forgiveness, redemption, and the promise of deliverance. Join us as we reflect on the gift of God’s grace that is nothing less than amazing!
Ephesians 2:4-8
Be Thou My Vision
Sunday, July 31 “This Is My Song” series. Traditions online worship service.
Music has the power to connect us to people and places and moments in time that can bring us closer to God. Today we continue our series “This is my Song” as we look at some of the great songs of our faith. Be Thou My Vision is one of the most ancient of those songs. We’re so thankful that you’re with us in worship today.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
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