In the name of God the Father

In the name of God the Father,
for the glory of the Son,
in the power of the Spirit,
now in faith we come.
We are gathered in your presence
as the people of the King
and you raise our hearts to heaven as we sing.

We lift up your name, O God,
you are worthy of our praise,
so great in power
and glorious in grace,
so high and holy
the mighty three-in-one:
in your name we come.

We will call upon your mercy
as we celebrate your grace,
and we’ll bring our joys and troubles
as we seek your face.
We will share the peace you’ve given
as we feast upon your word;
and you make us into light
for all the world.

Open our lips, open our lips,
and we shall declare your praises.
Open our eyes, open our eyes to you.
Open our hearts, open our minds,
we’re trusting you to change us,
open our lives, let Jesus shine anew.

This song began as an improvisation on some words that have been used to begin worship for centuries – ‘In the name of the God the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… grace, mercy and peace be with you.’ It is intended to be a preparation, something to focus our minds and our hearts, and to reinforce what we are gathering for. Verse 1 sets the scene of the gathering, verse 2 outlines our expectations for the gathering and the chorus is a unifying cry of praise. The bridge picks up on some more words often used to begin worship (Psalm 51:15) and expands them to be prayer for God to open us up and transform us during our time together. The whole song with it’s 6/8 feel is intended to be quite rowdy. Go for it!