Preparing For Worship: October 23rd, 2011

Preparing For Worship: October 16th, 2011

Just a few days until we are together again! Check out the links below to learn/practice the worship songs we'll be singing.

1) Eternal Praise
2) God Is Able
3) Surrender
4) Lord, I Give You My Heart
5) Forever Reign

Preparing For Worship: October 9th, 2011

Anyone know what that stuff falling from the sky earlier this week was??? Weird huh?

Well whatever falls from the sky, we'll still be getting together three times this Sunday at Crossroads so plan to join us!

Here are the songs we'll be singing together so make sure you know 'em all 'cause you're gonna wanna SING with us; see ya Sunday!

1) See What A Morning
2) Because of This
3) God Is Able (**NEW SONG**)
4) Our God
5) Completely Done

Preparing For Worship: October 2nd, 2011

It's another weekend at Crossroads! We're excited to have you join us for what we're hoping is a really cool morning of extended time in the Word and in worship singing. We'll be taking communion together, and remembering both the blood and body of Christ that was broken for us, and also the symbolism of coming to the Lord's table to feast with him as a result of Christ's sacrifice.

Check out the song list below and get ready to come and sing along!

1) Be Thou My Vision
2) Come Praise And Glorify
3) Be Unto Your Name
4) Lead Me To The Cross*
5) Jesus, Thank You*
6) How Deep The Father's Love For Us*
7) By This We Know Love*
8) Stronger

*partial songs we're gonna medley together

Preparing For Worship: September 25th, 2011

Come worship with us this weekend at Crossroads as we study God's Word in John 9; the story of the blind man! Before you come, check out the links below so you can be ready to sing all the worship songs we'll be singing together this week. See ya Sunday!

1) Indescribable
2) Perfect Savior
3) For You Are The Lord
4) Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Preparing For Worship: September 18th, 2011

Can you hardly wait until this Sunday after last weekend??? Man, celebrating with CDs, T-shirts, and In-N-Out is always a highlight of our year!

But this Sunday is going to be just as cool because it's the weekly gathering of the body of Christ here at Crossroads! No gimmicks or giveaways this week (although we still have shirts and CDs), just fellowship, teaching, singing, giving, praying, and rejoicing that Christ is alive, and that he paid the ransom for our sinful souls to be washed clean forever!

Check out the songs below and practice them for the next day or two and come Sunday morning and let 'em rip!

1) Christ Is Risen
2) Forever Reign
3) Out Of The Depths
4) In Christ Alone
5) Jesus Messiah

Why not come to our 8:00am service this week?? In case you didn't hear us mention it in the video; we have plenty of open seats for you, and you'll make your 9:30 or 11:00 spot available for new visitors and families! C'mon, try it; you'll like it!!

See you Sunday!

Preparing For Worship: September 11th, 2011

Happy 5th Anniversary Crossroads!

Come join the party this weekend as we proclaim God's amazing goodness and faithfulness! If you've been thinking about coming to visit Crossroads; this is the week to do it! In-N-Out on site, brand-new worship CD for free, Crossroads T-shirts for only $5; we're turning up the generosity because God has heaped so much of it on us in Christ, and in the amazing history of a little church plant called Crossroads.

Check out the video links below as you get ready to gather; get to know these songs well 'cause you'll want to sing with us!

1) Come Thou Found of Every Blessing
2) From The Inside Out
3) Before The Throne Of God Above*
4) Revelation Song*
5) The Stand*

*Featured on our new worship CD: The Saints All Sing. Available THIS SUNDAY for FREE!

Preparing For Worship: September 4th, 2011

So I think everyone in SCV got back from Summer vacations last week! We had over 850 people come through Crossroads last weekend!! How many of you are heading back out of town for Labor Day?

For those of you who're staying around, don't miss this Sunday at Crossroads! Come be a part of what God's doing on a weekly basis; you'll be glad you did.

Here are the songs we're going to be singing together this Sunday; check them out and get familiar with them so you can sing loudly with the gathered church in just a few days...

1) Blessed Be Your Name
2) Come Praise And Glorify
3) How Great Is Your Faithfulness
4) You Alone Can Rescue
5) Marvelous Light

See you Sunday!

Preparing For Worship: August 28th, 2011

Back to school time! For many of us, this signals the return to the routine of life we're tried to escape all Summer. Whether you dread falling back into that routine, or you find comfort in it, it'll be fun to have most of our Crossroads family all together again! Be sure to check out our setlist of worship songs this Sunday, especially the new one from Sovereign Grace!

1) Our God
2) Come Praise And Glorify (NEW!)
3) Jesus Paid It All
4) You Never Let Go
5) The Power Of The Cross

Preparing For Worship: August 21st, 2011

One of my faithful worship blog viewers chided me for his feeling of unpreparedness last Sunday as a result of my failure to update the previous Friday while I was away; to which I offered him, and any of you who may share his sentiment, a hearty "I'm sorry!!"

So now that I'm back from vacations and conferences, we can really focus on being prepared for our corporate worship gathering each week!

Check out the links to the songs we'll be singing together this week and come be a part! This Sunday we'll be featuring a simplified acoustic feel, which a number of you have mentioned that you really enjoy every once in a while!

1) Because of This
2) God of This City
3) O Church Arise
4) How Great Is Our God
5) Glorious and Mighty

See you in a few days!

Preparing For Worship: July 24th, 2011

Can you guys believe it's almost the end of July?? Summer's beginning its descent into the history books, but the heat waves seem like they're just arriving!

This week in our Decades Worship Series we look back at the 1990s. This is the first decade that I really remember well (I was just going to turn 7 when the 80s ended), and there was a lot going on with worship music. I'll talk a little more about the trends and the importance of what happened with worship in the 90s, but for now, check out the set below and take a little stroll down memory lane...see you Sunday!

Call To Worship
Eternal Praise
Be Thou My Vision

Decades Worship: The 1990s
The Heart Of Worship
I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever
Shout To The Lord

Closing Song
Completely Done

Preparing For Worship: July 17th, 2011

Greetings! I hope you'll join us this week as we remember the 80s this week during our Decades Worship segment, and as we sit under the teaching of God's word from one of our elders, Darren Utley.

I know you're itching to know which songs we're doing from the 80s, so check out the set list below and get practicing!

Call To Worship
You Alone Can Rescue
Christ Is Risen

Decades Worship: The 1980s
Oh Lord, You're Beautiful (this song is still strong; check out this new recording!)
Awesome God (I won't make you try to sing those verses, just the chorus on this one)
Lord, I Lift Your Name On High (PETRA rocks this version!)

Closing Song
Revelation Song

Preparing For Worship: July 10th, 2011

Happy Friday everyone! Maybe you're browsing the web killing the last couple hours before the end of the workday, or maybe you're getting ready for a wedding rehearsal (congrats tomorrow Amos and Jennica!). Either way, glad you found your way to the Crossroads worship blog! Come ready for a great morning worshiping with other Crossroaders, and ready for the powerful work of God in your life as we exalt Christ and submit to the Spirit!

Check out the songs we're gonna sing together, and especially listen to the section of songs for our "Decades Worship: The 1970s" segment! If you were alive then and went to church, odds are you'll remember these tunes; if you don't, enjoy learning about this interesting decade in the life of the Church.

Call To Worship
How Great Is Your Faithfulness
Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)

Decades Worship: The 1970s
He Has Made Me Glad
Seek Ye First
Psalm 5
I Love You Lord

Closing Song
Out Of The Depths

Enjoy your preparation! See you Sunday!

Preparing For Worship: July 3rd, 2011

We're looking forward to having you join us at Crossroads this Sunday for an amazing morning of worship with God's gathered church. When I put it that way, doesn't it sound so much better than say...going out of town for the holiday weekend? ;)

Check out this week's songs for worship below. Draw your attention especially to the two songs we'll be doing from the 1960s as part of our "Decades Worship" series over the month of July. This series is meant to remind us of the legacy modern worship, and to appreciate the songs and songwriters that have paved the way for worship music as we know it. If you were alive in the 60s, hopefully these tunes will ring familiar...if you weren't alive in the 60s (I wasn't born until 1983!), let's appreciate the history of the contemporary worship song, and how it began with songs like these!

Call To Worship
From The Inside Out
(I like doing this song as an opener because it is both confessional ["a thousand times I've failed; still your mercy remains..."] and declarative of God's glory. We adapt the style to add energy and dynamics that help bring the focus into worship.)

Decades Worship: The 1960s
I'm Gonna Sing, I'm Gonna Shout
(This song has stuck around, and can be found on a lot of kids worship projects. A simple gospel tune that declares God's praise, and our hope of eternity with him in heaven. You'll have to find the track titled "04. DaveRandy Im Gonna Sing" on the media player)
Reach Out To Jesus
(by Ralph Carmichael, one of the trailblazers of contemporary Christian music, performed by "The King," Elvis Presley!)

Worship Singing (during communion and close of the service)
Jesus Messiah
(a great song for communion, reminding us of the great exchange Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians when Christ became our sin that we might become his righteousness!)
Jesus Paid It All
(a hymn for the ages, with the addition of the ending chorus: O praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead. A great way to end the service!)

Preparing For Worship: June 19th, 2011

Happy Father's Day! Come join us at Crossroads this Sunday for our weekly worship gathering. Our special guest speaker, Dr. Keith Phillips, will be preaching from Luke 4 this Sunday so CLICK HERE to read the passage ahead of time. How responsible of you!

Click the song titles below to check out each of the worship songs we'll sing together so you can be a participater and not a partici-HATER! ;)

(Challenge: I (Paul) am in one of the following videos...see if you can find me...)

1) Mighty To Save
2) You Alone Can Rescue
3) Yes You Have
4) All I Have Is Christ
5) Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

See you Sunday!!

Preparing For Worship: June 12th, 2011

Just a few more days and we'll see you at Crossroads for another amazing gathering of Christ's church to worship as one body!

What can you do between now and then? Read John's account of Jesus walking out to their boat on the sea of Galilee in John 6:16-21 (CLICK HERE to read it online).

Also, check out the setlist of worship songs below, and review them via the linked YouTube videos or other media. You'll want to be familiar with these tunes because Crossroads loves to SING. Check 'em out...

1) Because of This
2) I Have a Hope
3) We Trust Your Will
4) Out of the Depths (This is a NEW SONG for us!! Check it out!!)
5) Our God

Preparing for Worship: June 5th, 2011

Hey Crossroaders! Summer's here! The weather this week hasn't exactly been very convincing of that fact, but like Todd said in the video, we'll be glad for weeks like this come August.

Come start your Summer off right, worshiping with the body of Christ at Crossroads. We'll be singing, hearing fantastic teaching, giving, and coming to the Lord's Table together as we are reminded of the amazing news of the gospel. Won't you come and encourage someone with your presence and a smile? There's probably someone that needs a hug from you this weekend and yes, it has to be from YOU.

Check out the set list for our corporate worship singing, and be ready!!!

1) This God He Is Our God
2) Before The Throne Of God Above
3) Jesus Thank You
4) You Never Let Go

Preparing For Worship: May 29th, 2011

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Sorry I left you blogless last weekend; my wife and I took off early Friday morning for our 5th Anniversary weekend away in Sonoma wine country. It was a gorgeous weekend in a gorgeous place with my gorgeous wife. It's amazing that five years has gone by since we got married. We had just been married one year when I first got a call from a stranger named Pastor Todd asking if I wanted to come lead worship in a cafeteria!

This Sunday we honor the service of those in the military to protect our country's freedom. We have a cool video with a bunch of pictures that y'all submitted of yourselves or family members that are/have been in the service. It's gonna be sweet!

Check out the song picks for this week:

1) Here I Am To Worship
2) Once Again
3) Yes You Have
4) Eternal Praise
5) In Christ Alone

Preparing for Worship: May 15th, 2011

Hey everyone! Looking forward to a great weekend! Pray for the 40 or so guys that will be up at Forest Home Ojai on Retreat; the speaker is amazing, and I'm hoping for a time of strong relationship building.

For the rest of us, here's the songs you should practice as you prepare for Sunday morning. Also, if you weren't here last week for Mother's Day, you NEED to watch the video below that we made for the morning featuring some of our most brilliant Crossroads kids!

1) Come Thou Fount
2) Our God
3) We Will Remember
4) Be Thou My Vision
5) Marvelous Light

Preparing for Worship: May 8th, 2011

Hey Worship Blog Readers! You know that you are the coolest, hip, happening, with-it, cutting-edge, dedicated, people at Crossroads right? At least that's what Pastor Todd said... ;)

Sunday's comin'! I know you're looking forward to it as much as I am, so check out which songs we'll be singing for our corporate worship session:
1) All Creatures Of Our God And King
2) The Father's Love
3) Forever Reign
4) Revelation Song
5) Give Us Clean Hands

What are you doing with the MOM in your life this Sunday??

Preparing for Worship: May 1st, 2011

Hey guys! It's the week AFTER Easter! Let's continue the great things God did last week as we celebrated the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Are you ready to SING??? You're in for a fun morning as we tweak and re-tweak some familiar tunes...check out the list below and get pumped:

1) From The Inside Out
2) How Great Thou Art
3) Let Your Kingdom Come
4) You Alone Can Rescue
5) Jesus Messiah

See you Sunday!!

Preparing For Worship: April 24th, Easter Sunday!

¹What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ²By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? ³Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.


Romans 6:1-4


Happy Easter weekend everyone! It all starts this afternoon at 4:00pm with the first of three Good Friday services. Consider joining us at 4:00, 5:30, or 7:00 this evening; it's one of our most favorite services of the whole year!


Then Sunday morning, the stone is rolled away and we rejoice that the grave is indeed empty! We'll have our three normal service times on Sunday, so make sure to invite a friend or neighbor. We'll have overflow space set up in our Student Ministries room at the North Campus so don't let space keep you from bringing people!


I also wanted to remind you of the free download of "Resurrection Songs" that I released last year at this time. It's four tunes all centered on Christ rising from the dead! Visit www.lifeatcrossroads.org/resurrectionsongs


See you this weekend!

Preparing For Worship: April 17th, 2011

Hey Guys! I'm stoked to be back with you this weekend; I hope you're excited to gather as well. I think the video blog tells you all the important info you need to know...except...

THE SONGS!!

Check them out:

1) This God He Is Our God
2) Blessed Be Your Name
3) You Alone Can Rescue (this is a NEW song, so be sure to watch!)
4) You Never Let Go
5) By This We Know Love

Preparing For Worship: April 10th, 2011

Hey everyone! I'll miss worshiping with you this Sunday; please think of us and pray for us as we get away with our college/young adult group to Big Bear for the weekend. We always hear it said that "the children are the future of the church" but our young adults are the ones that are trying to make that transition amidst all kinds of oppression from the world and from our sinful nature. This age group is where many kids raised in the church walk away from their faith, so pray that God builds a strong community of faith and support within our young adults!

Here's the set of worship songs that Jon Meenk will be leading with the Crossroads band. Don't forget to warm up! (CLICK HERE if you want to watch and entertaining and informative warm up video)

1) Our God
2) How Great is Our God
3) From The Inside Out
4) Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)
5) The Stand

Preparing For Worship: April 3rd, 2011

Hey everyone! Are you ready for church this Sunday??? Pastor Todd begins a 5-week series on marriage called "Lost in the Garden" this Sunday so don't miss it!

Here's our worship singing set list so you can get practiced up. We got new speakers for our worship center so it's gonna sound amazing this week, so be ready to belt these tunes out with us:

1) Eternal Praise
2) Holy, Holy, Holy (check out this sweet 80s rendtion from Michael W. Smith!) ;)
3) Christ Is Risen
4) Forever Reign
5) Confession Song (we'll sing this together during communion)

See you Sunday!

Preparing For Worship: March 27th, 2011

Hey everyone! Thanks for checking the worship blog so you can prepare for corporate worship! This Sunday we'll be in John chapter 5 where Jesus heals the lame man at the pool of Bethesda; read verses 1-18 in preparation for this Sunday's message. Remember, you don't have to depend on a pastor or sermon to understand God's word for yourself, so trust that the Holy Spirit will help you understand and reap benefit from studying on your own. We come together to sit under pastoral teaching so that we can collectively grow and mature as a united body that is seeking to honor Christ.

We'll also spend time responding to God's self revelation in worship singing, and if last night's rehearsal was any indication, this Sunday is going to be great! When we sing, we give honor and praise to God, and at the same time we are built up and encouraged by the great truths about God we're reciting! This week is especially chock-full of life-affecting realities. Just check out the set list: (as always, click the song titles to preview YouTube videos that will give you an idea of how they go!)

1) The Solid Rock 
(Christ's grace and power are immovable and unshakable; we rest our hope firmly upon him!)

2) Psalm 62
(God is our refuge and strength; and he can never be defeated!)

3) Christ Is Risen From The Dead
(a new song we're learning for Easter, that gives us boldness as the new creation we've become because of Christ's death and resurrection)

4) Revelation Song
(a foretaste of beholding the risen Lamb in all his glory and worshiping him forever)

5) Stronger
(even though our sin and doubt abound, Jesus has conquered death and the grave and we need not fear)

That's what's going on this Sunday; hope to see you there!

-Paul

Preparing for Worship: March 20th, 2011

Hey guys! Sorry there's no video this week; Pastor Todd was out on vacation celebrating his anniversary and we had to prioritize his time back in the office.

He's preaching from the last chunk of verses in John 4 this week (vv. 43-54) where Jesus encounters a wealthy official in Capernaum whose son is deathly ill. Jesus tells him that his son would be healed, and imagine this: the official took him at his word. How often are we afraid to do that with Jesus? We'll find out what characterized the official's response, and how we can learn to take Jesus at his word more seriously.

Check out the links for the songs below so you'll be ready to SIIIIIIIING and join the mighty chorus we'll become as we sing songs that declare our trust in who Jesus is and what he promises.

It's gonna be sweet...

1) I Have a Hope
2) We Trust Your Will
3) We Will Remember
4) At The Cross
5) Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

See you Sunday!

Preparing for Worship: March13th, 2011

Hey guys! Hope you'll join us this weekend as we gather together to experience the greatness and glory of God as we worship him together through worship singing, parent & baby dedications, fellowshipping, giving, preaching, and all the other ways the Spirit would lead!

Here's the set of songs so you can get ready to sing them together with us!

1) This God He Is Our God
2) Perfect Savior
3) Be Thou My Vision
4) O Church Arise
5) God of this City

DON'T FORGET TO SET YOUR CLOCKS FORWARD THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!

See you Sunday morning!

Preparing for Worship: March 6th, 2011

Hey guys! A really exciting week coming up at Crossroads, so watch the video above and click the song links below so you can practice all our worship tunes. Be ready for our Sunday morning gathering and come ready to participate! We got baptism and communion both going on this Sunday so come take part and receive these amazing manifestations of God's grace to us!

Worship Set:
1) Come Thou Fount (you can also hear the Crossroads version of this tune as part of a free download of our 2009 Worship CD available as a free download when you click HERE)
2) Because of This (I haven't made a video for this tune yet, but it's also available as a free download by clicking HERE)
3) Completely Done
4) Once Again
5) Jesus Paid It All (a really cool alternate version from Mars Hill Chuch)

Preparing for Worship: February 27th, 2011

Can you hardly wait to gather this weekend?? We anticipate great things anytime we meet together to worship God and declare that Jesus is Lord. We prepare ourselves during the week so that we leave as much room for the Spirit to work in and through us as possible; rather than spending all morning learning the songs and trying to figure out where Pastor Todd is preaching from! ;)

So check out the video above to see where we're headed in the Scriptures, and click the links below to hear and learn the worship songs we'll be singing together this Sunday!

1) Everlasting God 
2) How Great is Your Faithfulness
3) Alive in Christ
4) You Never Let Go
5) Healer 

Preparing for Worship: February 13th, 2011

Hey everybody! Looking forward to three action-packed services with y'all this weekend! You can beat the devil outta bed and come to our 8:00am service, or get a few extra Zzzs and come at 11:00am. The 9:30am service was packed out last week so if you're thinking of visiting or bringing friends, I'd say come to 1st or 3rd.

Check out our song set list so you can rehearse the songs at the office, at home, or in your car (if you're snazzy and can access YouTube on your phone and then plug it into your car stereo!).

1) Be Thou My Vision (a GREAT arrangement from the late Roby Duke; a must see!)
2) You Alone
3) You Never Let Go (New song for Crossroads! Check it out!)
4) Surrender

Our set's a little shorter this week since we'll be spending a few extra minutes enjoying an awesome recap video from our Haiti team's recent trip.

See you Sunday!

Preparing for Worship: February 6th, 2011

Hey folks! What a great time we shared last weekend with Dave Dravecky! We made it through three services and had just enough seats. Some of our students are away at camp this weekend, and our Sunday morning Life Stage Groups are back in full swing during the 9:30am service so hopefully we'll have adequate space for all; invite a friend or neighbor!

We're learning a new song this week that's actually been around for quite some time, but this is the first time we're doing it at Crossroads. It's called "Revelation Song" by Jennie Lee Riddle, so be sure to click the song title in the set list below to see/hear it before you come so you'll know how it goes and you don't have to waste time learning it when you could be SINGING at the top of your lungs!

Here's what we'll be singing together:
1- "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" (I finally recorded the version we do at Crossroads)
2- "This God He Is Our God" 
3- "Revelation Song" **NEW SONG**
4- "Jesus Thank You"
5- "Marvelous Light"

Preparing for Worship: January 30th, 2011

This is it folks: our first 3-Service Sunday! We're kicking it off right with our special guest speaker: legendary pitcher and cancer survivor, Dave Dravecky!

Choose your service wisely: 8:00am, 9:30am, or 11:00am, and GET THERE EARLY, 'cause we're gonna fill up quick. Before you come, check out the links for the tunes we'll sing during our corporate worship:

-Blessed Be Your Name
-Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
-Our God
-Stronger
-The Stand

Warm up those vocal chords on Sunday morning (especially you 8:00 o'clockers!) and come ready to proclaim the greatness of God, and to give him praise for what he has done for us through Christ.

Remember, childcare is available for infant-17months at the 8:00am service, and our full infant-6th grade kids ministry is available at the 9:30 and 11:00 services.

See ya then!

Preparing for Worship: January 16th, 2011

I hope you're planning to join us this Sunday as we gather together to corporately worship the Lord, and to be filled with his Spirit and truth. The countdown to our three-service launch continues as we explore part two of "Living Together," Pastor Todd's mini-series on the body of Christ.

Check out the video links below to familiarize yourself with the songs we'll be singing together:
-Psalm 62
-I Have A Hope
-In Christ Alone
-O Glorious Day
-From The Inside Out

Preparing For Worship: January 9th, 2011

Looking forward to having you with us this weekend as we start a new series called "Life Together;" It will be an in-depth look at how we are to biblically live as the body of Christ. If you call Crossroads home, I encourage you to be here for the next few weeks as we talk about this important topic.

Be sure to check out the set list so you know all the tunes we'll be singing together this weekend!

1. All Creatures Of Our God And King
2. How Great Is Your Faithfulness
3. Forever Reign (NEW!)
4. Be Unto Your Name
5. Lead Me To The Cross

Just a couple more weeks of 2-services before we add our 3rd service on January 30th! So this weekend we'll see you at 9:00 or 10:30am.

New Song: "Forever Reign"

Hey guys, I wanted to put this video up here so you could have a chance to listen to the new song we're learning this Sunday at Crossroads. It's from Hillsong and it's called "Forever Reign." Check out the video!