The Table UMC

Deep Commitments as formation in faith.

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

“Thankfulness” is an original song about gratitude that begins close to the body and expands outward into creation, memory, and renewal. The lyrics ask what it means to thank one’s own body for carrying us through life, often without acknowledgment, and then move into images of flowers, mountains, childbirth, rivers, wounds, and healing. Gratitude here is not abstract; it is rooted in the physical, ordinary, and sacred experiences of being alive.

Theologically, the song frames thankfulness as a practice of attention. It invites us to notice the gifts that have been carrying us all along — our bodies, the natural world, the river that keeps moving, the beauty that remains even after heartbreak. The repeated “hallelujah” becomes less of a polished praise chorus and more of an embodied response to life itself: a way of bowing the head in thanks for what has sustained, healed, and renewed us.

For the series, “Thankfulness” can serve as a gentle invitation into gratitude that is honest and grounded. It does not ignore grief or woundedness, but suggests that even there, blessing and renewal can still be found.

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

“Surrender All” is an original song about release, trust, and laying down what has become too heavy to carry alone. The lyrics invite the listener to set their burdens at God’s feet — the hurt, anguish, shame, and exhaustion that often get held in the body and spirit. Its imagery of bowed shoulders, undertow, waves, and unmooring gives the song a feeling of being pulled beyond control and into surrender.

Theologically, the song frames surrender not as giving up, but as a courageous act of trust. It asks whether we can brave the unmooring — allowing God to meet us in the crash of the wave rather than needing to stay in control. The movement from shame to praise, and from anguish to glory, suggests a transformation that begins when we stop gripping what is breaking us.

For the series, “Surrender All” can serve as a prayer of release for anyone carrying pain, fear, or shame. It invites the congregation to loosen their hold, lay their burdens down, and trust that there can be safety, healing, and transformation even in the letting go

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

“Wild Things” is a joyful song about creation, wonder, and the healing grace found in the natural world. Drawing from Psalm 65 and Wendell Berry’s “The Peace of Wild Things,” the song invites the congregation to rejoice in a world filled with awe — morning and evening, waves and dusk, wild creatures and still places all becoming signs of God’s presence.

Theologically, the song frames creation as a place of restoration and release. Nature is not just scenery, but a sacred space where we can find peace, remember joy, and be freed from the anxieties that weigh us down. The repeated call to “rejoice” gives the song a bright, communal energy, turning contemplation of the wild world into praise. For the series, “Wild Things” can serve as an invitation to encounter God through creation — to rest in the grace of the world, break free from fear, and walk the path of love with gratitude and joy.

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

“All Means All” is a joyful, gospel-rooted anthem of belonging and radical welcome. Written around one of The Table’s core mission statements, the song speaks directly to people who have felt excluded from the house of God — those who have been afraid to share their deepest truths, told they were born in sin, burdened by grief, poverty, loneliness, or the fear that they are not a gift.

Theologically, the song proclaims that God’s grace is wider than the boundaries people often draw. “All means all” is not just a slogan, but a declaration that every heart and every person belongs in the love of God. The song names both the strong and the weary, the joyful and the hurting, and insists that none are outside the reach of grace.

For the series, “All Means All” can serve as a clear expression of The Table’s identity and calling.

It gives the congregation a shared language for welcome, healing, and liberation – a reminder that when people are wrapped in God’s grace, they can breathe again, and loving arms can help release the chains of shame, fear, and exclusion.

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

This week we conclude our worship series: “I Wonder…”, with the hope that the invitation to embrace curiosity and a spirit of exploration, as we have wondered together about our faith and God, has been fruitful.  This week we turn our attention to one of the parables of Jesus. 

Our Godly Play Story and message this week will be rooted in The Parable of the Sower. Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s gospels all indicate that parables were Jesus’ preferred method of engaging others. In many respects, parables are uniquely designed to evoke curiosity and challenge people to wonder about life and their own assumptions. Parables don’t lend themselves to clarity or certitude and in that sense they aren’t a very good vehicle for imparting information to others. If you’re looking for steps 1, 2, 3 of how to get right with God, a parable isn’t going to be much help. I wonder why Jesus so frequently chose to engage others through parables?

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God was with the people as they “went out” from slavery into freedom through the water. The People of God have looked back to this time to sustain them when God is hidden and they feel lost. We continue to evoke the People’s experiences of God’s elusive presence. This not only gives children [everyone] language to name, express, and value their own experiences but also permission to talk aloud about them.

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Moves into re-creation and God’s promise to Noah, to God’s family, and to us.

Godly Play Story: The Ark and the Flood

This lesson sets the context for the whole year. Each year, the Christian people move through a circle of memory and expectation to open themselves to the elusive presence of God.

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804