BACKGROUND
Written and recorded by a group of Tucson songwriters and musicians from different generations, denominations, and ethnicities, Laments was born from a desire to musically contextualize the biblical book of Lamentations to our current culture. We began meeting together in December of 2019, unaware of what would unfold over the coming months. The songwriting process ended up being heavily shaped, in real time, by the pandemic outbreak, national riots, and the many untold challenges of 2020. The result is an album of self-reflection and questioning, anger toward the evil we experience in our world, and a longing for things to be made right. Our prayer is that these songs, these Laments, provide a space for people to see Jesus in the midst of confusion and doubt, grief and sorrow, injustice and loss.
SET 1: Jameiz
You
SET 2: Payton
Blessed
I'm All Yours
SET 3: Dansiea
Yes
SET 4: Greg
New Thing
None Like You
CONGREGATIONAL WORSHIP: Greg leads with full group
How Great Thou Art
How Great Is Our God
Glorious Day
INTRODUCTION TO LAMENTS: Brian
LAMENTS SET
Do You See
Set Right
Interlude I: When Will the World Be Set Right
Your Love
Interlude II: I Know I'm Not Alone
Show Us How
Remember Us
We Lift Our Eyes
God of Hope
DETAILED SET
Do You See
Payton reads and shares
Lamentations 1:12, 16, 20-22
"Does it mean nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look around and see if there is any suffering like mine,
which the Lord brought on me
when he erupted in fierce anger.
For all these things I weep;
tears flow down my cheeks...
Oh, bring the day you promised,
when they will suffer as I have suffered.
Look at all their evil deeds, Lord.
Punish them,
as you have punished me
for all my sins.
My groans are many,
and I am sick at heart."
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Set Right
Dansiea reads and shares
Lamentations 2:1-8; 18; 2 Peter 3:13
"The Lord in his anger
has cast a dark shadow over beautiful Jerusalem...
Cry aloud before the Lord,
O walls of beautiful Jerusalem!
Let your tears flow like a river
day and night.
Give yourselves no rest;
give your eyes no relief."
"But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness."
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Interlude I (When Will the World Be Set Right)
Dansiea encourages congregation to sing along
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Your Love
Payton reads and shares
Lamentations 3:17-26, 32
"...The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!..."
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Interlude II (I Know I'm Not Alone)
Brian reads and shares
Lamentations 3:55-57
"But I called on your name, Lord,
from deep within the pit.
You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading!
Hear my cry for help!”
Yes, you came when I called;
you told me, 'Do not fear.'"
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Show Us How
Jameiz reads and shares
Lamentations 4:17; Matthew 5:14-16
"We looked in vain for our allies
to come and save us,
but we were looking to nations
that could not help us."
"You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."
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Remember Us
Payton reads and shares
Lamentations 5:1, 19-22
"Lord, remember what has happened to us.
See how we have been disgraced!...
But Lord, you remain the same forever!
Your throne continues from generation to generation.
Why do you continue to forget us?
Why have you abandoned us for so long?
Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again!
Give us back the joys we once had!
Or have you utterly rejected us?
Are you angry with us still?"
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We Lift Our Eyes
Greg reads and shares
Psalm 121:1
"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. Where will my help come from?"
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God of Hope
Greg reads and shares
Romans 15:13
"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."