Upcoming Event
A Reformation Sunday worship service commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Accra Confession
October 27, 2024, 5:00 PM
Holy Week Resource Guide
This list of Holy Week resources—art, music, devotions, liturgies, books, and sermons—will help you plan worship for Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Triduum, the three days that mark Jesus’ trial, death, and resurrection, from the evening of Maundy Thursday through Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter morning.
March 14, 2023
Visual Arts in Lent- Introduction
Pictures from the season of lent from several churches.
March 6, 2023
Jonathan A. Powers on Teaching Hymns Appropriate to Context
If your congregation experiences hymn singing as dull and lifeless, then try Jonathan A. Powers’ advice on finding, introducing, and teaching hymns that will resonate with your worshiping community.
March 6, 2023
Lent Resource Guide
This list of Lenten art, music, devotions, liturgies, books, and sermons will help you plan worship for Lent and includes resources for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday.
February 20, 2023
For God So Loved the Cosmos . . . A Service of Lessons and Carols
The Old Testament unfolds the cosmic nature of God’s promised redemption “far as the curse is found.” Reflecting back on the coming of Messiah, Paul not only testified that it was in Jesus Christ that all things were created, but also that in Jesus Christ, God was at work to “reconcile to himself all things.” [Col. 1:15]. In this service of lessons and carols, sung by the Calvin University choirs, hear texts celebrating this all-creation vision of redemption.
November 7, 2022
Recommended Songs for Reformation Day or All Saints' Day Worship Services
In every time and place, imperfect and broken people who have been made saints through Jesus Christ are called to offer their gifts readily and cheerfully for the service and enrichment of the body of Christ.
October 13, 2022
Toronto Designers on Visual Cues to God's Time
First Christian Reformed Church of Toronto, Ontario, planned a worship grant connecting color and the liturgical year. They invited the congregation into the biblical story by collaborating on a permanent artwork. Then the pandemic prevented them from entering the church building. The landscape architect and the architect who led the grant say that this pivot turned out to be a good thing.
April 19, 2022
Tenebrae Service: A Service of Shadows for Holy Week
The service of Tenebrae, meaning “darkness” or “shadows,” is a prolonged meditation on Christ’s suffering. Readings trace the story of Christ’s passion, music portrays his pathos, and the power of silence and darkness suggests the drama of this momentous day. As lights are extinguished, we ponder the depth of Christ’s suffering and death; we remember the cataclysmic nature of his sacrifice as we hear the overwhelming sound of the “strepitus”; and through the small but persistent flame of the Christ candle which departs until Resurrection morning when we celebrate the ultimate victory.
April 13, 2022
Brandon Helder on The Gift of the Cross Holy Week Devotional for Children
Brandon Helder's elementary students and his own children responded to tactile Jesse Tree devotionals during Advent, but he couldn't find similar Holy Week resources. To help children and families anticipate Easter, Helder wrote The Gift of the Cross: Celebrating Christ Through Holy Week and designed Resurrection Blocks.
December 9, 2021
Singing Bilingual Psalms from Passion Week through Ascension Day
A conversation with Tony Alonso.
November 18, 2021
Christ the King Sunday Worship Planning
Marking the kingship of Christ makes a healthy transition that leads directly from Ordinary Time into Advent, the Christmas cycle, and the remainder of the Christian year.
November 17, 2021
The Christian Year and Spiritual Wholeness
Approaching the Christian Year through the Lenses of Emotional Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, and Spiritual Formation. In this discussion, we will explore how ordering our worship and devotion around the life of Jesus has the potential to shape our whole selves, both individually and communally. This is a YouTube Video Premiere panel discussion.
November 16, 2021