Reformed Worship - Resources for Planning and Leading Worship

“Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.’” (Ezek. 37:11, RSV)

Let us pray:

God of hope
we bring before you
those whose lives are dried up:

Come from the four winds,
O breath of God,
and breathe upon these
that they may live.

We pray for those dried up
by disappointment
by bitterness
by guilt . . .

We pray for those
whose spirit is drained
by grief
by hunger
by despair . . .

Declaring what we believe in the words of a creed is an important part of many worship services. It helps us express our theology and ties us to believers around the world and across the ages. When we recite something often enough, though, the words simply roll off our tongues and we don’t think about what we’re saying.

John D. Witvliet prepared this prayer for his ordination service into the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Christian Reformed Church.

This prayer is based on the ancient “O Antiphons” that are also the basis for the Advent hymn “O Come, O Come, Immanuel” (see also p. 38). The elipses (. . .) are places for possible extemporaneous additions.

Being intentionally intergenerational in worship can sound like an overwhelming task. Indeed, it does require some time and effort. As a place to start, consider planning a service that celebrates each generation and the particular gifts it brings to the body of Christ. Doing so may jumpstart your thinking about how to draw in all generations on a more regular basis. Following are two resources that could be used in such a service.

Litany of Thanksgiving for the Seasons of Life

We developed and have used or adapted this litany for several Thanksgiving services. The structure is simple—the leader gives thanks for very specific things, and the people affirm their thanks for those items with a more general phrase. We encourage the use of several different leaders on the different sections of the litany.

Once again the Advent season approaches, and with it comes a challenge for many congregations: How do we light the Advent wreath with integrity, so that its lighting encourages and enables a faithful passing on of the Christian faith?

Faced with this challenge, our congregation developed certain standards or guidelines for the rite of lighting the candles of the Advent wreath. Specifically, we want this rite to

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, our Lord.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.

Prayers, litanies, and ideas to mark the coming of a new year

ROLL CALL

Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, closes each year by including the Roll Call of the Saints and the Roll Call of the Newborn in its worship liturgy.

Today we celebrate the greatness of our God—the one who created us with minds to learn, gave us the abilities to master skills, and opens our hearts to understand that all learning is for his glory. We ask each person worshiping here today, whether four or eighty-four, to stand as we now celebrate schooling in this "Litany of Learning."

In most churches September is the start of a new church school year. The children of the church will again gather every Sunday morning to sing praise and to learn about God and his people. Adults will meet to study God's Word and to discover new ways of living their faith. Even in churches that hold church school all year long, September is often a time of beginnings—new classes, new students, new teachers.