Alvin L. Hoksbergen

“Should we include a prayer for illumination in the liturgy? Or should we leave it out this week?”

vol. 1 (232 pp.) 1994, vol. 2 (244 pp.) 1996, Communication Resources, Inc., 4150 Belden Village St., 4th floor, Canton, Ohio 44718. $39.00 per volume. Reviewed by Al Hoksbergen, a retired Christian Reformed pastor living in Spring Lake, Michigan.

Robert E. Webber. Published by Star Song Group for The Institute of Worship Studies, Box 89, Wheaton, II. 60187, 1994.103 pages.

This small-group study course on Christian worship is the first of seven courses in the Alleluia! Worship series being prepared by Robert Webber.

Would you be surprised to find an ad in your local newspaper announcing an Epiphany service in your church?

Most of us would. Traditionally churches in the Reformed tradition have not observed Epiphany. Many of us are probably not even sure what Epiphany is all about or where the idea of celebrating it began. Although a growing appreciation of the church year has given Christians a better understanding of Advent and Lent, Epiphany still seems a bit "foreign" to some of us.

Carol M. Noren. Westminster/ John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 1992.109 pages. $8.95.

A seasoned pastor answers common questions couples ask.

Some couples take months, even years, to plan their marriage ceremony. Others organize this special event in a much shorter period of time. But regardless of the amount of time they put into planning, every couple wants their ceremony to be meaningful and memorable.

The season of Lent, which begins in 1988 on February 17, is a period of forty days extending from Ash Wednesday through the Saturday before Easter. Sundays are not considered part of Lent as such, although the Lenten themes often do carry over into Sunday worship.

Few churches place as much emphasis on preaching as we in the Reformed/Presbyterian tradition do. A worship service without a well-developed sermon leaves many, perhaps even most, of our seasoned members feeling empty. And in many of our churches one carefully prepared sermon a Sunday is but half of what members expect. When Sunday comes, congregations look forward to hearing two carefully thought-out expositions of God's Word.