Brenda Kuyper

The following service was used for the opening of the meeting of Christian Reformed church leaders (classis) in the Southern Alberta/Saskatchewan area in October 2012. It functioned as a connection to the previous summer’s bi-national leadership meeting (synod) at which worship focused on each petition of the Lord’s Prayer. All the music chosen can be found in Lift Up Your Hearts: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs.

"A new hymnal for a new generation.” Sounds like the latest television advertisement, except the word “hymnal” just doesn’t seem to fit. You can almost hear people asking, “Isn’t a hymnal something from, like, 1901, where they sing songs accompanied by ancient, dusty instruments?”

The seasons of Lent and Easter bring countless images of our Lord’s suffering, passion, and resurrection. What better way to capture the significance of this image-rich season than through these songs with their rich texts and music?