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On the campus of Calvin University
© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Call to Worship: Psalm 126:1-3:
(Leader) When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
(All) Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
"Jesus, At the Mention of Your Name"
(Leader) O Lord our God, we are overwhelmed
by your love and saving goodness.
(All) You have done great things for us!
Like Miriam and Moses at the Red Sea,
we sing of your deliverance.
You have done great things for us!
Like Nehemiah at the rebuilding of the temple,
we declare your covenant faithfulness.
You have done great things for us!
Like Peter at Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,
we claim your promises.
You have done great things for us!
But God of grace, we confess that in our prosperity
we have been unfaithful to our covenant with you and one another.
Restore our hearts, O God.
Like makers of golden calves, we idolize money,
power, greed, and convenience.
Restore our hearts, O God.
Like those who have forgotten the law,
we have served our own self-interests.
Restore our hearts, O God.
Like cynics denying your power,
we have trusted in our own strength.
Restore our hearts, O God.
O God our Savior, to whom we belong:
Turn our mourning into dancing.
As Jacob was reconciled to Esau,
bridge the gap between peoples and nations.
Turn our mourning into dancing.
As Esther saved her people from destruction,
put an end to warfare and violence.
Turn our mourning into dancing.
As Jesus rose from the grave,
lift us from doubt and despair and fill us with life.
Turn our mourning into dancing.
Psalm 126:4-6
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
"We Will Feast In the House of Zion"
Heidelberg Catechism, Q & A 1
(Leader) What is your only comfort in life and in death?
(All) That I am not my own,
but belong—body and soul,
in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins
with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven;
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing
and ready from now on to live for him.
"You Are Mine"
"In this Dry Land"
Why and how did psalm singing become such a hallmark of Reformed worship? Join Dr. Karin Maag for a fascinating journey through time, from Reformation Geneva to Scotland and from the Netherlands to New England, exploring the roots and impact of metrical psalm singing. Along the way, we will hear the voices of early modern Christians as they learned how to sing the psalms, both in unison and in harmony.
Sister Kathleen Harmon of the community of the Ohio province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Dayton, invites us to be transformed by the psalms and experience them as the whole story God is revealing to us. As we keep praying and singing them, the psalms interpret us, and that’s when the transformation comes.
Vinroy D. Brown Jr.—conductor, musicologist, educator, and minister of creative worship and music at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City—explores the vibrant intersection of Black sacred music and the psalms. He talks about Black composers and how they have reimagined the psalms through choral music, spirituals, and the gospel tradition for the benefit of everyone.
Why and how did psalm singing become such a hallmark of Reformed worship? Join Dr. Karin Maag for a fascinating journey through time, from Reformation Geneva to Scotland and from the Netherlands to New England, exploring the roots and impact of metrical psalm singing. Along the way, we will hear the voices of early modern Christians as they learned how to sing the psalms, both in unison and in harmony.
Sister Kathleen Harmon of the community of the Ohio province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Dayton, invites us to be transformed by the psalms and experience them as the whole story God is revealing to us. As we keep praying and singing them, the psalms interpret us, and that’s when the transformation comes.
Vinroy D. Brown Jr.—conductor, musicologist, educator, and minister of creative worship and music at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City—explores the vibrant intersection of Black sacred music and the psalms. He talks about Black composers and how they have reimagined the psalms through choral music, spirituals, and the gospel tradition for the benefit of everyone.
John Goldingay, an Anglican priest and the senior professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, posits the psalms are the densest material in the entire Old Testament. They expound the nature of God as the compassionate, faithful, and committed one, but also as the one who makes demands upon us. The psalms help us talk to God, even about difficult things—and when we do, we are talking to someone who is in a position to do something about it.
