Resource Search Results

CICW Grants Fund 49 New Projects in Worship and Preaching

Vital Worship, Vital Preaching grants fund diverse projects for worshiping communities and teacher-scholars.

News Item | September 06, 2024

Derek Schuurman on Using Artificial Intelligence in Church

You are probably used to artificial intelligence (AI) suggesting ways to complete sentences in your emails and texts. Now that AI has the capacity to write sermons and mimic emotional care, how should AI be used in churches?

Conversation | July 18, 2024

Latest Round of CICW Grants to Fund 37 Worship and Preaching Renewal Projects

Vital Worship, Vital Preaching grants fund new projects for worshiping communities and teacher-scholars.

News Item | April 25, 2024

Daniel I. Block on God’s Grace in Ezekiel

Although Ezekiel’s strange visions and often shocking images perplex readers, Old Testament scholar Daniel I. Block explains why the book of Ezekiel is worth reading. The judgment, grace, and love God spoke through Ezekiel to Israel also apply to the church today.

Conversation | April 18, 2024

Symposium Offers Hope Found in Ezekiel

Bookended by powerful prayers of confession and lament and drawing some 800 participants from around the world, the 2024 Symposium on Worship took place Feb. 7-9 on the campus of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary.

News Item | February 16, 2024

Preaching Conversations that Connect Pulpit and Pew

Whether churches call it a message, teaching, homily, or sermon, there’s often a big gap between what preachers think they are saying and what listeners hear. Preaching can become more effective when ministers, priests, deacons, and laypeople learn how to talk together. This two-way preaching conversation requires a cultural shift.

Feature Story | October 05, 2023

Karla J. Bellinger on Lay Contributions to Compelling Preaching

Have you ever gone home from worship disappointed that the preacher or Sunday homily didn’t seem very effective? Recent research reveals that listeners can help preachers help their peers grow closer to God.

Conversation | October 05, 2023

The Book of Ezekiel

A reflection on the preaching texts for the 2024 Calvin Symposium on Worship

Article | June 13, 2023

Artie Lindsay on Working as One Church in the Neighborhood

Artie Lindsay is the teaching pastor at Tabernacle Community Church, a multiracial congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this edited conversation, he talks about the joys and challenges of serving the Alger Heights neighborhood.

Conversation | March 20, 2023

Rebecca Snippe on Zeteosearch.org

Preachers, worship leaders, teachers, and others who study the Bible often go online to find resources for their research. Sorting through search results is often frustrating. But Zeteosearch.org—a revamped curated search engine—offers thought-provoking results.

Conversation | November 14, 2022

Paul’s Letter to the Colossians

A reflection on the preaching texts for the 2023 Calvin Symposium on Worship

Reflection | June 15, 2022

A Conversation on Preaching with Jeff Manion and Scott Hoezee

In this conversation, Scott Hoezee will ask Ada Bible Church pastor Jeff Manion to talk about the challenges of preaching in a multi-site church, the communication challenges all preachers face in the 21st century, and how Manion as a preacher and pastor has navigated the multifaceted issues that have come with the global COVID pandemic.

Video | January 18, 2022

On Preaching the Beatitudes

A conversation with Kevin Adams, Rebekah Eklund and Scott Hoezee

Conversation | November 18, 2021

Sermon Series and Study Guide on Belonging for All Abilities

Your church can use new resources, such as a sermon series and study guide, to help your congregation move from including people with disabilities to becoming a place of belonging for all abilities. Then you can pass on what you've learned to other congregations.

Article | June 21, 2021

Karen Roberts on Moving from Inclusion to Belonging

First Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Illinois, is on a journey from being a congregation that includes people with disabilities to becoming a place where people of all abilities belong. A sermon series on the ten dimensions of belonging helped them take another step.

Conversation | June 21, 2021

Two Pastors on Christian Worship in Politically Divided Times

Many preachers and congregations claim that politics have no place in their worship. But pastors Meg Jenista Kuykendall and Katie Ritsema-Roelofs say that addressing public issues in worship is essential for congregations to become to Christlike communities.

Conversation | June 09, 2021

Performing Sermons Latinamente

Jared E. Alcántara, Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, and Lis Valle explore how their shared Latinx identity shapes the way they preach. They define the sermon performed latinamente as an improvisational, interactive, and transformative event embodied in community.

Academic Article | February 08, 2021

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? Thoughts on Preaching and the Teaching of Preaching

Looking at today’s North American cultural climate, Alyce McKenzie reflects on what it’s time to let go of in preaching and in the teaching of preaching—and what it’s time to grab hold of.

Academic Article | November 09, 2020

Fleming Rutledge on Preaching the Cross of Christ

In this episode, Fleming Rutledge talks about her 2015 book "The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ," a life-long work which encourages preachers to proclaim the full gospel message: God is at work, helping us listen for Christ's living voice, enabling us to believe and hope in the midst of pain and suffering.

Audio | Podcast | November 04, 2020

Brian K. Blount on Preaching Resurrection from an Apocalyptic Perspective

In this episode, President of Union Presbyterian Seminary and New Testament scholar Brian K. Blount talks about cultivating an apocalyptic perspective and what it means to preach the resurrection all year long.

Audio | Podcast | November 02, 2020