1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Prelude
Opening
Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord,
All: who made heaven and earth.
Jesus Christ is the light of the world,
the light no darkness can overcome.
Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening
and the day is almost over.
Let your light scatter the darkness
and illumine your church.
Opening Hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty”
Sung Call to Confession: “There Is a Balm in Gilead”
Prayer of Confession
Quiet Prayer
Leader: Almighty God, our heavenly Father:
All: We have sinned against you,
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
For the sake of your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
forgive us all our sins
so that we may serve you in the newness of life,
to the glory of your name.
Quiet
Song: “Marvelous Grace”
Assurance of Pardon: from Psalm 103
Song of Response: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
Prayer for Illumination
Sung Prayer: “Children of the Heavenly Father”
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1–11
Sermon
Prayer of Application
Song of Response: “Amazing Grace” (arr. Eveyln Simpson-Curenton)
Prayers of the People
Leader: I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
All: turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
Guard me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings.
I will see your face,
and when I awake I will be satisfied.
O God our Creator. . .
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom
and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
Closing Hymn: “Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us”
Charge and Blessing
Song: “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”
Postlude
We are grateful for the planning and leading of this of this service by The Aeolians and the Conference Congregational Choir, under the direction of Jason Max Ferdinand, musicians from The Aeolians, and Lisa Weaver; Peter Jonker, preaching.
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.
