1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Prelude
Opening Song: Gather Us In Lift Up Your Hearts, 529
God's Greeting and Call to Worship
Leader: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
All: And also with you!
Our help is in the name of the Lord, Psalm 124:8
who made heaven and earth.
Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, based on Ephesians 4:12–13
you have adopted us as your children,
you lavish your grace upon us at Word and table.
May all we do here equip us for ministry,
build us up as the body of Christ,
strengthen our unity in faith,
deepen our knowledge of Jesus, our Lord,
and help us to grow into maturity as your children,
reflecting the full stature of Christ.
Amen.
Song: Alleluia! Sing to Jesus Lift Up Your Hearts, 831
Sung Call to Confession: The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation Psalm 27
Sung Prayer of Confessions: Create in Me/Crea en mí Psalm 51
Assurance of Pardon Isaiah 65: 17-25
For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord.
Song of Response: The Lord Is Kind and Merciful Psalm 103
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Revelation 21: 1-8, 22-27
Sermon
Prayer of Application
Song of Application: Come, We That Love the Lord Lift Up Your Hearts, 483
The choral introduction to this congregational hymn is based on
the historic African American tune associated with “Come, We That Love the Lord.”
Prayers of the People with Healer of Our Every Ill Lift Up Your Hearts, 303
Refrain and Stanza 1
Prayer: Spirit of all comfort, you know us. You know our fears and our sadness;
you hear the cries of the suffering around the world . . .
Refrain and Stanza 2
Prayer: God of love, thank you for your grace which beautifully unfolds before us. Thank you for . . .
Refrain and Stanza 3
Prayer: Spirit of kindness, thank you for the sisters and brothers gathered here in this place.
Thank you for the families and churches that they represent. . . .
Refrain and Stanza 4
Prayer: Spirit of compassion, God who knows all our thoughts and feelings,
thank you for your promise to one day make everything new. . . .
Refrain
Blessing Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who by the power at work within us
is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the coming Lord.
Closing Song: Soon and Very Soon Lift Up Your Hearts, 482
Leaders: Karen Campbell, preaching; James Abbington; alumni from the James Abbington Church Music Academy; Tony Alonso;
Marty Haugen; Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.; Emmett G. Price III
Join us after the University worship service (chapel) for a conversation with worship leader Kimberly Williams. We will explore topics related to worship leading and planning for diverse congregations, leading teams, songwriting and recording, and mentoring women in ministry.
In this session Terry Wildman will share the vision, process, and outcomes of the First Nations Version (FNV) New Testament. Why was this translation needed? Who was involved in the translation? What were some of the cultural challenges faced by the translation council? What does it say about the translations done in Native languages in the past? How did the translation council decide on more than 185 key words and terms? What are some of the unique qualities of the FNV versus other English versions? How has the FNV affected the worship expressions of some Native believers? What is the future of the FNV?
How does one think about diversity as a Christian or as the church? How might working with and among—or even just thinking about—migrant neighbors contribute to our ecclesial identity? The language of catholicity allows us to imagine the unity of the church not in a monocultural way, but rather as a community inclusive of people of all languages and ethnicities. Migration and migrants today especially remind the church of its own catholic identity. How does the church's identity as a migrant church foster a healthy catholicity in the church's worship? This session will include the use of salsa music to invite participation in a more catholic way of life, asking what multicultural, cross cultural, and intercultural ways of being a church on the move might look like in worship.
Join us after the University worship service (chapel) for a conversation with worship leader Kimberly Williams. We will explore topics related to worship leading and planning for diverse congregations, leading teams, songwriting and recording, and mentoring women in ministry.
In this session Terry Wildman will share the vision, process, and outcomes of the First Nations Version (FNV) New Testament. Why was this translation needed? Who was involved in the translation? What were some of the cultural challenges faced by the translation council? What does it say about the translations done in Native languages in the past? How did the translation council decide on more than 185 key words and terms? What are some of the unique qualities of the FNV versus other English versions? How has the FNV affected the worship expressions of some Native believers? What is the future of the FNV?
How does one think about diversity as a Christian or as the church? How might working with and among—or even just thinking about—migrant neighbors contribute to our ecclesial identity? The language of catholicity allows us to imagine the unity of the church not in a monocultural way, but rather as a community inclusive of people of all languages and ethnicities. Migration and migrants today especially remind the church of its own catholic identity. How does the church's identity as a migrant church foster a healthy catholicity in the church's worship? This session will include the use of salsa music to invite participation in a more catholic way of life, asking what multicultural, cross cultural, and intercultural ways of being a church on the move might look like in worship.
As inhabitants of the modern age, we are deeply marked by skewed ways of thinking that thwart our humanness, our involvement with the world, and our spirituality. This is a philosophical tune-up that directly challenges and dispels modernity’s implicit philosophy. My philosophical proposals in my 2023 book Doorway to Artistry target the creative process, but they positively affect and bring healing to all arenas of life and work and worship. I pose that we as human persons are meant to live out a joyous “yes” to the real, and our involvement with the real takes the form of intimate encounter and communion. My approach reflects especially on God’s creative act and God’s created things. It taps epiphany, the redemptive encounter, and the Eucharist as paradigms for our knowing, our artistry, and all our everyday involvement with the world, so it should make us better at our stewardly dominion and voicing creation’s praise in worship.
