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On the campus of Calvin University
© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Closing Communion Worship on Acts 1:1-11: The Ascension at the 2018 Worship Symposium.
Acts 1:1–11: In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Prelude: Improvisation on WEN TI, a Chinese tune
Sung Call to Worship: “Lift Your Eyes unto the Hills”
God’s Greeting and Call to Worship: 2 Corinthians 13:14 and Colossians 3:1–3
Hymn of Praise: “Jesus Shall Reign”
Prayer of the Day
Prayer of Confession
Sung Assurance of Pardon and Doxology: “God Is Gracious to Forgive”
Quiet Reflection
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:15–23
Psalm Reading: Psalm 47
Scripture Reading: Acts 1:1–11
Profession of Faith: Nicene Creed
Prayers of the People
The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right for us to give thanks and praise. . .
The Lord’s Prayer
The Invitation
The Lord has prepared his table for all who love him and trust in him alone for their salvation. All who are truly sorry for their sins, who sincerely believe in the Lord Jesus as their Savior, and who desire to live in obedience to him as Lord are now invited to come with gladness to the table of the Lord.
The gifts of God for the people of God.
Communion Songs:
“Christus Paradox” (choir)
Congregational singing as directed
Acclamation: Psalm 103:1–4
Prayer
Hymn of Praise: “A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing”
Blessing: “To the One Who’s Shown Us Love”
Postlude: “Processional with Fanfares” from Suite for Organ, Op. 50 (Robert Below)
We are grateful to Woodlawn Christian Reformed Church for hosting this service. The service was led by the Conference Choir, directed by Kai Ton Chau, accompanied by Jan Kraybill and Linda Hoisington; Bob Batastini; Michael Joncas; and Urban Doxology. The preacher was Lisa M. Weaver. The Lord’s Supper liturgy is from Eucharistic Prayers by Samuel Wells and Abigall Kocher, published in 2016 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
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.
