1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2026 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
In this workshop Deborah Haarsma gives a case study of Christian responses to the science of origins, including young earth creationism, intelligent design, and theistic evolution. Scott Hoezee discusses how the church can have a broader and more positive engagement with the scientific disciplines in sermons, worship, and the life of the church.
Whether pre-written, extemporaneous, or a combination, the prayer offered in worship on Sunday morning is probably the longest single prayer most people hear all week. As pastors and worship leaders, our public prayers reveal much about our habits of mind even as those prayers have a shaping influence on how the congregation prays all week. This workshop looked at the place of prayer in public worship and will offer practical suggestions for offering prayers that are theologically imaginative and pastorally sensitive.
What should preachers keep in mind in composing sermons? This session will hold up the rubrics "Biblical, Authentic, Contextual, and Life-Changing" as goals for preachers and as helpful categories for congregations to use in discussing sermons.
In this session philosopher John Cooper presented key points in the theology and philosophy that undergirds our understanding of God's providential care in a world where terrible things happen all the time. Why do bad things happen to good people? Scott Hoezee connected these thoughts to the pastoral care that preachers can provide from the pulpit. This session aimed to be both rigorously thoughtful and pastorally practical for the life of the church.
What is the homiletical counterpart to the "Emergent" church movement/conversation? In an increasingly postmodern world, how does the church speak a Word from God? The panel explored some of the current experiments in postmodern proclamation as the church makes its way to finding a culturally authentic "NuHomiletic."
Christ is the same "yesterday, today, and tomorrow."
A prayer of lament offered in response to the Japanese tsunami tragedy in 2004. It can be adapted for other times of natural disaster.
