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© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
The prayers in a worship service constitute a very sacred time in which the corporate voice of God's people is lifted heavenward. Such efforts should never be done unthinkingly, and such prayers should never be written carelessly. Indeed, in some ways, corporate prayers require more thought than personal prayers because they must address the needs and concerns of many. Let there be careful forethought to the prayers we offer, regardless of whether we offer them extemporaneously or through written form.
These meditations on frequently used Lenten hymns will help you plan worship for Lent.
This service of lament and longing for God's light was held on the night of Wednesday, December 20—the night with the least sunlight of any day on the calendar in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Lord's Prayer is a prayer for all seasons. But it comes to us with particular pastoral urgency during Advent and Christmas.
Praying the Lord's Prayer during Advent and Christmas
Loving God, we cry out to you on behalf of the people of the Darfur region.
Worship service ideas for the month of November.
September is a time of new beginnings. The new school year, the new church school year, and a new year of church ministries and activities are all worth remembering, celebrating, and dedicating in worship.
The highlight of the October calendar may be World Communion Sunday, when Christians everywhere celebrate what it means to belong to the body of Christ—"the holy catholic church, the communion of the saints." In celebrating the Lord's Supper, we most deeply celebrate our oneness in Christ.
The Sunday for which this service is designated is World Communion Sunday. On this day churches around the world will come to the Table of the Lord as an expression of their oneness in Jesus Christ.
We are called into the presence of God. We are exhorted to come with joy, thanksgiving, music and song. We affirm that he is the "great God," our maker and our shepherd. We can expect to be welcomed into his presence because we are the "flock under his care." What a rich spirit in which to begin worship!
While we cannot find either a precise order of worship or rules for the practice of worship in the Bible, we can discover much about the nature of worship by stepping into events of worship that are described in Scripture.
