A publication of the Renewal Fellowship
A publication of the Renewal Fellowship
Calvin Brown explains that in all varieties of religious expression that he has experienced where he has been open to receiving God, His Spirit has ministered to him. The congregations that are alive and hopeful all have a desire to be open to God. … Read more
Calvin Brown presents this new song by the Rev. Roland Wells Jr. of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. … Read more
Reviewed by Blaine W. Dunnet. Here is a book for your church library. No! It is a book for every worshipper in your church. Put it in their hands, librarians. It is subtitled “How to Get the Most Out of a Sermon.” Preachers expend energy in the preparation of sermons, but did you know that as a listener you must expend energy too? The author, Jay Adams, claims that his book is the only one devoted to genuine concern for preaching from the listener’s point of view. During Sunday lunch have you ever found yourself saying: “I couldn’t get the drift of the sermon” … Read more
By Trudy Schalk. Rather than an educational perspective, the aim of Young Children and Worship is to provide a worship perspective, offering children an environment to enter into the stories and experience God’s revelations through the Holy Spirit. … Read more
By J.H. (Hans) Kouwenberg. Before we can consider what our future vision for ministry might be, we ought to consider what our vision for ministry has been. One way of doing that may be to consider who we are when we worship. … Read more
Reviewed by Nancy Bettridge. Renewal in worship is a gradual process, and the book gives several suggestions for change that an individual worshipper can make, and focusses on corporate changes in worship. … Read more
By Calvin Brown. This Covenanting Liturgy is based on Hebrews 11 and the Covenanting Prayer. It should be read with enthusiasm, feeling and growing intensity. The sense is that as we help one another remember the faithfulness of God exhibited among his people we more and more identify with them until we become one with them in Spirit and are willing also to make gladly the commitment that they did. … Read more
By Calvin Brown. This liturgy is designed for use on or near St. Patrick’s Day. … Read more
By Calvin Brown. Praying for God’s presence and protection in homes whose occupants had been frightened by strange noises at night, led to many requests for a house blessing. … Read more
By Ian McPhee. If the issue was simply a matter of changing hymns to avoid an appearance of exclusive male reference at the human level only, there could be little objection. But language about God cannot be changed without severing ties to Christian tradition. … Read more
P. Gordon Reid recounts memories of family worship each morning as a reminder that it worked strongly to shape attitudes, convictions, and the deepest parts of his family’s faith. … Read more
Reviewed by J.H. (Hans) Kouwenberg. Heschel’s concept of spirituality and of the holiness of the sabbath day is a broad, open-ended one, parallelling Christ’s view of the sabbath. It is not merely a day of abstention but of affirmation. … Read more
By Calvin Brown. … Read more
By Mark Graves. In his informal style, Mark writes on the sermon, considering it from the perspective of the pew. It is worth meditating on this “means of grace” that each Presbyterian, in their communicant vows, promises to diligently use. … Read more
By Bruce Robertson. The sheet music for this children’s song appears in the original PDF
By Esther and Howard Mcllveen. Carolling isn’t as popular as it once was, so people treasure it even more. It can be done in shopping malls, hospitals, prisons, institutions for the aged and handicapped, or in the open air around residential areas. Advent is the only time in the year when it is culturally acceptable to “invade” a neighbourhood or place with song and greetings. One can sing about “God and sinners reconciled” and greet people without intruding or being mistaken for a sect. … Read more
By Calvin Brown. I have often been asked how to introduce new worship styles into a very conservative or tradition-bound congregation that needs a breath of freshness. The answer, of course, is “prayerfully and very carefully!” There are definitely ways in which this can be done effectively … Read more