Friday, January 20, 2006
Preparing to Pray at Symposium 2006
God says to us, Remember, I am with you always.
Our hope is in God, our ever-present help.
Let the peace of God rule in you
for which we are called to be one body (Col. 3:15)
Our God orders our place in his world.
When we dwell in his law, we live with him and he with us.
He brings us forward to new life.
He is with us; we need not be afraid.
- Litany read during worship on July 14, 2005 at the Reformed Ecumenical Council assembly in Utrecht, the Netherlands
This year at the Calvin Symposium on Worship, we will be following a theme taken from the final words of Jesus to his disciples before he ascended into heaven—the same theme for worship during last summer’s Reformed Ecumenical Council assembly. The Gospel according to Matthew ends with this promise of Jesus:
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
That promise was not new—Scripture records that promise many times, which is why Jesus used the word “remember.” Indeed, every time the people of God gather for worship, we meet to “remember and believe” that God is with us still, in our lives, in our world, and as an active participant in that very service. When we meet for worship, Christ is in our midst, the great High Priest, through the Holy Spirit opening our hearts to hear God speak to us, and bringing our imperfect worship perfectly before the Father as an acceptable sacrifice of praise to our triune God.
In our six worship services during this Symposium, we will rest in that promise, moving from the Old to the New Testament and searching out some of the many facets of what it means to worship in the presence of a God who is with us always.
As we do, the words of Zephaniah echo in our ears:
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.
—Zephaniah 3:17, NIV
We pray these words as we prepare to gather for worship at Symposium:
O God,
we joyously come together to worship,
realizing we need not summon you into our midst,
for you are here.
We need not call you into the secret places of our hearts,
for you are there.
We need our eyes of faith to be opened,
that we may see you;
our ears to be unstopped,
that we may hear you;
our minds to be sensitive,
that we may know you;
our hearts to be tender,
that we may receive you.
Grant each one a blessing, O Lord,
as each has need,
in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
-TWS (1.1.6)
We pray especially….:
- for safe travel to Grand Rapids for all the guests who will travel many miles, and for weather that accomodates travel to and on campus.
- for a smooth and comfortable adjustment for the more than 55 international overseas guests registered from 14 different countries, including Botswana, China, France, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Japan, The Netherlands, South Africa, Singapore, Romania, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and the
United Kingdom.
- for groups who will attend together, including: last year’s Hampton University Ministers Conference, the CLC Circle of Friends Drama Team, participants in the 2005 Calvin Summer Seminar on teaching worship, and groups from Greenville College, Messiah College, Northwestern College, Trinity Christian College, and Whitworth College
- for all those whose work will make the conference functional and enjoyable: food service, campus events, custodial workers, audio-visual technicians, and others
- for all those who will preach, play music, and lead worship at Symposium
- for all those who will present at Symposium
- for publishers who will find new readers with whom to share their works
- for all those who will fellowship, listen, and learn with eagerness
- for all volunteers who will host and help with Symposium
- for the staff of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
- for first time attendees to Symposium
- for people coming as the only representative from a given congregation
- for people coming from situation marked by conflict or difficulty
- for people who _________
- for all the logistics and details, and
- for all the larger purposes for which we come, and worship
One of the main goals of Symposium is to be encouraged by what God is doing in congregations across North America and beyond, and to learn to ask helpful questions about our own worship practices that focus our attention on the deep meaning and purpose of worship. We expect that we will also learn something more about how to pray with greater understanding for those in our own communities and around the world where earthquakes, flooding, war, and violence bring so much suffering. And so we hope this conference is both practical and inspiring, both affirming and challenging.
We especially pray that this conference will be spiritually refreshing, and that all may leave with renewed longing for that day when all God’s people will be streaming into the new Jerusalem, where we will worship God perfectly, praising the God who is making all things new (Rev. 21).
With that prayer in our hearts, we say with the Psalmist:
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
—Psalm 95:6-7, NIV
Earlier: Preparing to Pray 1/13
More Resources for Preparing for Worship
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