The Church at Worship is a series of documentary case studies of specific worshiping communities from around the world and throughout Christian history — case studies that can inform and enrich
The Church at Worship is a series of documentary case studies of specific worshiping communities from around the world and throughout Christian history — case studies that can inform and enrich worship practices today. In Lifting Hearts to the Lord Karin Maag brings together a wealth of primary sources to examine worship as it was taught and practiced in John Calvin’s Geneva. Enhanced with Maag’s introductions and numerous marginal notes, this volume covers the period from 1541 to 1564, capturing both Calvin’s signal contribution to Reformation worship and the voices of ordinary Genevans as they navigated — and fought about — changes in their worship.
Some of the primary materials included here:
· Selections from John Calvin’s Scripture commentaries and sermons dealing with worship
· Pages from the Genevan Psalter and service book
· Historical maps and illustrations of Geneva and its churches
· Genevan city council edicts and ordinances on worship
· Excerpts from letters, eyewitness accounts of Reformation worship in Geneva, and consistory records
David W. Hall
— Midway Presbyterian Church, Powder Springs, Georgia
“Karin Maag’s work on Calvin’s theology and practice of worship is as readable as it is well-researched. Through her translations, she returns Calvin’s own voice to a variety of topics. Readers are treated to a fine history, plus a well-rounded collection of Calvin’s own thought and texts, along with assessments by his contemporaries. The liturgical landscape could hardly be better painted than it is in this superb work!”
Raymond A. Mentzer
— University of Iowa
“A superb resource. . . . The texts, meticulously selected and elegantly translated, illuminate the complex character and powerful meaning of the earliest Reformed liturgy. In addition, the accompanying materials — historical explanations, perceptive observations, pertinent questions, timelines, maps, and illustrations — deftly establish the setting for Calvin’s great project to recapture authentic Christian worship.”
Karen E. Spierling
— Denison University
“This volume demonstrates Karin Maag’s formidable skills as both an expert scholar of the Reformation and a thoughtful teacher, bringing the experience of Reformation-era Geneva to modern readers in a highly engaging way. . . . The overviews and documents provided here will provoke lively discussion about the difficulties of religious reform in early modern Europe and the related challenges that various Christian communities and congregations face in the twenty-first century.”
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Karin Maag is director of the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and professor of history at Calvin College.
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