As I write this editorial marking the last print issue of Reformed Worship’s quarterly subscription format, I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude for all that has been accomplished through Reformed Worship thus far. Over the past three and a half decades, we have published valuable resources and thoughtful articles that have had a lasting impact on many worshiping communities. But even as we reflect on what we have done, there is growing anticipation for the journey ahead, for building on the past and embracing future possibilities, amplifying and expanding the ministry and essence of Reformed Worship. But before we cross the threshold to the new, it is worth taking a moment to reflect, remember, and give thanks.
Thresholds
The word “threshold” evokes a literal doorway into or out of a home. Though crossing a threshold is typically a mundane, everyday act, sometimes it carries significant meaning—entering the home for the first time as its new owners or as a newly married couple, bringing a child home, or returning after a long absence or to a much emptier home after a funeral. Crossing the threshold in those moments feels like a momentous step. We pause. We take a deep breath. We open the door. We step through.
As Reformed Worship crosses a threshold, this issue serves as a stone to honor the past and as a doxological offering to our triune God.
Thresholds are more than spaces in doorways. A threshold is the space between what is and what is to come, the space between the known and the unknown. We often traverse thresholds without thought, but sometimes it is worth pausing and taking a breath before crossing over this liminal space that acts both as a separation between what was and what is to come and a connection between the two points in time. A healthy pause will allow for reflection on the past and curiosity about the future; it can be a time of discovery and growth.
In some ways this issue serves as a threshold, marking the space between what we know and what is to come, between the familiar quarterly subscription based print journal and new ways of providing resources. As we prepare to cross this threshold, we do so wanting both to leave well and to enter well, to mark both the separation and the continuity this threshold brings.
Scripture provides us with many examples of threshold moments. Though I don’t suggest that Reformed Worship’s transition compares in importance, I do think we can learn from biblical moments of transition. One such moment is found in the book of Joshua, when the people of God had just entered the promised land and were embarking on a whole new life. In the last chapter, we find a covenant renewal ceremony that includes the recounting of the story of God’s faithfulness while leaning into a future full of promise.
Stones
“Remember when . . . ?” we begin. “Tell the story about . . . ,” we beg. We love stories—especially true stories. We humans seem to have a built-in need to remember. Today there are whole industries to support our remembering through photography, scrapbooks, journals, videos, or other archival means. In the Old Testament, people used stones.
Stones show up several times in the book of Joshua as a call to remember all that God had done and said. “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid!” resounds like a drumbeat throughout the book as the people of God experience victory after victory. Intermingled with stories of the Israelites’ forgetfulness, arrogance, and sinfulness are both God’s punishment and God’s mercy. At times these stories are completely relatable; at other times they are entirely perplexing. But the message to remember God’s covenant faithfulness is as relevant today as ever.
Early on in the book, God’s people are faced with the challenge of crossing the Jordan River at flood stage. God performs a miracle, and the people are able to cross the river on dry ground. But before the water recedes, Joshua obeys God’s command to instruct representatives from each tribe to gather a stone from the riverbed. Later, Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites,
“In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”
—Joshua 4:20–24
The stones served as a witness to what God had done, and in that witness they helped people remember, which in turn led to reverence, honor, and praise of God.
At the end of the book (Joshua 24), the people of Israel are gathered again and, through Joshua, God recounts their history: all the ways in which God had been faithful to them, the miracles God had performed, and how God had saved them. In response, the people promise no fewer than three times that they will serve the Lord. Joshua reminds them of what it means to serve the Lord as required by the “Book of the Law of God.” This time Joshua uses just one stone to serve as a witness to both the history of God’s faithfulness and the promise of the people to serve and obey God.
Witness stones remind us of what God has done, of who God is, and of how we are to be in relationship with God—a God who is worthy of praise. We need reminders today just as the Israelites did in the past.
Doxologies
When Jesus was entering Jerusalem the week of his death, he was surrounded by a crowd declaring who he was and praising him—though they didn’t comprehend the fullness of their words. They cried, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38). These were powerful and even dangerous words—words that spoke against political and religious powers, words claiming that earthly rulers are not the ones in charge.
Witness stones remind us of what God has done, of who God is, and of how we are to be in relationship with God—a God who is worthy of praise.
The Pharisees didn’t like what they were hearing and wanted Jesus to silence his followers. But Jesus responded, “I tell you, . . . if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40).
Witness stones: Stones that will testify to who God is and to what God has done for us. Stones that will sing out God’s praises if our voices fall silent. The land of Israel is a land full of stones.
But later in the New Testament, the apostle Peter transforms the idea of witness stones. He calls Jesus “the living Stone” (1 Peter 2:4)—the ultimate witness to the faithfulness of God, the living testimony to the promised resurrection, and the foundation of our faith. No longer is the witness an inanimate stone. It is a living, breathing testament. And Peter doesn’t stop there. He calls all believers “living stones . . . being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).
In the rest of the chapter, Peter puts more flesh onto what it means to be a living stone, “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9). It entails testifying to what God has done, praising and glorifying God for God’s acts of mercy, living lives of witness to those who do not yet believe, and inviting others to join the doxological refrain. We do all of this in community. We need each other to remember.
In Greek, the word for “glorify” or “praise” is δοξάζω (doxázo), from which we get the English word doxology. Our worship is punctuated with doxologies, often directed at all three persons of the Trinity. Some worship traditions include doxologies in response to words of pardon, after giving gifts, following creedal declarations, and at the conclusion of worship. In my tradition, the doxology is typically the final statement of praise to God before we leave worship—a final reminder of who God is to be carried across the threshold into the coming week and reverberate in our daily lives.
For this final print issue of Reformed Worship, I can think of no better theme than that of thresholds, stones, and doxologies, and I hope:
- that even as we think about Reformed Worship’s milestone, we also explore what milestones could be marked in our own communities and what our version of “stones” may look like in the context of worship;
- that we take time to celebrate what God has done through Reformed Worship thus far, point out things we have learned along the way, and name the values we carry into the future, encouraging our worshiping communities to regularly do the same;
- that we offer words of glorious praise—a doxology to God for who God is—and provide meaningful ways to include more doxological moments in our own worship; and
- that we do all of this leaning joyfully into the future with curiosity, hope, and faith, encouraging this same posture in our own congregations.
As Reformed Worship crosses a threshold, this issue serves as a stone to honor the past and as a doxological offering to our triune God. Carrying the values and mission that have shaped us thus far, we eagerly step forward, trusting that this threshold is not an end, but a doorway to a bright future.
To God alone be all glory and praise.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Reformed Worship is not going away. We are simply shifting to a web-based delivery system. As of July 1, 2025, everything on the website will be available to everyone—wherever and whenever you want to access them.
We are committed to providing an easily searchable, comprehensive, and growing online resource library filled with practical resources and articles submitted by worship leaders and planners such as yourself and by experts from around the globe. The change in medium will allow us to focus on developing more multimedia content and to explore a variety of other ways to better support this growing community. While our delivery method might be changing, Reformed Worship’s values will remain the same. We will continue to be a trusted place to find resources that are scripturally based, theologically grounded, historically connected, and adaptable and creative.
(Did I mention that all this will be free?)