Benjamin P. Snoek

This is the service for Christmas Eve/Day and is part of an Advent and Christmas journey through the book of Haggai that highlights four promises that God makes to his covenant people—promises that are ultimately found and fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus. Jesus—"the Desire of All Nations” (Haggai 2:7 NKJV)—comes to show the world a greater vision for our lives, and his Spirit guides our hearts and hands to wait with purpose and work with hope. The series concludes with services for Christmas Eve and the first Sunday after Christmas.

This is the service for the first Sunday of Christmas and is part of an Advent and Christmas journey through the book of Haggai that highlights four promises that God makes to his covenant people—promises that are ultimately found and fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus. Jesus—"the Desire of All Nations” (Haggai 2:7 NKJV)—comes to show the world a greater vision for our lives, and his Spirit guides our hearts and hands to wait with purpose and work with hope. The series concludes with services for Christmas Eve and the first Sunday after Christmas.

This is the service for the fourth Sunday of Advent and is part of an Advent and Christmas journey through the book of Haggai that highlights four promises that God makes to his covenant people—promises that are ultimately found and fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus. Jesus—"the Desire of All Nations” (Haggai 2:7 NKJV)—comes to show the world a greater vision for our lives, and his Spirit guides our hearts and hands to wait with purpose and work with hope. The series concludes with services for Christmas Eve and the first Sunday after Christmas.

This is the service for the third Sunday of Advent and is part of an Advent and Christmas journey through the book of Haggai that highlights four promises that God makes to his covenant people—promises that are ultimately found and fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus. Jesus—"the Desire of All Nations” (Haggai 2:7 NKJV)—comes to show the world a greater vision for our lives, and his Spirit guides our hearts and hands to wait with purpose and work with hope. The series concludes with services for Christmas Eve and the first Sunday after Christmas.

This is the service for the second Sunday of Advent and is part of an Advent and Christmas journey through the book of Haggai that highlights four promises that God makes to his covenant people—promises that are ultimately found and fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus. Jesus—"the Desire of All Nations” (Haggai 2:7 NKJV)—comes to show the world a greater vision for our lives, and his Spirit guides our hearts and hands to wait with purpose and work with hope. The series concludes with services for Christmas Eve and the first Sunday after Christmas.

This is the service for the first Sunday of Advent and is part of an Advent and Christmas journey through the book of Haggai that highlights four promises that God makes to his covenant people—promises that are ultimately found and fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus. Jesus—"the Desire of All Nations” (Haggai 2:7 NKJV)—comes to show the world a greater vision for our lives, and his Spirit guides our hearts and hands to wait with purpose and work with hope. The series concludes with services for Christmas Eve and the first Sunday after Christmas.

This Reformed Worship series journeys through the book of Haggai and highlights four promises that God makes to his covenant people—promises that are ultimately found and fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus. Jesus—the "Desire of All Nations” (Haggai 2:7 NKJV)—comes to show the world a greater vision for our lives, and his Spirit guides our hearts and hands to wait with purpose and work with hope.

Liturgical historians may well mark the 2020s as a decade of cultural disruptions that accelerated conversations on worship and technology. Issues once thought fringe or experimental, including virtual worship, livestreamed participation, and videoconferenced sacraments, are now post-pandemic realities. And with the public release of ChatGPT in 2022, the widening access to artificial intelligence (AI) tools presents yet another moment for reflection.TERMS TO KNOWArtificial intelligence is an umbrella term, often applied in whatever way seems most convenient or exciting (the latter known as AI-washing). Machine learning (ML) is a subfield of AI that develops algorithms (a set of instructions) to learn how to make intelligent, human-like decisions without being explicitly programmed. We have become familiar with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), in which ML trains models to generate content (text, images, videos, audio) based on prompts.GenAI applications are known for relying on large language models (LLMs), extensive datasets trained on online media, books, and other sources. Popular GenAI applications include chatbots (think ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) that generate media outputs based on responses to prompts entered in a chatbox.Over just a few years, churches and congregations—across geography and theology—have witnessed an explosion of the use of artificial intelligence in worship. In 2023, a 37-minute service at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fürth, Bavaria, was planned by AI applications and conducted by avatars on a screen, rather than human clergy. In 2024, the United Church of Christ reported on a Long Island minister who used ChatGPT to write an entire service liturgy, even adjusting it to account for that week’s breaking news. In 2025, in the weeks following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, videos circulated on social media in which an audio imitation of Kirk plays in the service of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. The AI-generated voice addresses this megachurch sanctuary in a manner similar to preaching or exhortation, assuring parishioners that “I’m fine, not because my body is fine, but because my soul is secure in Christ.”Companies persuade today’s worship leaders that they have an AI-powered tool to prepare nearly everything needed for a worship service: Asaph can take your Scripture passage and Planning Center database, and then generate a song list that fits the assigned text. Sono can take a brief prompt to generate lyrics and an audio recording of a worship song in the style of Elevation Worship. SermonAI can draft your sermon manuscript, suggest illustrations, and create discussion guides. ChatGPT and Gemini can write calls to worship, prayers, and hymn texts. Midjourney can generate artwork for bulletin covers and ProPresenter slide decks.The Question of Worship and TechnologyAs disruptive as AI might seem, I would argue that it continues the same line of questioning about worship and technology that the church has already been wrestling with—it just takes it in new directions. It electrifies an existing conversation that arose from pandemic-necessitated worship.When it came to online worship, the question was whether humans can use technology to mediate an existing physical, embodied service shared through virtual channels. This time, though, the question reaches further: whether technology itself can contribute genuine liturgical content that humans use in their worship services, physical or virtual.No longer is the question merely, “Can we use Zoom to help us celebrate Eucharist?” but “Can we use ChatGPT to generate the words of prayer that will help us celebrate Eucharist?”Back in 1994, Susan White forecasted that technology would play a dominant role in thinking about worship in the new millennium. And Zac Hicks rightly points out that worship has always been technological, insofar as it embraces material resources to facilitate a divine-human encounter, from the shining bronze serpent to prayerbooks to stained glass windows to LED stage lights.True enough, Christian worship is not inherently anti-technology, because it is not anti-material. In our services, God welcomes the fruits of a good created world, including tools that human hands steward to lead congregations in encountering the glory of the Lord. A Christian theology of creation resists the notion that entering worship means ascending to some detached, immaterial realm.How, then, should we talk about technology for the purposes of worship?Evangelical worship is well-noted for embracing pragmatism: doing what works. This spirit—submitting to biblical principles rather than regulative prescriptions—has led many churches to incorporate many new technologies into services, most recently generative AI. This may be done in a desire to feel relevant or caught up, or perhaps it is done “to become all things to all people” (1 Corinthians 9:22).However, I think we are right to be concerned when technological hype outpaces critical reflection. At worst, it can express one of the temptations that Henri Nouwen suggests Jesus faced in the wilderness: the temptation to be relevant. That doesn’t mean that we should dismiss the means of worship technology on the grounds that technology does not belong in worship—or that worship should be non-technological. Even “lower-tech” or “higher-liturgy” congregations must acknowledge that their use of microphones, mass-copied bulletins, livestreaming, or Western instruments embraces technology to some extent.If it’s not a question of means, then could it be a question of motivation? I wonder if we could approach issues of AI in worship by examining two intentions that motivate our acceptance (or rejection) thereof.The Priestly Intention: Reducing Barriers or Cutting Corners?First, let me suggest that worship leaders can examine their motivations for using AI-powered liturgies through the lens of their priestly intentions: how does AI help or hinder the calling of pastors to mediate an encounter between God and the priesthood of believers? Put another way, to what extent does AI-generated liturgy facilitate the “full, conscious, and active participation” of worshipers? (adapt. Pope Paul VI, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 1963 para. 14). Congregations have demonstrated that they can deploy AI to reduce a legitimate barrier to liturgical participation. For instance, AI assistants can provide live translation during worship services for non-native speakers or for those who benefit from sign language interpretation. Or, Asaph’s worship song analysis tool, which uses AI to suggest emotional contours through a congregation’s song repertoire, can be an insightful starting point for considering how sung prayers balance formative and expressive language. Pastors and musicians could use these reports as one tool for nurturing a healthy diet of song.With proper motivation, it seems possible that worship leaders can wisely use AI to foster accessible, meaningful participation. But when we ignore this priestly intention, we shift the motivation behind using AI in service planning or leading, from reducing pastoral barriers to reducing practical inefficiencies.Of course, there is a welcome place for technology to make tasks more efficient. Likely, none of us would consider it wrong to use a copy machine, which both supports participation by ensuring wider access to printed service orders and saves valuable time. Perhaps we might even find a biblical warrant: Following the friends lowering a man from the roof, worship leaders can use their available resources to “find a way” to help people come closer to Jesus (Luke 5:18–19).There is a problem, though, when we leverage technology to shortcut, not support, the priestly work incumbent on worship leaders.With a short prompt, we can use AI to generate that prayer of confession that seems like too much work to write, or to suggest a punchy conclusion for that sermon you just don’t have any more time or energy left to write. When we use AI to generate the sung or spoken liturgical elements of a service, we take a shortcut. We claim that it makes us more efficient and (ideally) frees us for other worthy ministry tasks.In reality, what happens is we allow the voice of artificial intelligence—not of the people whom God has called, chosen, and equipped—to take a priestly position: to guide service order, mediate prayer, and stand between God and the assembly.Such thinking abandons a priestly vision in favor of a productivity mindset. Using generative AI for service planning substitutes the hard but holy task of wrestling with the scriptures, of bringing a word from the Lord to bear on a congregation entrusted to our care. It encroaches on the pastoral calling by claiming to produce this word from God, by organizing prayer, by placing words of confession on our lips and promises of assurance on our hearts. It uses algorithms instead of spiritual wisdom to dictate the formational language of our sacred conversation with the living God.Alison Gerber is correct: ChatGPT and other LLM-generated content “can’t replace prayer-soaked preaching” (or any part of a worship service, for that matter). Chatbots, known for hallucinations, remain an unreliable facilitator of dialogue between God and humans. Where is that Spirit-led guidance and “prayer-soaked” leadership when we push AI’s potential for accessibility too far—when we go beyond reducing barriers to cutting corners?The Aesthetic Intention: Fruitful Multiplication or Deceptive Duplication?Second, we can examine our motivations for using AI in worship by their aesthetic intentions. That is to ask, to what extent does AI-generated liturgy fulfill the cultural mandate and contribute to a renewed imagination of beautiful worship?Our Reformed faith passes down an emphasis on God’s directive to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). God invites humans to cultivate creation—to build culture and community in a way that glorifies the Creator. That work involves engaging all parts of creation, “subduing” and bringing them under the authority of God.Indeed, to fulfill this mandate is to bear the image of God in its functional dimension. When we exercise dominion, care, and creativity over creation, humans represent God’s rule and contribute to blessing God’s beloved world with good gifts toward its ongoing beautification.Thus, as we discern wise and careful stewardship, especially with newer technologies like AI, we should ask ourselves whether such usage contributes to fruitful multiplication or deceptive duplication. Are we choosing to “fill the earth” with the fruits of intentional creative activity, or with falsified, imitated potential?Like the fig tree cursed by Christ, we might call some things alive, even while they cannot bear true fruit (Mark 11:13). I worry that AI-generated content approaches this territory. Machine learning can simulate human activity, but it cannot replace it. As such, AI cannot fulfill this functional dimension of the image of God.Pope Leo XIV, who urged Catholic priests to resist using AI in homily writing, puts it plainly: “Renouncing creativity and surrendering our mental capacities and imagination to machines would mean burying the talents we have been given to grow as individuals in relation to God and others.”An LLM could likely generate a theologically accurate and liturgically appropriate hymn text, or a convincing sermon series graphic. It’s even more likely that you can get away with it—most congregants won’t notice or care.But what is the consequence?When we choose to fill the earth with AI-generated content, we deprive humans of opportunities to contribute original, creative gifts for our Father’s world. We spoil the spirit of leitourgia: liturgy as the “work of the people.And we deceive worshipers. We suggest that sacred space can and/or should be filled with non-creative objects posing as genuine fruit. We conflate vapid slop with true beauty.Yet God has expectations for what we offer as stewards of creation. Scripture’s opening pages warn us with the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4) that an acceptable offering to God arises from the fullness of our grateful hearts, not with a deceptive motivation.If our Creator has given us the opportunities (and capabilities!) to fill the earth with good gifts, why would we contribute deceptive slop and deepfakes? Could the church offer a compelling, countercultural witness by choosing a different way, by refusing a carte blanche, wholesale acceptance of hype, by choosing temperance over indulgence?Can Church Leaders Lessen Reliance on AI?Thus far, I have been asking questions of how: How can worship leaders use AI as faithful stewards of creation? But beyond this question of how is a question of why: Why do we turn to AI? Why do we feel this interest in powering our ministry with this new technology, whether as a flirty curiosity or a dangerous overreliance?It may come from another one of Nouwen’s temptations: not only to be relevant, but to be spectacular.The fear that “Sunday always comes”—perhaps with each service, sermon, and song set more creative than the last—can produce a crushing pressure. We feel the limitations in our time and abilities. When we stare down a blank Word document, it becomes easier to consider the promise that AI could help “the lift” and make things as creative as possible.Consider some of the marketing pitches: Asaph calls itself “built for worship leaders who don’t have time to waste.” SermonAI boasts, “We remove every obstacle standing between pastors and the pulpit.”The late-week crunch will come, and with it, the temptation to be spectacular—the haunting obligation to outdo that church across town, to outdo that worship collective on Instagram, or to outdo that version of yourself from last week. Ultimately, AI is a convenience tool, joining a long line of products promising to make work easier. It suggests that inspiration is instant, like a powdered sports mix to shake up some electrolytes in a water bottle. And like most quick fixes, its effects don’t last.Could AI be a tool to organize thoughts, revise existing material, facilitate brainstorming, or suggest ideas for improvement?Sure.But perhaps there is something better to be found in deeper reliance—not on the voice of artificial intelligence, but on the voice of the Holy Spirit, whose wisdom speaks through the community of a faithful worship planning committee, a sermon feedback group, or a pastoral colleague. When we find ourselves overwhelmed by the temptation to be relevant or spectacular, we can turn to God, who offers himself in Jesus as our hope for wisdom, creativity, and energy.So says the apostle Paul: “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words” (1 Corinthians 2:13).Human-trained wisdom provides convenient, on-demand answers. But no LLM can train “Spirit-taught words.” Through lives of earnest prayer, we can listen to and learn from the Spirit so that, as worship leaders, we might model this faithful devotion in our liturgy.Like all technology, there is neither an immediate, unqualified “yes” nor “no” when it comes to generative AI in worship. We will need to “discern the spirits” to see what is from God (1 John 4:1). And if our goal is to discern how God allows us to lead others to encounter the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Jesus in his proper and deserving honor—his beauty in a sea of AI slop, and his glory in a cloud of AI hallucinations—then this is a worthwhile task.Questions for DiscussionWhere do you fall on the spectrum of AI acceptance in worship (or more broadly, of technology in worship)? Consider two extremes: total enthusiasm or total restriction.Some in the Reformed tradition invoke the Belgic Confession’s rejection of “all human innovations…in our worship of God” (Art. 32) to restrict technological use in the church. How would you reconcile that concern with the author’s claim that “Christian worship is not inherently anti-technology”? And how do we hold to that statement while utilizing amplification, lights, airconditioning, heat and myriads of other human innovations in our worship? Is there a line to be discerned? To what extent do you think the “priestly intention” and “aesthetic intention” apply outside of worship and ministry settings? Put differently, do you think the author’s positions on AI ethics could/should be applied in other areas (e.g., journalism, computer science, education, art)?Prompt an AI tool to help you with an existing task for an upcoming service. You could ask it to organize a service around a text/theme, generate a sermon illustration, outline, or manuscript, or write a hymn text. With your worship committee (or other group), reflect on that experience. What felt comfortable? What felt unsettling? How do you evaluate that work considering the priestly and/or aesthetic intention?For Further ReadingFor a historical overview on technology in worship: Lovin’ on Jesus by Lester Ruth and Lim Swee Hong (see the section in ch. 3, “Technological Advancements in Contemporary Worship”)For an introduction to the relationship of worship and technology: Christian Worship and Technological Change by Susan WhiteFor a recent advanced discussion of virtual worship: @ Worship by Teresa BergerFor practical wisdom: AI Goes to Church by Todd KorpiFor an accessible introduction: Introduction to Generative AI by Numa Dhamani and Maggie EnglerFor another perspective consider the encyclical letter Magnifica Humanitas by Pope Leo XIV

The end of August brings a significant time of transition for many of our younger congregants as they go to school for the first time or return after some time away. This is a great opportunity for churches to live out their promises to their covenant children and show them that they too are part of the church, that God loves and cares for them, and that their church does too. The prayers below are for a variety of student age groups; you may choose one or more of them and adapt them to fit your context. See the sidebar for some additional creative ideas.Invitation to PrayerLet us pray, responding to the phrase “Jesus Christ, our strength and our shield” with the words “Hear our prayer; bless our students.”For Elementary School StudentsWe name before you, God,the elementary schoolers in our congregation and community.In this time of silence, call to mind the elementary school students you know.Surround them with protectionso that they might learn in safety.May they experience your joyin their crafts, sports, and songs.Give us, too, a childlike wonderas we explore your good and fascinating world.Jesus Christ, our strength and our shield,hear our prayer; bless our students.For Middle School StudentsWe name before you, God,the middle schoolers in our congregation and community.In this time of silence, call to mind the middle school students you know.Grant them courage to speak boldly of your works,wisdom to navigate new friendships and challenges,and peace to seek their identity hidden in you.May this community be a safe home for all teenagersas they discover how you have fearfully and wonderfully made them.Jesus Christ, our strength and our shield,hear our prayer; bless our students.For High School StudentsWe name before you, God,the high schoolers in our congregation and community. In this time of silence, call to mind the high school students you know.As they make decisions about colleges or careers,as they struggle with research papers and math homework,as they juggle commitments to classes, jobs, friends, family, and church,remind them of your grace that never runs outand your love that you stand ready to lavishregardless of their grades or their accomplishments.Jesus Christ, our strength and our shield,hear our prayer; bless our students.For College and University StudentsWe name before you, God,the college and university students in our congregation and community.In this time of silence, call to mind the college and university students you know.Journey with them and hold them near in loveduring this joyous and exciting season of transition.When they doubt their faith and its relevance to their discipline,meet their curiosity and welcome their questions.When they experience dark nights struggling with loneliness and mental health,give them enough faith to grasp your hope.When they enter into budding romances and into roommate conflicts,help them honor your name in all of their relationships.Jesus Christ, our strength and our shield,hear our prayer; bless our students.For Adult Students and Lifelong LearnersWe name before you, God,the adult and lifelong learners in our congregation.In this time of silence, call to mind the adult and lifelong learners you know.We thank you for using their life experiencesas gifts that enrich our learning communities.We recognize, though, that many are fearful and nervousto return to a classroom, sit among twenty-somethings, and learn new software.Meet these students as they manage their many commitments.Meet them during their late-night study sessions,scrambling to finish discussion postslong after the dishes are put awayand the children are tucked in bed.May they find every moment of their learningto be filled with deep purpose that comes from you alone.Jesus Christ, our strength and our shield,hear our prayer; bless our students.Closing PrayerRegardless of the stage of life in which we find ourselves, Lord,we humble ourselves as students in your kingdom.When we presume that we have understood everything about you,surprise us with new ways to behold your glory.Through the many ways that you have given us to learn—in classrooms, in conversations, in congregations—shape within us a sense of wonder and curiosityabout the world we live in and the people we meetso that we may better know the God who created them. Amen. “Blessing of the Backpacks” and Other Tangible IdeasIf you have teachers in your congregation who teach different ages, invite them to lead the prayer corresponding to their class level or to pray their own prayer. Alternatively, have a parent of a student pray for that age group.Give students stickers with words or phrases appropriate for each age group (e.g., “Wonder” for elementary students, “I Belong to God” for middle schoolers, “Breathe” for high schoolers, “Hope” for college students, and “Balance” for adult learners. A few weeks ahead of time, start putting notes in the bulletin or on social media inviting all students to bring their backpack or some other school supply (textbook, notebook, laptop, picture book, crayons) to a “Blessing of the Backpacks” service. At the service, have students hold their items as they are prayed over. Alternatively, place the items somewhere visible to the congregation and then place a Bible on top of them to symbolize the Word of God as the most important, all-encompassing text for our lives. (You may also choose to put the Bible down first to symbolize God’s Word being the foundation of all learning.) Have each student write their name, grade or course of study, and school on a paper, and pin the list to a bulletin board or other display. Invite congregational members to pick the name of a student for whom they promise to pray, and encourage them to check in with that student throughout the year (though you should get caregivers’ permission before giving out contact information). Consider including students who have a connection to the church but may not be regular worship attenders.  Give students pencils with a Bible verse or something else that sets the pencil apart as a gift from the church. Ask them to put it in their backpacks and pray this blessing:May your minds, like your pencils, be ever sharp, may your mistakes be forgiven and erased, may your conduct, like this pencil, be straight, and may the words you write and the pictures you draw bring God glory.—Bethany Besteman, 2023 © Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Don’t forget to pray for the educators in your congregation, including parents who homeschool. 

Why don’t we sing about Jesus’ ascension? I might suggest that the scarcity of songs is not necessarily to blame for our neglect. Perhaps our reluctance to singing the ascension comes in part from a liturgical cost-benefit analysis. If we’re being honest, it’s challenging to dust off, teach, and lead an obscure ascension hymn for just one Sunday. Yet the themes of Christ’s ascension richly permeate the existing canons and repertoires of worshiping communities in songs that can be sung throughout the church year. Indeed, not all ascension songs need to be hymns. A discerning eye and careful ear can identify ascension-related themes throughout the songs of the church, not just those few with the word “ascension” in their lyrics. While certainly not exhaustive, this list provides a launchpad for worship planners and leaders and encouragement to more consciously integrate songs about the ascension into their musical diets. These “hidden” gems focus on the session of the ascended Christ. “Session” refers to the ascended Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us as “our great high priest” (Hebrews 4:14). Intercession is a decidedly trinitarian act; we offer prayers to God the Father, which are mediated through Jesus Christ and perfected by the power of the Holy Spirit. These songs call us, in Paul’s words, to “set [our] minds on things above,” where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1–2). In our current world situation—one in which we all too often find ourselves calling on God to hear our prayers—it brings immense comfort and hope to know that we serve a resurrected and ascended Lord, incarnate in heaven, who “is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25).   “See Our King Ascend to Heaven” I wrote this hymn text after one of my professors pointed out that there was a lack of modern worship texts on Christ’s ascension. It attempts to capture the imaginations of those who experienced this remarkable event, from the disciples who witnessed Jesus ascend “past the planets / toward the stars” to the angels who greeted him “with triumphant, joyous burst.” Each stanza moves through a different theme of the ascension: Christ’s entry to heaven (st. 1), Christ’s accomplished atonement and continued ministry (st. 2), Christ’s priestly intercession (st. 3), and Christ’s return (st. 4). It is a more comprehensive ascension text, to be sure, but the third stanza is especially fitting for this collection of songs as it celebrates “our high priest [who] has no limit; / his intention is to serve.” This hymn recognizes that Jesus’ work on our behalf does not end with the resurrection; he continues his ministry to humanity by interceding for the world. Liturgical and Musical Suggestions This text’s common meter (8.7.8.7.D) has many familiar matching tunes: BEACH SPRING, HYFRYDOL, HYMN TO JOY, NETTLETON, and EBENEZER, to name a few. Because of the contemplative nature of the text, I recommend BEACH SPRING or NETTLETON as tunes that musically complement the themes of the text. The final stanza is the song’s climax, celebrating Christ’s ultimate return and reign. Build dynamically and establish a strong rhythmic groove. It may even be appropriate to modulate up into this stanza. This song may be an appropriate prelude to establish the context of Ascension Sunday. Instrumentals between stanzas can be interspersed with Scripture readings that follow the narrative logic of the hymn text (perhaps Acts 1 and/or passages from Hebrews). “See Our King Ascend to Heaven” See our King ascend to heaven, past the planets, toward the stars. Radiant the air around him, honor his and glory ours. Clouds surround him, angels greet him with triumphant, joyous burst. Into heaven we can enter, for our Jesus walked there first. Jesus’ mission, it is finished! Satan’s grip Christ has released. But his work beyond continues, called upward to be our priest. First he rose up from the darkness; now he rises past the sun from the world which he created. See him enter realms above. Welcomed into his old dwelling, seated at the throne’s right side, there he sits and waits and listens, interceding as our guide. Our high priest, he has no limit; his intention is to serve. So we pray, O Son exalted, may you now our souls preserve. Up we gaze to his traject’ry waiting for his next descent, but we hear the voice of many sent from heaven to proclaim: “Jesus, taken into heaven, will come back this very way.” Now embrace his promised power ’til that wond’rous coming day. Things above we set our vision, looking past the everyday. Christ in glory, high and mighty over all the cosmos reigns. As he passes o’er the bound’ry earth and heav’n blur their lines. Body absent, Spirit present, humble us, our lives entwine. —Benjamin P. Snoek © 2019. Used by permission. All rights reserved. CCLI # pending.   “How Lovely Your Grace” This lesser-known contemporary song by Micah Kersh was written for a songwriting competition hosted by worship publisher PraiseCharts. Its lyrics are rooted in the biblical witness to Christ’s ascension and session, and touch on themes from Hebrews 4:16 that invite us to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence.” With a singable, lilting melody, the musical conventions of this ballad should be familiar to most worship leaders. This song is a fitting invitation to prayer, calling worshipers to draw near to the ascended Christ with confidence that he hears our cries. Although at times it seems as if this song blurs the lines between Christ’s crucifixion and Christ’s session, it does offer an important connection between the priestly work of atonement and the priestly work of intercession. Borrowing the words of a familiar hymn, the chorus declares that Christ’s priestly work is nothing short of an act of “grace that is greater”—a necessary reminder for a world that can too easily take prayer for granted. Liturgical and Musical Suggestions After singing verse 1 (“I come, Lord, and speak to you with confidence now”), invite someone to lead a prayer of confession with the musicians vamping on the chord progression. The chorus (“Grace, / grace that is greater”) would provide a strong moment for a sung assurance. Use the chorus as a sung refrain between prompts in a pastoral prayer. Consider adjusting the chord progression in the verses into the relative minor (Em – D – Am7 – Bm7) to contrast with the brilliance of the major key chorus. This song lends itself best to a stripped-back acoustic instrumentation. It could be performed using only an acoustic guitar, piano, and cajon/djembe.   “Our Great High Priest Is Sitting” This text by Lord Adelbert Percy Cecil, a British evangelist, author, and missionary to Canada, is published in only three hymnals. It is a beautiful hymn celebrating Christ’s session and ongoing ministry of intercession. Drawing heavily from biblical imagery, this hymn is a song of comfort, declaring that “Christ’s mighty intercession / alone is my resource.” Its warm tone reminds me of the Heidelberg Catechism, which declares that Jesus’ ascension benefits us because “he is our advocate in heaven in the presence of his father” (Q&A 49). The third stanza assumes a comprehensive view of Christ’s atoning work: “Our God’s most gracious favor / did give his Son to die, / to live our Intercessor, / to plead for us on high.” It is far too easy to deride evangelical worship of overemphasizing the cross of Christ in its lyrics; at the same time, we can become just as liturgically myopic on high days such as Ascension Sunday, viewing the ascension as a “pop-up” moment without context. Liturgical and Musical Suggestions There is no need to introduce a new melody just because the text is unfamiliar. Although it is likely that a congregation has not engaged with this text, there are many familiar tunes that match its meter (7.6.7.6.D.), such as ST. THEODULPH, AURELIA , and HANKEY. It was previously published with the tune MEIRONYDD with a suggested alternate tune MUNICH. Because the meters match, you can adapt the Norton Hall Band’s existing arrangement of “The Church’s One Foundation” (using the AURELIA tune) or use Indelible Grace’s retuned arrangement. This hymn would be appropriate as either a preparation song or a response song; perhaps it could even be woven throughout the service (for instance, singing the first stanza after a Scripture reading and prayer of illumination and singing the second and third stanzas after a sermon and pastoral prayer). “Our Great High Priest is Sitting” Our great High Priest is sitting at God’s right hand above, for us his hands uplifting in sympathy and love, while here below in weakness we onward speed our way; in sorrow and in sickness, we sigh and groan and pray. Through manifold temptation my soul holds on its course; Christ’s mighty intercession alone is my resource. My gracious High Priest’s pleadings, who on the cross did bleed, bring down God’s grace and blessings, help in our hour of need. Our God’s most gracious favor did give his Son to die, to live our Intercessor, to plead for us on high. O Jesus, blessed Savior, who soon for us will come, redemption’s work completed, our battle fought, and won. —A. P. Cecil, 1841–1889 P.D.; alt.   “Come Holy Spirit (Uthando) / We Will Worship” This song was released by We Will Worship, a South African music collective, and is dear to our chapel community at Trinity Christian College. The simple verse calls on the Holy Spirit to be present among a gathered community. I am particularly drawn to the chorus, which repeats the words of the pre-chorus in Zulu, the language of the largest Indigenous group in South Africa: Uthando, uthando; lwakho lwakho (Your love) Luyaphila, luyaphila (Is alive) Umbuso, umbuso; wakho, wakho (Your kingdom) Uyaphila, uyaphila (Is alive) At first glance it might seem that this song is only distantly related to the themes of this article. Among our prayers to the ascended Christ, however, are prayers of invocation, those that call on God to send the Spirit in our times of need. Because God’s “love is alive” and his “kingdom is alive,” Christ is still actively working in the world by the power of the Spirit—the power that helps us “seek the things above” (Colossians 3:1). Moreover, this song reminds us that Christ’s ascension in Acts 1 sets the stage for the Spirit’s descent on Pentecost in Acts 2, fulfilling Jesus’ promise to send the Spirit (Acts 1:5–8). Liturgical and Musical Suggestions It can be challenging to introduce worship songs with foreign lyrics. I recommend first teaching the pronunciation of the Zulu words in the chorus and then including English translations (in smaller text and/or parentheses) in the printed or projected lyrics. This song would fit in the opening of a worship service as a sung invocation or a call to worship. This performance works well with a strong yet stable drive from the percussion—a low tom groove is sufficient. The bass line should have limited ornamentation to support the rhythm section. Because it is simple and repetitive, this song is relatively easy to learn, teach, and sing, and is accessible even for intergenerational worship. Consider incorporating this song into the canon of your children’s ministry and youth ministry. Since Ascension Sunday often falls during the early summer months, commit to teaching this song during Vacation Bible School at the same time as it is introduced in a main worship service. It would be appropriate to introduce this song on Ascension Sunday and then to reintegrate it on Pentecost Sunday (particularly the Zulu chorus, which could be used with the idea of “tongues of fire”).