Diane Dykgraaf

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!God, you are Giver of sunshine and rain.                  Praise the Lord!God, you are Healer of all of our pain.                       Hallelujah!God, you’re Provider and come to our aid.                Praise the Lord!God, you are Lover of all you have made.                 Hallelujah!Praise God, all creatures here below!Let the big moose and the loud lions say:                Praise the Lord!Let minnows with small mice sing out today:           Hallelujah!Let infants and old ones loudly proclaim:                 Praise the Lord!Let all of us sing, rejoice and exclaim:                      Hallelujah! Praise God above, ye heavenly host!Planets and galaxies, comets and stars,                  Praise the Lord!The bright sun, the sunset, the moon afar,              Hallelujah!The universe and the vast outer space,                   Praise the Lord!With angels and saints they sing of your grace.      Hallelujah!Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!Praise Father for giving his perfect Son.                  Praise the Lord!Praise Jesus the Christ, our victorious one.             Hallelujah!Praise Spirit, who dwells in all who believe.             Praise the Lord!Praise triune God who is one and yet three.            Hallelujah! Amen.For all that is given that we receive:                         Praise the Lord!For all that is promised, all we believe:                     Hallelujah! For all of God’s creatures fashioned with love:        Praise the Lord! We shout from below and shout from above:          Hallelujah! All Voices: Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Amen!—Diane Dykgraaf, alt. Joyce Borger, © 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.Ideas for Leading “A Chorus of Praise”This doxology is adapted from the traditional hymn text “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.” Ken, LUYH 965, GtG 606, SSS 696 The italicized lines from the original hymn text could be sung by choir a cappella using the OLD HUNDREDTH tune; the choir could hum the last chord of the phrase with staggered breathing while the readers read the words in plain text and the congregation responds antiphonally with the bolded words of acclamation. At the very end, the congregation, choir, and readers could proclaim together the final “Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Amen!”An alternative for involving children or English language learners is to have them speak either the song text (italic) or the refrains (bold), both of which are easily memorized. The other parts could be assigned to readers or to the congregation. 

In the spring of 2014 I had the opportunity to visit Light of Hope Presbyterian Church in Marietta, Georgia. There I heard about their recent Pentecost celebration. It was clear that the visuals they created for their celebration had a significant impact on the congregation and could be an encouragement to the broader body, so I asked Pastor Edwin Gonzalez-Gertz to describe the process and final visual.

Ascension Day and Pentecost are major events in the life of the Christian church. We confess the truth of Jesus’ ascension and the coming of the Spirit every time we repeat the words of the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed. But what difference do these days make in the life of the average worshiper today? And how do Christians and churches mark these important events?

In the beginning . . . there was chaos. Then God brought light into the darkness, and waters were separated and given boundaries, forming land that brought forth living things and beauty. God created humans to participate in and enjoy the beauty. And it was good. Then the people God made in his own image willfully brought the chaos back, and there was a new darkness, new storms, new desert places.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”—Acts 1:8