The Worship Sourcebook

Such rich and meaningful content and resources within this book for worship. I appreciate how each section is broken down and it is explained why different parts of worship exist. The liturgies are so beautifully and profoundly written and it is such a gift to incorporate this into worship.

The book itself is quite useful and I would recommend it. Just don't be fooled by the image on Amazon, where it says on the cover of the book that it comes with a CDrom to allow electronic access for ease of use in preparing services. What it comes with is instructions on how to download a pdf of it (cost $25) and provides a code to receive 40% off the download.

This is a helpful resource for planning. It wasn’t exactly what I expected … I was hoping for something that was less educational and more toolbox to help make worship planning more efficient. I admit I haven’t read the whole thing yet but hope to… again, I had hoped for more straight to the point application. :/ it’s still good. Still valuable, but when I had hoped it would make things easier and worship planning take less time … this will not do that (at least not until I have time to read through it and find the pieces that I need).

One-line review: Buy this book if you plan worship in a Reformed or Presbyterian Church! Do it now!This book is not primarily a book of worship services like the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship. Rather, it assumes that a worship planner in one of the Presbyterian and Reformed denominations is seeking resources to supplement materials that may be already available in denominational service books. And this book provides that: among many other selections there are 70 calls to worship and opening responses, 71 prayers of confession, 29 prayers of the people, and an equally vast number of resources for the liturgical year.There is a valuable introduction on the practice and planning of Christian worship. Other features that make this book useful for worship planners include a large number of resources labeled "mindful of children," a sensible copyright policy, and a CD-ROM that facilitates using the contents in preparing materials for use in worship.This book has its origin in a small Reformed denomination, the Christian Reformed Church, but it is historically and theologically rooted, alert to issues in preparing contemporary worship, and reflective of the broad mainstream of Presbyterian and Reformed worship practice. The style throughout is both classical and contemporary, avoiding both historicism and trendiness as though either was an virtue in itself.I am frankly amazed that this resource is available it its price, and I am happy to recommend this to anyone involved in planning Sunday worship for any church in the Presbyterian and Reformed worship tradition!

This is a great resource book for those of us involved in planning worship services for Gods people. While he. Is writing from the Presbyterian background his material is good for all who desire to lead their flock before the throne of God in worship. His prologue and the introductions to each section are well written instructional material for the worship planner. They give you the necessary background for why we do what we do and then proceed on to the details of how to plan.Each section contains sample prayer that will help you learn how to write effective prayers that will lead your congregation to Gods' throne. You can either use what he has already written our use them as samples to help you write prayers that will draw people to Gods throne and to His heart.While this book is written to help you prepare a liturgy for worship services it will also help you to develop a better prayer life for yourself. One point continually stressed is that your personal prayer life is vastly important and has a direct effect on your public prayer life.You will find this a great resource book that will help you grow in your personal life as well as help you develop your ability to lead others to throne of God.Enjoy!

I grew up in a very "traditional" church, and by that I mean they valued traditions primarily from 1930-1970 and mostly ignored the other 19 centuries of church history. Now I am in a small church in charge of planning services. Since I purchased it, The Worship Sourcebook has become a deep well of inspiration for planning our church services around the gospel.The preface alone is something every worship lead should read on a regular basis. The book is peppered with brief explanations of each element of worship (Call to Worship, Confession, Assurance of Pardon, etc...) which are handy to use when explaining to the inexperienced (like myself) what we are looking for when we ask them to pray or read in the service. The written out prayers are excellent, whether being used word-for-word or as inspiration for writing out one's own. I appreciate the flexibility built in with the section providing guidance for planning extemporaneous prayers. Finally, it's an great way to dip one's toes into more formal liturgies that follow the church calendar and the BCP, a daunting prospect for one coming from a low church background.I can't say enough good things about this volume. I only wish it were twice as long!

This is an invaluable resource for Pastors and Worship Leaders. It's not for "make it up as you go along" brand of worship, but rather for those who are serious about their worship planning in such a way that our Lord is glorified in our midst. This book contains resources for every phase of worship, as well as sections on the ordinances, and special services such as Christmas and Easter. The readings and prayers are especially beneficial and encourage participation by the congregation. We especially like this text as a resource for worship themes in which the entire service builds on a foundational theme. As a pastor, I highly recommend "The Worship Sourcebook" second edition. Our worship has never been better since we began using the resource for worship planning.

A n excellent resource for thodse who have to lead worship

Fantastic resource for worship. Although in terms of pages most are filled with written out prayers and other words for worship services, it is also a great resource for churches and people that want to pray more intentionally, with sections devoted to praying deeper spontaneous prayers.

Use it regularly, usually taking small sections and adapting them to fit the service. Invaluable as a starting point for prayers, Call to Worship, or any other leading activities in the church service. The CD is great, so you can copy and paste instead of typing everything out.

Bought for Son in law.

Get this freaking book