Lifting Hearts to the Lord: Worship with John Calvin in Sixteenth-Century Geneva
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
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.
Key Features
- Examines worshiping practices in Geneva in the era of John Calvin
- Features historical maps and illustrations of Geneva
- Includes a variety of primary source materials such as letters and eyewitness accounts
Contents
- Part One: Locating the Worshiping Community
- The Context of the Worshiping Community: Sixteenth-Century Geneva
- Timeline
- Liturgical Landscape
- Geographical Landscape
- Cautions for Studying Geneva’s Worship History
- Significant Themes and Practices to Observe
- Part Two: Exploring the Worshiping Community
- Describing the Community’s Worship: John Calvin’s Geneva, 1541-1564
- Documenting the Community’s Worship
- People and Artifacts
- Worship Setting and Space
- Descriptions of Worship
- Orders of Service and Texts
- Sermons
- Theology of Worship Documents
- Polity Documents
- Part Three: Assisting the Investigation
- Why Study Geneva’s Worship? Suggestions for Devotional Use
- Why Study Geneva’s Worship? Discussion Questions for Small Groups
- Why Study Geneva’s Worship? A Guide for Different Disciplines and Areas of Interest
Praise for the Print Edition
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!
—David W. Hall, Midway Presbyterian Church, Powder Springs, GA
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.
—Raymond A. Mentzer, University of Iowa
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.
—Karen E. Spierling, Denison University
About Karin Maag
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.