Here is a helpful book for personal devotions, family devotions, or groups. With a good selection of hymns and songs, The Book of Worship follows the church calendar beginning with Advent and concluding with Pentecost and the season after Pentecost.

Author Randall Dennis writes, “Though they were not compelled by God’s law, the early church recognized this rhythm too. They seized the opportunity to use cycles and seasons to frame and reinforce oral teachings about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the church. Their calendar was built of components ensuring Christians were taught ‘Christianity 101’ and celebrated God’s faithfulness, mercy, and love.”

The songs and hymns are arranged topically according to the church calendar and contain 365 days of materials. Though as Dennis says, if you skip a day or so, it will not throw you out of sequence. Each Sunday reading includes prayers from The Book of Common Worship, by Thomas Cranmer. Dennis has edited the 1500’s text at points to make it more understandable and accessible for today. However, he also has tried to stay true to his vision for the book saying, “I think there’s merit in hearing these prayers, hymns, and songs as they were originally written. The only paraphrasing I have done was to elements where language so got in the way as to obscure the message.” Along with the words of these elements, there is also a melody line to each of the songs and hymns included.

The Book of Worship is an excellent resource for family or personal devotions. Its selected texts, hymns, and church calendar format are sure to bless you in your daily walk.

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