Cathédrale St-Pierre, Geneva

This Sunday evening at First Presbyterian Church, the service will reflect the order of a typical service in St. Peter's Cathedral, Geneva in the middle of the sixteenth century where John Calvin was the minister. John Knox said of the worship in Geneva that it was the closest thing to heaven he had ever experienced.

Calvin believed that nothing should be done in the public worship of God that did not have Scriptural command. Thus, like Zwingli, he rejected such things as images, candles, priestly robes. Seeking to follow the tradition established by the church Fathers, Calvin introduced a form of liturgy (though, he only infrequently used this word) that reflected the theology of worship that was in accord with the teaching of Scripture.

The sermon will be based on a text from Colossians 2 in which Paul is addressing the issue of worship and we will illustrate how this was implemented in Geneva under Calvin's directions.

Unlike Calvin, however, we will have the aid of an instrument in the singing of God's praise!

The service will begin at 6.00 pm.