Worship Innovations Volume 3

Book excerpt: Dedicated to providing fresh ideas for busy ministers and worship planners in a variety of settings, the Worship Innovations series offers practical resources that will bring the Bible to life and brighten your worship services. The easy-to-produce dramas and programs can be used in any size church, yet are flexible enough to fit almost any worship style. And each user-friendly resource comes with detailed instructions, including a complete list of everything you need to prepare for. In this Worship Innovations volume, the focus is on the Lent and Easter season. Like the first two books, this is a rich storehouse that will supply you with many seasons worth of compelling, scripturally authentic material. Included are: - The Paths to Calvary -- a series of six short dramatic monologues for the weeks leading up to Easter in which biblical characters tell of their encounters with Jesus - Our Place at the Table -- a dramatic re-enactment of the events preceding the Last Supper, culminating in a congregational communion service - A Passover to Remember -- a complete Maundy Thursday service with a modified Passover seder as the centerpiece - A Growing Darkness -- a Good Friday tenebrae service featuring seven readings about the day's events, brought to life with several costumed monologues - Seven Words to Die By -- based on Christ's seven last words, this tenebrae service finds meaningful truths in the somber events of the crucifixion through monologues, scripture readings, music, and prayers - Surprise at Sunrise -- an Easter sunrise service depicting the resurrection discovery in four vignettes using child actors - The Week of Weeks -- a set of interactive scripture readings for each of the Sundays between Easter and Pentecost Other titles in the Worship Innovations series: Hanging The Greens For Christmas Easy Bible Drama Janet Burton is a pastor's wife, minister of education, and writer of Christian worship and education resources. The Burtons, who have served churches in Texas and New Mexico for almost fifty years, reside in Austin, Texas, where her husband Jack serves as an interim pastor for churches in transition. Author of four books and a contributor to five others, Mrs. Burton's specialty is Sunday school Bible study curriculum. In addition, she has contributed weekly or monthly columns to three Christian newspapers. Burton attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.