What's in a Worship Service

Introduction

Peace Lutheran Church offers both traditional liturgical worship services based on the liturgy found in The Lutheran Hymnal and Peace offers creative worship services that are designed by the Pastor with input from the lay ministers and approval by the church's officers. It is important to note that in both worship styles the focus is on what Christ has done for us. Not what we offer. We praise the Lord with our liturgy and hymns.

What we say and what we do in worship reflects who we are and what we believe as Lutheran Christians. However, Lutheran congregations are seldom identical in the way they worship. Each one has its unique style. Still, for most Lutherans, certain things are true:

• Lutheran worship is liturgical, following an order, often traditional.
  
• Lutheran worship is biblical. It has its roots in the life of the Old Testament people of God as well as of the New Testament Church. It uses the language of Scripture and it celebrates the biblical message.
  
• Lutheran worship employs the historic heritage of Christian worship common to the mainstream of the Church, as it has developed over twenty centuries.
  
• In the spirit of the Reformation, Lutherans worship in the language of the people. Laypersons, as well as the clergy, actively participate in appropriate leadership roles.
  
• Lutheran worship employs the arts -- musical and visual -- as gifts from God to be used to His glory and the building up of His people.

We here at Peace use various orders of service in our worship together. We believe that variety enhances our worship experience, but most of our orders follow this simple outline...

Preservice

Instrumental music (e.g. organ, keyboard, etc.) is played prior to the beginning of the service. Following this preservice music, the church bell is rung to "call" one and all to worship. The pastor then welcomes those who have come to worship with a greeting and informs them of the day, theme, and order of service. The bell is rung once again and then the prelude begins. This prelude is not just to establish a "mood" for the service but is itself an offering -- a creation of artistic talent for God's glory. Both the preservice music and the prelude are often related to the theme of the day or the season. During the prelude, worshipers may listen, offer personal prayers in silence or meditate on appropriate literature, including the psalms and the lessons for the day.

Preparation

After the prelude, we stand for the invocation, confession, and absolution. We remember our baptism by invoking the name of the Triune God and, if one so chooses, by making the sign of the cross which was first given us in our baptism. Then, in response to a scriptural invitation to do so, we confess our sin to God our Father and ask for His pardon. The pastor reminds us of God's mercy for Jesus' sake and declares us forgiven in the name of the God who made us His children in our baptism. We begin in this way so that with "clean hands and a pure heart" we may "stand in the holy place of the Lord" (Psalm 24).

Our preparation continues with the singing of the entrance hymn while the worship leaders and the choir go to their respective places. This hymn, like all the other hymns in the service, is grounded in the theme of the day or the season.

The pastor then greets the worshipers with words similar to those used by the apostles in addressing early Christian churches (see Romans 1:7). Because worship is not a "solo" performance by the pastor, but an activity of God's people, here and elsewhere in the liturgy worshipers respond to the greeting.

This is often followed by the kyrie. In Greek, "kyrie" means "lord." in the kyrie we greet our God as people of old greeted a king when he came to their city. In a series of petitions, the pastor asks for peace and salvation for us and for the world, with the people joining in the response, "Lord, have mercy" ("kyrie eleison").

The hymn of praise often follows the kyrie and expresses our joy for the gifts, which our Lord brings. The hymn may be "This is the feast," a modern song based on the book of Revelation, or "Glory to God in the highest", based on the song the angels sang when announcing the birth of our Savior.

The prayer of the day marks the conclusion of our preparation. It is brief and focuses on the central theme of the day. Like several other prayers in the liturgy, a greeting and response in which the pastor and the people ask the Lord’s presence upon each other introduce it. A lay minister often speaks the prayer itself. We make this prayer our own by responding with "Amen."

Service of the Word

We now sit to hear the Word of God. The Word of God in Holy Scripture has always been a major element in Christian worship. Several Christian bodies, including Lutherans, use a three-year lectionary series. Three Scripture lessons are usually read interspersed with other biblical messages. The first lesson is usually a selection from the Old Testament. This is followed by a psalm that is read by the pastor and/or congregation or sung by the choir. The second lesson is usually a portion of one of the New Testament epistles. The climax of the readings is the Gospel, a selection from the books that record the words and deeds of Jesus. And so we stand for the reading of the Gospel. Each of the first three Gospels (i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke) is primarily associated with one year of the three-year cycle of lessons, while the fourth Gospel (i.e. John) is found among the readings during all three years. A lay minister usually reads the first and second lessons while the pastor reads the Gospel. The pastor often asks the worshipers to join him in reading the Gospel as a symbol of their shared ministry of the Word.

Worshipers are asked to be seated as the pastor invites the children who are present to join him in the chancel for "bible story time." The pastor then reads or shares a story from the bible and applies it to the children and their lives. This story is often related to the theme of the day or season.

Following "bible story time" worshipers sing another hymn that especially is suited to the lessons of the day and the sermon.

After this hymn, the pastor then "preaches" the sermon. The sermon is really the church's response to and interpretation of the Word of God especially the Gospel of the day. It expounds the Word and applies it to our own times and conditions.

The creed follows the sermon. It embodies the church's ancient and universal confession of faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Nicene Creed or the Apostles' Creed may be used depending on the day or season. Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession for the needs of the Church, of society, and a wide variety of individuals form a fitting conclusion to the service of the Word. These prayers vary from service to service according to the circumstances of time and place.

Service of the Sacrament

The offering of the people is gathered as the altar table is made ready for the Lord’s Supper. Offerings of money are given as an expression of love and gratitude for God's blessings. The worshipers may sing an offertory hymn or a choir selection or instrumental music may be offered. Just as Jesus offered thanks in accordance with Jewish practice when he instituted this sacrament, so we embody in our celebration of his Supper a great prayer of thanksgiving. It begins with a preface in which the pastor bids worshipers to lift their hearts to God and give thanks. Then a proper preface states the particular reason for thanksgiving appropriate to the day or season. This leads to a climax in which we join in the canticle (i.e. a "little song") "Holy, holy, holy." Here we unite with the heavenly hosts (Isaiah 6:3) and with the church on earth (Matthew 21:9) to adore God and to welcome the Savior who came for our redemption and who now comes to us in the Sacrament.

The scriptural words, which tell of Jesus’ institution of the Sacrament, are recited in order to consecrate the bread and the wine. Then we say our distinctive prayer of fellowship in Christ, the Lord's Prayer, which is here also our table prayer.

All is now ready for our communion with Christ and with one another. As the pastor, lay minister and acolyte commune, the hymn, "Lamb of God," is often sung as a confession of whom it is we are receiving and as a prayer for the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation, which he has promised to give us. Other hymns may be sung during the rest of the communion distribution, usually by the choir or by a soloist. As the elements are distributed, the pastor says, "The body of Christ given for you," and the lay minister says, "The blood of Christ shed for you." Communicants kneel and receive the bread in their open hand and take an individual cup from the tray. Non-alcoholic wine is found in the center of the tray. Empty cups are placed in the tray carried by the acolyte. Distribution continues until everyone has had an opportunity to come to the Lord’s Table. Those who are unable to come forward and who have mentioned their desire to commune to the pastor, lay minister, or usher, are then communed in their pews. Following the distribution, the pastor offers a blessing after which a post-communion hymn may be sung. Then, the lay minister offers a prayer.

The pastor then pronounces the benediction, often the Aaronic benediction from the Old Testament (Numbers 6:24-26). The lay minister speaks words of dismissal, telling us to "Go in peace. Serve the Lord" in daily life which is also worship of God. And we respond with a shout: "Thanks be to God." A last hymn is sung as the worship leaders leave.

Postservice

Worshipers are asked to be seated after the conclusion of the last hymn so that announcements may be shared. These announcements usually include an invitation to stay for refreshments and for Sunday School as well as any other announcements from the pastor or members of the congregation that are not found in the day's worship folder. After the announcements, worshipers are asked to leave the sanctuary by way of the lobby and, in so doing, greet the pastor and one another.

- By former Pastor Dave Wobrock

Historical Perspective

The Eucharistic liturgy used in the traditional form of worship in the Lutheran Church is derived from the Common Service adopted in 1888. The roots of the Common Service can be traced back through the Roman Catholic church to the worship practices of the early Christian Church (about 40 - 300 AD). The early Christian Church modified the worship practices of Jewish Synagogues to reflect the realities of the Risen Christ, the teachings of the Gospels, and the teachings of the Epistles.

"They [the first Christians] were loyal to what the apostles taught in their fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers." (Acts 2:42)

The public church worship service is really a "divine service" wherein God comes to serve His people through Word and Sacrament, especially in the context of the Divine Liturgy, which the Western Church has known for centuries. The divine service is really dynamic, as God first comes to His people through the apostles' teachings. Thus, only after God initiates our relationship with Him, do we respond through "the fellowship", e.g., praise, psalms, hymns, and confessions of faith. God then comes to serve us again through "the breaking of the bread" which refers to Holy Communion, and then after being nourished through Christ's body and blood, we are led to respond again to God through "the prayers."

Revised over the years, the worship forms used by the Lutheran Church are admired not only within our church bodies but also from outside of Lutheranism for their substance, simplicity, clarity, and effectiveness.

Web Page Last Updated: 03/23/2007