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Table of Contents
WHAT IS DIVINE SERVICE?
At St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church we are a liturgical
congregation, we continue to use traditional liturgies for our
worship services. Our liturgies are not man-made, but are given to
us from the Holy Scriptures and put to music. Some liturgies have
been used in our church for some time, others are rather new,
however; all our liturgies are approved by the Commission on Worship
of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.
We also continue to have a rich tradition of hymn singing in our
church.
St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church continues to be Christocentric (centers
around Christ). We focus on the work of the Savior Jesus Christ, His life, His
death, His resurrection and His Ascension into heaven. Our hymns continue to
lift up Christ and all that he continues to do by His vicarious atonement. We
are not an anthropocentric (centers around man) church, we do not focus on man
and his decision or right living in our music or liturgy. We believe that our
Divine Service reflects our rich Lutheran heritage, but also reflects our
theology and beliefs.
Our Divine Service is not a passive event where you watch skits and plays,
nor is it a service that entertains you, but an active service. God gives His
Word and Sacrament and we respond with prayer and hymns of thanksgiving.
The Divine Service is separated in three parts, The Preparation, The Service
of the Word, and The Service of the Sacrament.
The Preparation is the time to remember our Baptismal promise as we hear the
words of the Pastor, pronouncing the Triune God, "In the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit." We then continue with pleading our
unworthiness and sinfulness before God, announcing that we have sinned and
fallen short in though, word, and deed, but what we have done and what we have
failed to do. However, God in His mercy shows us His grace by the
pronouncement of our forgiveness; once again we hear the words that remind us
of our Baptism and the forgiveness given in the Water and Word.
The Service of the Word is the presentation of the Holy Scriptures, we have
a reading from the Old Testament, the Epistle and the Gospel. We are reminded
through the readings of the day that God has and will always be with His
people. We also hear from the Word that all Scripture directs us to the Savior
Jesus Christ. The focus of this is culminated in the preaching of a sermon,
that centers on Law and Gospel preaching. The hearers will hear words of
condemnation and sin, but will be strengthened in hearing the Good News that
Christ has given His life for you and has redeemed us as poor miserable
sinners and prepared a place for us in His heavenly Kingdom.
The Service reaches the climax in the celebration of The Sacrament of the
Altar. Here the congregation joins together to receive the means of grace at
the communion rail. As Biblical people we believe that Christ is in, with, and
under the bread and wine. We reject the belief that this is a symbolic or
memorial meal. We heed the Word of the Scripture to take and eat, take and
drink, this is the body and blood of Jesus. Here in the Sacrament we come
together as God's people, as members who have been baptized and confirmed in
the Lutheran Church, who share in our confession of faith, who desire the
confession of all their sins and believe in the real presence of Jesus in this
meal.
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WHAT IS LUTHERAN SERVICE?
Why does our Lord gather us for worship?
The most precious gifts and treasures our Lord gives us are His forgiveness,
life and salvation. Through His innocent life and bitter sufferings and death,
Christ has purchased and won us from sin, death and the devil. Through Jesus
Christ, all the sins of the world were paid for and the wrath of God was
appeased. Christ has reconciled the whole world to God. Jesus Christ serves us
again and again as His Gospel is proclaimed, as His people are baptized and as
His Word is read. He serves us as His forgiveness is pronounced and penitents
absolved. He serves us as He gives us His body and blood under the bread and
wine to eat and to drink. This is how our Lord gives us forgiveness, life, and
salvation. What a blessing it is to be called and gathered for worship by our
good and gracious God!
What is at the heart and center of Lutheran
worship?
Lutheran worship puts the focus squarely on Jesus Christ, who is present for
us and with us through His Word and Sacraments. Lutheran worship is,
therefore, Christ-centered, not man-centered. When we are gathered for
worship, we are not contemplating some far-off Christ or meditating on
abstract concepts, or pondering various principles for living. Neither are we
in church to be amused or entertained. Christ is living and active among us,
right where He has promised to be in His Word and Sacraments. Jesus said, “Lo,
I am with you always, to the very end of the age”(Matt.18:20).When He gathers
us around His Word and Sacraments, He fulfills this promise to us once again.
What is the basic pattern or “rhythm” of
Lutheran worship?
Here is how our hymnal Lutheran Worship describes it: Our Lord speaks and we
listen. His Word bestows what it says. Faith that is born from what is heard
acknowledges the gifts received with eager thankfulness and praise. ...Saying
back to Him what He has said to us, we repeat what is most true and sure.
...The rhythm of our worship is from Him to us, and then from us back to Him.
He gives His gifts, and together we receive and extol them. We build one
another up as we speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
What does “Divine Service” mean?
Historically, the phrase used to describe Lutheran worship is Divine
Service. This helps us understand the rhythm of worship—that it is first and
foremost God serving us with His gifts, and then our service to Almighty God
in thanksgiving and praise for all He has done. This rhythm of God giving His
gifts and our giving Him thanks is conveyed aptly in the term, Divine Service.
The Divine Service is a “holy” time, meaning a time “set apart.” It is a time
to be set apart from the workaday world—a time to spend with our Lord. Indeed,
in the Divine Service we are gathered together in the presence of the holy,
almighty, ever-living God, and thus we are part of a time of “heaven on
earth,” as our Lord forgives our sins and gives us new life today, and eternal
salvation with Him forever. This understanding of the Divine Service explains
why many who experience Lutheran worship for the first time describe it as
dignified, reverent and sacred.
What does Lutheran worship look and sound like?
Lutherans use orders of service common throughout the history of the Western
church. The two main parts of the Divine Service are (1) the proclamation of
the Word of God, and (2) the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Other orders of
service used in the Lutheran church feature a more extended service of the
Word as well as times of prayer, such as the services of Matins and Vespers,
Morning and Evening Prayer, Compline, and the Litany.
In Lutheran services, pastors and congregations
sing or speak the liturgy back and forth or together. Congregational singing
of hymns has always been a hallmark of Lutheran worship. The best of musical
traditions, both ancient and modern, are embraced by the Lutheran church in
its worship, with an emphasis on congregational singing, reinforced by the
choir. Our pastors wear special clothing called vestments. These garments
cover the individuality of the man and emphasize the sacred duties of the
office he has been given to carry out. Throughout the course of the church
year, an appointed order of readings and prayers helps the congregation focus
on the major events in the life of Christ and how those events affect us
today. Preaching, usually based on the appointed lessons, is a hallmark of
Lutheran worship, distinguished by a clear presentation of God’s Law and
Gospel.
Lutherans may stand,bow or kneel at various
points in the service to express reverence and devotion to the almighty Triune
God.Pastors make the sign of the cross over the people, and the people may
sign themselves with the cross at various times as well.
Lutheranism has continued to make use of
beautiful ecclesiastical art such as statues of Jesus, the apostles, and other
important figures in the Bible or church history.You will find in many
Lutheran churches altars, candles, paintings, statues, crucifixes, symbols,
stained-glass windows, processional crosses, banners, and other forms of art
and decoration. All of these lend beauty, dignity and reverence to the
service. They help us to focus our attention on Christ and His gifts. Some
Lutheran churches are elaborately decorated and richly ornamented. Others are
more plainly adorned. We make no fixed rules about such things. We rejoice in
our Christian freedom to use all manner of reverent artwork and decoration to
glorify and praise God.
How does Lutheran worship reflect Lutheran
theology?
How a church conducts its worship is a reflection of what it believes,
teaches and confesses. It is difficult, therefore, to retain the substance of
Lutheran theology while at the same time embracing non-Lutheran styles of
worship. It is important to remember that Martin Luther sought to reform—not
to reinvent— the church and its worship. Luther knew that the Gospel was the
heart and center of the Divine Service. He changed only what contradicted or
diminished the Gospel. Luther never did away with faithful, Gospel-centered
and historic worship practices and ceremonies of the church.
Why are common orders of service in our Synod
such a blessing?
There are two extremes to be avoided in answering this question. The one
extreme would be the view that every congregation can do whatever it wishes,
however it wishes, without any regard for the other congregations of our
confessional fellowship. The opposite extreme would be the view that everyone
in the church must do precisely the same thing every Sunday, without any
deviation, variety, change or difference.
Neither of these extremes is appropriate or
acceptable, and certainly not Lutheran.
Our Synod has always been concerned that—for
the good of the church—uniformity in liturgical practices be maintained so
that we confess our distinct, unique Lutheran faith boldly in a country where
our church is surrounded by so many non-Lutheran churches. Uniformity in
doctrine is reflected in uniformity in practice.Our Synod’s first president,
Dr.C.F.W.Walther,had this to say about the value of uniformity in worship
practices:
We are not insisting that there be uniformity
in perception or feeling or taste among all believing Christians— neither dare
anyone demand that all be minded as he. Nevertheless, it remains true that the
Lutheran liturgy distinguishes Lutheran worship from the worship of other
churches to such an extent that the houses of worship of the latter look like
lecture halls in which the hearers are merely addressed or instructed, while
our churches are in truth houses of prayer in which
Christians serve the great God publicly before the world. Someone may
ask,“What would be the use of uniformity of ceremonies? ”We answer, “What is
the use of a flag on the battlefield? Even though a soldier cannot defeat the
enemy with it, he nevertheless sees by the flag where he belongs.” We ought
not to refuse to walk in the footsteps of our fathers.
But isn’t Lutheran worship German?
Sometimes we hear people conclude that because the Lutheran Reformation
began in Germany, Lutheran worship must, therefore, be German. This is a very
common misunderstanding. The fact of the matter is that Lutheran worship
throughout history has included hymns, canticles and orders of service that
find their origins in the early Christian worship of the Near East and even
further back to the worship of the Jewish synagogue as it developed from
ancient Jewish temple worship. Thus, Lutheran worship is rooted in thousands
of years of tradition and reflects the contributions of many ethnic groups:
African, Asian, Middle-Eastern, Spanish, Greek, Italian, French, German, and
American as well. It is definitely not the case that Lutheran worship is
German.
Conclusion
As we find ourselves being gathered by our Lord for worship at the dawn of
this new millennium, we realize that we join our song with angels, archangels
and all the company of heaven from millennia past who are gathered before the
Lamb upon His throne and worship Him both day and night. As our Lord gathers
us for worship Sunday after Sunday, we join the entire company of heaven in
praising our good and gracious God. The saints on earth and the saints in
heaven praise Him who is the beginning and the end, the first and the last,
the Alpha and Omega, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the
Holy Spirit reigns as one God, world without end.
“To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Rev.5:13).
— Dr. A.L. Barry
President
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
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