The Invocation (In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit)

As Christian men, women, and children, everything we do is to be done in the name of the only true God. His name was first placed upon us in our Baptism and it is in His name that we serve as ambassadors to those around us. It is a great comfort and encouragement, then, when we begin our service with a reminder of the saving waters of our Baptism and invoke the power of our loving God’s name. We are His and He is ours. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit? Amen, yes it shall be so. See Matthew 28:19:20; Romans 6.

Confession and Absolution

Reminded of our Baptism and of God’s love in the invocation, we now approach Him and confess to Him who and what we are. We are honest, knowing God already knows our sins, but also knowing that it is good and right for us to openly admit them, confident of His forgiveness and mercy. After we tell God who and what we are in and of ourselves, God then tells us who and what we are in His Son, Jesus Christ. God tells us this through the mouth of His called servant, the pastor. We may enter church as a doubting, sin-stained, and scared flock, but we leave reassured, confident, and motivated by God’s grace. See 1 John 1:8-10; James 5:16; Psalms 32 & 51; Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18; John 20:21-23.

The Sign of the Cross

One of the oldest of Christian symbols, dating back to the second century by some estimates, the sign of the cross is a powerful reminder of our Lord Jesus’ love. It was on a cross He died for our sins. It was on a cross that He first gave His body and blood, which we receive in Holy Communion. It was by Christ’s cross that God’s anger was turned to compassion. This cross was placed upon our head and our hearts at our Baptism. The sign of the cross is also a confession of the Holy Trinity. All that is true about the invocation is true of this sign as well. We remember our Baptism, we call upon God’s power to save and comfort, and we remember that we are His and He is ours. The connection of the pastor’s absolution with the sign of the cross is especially appropriate since repentance and forgiveness is really a daily reliving of our Baptism where we first died to sin and rose to life. See Galatians 6:14; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 2:14, 15.

Lord Have Mercy (Kyrie)

The Kyrie, or Lord, Have Mercy, is the first prayer of our service. In the Common Service it is included in the confession of sins. In the Service of Word and Sacrament it follows the absolution (where pastor forgives us in Christ’s place). This prayer is the cry of faith raised to heaven in the confident hope that the Lord is our help in every trial, trouble, and temptation. Really, when you think about it, the whole Christian life is one big Kyrie, as we beg God in His grace to look not upon our sin but upon sacrifice of His Son and to grant us what is best for us at that time and place. As Luther said on his death bed, “We are all beggars.” Thank God for His generous hands and abundant mercy. See Matthew 15:22; Luke 17:13; Luke 18:13.

Glory to God in the Highest (Gloria in excelsis)

Renewed and forgiven, reassured and empowered, we now burst into a song of praise to our God. One of the oldest songs of the Church—first recorded use is in the 6th century—Gloria in Excelsis is a powerful confession of who God is and what He has done. When we consider these things, how can we not praise him? While the tune may change, the text will never lose its power. What a joy to sing this song with the angels! See Luke 2:14; John 2:29.

Prayer of the Day (The Collect)

The Prayer of the Day is what the Church calls a Proper, that is, a part of the liturgy that varies from week to week, reflecting each Sunday’s theme, which is set by the Holy Gospel. As a congregation, we pray that the message of the week may take root in our hearts, that we may live what we hear, and that we may grow in our faith, especially in our faith in and understanding of the specific truth of the Gospel proclaimed that week. This prayer, like all Christian prayer, is offered to the Father through the merits of His crucified and risen Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. See John 14:6; John 16:23.

The Word

Now we dig into the Word of God together as God’s flock. The readings for each Sunday are based on a pericope, which is an organization of readings for the church year. Each Sunday, we focus on a different aspect of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, or of His rule in the Church’s early history. There are customarily three readings, the first from the Old Testament or the Book of Acts, the second from the Epistles or the Revelation of St. John, and the third from one of the four Gospels.

The Psalm of the Day

The Psalms have always been important to the Church, serving as its main prayer book throughout history. In the Psalms we pray with Christ who also prayed them diligently and fervently. We also pray to Christ, who fulfilled many of the Psalms which were written to point to His coming. The Psalm of the Day is chosen to fit with the theme of the day.

The Verse of the Day

This verse is chosen to express the theme for the day. This verse can be read, chanted by the pastor or a cantor, or sung by the choir. This verse provides a rich opportunity for our meditation throughout the entire week.

The Holy Gospel

It is the Gospel because it is the Good News of Jesus Christ; it is Holy because it is the Word of Christ Himself. The Holy Gospel sets the tone and determines the theme for the day; the Proper (the parts that change from week to week) look toward the Gospel and reflect the theme. We rise for the Holy Gospel as a special honor because the Gospels are a faithful record of what Christ Himself said and did. While all of Scripture is Christ’s Word—a revelation about Him—the Gospels are a more intimate and personal presentation of the life and teaching of our Lord. Thus, after hearing of His love and faithfulness in this reading, we appropriately reply, “Praise be to you, O Christ!

The Creed

As Christians we cannot help but confess what we believe and teach. The creeds are a faithful and beautiful explanation of just that. We can joyfully and boldly declare with Christians from the past, present, and future that we believe in one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The creeds were developed in the past to defend against false teaching and to educate those interested in learning the faith. The creeds still serve both purposes today. We traditionally use the Nicene Creed when we celebrate Holy Communion and the Apostle’s Creed when we do not. The Apostle’s Creed has also historically been the baptismal creed, which served as the basis for catechetical instruction and which the [adult] catechumen would recite at his or her baptism.

Hymn of the Day

The Hymn of the Day is the chief hymn of the worship service. It is closely tied to the Holy Gospel for the Sunday and fits well with the general theme. Often this is a hymn that is more familiar to the congregation. Many churches have a Hymn of the Day selected or suggested for each Sunday of the Church year.

Sermon

The sermon is the eyes of the liturgy. Week after week the liturgy faithfully declares law and gospel to us through its Ordinaries (the parts that stay the same) and its Proper (the parts that vary from week to week), but it cannot do what the sermon can. The sermon takes the truth of the day and applies it specifically and appropriately to the people in the pews. It takes the universal, unchanging, life-changing truths of Word and Sacrament—of the liturgy itself—and drives it home for the people. A good sermon, like the liturgical traditions we have inherited, will contain both law and gospel, properly distinguished and appropriately applied. A good sermon may not always be what we want to hear, but what we need to hear; not what the current world thought has to say, but what God has said. Feel free to talk to pastor about his sermons and

how he has done bringing God’s truth home to you.

Prayer of the Church and Lord’s Prayer

The Prayer of the Church and the Lord’s Prayer serve as the bridge between the Service of the Word and the Service of Holy Communion in our worship service. Prayer is an integral part of the Christian life and a proper preparation for and response to both the message of the Scriptures and the blessings of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The Prayer of the Church is usually a general prayer covering various aspects of our life and the needs of our society. The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer Jesus Himself has taught us; it is the ultimate model for all Christian prayer. See 6:5-14; Luke 11:2-4; 1 Timothy 2:1-6.

The Preface to the Sacrament

The Preface dialogue is one of the most ancient and universal elements of Christian worship. As we prepare to receive our Lord’s true body and blood, we lift up our hearts to God and thank Him for this gracious meal. The proper prefaces (the part after the dialogue that pastor speaks) vary according to the season of the Church year, as your hymnal notes. These seasonal phrases focus our minds on an appropriate aspect of the life of our Lord, who comes to us in this wonderful meal. Those not receiving Holy Communion are invited to meditate on the words they hear, the hymns they sing, and the promise that they too receive the same forgiveness of sins as the communicants through their faith in Jesus Christ. If you are a visitor and interested in communing in the future, please speak to the pastor about any necessary preparation and instruction before approaching the altar.

Holy, Holy, Holy (Sanctus and Benedictus)

Taken from Isaiah chapter 6, the Sanctus is the song of the angels in the presence of the exalted Lord. It is a song we do well to learn now since we will have the joy of joining their chorus in everlasting life. The Benedictus (“Blessed is He who comes”) is verse 26 from Psalm 118. The crowds greeted Jesus with this Psalm on Palm Sunday (Luke 19:38). We too appropriately greet him with the same song as He comes to us with that same body and blood with which He entered Jerusalem to die in our place. It is because our exalted Lord is risen and victorious that we can now receive His living body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. Knowing what blessings shall soon grace our lips, how can those same lips not shout, “Holy, holy, holy Lord God of heavenly hosts; heaven and earth are full of your glory” and “Hosanna,” Hebrew for “Lord, save us”?

The Words of Institution

Without the Words of Institution, there is no Lord’s Supper. It is Christ’s Word, joined with bread and wine, which gives this Sacrament its power and attaches his promise to the elements. Christ, on the night He was betrayed, instituted this Sacrament as yet another way of saying “I love you” and “You are forgiven” to His flock on earth. His words give us the reassurance that what we receive is what He says it is: His very body and blood, given for us, that we may receive forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. These words, spoken clearly by the pastor, consecrate the bread and wine for use in the sacrament, remind us all of what we receive, and tell us all why we are receiving them (“given for you” and “poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins” “in remembrance of Me”). See Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-2.

O Christ, Lamb of God (Agnus Dei)

The first official use of the Agnus Dei, as far as we know, dates back to the early 8^th century. It was in common use, however, for centuries earlier. It was used as the host was broken into enough small pieces for all the communicants. It was sung for as long as necessary. It is taken from the words of St. John the Baptist in John 1:29. In the Agnus Dei, we adore the risen Christ who is coming to us with His saving body and blood.

The Words of Distribution

If you listen carefully during the distribution of Holy Communion, you will hear the pastor speaking words to the members receiving Christ’s body and blood. These words, although they vary, usually reinforce the fact that what they are receiving is Christ’s true body and blood. These words have become important throughout the years as some have denied the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper. After Communion, the pastor dismisses the communicants (those receiving communion) with a blessing.

The Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis)

Simeon first sang this song after seeing the baby Jesus in the Temple. In Christ, Simeon recognized and praised the blessed fulfillment of God’s saving promise, first made in the Garden of Eden. The song appears in Luke 2:29-32. We too can sing this marvelous song of praise and thanks with Simeon for we also have seen the Lord’s salvation in Word and Sacrament and received tangible proof that God keeps His promises: Christ’s life-giving body and blood.

The Benediction

Luther introduced the Aaronic blessing into our worship service. Before that various blessings may have been used and many times there were no blessings at all. This blessing is take from Numbers 6:22-27. This was the blessing with which the LORD told Moses to have Aaron bless the Israelites. The Christian Church is the new Israel, the people of God, and it is only fitting that they are blessed in this way as well. As believing children of the heavenly Father, we leave the service confident of God’s mercy, grace, love, and blessing.

For more reading online, the following link will take you to an excellent audio file in two parts about the way we worship: http://www.wlsessays.net/node/2047 and http://www.wlsessays.net/node/2048.

As you can see what you believe will impact how you worship and how you worship will impact what you believe. Belief and worship are totally interconnected. Here are some books that may guide you in your study of what we believe and how we worship.