The Liturgy

I love the Liturgy! Now some of you might be saying, "Why, its so boring?" Others may be saying, "Yeah thats just what youve known your whole life." Still others may be saying, "you just really dont like contemporary ways of worship so the liturgy is the only thing left."

So why do I love the Liturgy so much? What makes it so special? Its Biblical! The entire thing a biblical way of worshiping. Now, lets break down the liturgy. Because it is what I have been using most recently I'm going to use Divine Service I (DSI)

The liturgy is broken up into three parts: The Preperation, The Service of the Word and The Service of the Sacrament.


The Preperation

The Preperation begins with the Prelude. The Prelude is a musical peice that helps draw us into an atitude of prayer and praise.

Ringing of the bells - The ringing of the bells calls God's people "to enter the lord's gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4).

A hymn of invocation is sung - This hymn is one of praise, prayer, or reflection on the season of the church year. We are a "singing church" so here we follow the advice Paul gives us in Colossians 3:16 "..As you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.."

The Invocation - During the Invocation we call upon God to be with us. It shows our worship of the Triune God and helps us to remember our Baptism in His name. (Matthew 18:20, 28:19)

The Confession of Sins - We examine ourselves and publicly confess our sins. Confession at the beginning of the service creates a climate of acceptance. In spite of our sins, we are accepted by God.
I John 1:8-10 "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins adn purify us from all unrighteousness."

Absolution - Jesus said to his disciples, "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven" (John 20:23). The pastor speaks for God and announces God's cleansing forgiveness to those who made confession. Again here the Trinity is mentioned as forgiving us.


The Service of the Word

The Introit- Introit in Latin means "he enters into." The Introit is a part of a psalm or a hymn that announces the theme of the day and begins the Service of the Word. The Introit traditionally consists of an Antiphon(refrain), a psalm, the Gloria Patri, and the Antiphon is repeated.
Romans 16:27 "To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen."

The Kyrie - Kyrie in Greek means "O Lord." It is a cry to the Lord for help and strength. In ancient times, the crowds would shout "Lord, have mercy" as the King entered their town. The church has taken over his prayer to greet its King Jesus Christ in the church service. As the people so long ago expected help from their King, so we Christians expect help from our Savior.
Matthew 20:31 "..Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"

The Hymn of Praise - The hymn of Praise give the congregation the opportunity to praise God and express joy because Jesus is our victorious Savior. During Advent and Lent, the hymn of praise is omitted. ('This is the feast' would fall under the Hymn of Praise also)
Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

The Salutaion - In the Salutation, the pastor and the congregation great each other in the Lord's name.
Ruth 2:4 "The Lord be with you, The Lord bless you they called back"
Luke 1:28 "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

The Collect - The main thoughts of the day are collected, or summarized in this short prayer.

The First Lesson - The first reading is from the Old Testament, except during the Easter season when it is from the Book of Acts. This reading usually relates to the Gospel of the day.

The Gradual - Gradual means "step" in latin. It is a scripture passage for each season of the church year. It is a response to the First Lesson and a bridge to the Second Lesson. Sometimes a psalm is sung or spoken.

The Second Lesson -The second reading is from one of the epistles (letters) in the New Testament.

The Verse - A verse from the holy scriptures is usually sung in preparation for the reading of the Gospel. There are general verses as well as specific verses for the seasons of the church year. (In DS I it is just Alleluia, Alleluia. But the one in DS II comes from John 6:68 "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.")

The Holy Gospel -The Gospel Lesson is a selection from the accounts of the life of our Lord recorded by the four evangelists, St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John. Because Christ is with us in the Gospel reading, we stand to honor his presence. We also sing versicles (short verses) before and after the reading of the Gospel. On certain festival days the minister may read the Gospel while standing among the people (in the center). He may be accompanied by torches who proclaim Jesus and his word as the "light of the world" and a processional cross.

The Creed - After hearing the word of God read and proclaimed, the worshiper responds with his confession of faith in the words of the Nicene Creed. It is customary for the Nicene Creed to be spoken when Holy Communion is celebrated and on major festivals. The Apostles' Creed is used at other times.
1 Corinthians 15:1 "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand."

The Hymn of the Day - This hymn follows the theme of the readings and set the stage for the sermon.

The Sermon - The Pastor proclaims God's Word. He stresses both what God demands of us (the Law) and what God does for us through Jesus Christ (the Gospel).

The Offering - The gifts of God's people are a response to God's blessings "as God has prospered them" (1 Corinthians 16:2). Our offerings are for the support of the church. They enable the church to provide the written and spoken word of God, Christian education, and pastoral care, food, clothing, shelter, and a helping hand to those in need.

The Offertory - As the offerings are brought to the Lord's table, the worshipers sing the offertory to express gratitude for all God's blessings, dedicate themselves to God, and request His continued blessings.
Pslam 51:10-12 "Create in me a pure heart O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation adn grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

The Prayers - This prayer in the service follows the directive of the Apostle Paul to young Timothy, a pastor: "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for Kings and all those in authority, that we may live in peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." I Tim 2:1-2


The Service of Holy Communion

The Preface - Preface means "introduction." The pastor and people get ready to celebrate the Holy Meal by greeting each other and with an exhortation as how to celebrate the meal.
Lamentations 3:41 "Let us lift up our heartsand our hands to God in heaven"

The Common Preface - These words state why we should give thanks using words and ideas appropriate for the season of the church year.

The Sanctus - Sanctus is Latin meaning "Holy." The Sanctus contains words from Isaiah's vision of God (Isaiah 6:3) and the crowd's response on Palm Sunday when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9). We join them in spirit by singing their words as we anticipate Christ’s coming in the sacrament.

The Lord's Prayer - We pray to God as our Father using the prayer he taught us. (Matthew 6:9ff)

The Words of Institution - The pastor speak/chants the words which Jesus spoke when He instituted the Supper with His disciples in the Upper Room. With these words the bread and wine are consecrated, that is, set apart for God's use in the special meal. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20.)

The Peace - The greetings of peace which Jesus spoke on the first Easter is shared before we approach the altar to receive Him. In the Lord's Supper, the body and blood of Christ are truly present in, with, and under the bread and wine. ( John 14:27; John 20:19-21.)

The Agnus Dei - Agnus Dei is a Latin phrase meaning "Lamb of God." John the Baptist spoke these words as he pointed to Jesus coming toward him (John 1:29). As Christ comes to us in the Holy Supper, we recognize him as the Lamb of God sacrificed for us to free us from the bondage of sin and death.

The Administration of the Supper - As we kneel at the Lord's Table, the pastor invites us, "Take, eat; this is the true body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, given into death for your sins. Take, drink, this is the true blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, shed for the forgiveness of your sins." After we receive the Sacrament we hear the comforting words spoken by the pastor, "The body and blood of our Lord strengthen and preserve you in the true faith to life everlasting." We respond, "Amen," for this is our sincere desire. Its is a good practice to offer a silent prayer of thanks when we return to our pews. While the meal is being distributed, the congregation and/or the choir sing hymns.

The Post-Communion Canticle - "Lord, now let Your servant go in peace," or an appropriate hymn is sung. The purpose is to offer our thanks and express our faith in what God has done for us and promised to do for us in the future.
Luke 2:29- 32 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for the revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Isreal."

Post-Communion Collect - Once again we express our appreciation to our gracious God for giving us this Holy Meal through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Psalms 107:1 "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good his love endures forever"

The Benidiction - The benediction spoken by the pastor is the Aaronic benediction, the blessing God first gave to Aaron and the other priests to speak to thew people of Israel. Jesus Christ, our High Priest, has come to us in a special way through this Holy Meal. The blessing is God's promise that Christ will go with us as we leave the church and return to the world to serve Him. We sing "Amen" to affirm the blessing; "So be it -- it is true!" (Numbers 6:23-27)



So there you have it the Liturgy, the biblical way to worship. I would add a hymn but I doubt that many of you have even made it this far.