The Christian Worship Service

For about 2000 years Christians have gathered together on Sunday morning for worship. Christians worship on Sunday morning because it is the day and time that the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, was found to have risen from the dead. Christians therefore gather together to hear once again about Jesus, and to do that which He told them to do: to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

Christian worship therefore has always centered around these two things: Hearing the Word of God and celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Originally Christians worshiped in the Greek language—the language of the New Testament. As Christianity spread to Europe, Christians worshiped in Latin. Consequently, the parts of the Christian worship service came to be known by words from both of those ancient languages.

That can be confusing. But also inspiring. For the worship service of Christians is not some modern passing notion of modern-day Christians, but is anchored in the time and history of the Christian Church. And it is not simply something that is done in Spring Lake Park, but throughout Minnesota, the United States, and the entire world. The book of Revelation speaks about the worship of Christians in heaven with Jesus. So we can say that Christian worship is of world-wide significance, encompassing the past, the present and the future!

All Christian worship services have some sort of order—whether it is printed in a book, in a bulletin, projected on a screen, or simply is followed by memory. The Lutheran Church has traditionally kept to what the Christian Church has always done in order that the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues to be proclaimed, and the forgiveness of sins received through the Word of God and the sacraments.

Here at Prince of Peace the order of service is found in a hymnal that is used by over 6000 congregations in the United States which are members of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The readings that we use follow a system that is over 1000 years old, and is used by Christians churches around the world. So this morning, Christians in Africa, Asia, Australia and South America will be hearing the same readings that we will be hearing. Why? So that Christians around the world can be thinking about the same things each week throughout the year—not just on Christmas and Easter.

Why does the pastor (i.e. “shepherd,” Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 5:2) where a robe, known as an alb? The center of worship in a Lutheran congregation is not the pastor. The pastor is simply a servant of God, proclaiming to the congregation the Word of God, and administering the sacraments of God. The pastor is also a servant of the congregation, interceding before God daily for its members. The alb then notes the pastor’s role as a servant. When he faces the congregation, the pastor is serving God. When facing the altar, the pastor is serving the congregation.

The small stand to the left is the lectern, a special place for the reading of the Word of God. The pulpit on the right, is a special place for the preaching of the Word of God.

A Hymn The word hymn comes from the Bible, from the Greek ὕμνος (hymnos), which means “a song of praise.” The Bible is full of such songs of praise There is even a songbook, or a hymnal, in the Bible, and that is Psalms. Moses sang, David wrote hymns and sang, Jesus and the disciples sang, and angels sing. The Bible tells us about choirs in heaven singing praises to God. So Christians sing.  We sing to “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in [our] hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).  We sing together not simply to have an experience, but so that our hearts and minds come together around the same thoughts and ideas. So we begin with a hymn. We “serve the Lord with gladness” by coming “into His presence with singing” (Psalm 100:2).  
The Invocation When we invoke someone, we call upon them because they have authority to help and support us. The worship service begins with our calling upon God to be with us as we worship and strengthen us so that we do everything in worship in His name. Which God do we invoke? The only true God, the God into whom we were baptized, the Triune God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Cf. Matt. 28:19-20; Eph. 2:18).  
Amen          


A Hebrew word from the Old Testament, “Amen” means “Yes” and “It is true” and “I agree.” So when the congregation together says “Amen,” we are assenting to what was just spoken or sung or prayed. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 106:48).  
The Confession of Sins So the first thing we do after calling upon God to be present with us as we worship Him is to confess that we are not God, that we need His help, because not only are we creations of God, we have sinned and not done what we were created to do, that is, to love. This we confess to God and to one another. There is no distinction here between individuals. There is not a righteous person on earth who does not sin. In this regard we are all exactly the same. (I John 1:8-10; Rom. 7:14-8:4).
The Forgiveness of Sins Christ said to his disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven” (John 20:23). And so the pastor, called by the Holy Spirit to serve the members of this specific congregation with the Word of God publicly, forgives their sins publicly. But every Christian is to forgive each other privately. How many times? As many times as a person sins against us. The Christian life is expressed in the forgiveness that we receive from God through Christ and share with each other in love..

The Service of the Word

The standard Christian worship service has two parts. The first is called the service of the Word. The second is the service of the Sacrament. In the first, we hear the Word of God from Scripture. In the second, we receive the Word of God, the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. The first is for all people. The second for those who have been baptized and instructed in the Christian faith.

For the last 2000 years, the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, have been read in Christian worship. Before the time of Christ the Old Testament was read in synagogues every week. Why? The Bible is God’s Word! God speaking to man! Written down at His command for us to read and learn and inwardly digest. The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and so forms the teachings of the Christian church. It is the only rule and guide for Christian faith and life.

So normally we listen as a portion of Scripture is read from the Old Testament, and two portions read from the New Testament, one, from the letters of the apostles, and the other, from one of the gospels. We stand to hear the gospel reading, in honor of the great gift it is that is being given to us. The Service of the Word begins with a Psalm, or introit, and concludes with the sermon.

The Introit of the Day 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, or refrain, a Psalm or a series of Psalm verses, the Gloria Patri, and the antiphon repeated. (Rom. 16:27;  Eph. 3:21;  Phil. 4:20;  Rev. 1:6, 8.)    
The Kyrie Kyrie is a Greek word meaning “O Lord.” It is a cry to the Lord for help and strength (Matt. 9:27; Matt. 15:22; Matt. 20:30-31; Luke 17:13).  In ancient times, the crowds would shout “Lord, have mercy” as the King entered their town.  The church has taken over this 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 today expect and receive help from our Savior.  
The Gloria With the Gloria, or hymn of praise, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14) we praise God just as the angels did the night Jesus was born and express or joy that Jesus is our victorious Savior.  
The Salutation In the Salutation, the pastor greet us and we greet him not simply as friends or neighbors, but as Christians, in the name of the Lord (Ruth 2:4;  Luke 1:28;  II Thess. 3:16;  II Tim. 4:22).  
The Collect The main thoughts of the day are collected, or summarized, in this short prayer.   
The First Reading       The first reading is from the Old Testament. This reading usually relates to the Gospel of the day (I Tim. 4:13).    
The Choir The presence of a choir in Christian worship imitates the usage of the choirs in Jerusalem in the Old Testament for whom many of the Psalms were written. In a choir, individual voices and parts blend together to proclaim the Word of God “with one voice” (Romans 15:6).    
  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 (John 6:68; Joel 2:13).
The Second Reading The second reading is from one of the epistles (letters) in the New Testament. The epistles are the books in the New Testament from Romans to Revelation.
The Holy Gospel     The Gospel reading is a selection from the accounts of the life of our Lord recorded by the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We stand to hear the Gospel as it is a great gift to us given by God. We also sing versicles (short verses) before and after the reading of the Gospel. 
The Hymn of the Day This hymn follows the theme of the readings and prepares the congregation to hear the sermon.    
The Sermon             The pastor proclaims God’s Word and applies that word to modern life and problems.  He stresses both what God demands of us (the Law) and what God does for us through Jesus Christ (the Gospel). Insofar as the pastor proclaims what the Word of God contains, he is proclaiming to us the Word of God.  
The Creed After hearing the word of God read and proclaimed, specifically about our Lord and Savior Jesus, we confess our faith in the words of the Apostles’ or 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 (I Cor. 15:1ff; I Pet. 3:18ff; I Tim. 3:16).

Creeds are simple summations of the what the Bible teaches about who Jesus is, what Jesus did for us, and what that ultimately means for us now and for eternity. Long before Christians had Bibles, they used creeds to summarize the basic teachings of Christianity.
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 Offering     The gifts of God’s people are a response of thanksgiving for God’s blessings “as God has prospered them” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Our offerings are given to God and are used for the support of the Church here and throughout the world. They enable the Church to provide the written and spoken word of God, the administration of the sacraments, pastoral care of the sick and homebound, counseling, instruction in the Christian faith, mission work, evangelism and the education of future pastors and teachers.
The Offertory As the offerings are brought to the Lord’s table, we sing the offertory to express gratitude for all God’s blessings, rededicate ourselves to God, and request His continued blessings (Ps. 116:12, 17, 13-14, 19;  Ps. 51:10-12).
The Hymn
 
The third hymn usually reflects the themes and ideas of the Bible readings and sermon.      
The Lord’s Prayer We pray the prayer our Lord has taught us (Matt. 6:9-13).    
The Benediction The benediction, literally “good words” is a blessing spoken by the pastor to conclude the service. It is known as the “Aaronic benediction,” the blessing God first gave to Aaron and the other priests to speak to the people of Israel (Numbers 6:24-26) 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!”

Why all the Sitting and Standing?

Not just the pastor, but all Christians are priests before God. All Christians can pray. All Christians can speak to others about Christ. All Christians serve God by loving and serving others. Christians are a priesthood of all believers! So all Christians participate in worship from the very young to the very old!

Yes, the pastor has been given the responsibility of public service for decency and good order (1 Cor. 14:40). He is to be a “steward of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1-2), tasked as the elder in charge of preaching and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17).

But all Christians daily live as priests before God:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).