Part I -- Introduction

It may have been a long time since we attended Catechism or for that matter, some may have found an occasion to sleep through the portion of instruction that discussed our worship service format. In any event, we would like to reexamine our traditional worship customs and why we do what we do during a service. Our intent is not simply to inform you as to what our worship service includes; but to include a brief description of its significance, purpose, and why we do what we do. If we come upon a word that looks strange, we will try and give you a definition and possibly a source for it.

If you have a question, please ask the Pastor or any one of the Elders. They would be more than happy to walk you through our customs and why. If you think our service is dull or blurred ask. Knowledge and understanding just seems to make sense when you watch that mustard seed grow!

Our sources for this series come from scripture, our own Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod Lutheran Worship Hymnal and from others who have carried on our customs and traditions by writing them down in various books and pamphlets. Some of the later authors include Martin Luther, John Kleinig, Walter M. Schoedel and David W. Christian.

We employ in the worship of God the ancient liturgy (a rite or body of rites prescribed for public worship) of the Christian Church because we believe that the liturgical worship of the Old Testament indicates that God is pleased with ceremonial worship when it is genuine and proceeds from faith.

Although the New Testament contains no liturgical laws, the church's worship during the first sixteen centuries was very definitely ceremonial. As proof of the fact, we need only examine the writings and liturgical records, which have come down to us from ancient and medieval church. Martin Luther said “ . . .The worship in the New Testament Church is on a higher plane than that of the Old; the psalmist refers to this fact when he says: 'Sing unto the Lord a new song, sing unto the Lord all the earth.' For God has made our hearts and spirits happy through His dear Son, whom He has delivered up that we might be redeemed from sin, death, and the devil. He who believes this sincerely and earnestly cannot help but be happy; he must cheerfully sing and talk of what Christ has wrought for us, . . the New Testament, is an era of joy.”

We believe sincere Christians will find that the historic liturgy of our church has the exciting ability to lift the human spirit to new heights of spiritual reality, beauty and power. Those who never receive or transmit the word of God through worship will be spiritually frustrated and unfulfilled.

Our services have two distinct elements.

First, THE ORDINARY is the fixed framework containing the parts of the liturgy, which remains the same from service to service. If you look at any of our Divine Services, the words for the individual portions are exactly the same for that particular service each and every time.

Next THE PROPERS are the parts of the service which change with each Sunday and Festival such as the Introit, Collect, Epistle, Gradual, and Gospel. They set the theme of the particular service. They usually determine the subject matter of the music, the hymns, and the sermon.

Our next section will begin discovery of the three major sections of a Lutheran worship, each with Ordinary elements and some with Proper elements.