The Prelude. To come into God's presence for worship is a great privilege and a serious matter. You do well to prepare yourself. Take time before the service for private meditation on the propers for the day and for prayer. The music helps draw us into an attitude of prayer and praise. In congregations with bells, the ringing of the bells is the call to God's people "to enter [the Lord's] gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise." (Psalm 100:4). Thus, when we hear the prelude music begin, we should show respect for our Lord as well as others in their preparation by finishing any business or fellowship in the narthex and quietly move into the sanctuary for our own preparation.

A Hymn of Invocation. We are a "singing church," so we follow the advice of the apostle Paul to "teach and admonish one another . . . [in] psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16). This hymn may be one of praise, prayer, or reflection on the season of the church year.

The Invocation. We call upon God to be present with us. We worship the triune God, remembering our Baptism in His name. Amen means, "so be it; it is true!" Therefore, after the opening hymn, the pastor goes to the foot of the sanctuary and pronounces the Invocation. "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." This is the name of the triune God. But it is more than an identification mark. God's name is a power, which brings God to the scene of our worship as Jesus promised, "Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

As our rubrics (rules for the conduct of religious worship) indicate. You may make the sign of the cross at these words.
But we do not amble into God's presence as if we had a natural right to be there. Our sin has locked the door and blocked the way. Only God can break through this barrier with the Cross of His Son. So, now, confronting the high and holy God, we confess our sins and plead for God's grace, sure of His answer because of the death of Jesus. Then the Pastor, with the power of the office of the keys given by God, speaks the Word of God's forgiveness to the penitent people. Our hymnal contains three forms of confession and absolution or declaration of forgiveness, that for the Communion, the service without Communion and the Confessional service.

The Confession of Sins. We examine ourselves and publicly confess our sins. Such confession at the beginning of the service provides a climate of acceptance. In spite of our sins, God accepts us, and in turn we can accept each other.
Strictly speaking our service has not yet begun and we are still preparing for worship. God is present. We are human beings. We are suddenly conscious of our overwhelming unworthiness to request anything from God. So we confess our sins.