Lord God, heavenly Father: We beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not exalt ourselves, but humbly fear Thee, with our whole hearts hear and keep Thy word, and hallow the Lord's day, that we also may be hallowed by Thy word; help us, first, to place our hope and confidence in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who alone is our righteousness and Redeemer, and, then, so to amend and better our lives in accordance with Thy word, that we may avoid all offenses and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy grace in Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God. world without end. Amen.
The Christ-Centered Liturgy
KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
My family attended the Disciples of Christ congregation in Moline. The members would make remarks about "not being Catholic" and not liking the liturgy, but the entire service was the same each week, each section broken up by "The ritual of..." and "The ritual of".... So they were liturgical in their own feeble way.
I got out of the family car one morning and began crossing the street to Salem Lutheran Church, where a friend attended. "Where are you going?" my mother asked. I told her - many years later, both of my parents were Lutheran.
A long-time friend and reader asked me to discuss the liturgy, and this Sunday is a good time to begin, especially with Lutherans remembering Luther's 500th anniversary in their own feeble way.
The most basic description of the liturgy is - Christ-centered. The liturgy is not Lutheran, Catholic, Eastern Orthodoxy, or Episcopal. The origins are Judaism and Jewish worship, because the entire Old Testament is a preparation for the Gospel and is therefore full of Gospel Promises and Blessings.
Therefore, the purpose of the liturgy is not to entertain or to recruit, but to convey Christ and His forgiveness to everyone present. The Word of God does this, through the work of the Holy Spirit. Whatever is faithful to the Scriptures serves as an instrument, a means to bring Christ to us.
The term we use, as shorthand, is the Means of Grace. The invisible Word of teaching and preaching is based upon Christ and His forgiveness of sin. He is already our righteousness, but that righteousness or forgiveness is not ours until we receive it in faith. We need to have this faith in Him sustained because we quickly grow cold to the Gospel and forget it altogether when we that spiritual renewal.
The Hymns
Paul urged Christians to be full of the Spirit - that is the Word - by speaking Psalms to each other, singing hymns and spiritual songs. Hymns, according to Luther, are liking praying twice. They are a form of prayer, and when we sing them, our soul prays with us. The Holy Spirit within believers helps each Christian to pray, sing, and listen. Good hymns are about Christ - praising Him, praying to Him, thanking Him.
The Creeds
The Three Ecumenical (Universal) Creeds are ancient. We do not even know the origins of the Apostles Creed. The Nicene Creed was fashioned during an enormous conflict over the Natures of Christ. The Athanasian Creed came even later. The Creeds are not Scripture but are what we express as the lessons of the Bible about the Holy Trinity. They are traditional, handed down over the ages, and tradition is the "democracy of the dead." We repeat the Creeds with reverence and awe because we are confessing these truths with millions of believers, past and present. Just as good food and protein strengthens our physical bodies, the Creeds strengthen our faith, warding off temptations to grow slack or to join the factions that use and abuse the Scriptures for their own purposes.
When I say the Creed, whether leading or participating, I see myself surrounding by a great cloud of witnesses from the past and those today who believe the same thing - a vast congregation of believers speaking about what unites them.
The Confession of Sin
The purpose of the confession of sin is to have a formal recognition of our sinful nature and an absolution. The modern solution for all troubles is self-esteem - man-centered. But healing does not come from praising ourselves, but from confession and forgiveness.
The Two Glorias
The Chief Article of the Christian Religion is Justification by Faith, so we recognize that with admitting our sinful nature and hearing the basis for forgiveness - not how sorry we feel, but what Christ has done for us, on our behalf.
This is re-emphasized in the little Gloria, the Gloria Patri, and the great Gloria, the Gloria in Excelsis.
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is no small matter. This is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures and taught throughout. What we are often disturbed or confused about is based on our faith in the Biblical doctrine of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
What is God really like? That is answered by Jesus, especially in the Gospel of John, where He repeatedly teaches us that the Father's will is His will, that His love for us is the Father's love, Who also loves us for loving the Son. The Spirit reveals this to us and helps us all our needs and in prayer. A faithful sermon cannot be given without the Spirit, and the Spirit helps us in hearing the Gospel and retaining its meaning.
Through the Spirit in the Word we are forgiven our sins each and every day.
Appointed Readings
There are a number of ancient appointed readings. The Jews used them in their worship. Liturgical churches use them so we do not rotate around a few favorite passages. We use the historic ones, which Luther used. He sometimes complained about them but also realized they force us to consider difficult passages, which are no longer so difficult once we understand them.
The Sermon
Luther recognized the sermon as the supreme work of the Christian Church. If the ministers stick to teaching the Scriptures - verse by verse - the pastors and the congregations grow in their knowledge of the Gospel and also resist the temptations of false doctrine.
Pastor means "shepherd" in Latin, so that means both the feeding of the sheep with the Gospel and also protecting them against false teachers.
The purpose of the sermon is to proclaim the true nature of Christ and the meaning of His forgiveness. It is the key element is building trust in the Savior.
Luther's sermon notes were so good from 500 years ago that they are on target now, as many have discovered from working with them and reading them.
Holy Communion
Just as preaching and teaching are the invisible Word, the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion are the visible Word. Communion is the norm for Sundays and for special celebrations, such as Ascension Day. It says a lot when a "mission" congregation does not have an Ascension Day service because the audience might be small.
The value of Holy Communion is its re-enactment of the Last Supper and the individual reception of the Body and Blood of Christ. Those who dislike the Means of Grace ask, "Why do many? God does not need so many!" But the Sacraments were given to us and for us, not from God's need but for our needs. We experience more meaning in the visible elements, which are powerful through the Word.
The Votum - means prayer, from St. Paul. The Gospel gives us the peace (of forgiveness) that passes all understanding.
The Benediction
The Benediction is verbatim from the Bible. It is God's Word. If the Trinity did not already exist, why do we say "The Lord" three times? This spoken benediction is God blessing us. The words should be listened to and appreciated for what they are - God speaking directly to us.
The Seven Ones
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
This passage expresses the true unity of the Christian Church, which includes all those who trust only in Christ for their salvation. The sectarians, who want to promote their own ideas, are shocked that the Christian Church splintered so early. That is because it was necessary to separate the bad leaven from the good. Even today people are shocked at Biblical teachings, moving on to rationalism, radicalism, and total atheism. We do do not leave wormy flour with the good flour, but remove the buggy food so that the good ingredients remain instead of being spoiled.
Christ Always Comes To Us Through the Word
Jesus our Savior always comes to us through the Word. This week I was teaching the Old Testament students how often the Savior is found in the Books of Moses. The whole class came alive realizing they were not just reading ancient history, but also viewing the foundation of the Christian Church, with Jesus clearly being taught here, there, everywhere - the Burning Bush (Two Natures, John 8), the blood of the lamb sparing them from the death of their sons, the Passover Lamb, the manna from heaven (John 6), the healing serpent lifted up (John 3), the water from the rock (John 4) and so forth.
An abundance of the Word means an abundance of forgiveness, blessings, comfort, trust in God's goodness - the peace that passes all understanding.
