Lutheran Worship

It's been a challenging week, and you're off to church. What do you need there? A friendly and caring atmosphere? Encouragement and power so you can leave behind last week's failures and move confidently into a new week? To be connected to something far bigger and better than your daily life?

Lutheran worship meets these needs because it is saturated with the gospel, the good news of God's love in Christ. This message is far more than information; it is also “the power of God.” (Romans 1:16)

Of course, God’s divine power does nothing if we think our week has been “good enough” for a perfect God. Lutheran worship does not minimize the reality of sin and its consequences. It emphasizes it. We come before God’s altar confessing our many and varied sins, our sins of habit and sins of choice. We humbly admit our sinfulness and beg for God’s forgiveness. Then God grants us the only antidote for our sin – His love and forgiveness through His Son’s sacrifice on the cross.

The dominant message is not our sin and failure, but it is God’s forgiveness and encouragment. Lutheran worship applies this transforming power and gospel focus within the framework of the historic and timeless Christian liturgy. We follow the calendar of the Christian church year for its annual review of the life, work and teachings of Jesus and then apply those events to our lives.

Old Testament, Psalm, Epistle and Gospel lessons teach us both the bad news of the failures of God’s people and the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. The sermon is God’s message to His people, not the pastor’s opinion or agenda. The Lord’s Supper is the special way that God comes to His people personally with forgiveness and grace.

Our worship is filled with God’s Word and teachings. We respond with praise, prayers and songs. Lutheran worship is two-dimensional: directed to God and to each other. It is a conversation. God speaks to us in His Word and Sacraments. We speak to Him with our prayers and hymns. This worship has been time-tested for millennia. This is the worship you need as you begin another week.

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