Lutheran Worship is Reverent



Two quotes regarding Lutheran worship:

"The Lutheran Church has a rich legacy to offer in its worship. Here is reality, not symbolism. Here we have real contact with God; not as we come to Him, but as He comes to us. He meets us in the proclamation of the Word. Here the Son of God distributes His actual body and blood for the assurance of the forgiveness of sins. Here the people of God gather to offer their thanks, their praise, and their prayers. This is the real thing!

"...People are longing for God. Where will they find Him? In the shifting sands of the inner life or on the solid rock of the Word of His Gospel? How are they to offer Him their thanks and praise? With trivial methods borrowed from the entertainment industry or in worship forms which focus on the praise of God's gracious glory? This is the kind of worship that lifts the heart while it exalts Christ! And this is what Lutheran worship does." (Harold Senkbeil, Sanctification, NPH)

"In a changing world the liturgical service offers changelessness -- 1800 years of it! ... Among people who are searching for roots the service offers a tie to the past. To people who are terrified of the future the service looks ahead to the next generation of worshipers. In a society of causual carelessness the service brings dignity. ... The historic form of the the Christian Church ... does not speak of nuclear power or the arms race or Ethiopia's starving masses, but about sin, grace, forgiveness, life, and heaven. The service is timeless and common; it wants to be so. And thereby it puts the mature believer for one hour each week into a setting which reminds him that his relationship with Christ is also timeless and uncommon. The Sunday service with its historic order has nothing to do with earth -- and neither does the worshiper. And yet, as he comes before the throne of God he receives power to live on his earth as God would have him live." (Professor James Tiefel, A Twentieth Century Look at Worship)

Lutheran worship is reverant. Lutheran worship is also familiar. There is balance in our Lutheran worship service. We come into God's presence and we are reverant in the way we dress, our actions of standing or kneeling or bowing our heads, our hymns and spiritual songs that focus more on what God has done for us than on how we feel about God.

But Lutheran worship is also familiar in how we approach God. We can dress comfortably, smile and laugh in the sermon or children's devotion, and feel good about our relationship with God.

It is reverance and imminence in balance. When Moses saw the Lord in the burning bush, he was able to approach the Lord, but he was also afraid to look at God. This is the balance of reverance and imminence.

It is good to remember that when we are in God's presence - in church, in a Christian concert, in our own personal and private worship of Him - that we are standing on "holy ground." (Exodus 3:5)

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