THE DIVINE SERVICE
These are the parts of the Divine Service that we generally use as given in the Divine Service II (first setting) of Lutheran Worship. They are basically the same in all orthodox Lutheran hymnals. This order of service is not unique to Lutherans. We did not invent it. It is the ancient form of worship that has been developed among Christians the world over from the very beginning of the New Testament era. It is based exclusively on scripture and is focused completely on Jesus Christ and His saving grace on the Cross of Calvary.
Because of our sin, we cannot come to God, but God must come to us. This is what takes place in the Divine Service. Through the Word and Sacraments God speaks to His people. He reminds us of our sinfulness and failure to love completely and He then forgives us and assures us of the grace we have in Jesus Christ.
This grace is central to our lives as Christians and we must treat it with all reverence and respect. It was not of our doing and it is not ours with which to tamper. Therefore WORSHIP IS NOT A MATTER OF NOVELTY OR ENTERTAINMENT, MUCH LESS A MATTER OF ATTEMPTING TO PLEASE THE MASSES. For this reason we choose hymns that are doctrinally sound and theologically significant to round out our worship. Hymns, LIKE THE DIVINE SERVICE, must reflect this Christo-centric “God coming to man” theology or else they are unfit for the service. May our worship always be pure and always emphasize this Biblical Christo-centric attitude.
The Preparation
INVOCATION: Since we are Trinitarian we call upon the Triune God to bless. The Trinitarian invocation also recalls our Baptism. We call on the Father, Son, and Holy Sp;irit, in Whose name we were baptized. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Ephesians 2:18.
We don't come before him on our merits, or by our deeds. We come because He has called us by His Holy Spirit, who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the church. Divine Service is first and foremost an activity of a Christian congregation, members of which have been joined to the Lord by the work of the Holy Spirit in Baptism. Rom. 6: 3ff.
The Invocation is addressed to God, so the pastor will face the altar. Facing the altar, the sign of the cross connected to the invocation is a personal signature, and it is appropriate that all may join in this act as a remembrance of their baptism.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION: As Christians, our lives are to be lives of continual repentance as God promises eternal forgiveness. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 2:9.
The expression, "we are by nature sinful and unclean," comes from Article II:1 of the Augsburg Confession, and is unique to Lutheranism in its structuring of the preparatory rites. The statements made in this prayer of confession are summary of Romans 7:14 - 8:14.
The Service of the Word
The Service of the Word is the second part of our Divine Service. The purpose of the Service of the Word is to present Christ to the assembled congregation as they prepare to meet him in his Supper.
The changeable texts, known as the Propers, bring variety into the worship, as they follow the seasons of the church year and the readings.
With the Introit, the service proper begins. The Preparation can be omitted altogether, as it is when we celebrate Holy Baptism immediately after the opening Hymn.
INTROIT: The Introit is a collection of passages from scripture that set the tone for the service. The verses chosen are different each Sunday and reflect the theme of the Gospel reading to come. It is itself scripture.
KYRIE: As we draw toward the reading of God’s Word we join with all the faithful through the ages and ask the Lord for mercy. The Kyrie (from the Latin Kyrie, eleison, "Lord, have mercy"), is a litany, the first prayer of the gathered congregation. It is encountered frequently in Scripture, for example, the Canaanite woman (Matt. 15: 22) and the Ten Lepers (Luke 17: 13). It is a cry for mercy that our Lord and King hear us and help us in our necessities and troubles. His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. Luke 1:15.
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS OR HYMN OF PRAISE: Confident that the Lord is merciful, we join the whole Church and all the angels in singing Glory to God. The Pastor begins with the angelic hymn in Luke 2: 14.:Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth. The congregation follows with the earthly confirmation of the praise.
SALUTATION and COLLECT: The phrase, "Let us pray," is an invitation and admonition.
The Collect is the pastor's first prayer in the name of the people; he speaks for the congregation. The Collect "collects" in a concise and beautiful manner the theme for the day. Most of the Collects have been in continuous use in the Church for more than 1,500 years. In these historic prayers we join with the great body of believers, the communion of the saints, and the generations yet to come.
The Collect is preceded by the Salutation. The Salutation is indicative of the special relationship between the congregation and its representative before God - their called Pastor. This is found in Ruth 2:4, Luke 1:28, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, and elsewhere. The response parallels Biblical usage in passages like Philemon 25 and Galatians 6:18.
OLD TESTAMENT and EPISTLE READING: The actual bestowal of the grace of God, which was announced in the Introit, and prayed for in the Collect is now about to take place in the reading and preaching of the divine word. This is the climax of the Service of the Word. Selected portions of the Word are appointed to be read according to the arrangement of the church year. It has been traditional for the congregation to be seated for the reading of the Old Testament and Epistle Readings, because these are seen as instruction in contrast to the Gospel which is an account of the life and words of Jesus, the Lord of the Church.
VERSE: In response to the Epistle we sing the appropriate verse. Except during Lent we sing the Hallelujah or the words of St. Peter in John 6:68. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
GOSPEL READING: From earliest times the Gospel has been given pride of place in the readings of Divine Service. It is always read last. The congregation stands for the reading. The Gospel is properly announced and read by the pastor or an ordained assistant, as part of his work in the holy ministry of Word and Sacrament to proclaim the person and work of Christ to all..
CREED: Placed here, the Creed is a solemn confession and response of faith to the Word which has just been proclaimed and heard. We confess the faith that the Christian Church has confessed form the beginning. We take our stand among those who have held the same Gospel from time immemorial.
The Nicene Creed is the proper Creed for Sunday and festival celebrations of Holy Communion because of its expanded confession of the person and work of Jesus, the Christ.
HYMN OF THE DAY: also sometimes known as the Sermon Hymn, this is the principle Hymn of Divine Service. Efficiently used, it highlights the theme of the day and/or the theme of the Sermon which follows.
SERMON: The preacher "says what the Word says" to those whom the Word has gathered here and now, to hear it with open hearts and receive it in faithful hearts
Luther designated the omission and abuse of preaching as two of the three serious abuses that had crept into the church of his day. He expressed his concern in his typical blunt fashion in 1523 saying, "When God's Word is not preached, one had better neither sing nor read, or even come together."
VOTUM: The Sermon begins with a blessing upon the hearers or an Invocation. A Votum concludes the Sermon. The ancient Votum is Paul's words to the Philippians: "The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (4: 7).
OFFERING: While the Offering symbolizes the "spiritual worship" (Romans 12: 1) of Christian lives offered in response to God, it also unites the faithful in an act of fellowship (Acts 2: 42). The gifts that are shared represent the gifts of creation and are offered as a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord that by means of them he might accomplish his purpose to bless his people.
PRAYERS: Here we pray that what we have heard from God may be taken to heart. We also ask God to take care of our needs. We give Him thanks, praise and honor as well.
OFFERTORY: The Offertory allows us to accompany our gifts to the Lord with praise for his many benefits in our lives, the very benefits from which our gifts were taken. These texts extol the very Lutheran idea of giving back to the Lord from the riches he has given to us--the thoughts of Psalm 51:10-12
Part Two—The Service of Holy Communion
In the Service of Holy Communion God joins His act and deed to His Word; He gives us the body offered and the blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins and for strength for Christian living.
PREFACE:There is little in the liturgy of the Evangelical church that is older than the versicles and responses, the dialogue between the Pastor and the people, known as the Preface.
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And with your spirit.
Similar to the beginning of Divine Service itself, the first word spoken to begin the Communion is the name of the Lord. The Lord is host, the head of the family of God. The Lord is serving (Luke 22: 27) giving out his gifts; gifts given with the words that carry and bestow what they say.
During the Preface the Pastor and the people encourage one another in the way St. Paul encouraged the Thessalonians. "May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones." 1 Thessalonians 3:13
PROPER PREFACE: During the major Festival seasons of the Church year the Proper Preface gives glory to God recalling the specific mercy emphasized during that season and leads into a united praise of the Church on earth, the saints above, and all the heavenly hosts, worshiping the Holy Trinity in the Sanctus.
Apparently, it was The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), which first included the changeable Proper Preface for Lent. Others were developed by the Commission on Worship in 1969 and 1982.
SANCTUS: The people's response to the Proper Preface is the Sanctus (Latin, meaning “holy”)--"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory." The text is built on the opening verses of Isaiah 6 and John 12:41.
HOSANNA is an expression of joy for what Christ has done. It has been sung since Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem to give Himself for our sins. It can also be found in the Psalms. Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! Matthew 21:9
The BENEDICTUS, “Blessed is he” comes from Psalm 118: 26b, and is quoted by Zechariah at the birth of his son, John the Baptist, in Luke 1:68-19, in a prayer of thanksgiving. “Hosanna” - “Praise the Lord”, Psalm 117. We join with the angels, archangels and all the company of heaven in singing.
THANKSGIVING: Before the altar, the presiding pastor offers the Prayer of Thanksgiving on behalf of the assembled congregation. Its text affirms the Sacrament of the Altar as a gracious ordinance graciously instituted by God for our eternal welfare. This sets the proper framework for our “remembering” - participation in the worship that God has established and blessed through Word and Sacrament.
LORD’S PRAYER:The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6: 9; Luke 11: 2-4), the "Prayer of the Faithful" children of the heavenly Father who tenderly invites them to call upon Him as his beloved children. This is the family prayer of the Church of Christ. It has been associated with the Words of Institution in all Lutheran communion rites. The conclusion is found in Galatians 1: 5, Hebrews 13: 21b, Revelation 1: 6.
As we pray the prayer that Jesus Himself taught us, we are preparing for the second great moment of the Divine Service—the communion.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION: In the Words of Institution, the Pastor recites the Words of Jesus Himself recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and in the letter of St. Paul. Yet these words are not merely the recitation of a historical narrative concerning the original institution and the first Supper in the upper room. They are the words of consecration. Christ speaks them again by and through the Pastor to do and to give now what he did and gave then. In these words Christ Himself assures us that He is indeed bodily present in the sacrament of Holy Communion and that through it our sins are forgiven.
THE PEACE: In anticipation of the blessings to be received through the Body and Blood of our Lord in, with , and under the bread and wine, the Pastor and the people announce the peace of God to one another; as did Christ Himself on that first Easter. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” John 20:19b
AGNES DEI: The wording in the text of the Agnus Dei (Latin, "Lamb of God") is taken from the words of John the Baptist in John 1: 29. It serves as a hymn of adoration to the Savior who is present in the Body and blood. For this reason it has not been seen in the liturgies of the Reformed churches. Isaiah 53: 7; Ephesians 2: 13-17.
THE DISTRIBUTION: In communion, we receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through it our sins are forgiven because we have been given faith in the words “Given and shed for you” in our baptism. At this, the climax of the second half of the Divine Service, we are reminded of the way in which we began, reminiscent of our baptism.
POST COMMUNION CANTICLE: Following reception of our Lord’s forgiving Body and Blood, we join in singing a hymn of thanks. Usually this hymn is called the Nunc Dimittis ("Depart in peace") or “Simeon’s Song”and is recorded in Luke 2:29-32.
POST-COMMUNION CANTICLE and PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING: "Amen..." We add our own and the Church's undying gratitude in this Collect of Thanksgiving--a prayer that the gifts now received from the Lord may accomplish His purpose in His people.
BENEDICTION: also known as the "Aaronic Blessing," or the "Priestly Blessing," is the blessing the Lord directed Moses to use when he blessed the people in the Lord's name. Numbers 6: 24.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
