The reason behind worship...
Whenever we do something, we benefit from knowing the reason why for the action. A trip to the mechanic is unnecessary unless it is for the reason of a car repair. A condo purchase in South Florida is unnecessary unless you have connections to Florida. The same is true in worship.
We at Faith Lutheran worship using a liturgy (a structured order of worship) for a reason.
We at Faith Lutheran worship using a liturgy (a structured order of worship) for a reason.
- We need to hear (and be reminded) of Christ's saving, forgiving love.
- We need to hear (and re-learn) Christ's saving work, as well as his teachings, instruction, and life.
- We are able to focus on God's truth (and not on our own opinions or feelings).
- We (that is, long-time & first-time visitors, from the elderly to the small child) are able to offer Christ heart-felt praise.
- We are able to offer Christ our prayers in the confidence of knowing he will hear and answer us.
How we worship...
In order to accomplish these goals in a orderly manner, and so that you might be encouraged, we follow a liturgy. If you join us for worship, this is what the liturgy for a typical service would be like:
1. Invocation: Each service begins “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” These are the words spoken at your baptism. They show that we enter God’s presence to worship him because we are his baptized children.
2. Confession & Absolution: In each service we humbly confess our sins to God and then gladly hear his proclamation that each one of them has been forgiven. It’s included in every service because we can never hear those amazing, comforting words too often.
3. Song of Praise: In response to the forgiveness so freely to us, we join our voices in a song of praise to God.
4. Prayer of the day: In the Prayer of the Day we ask God to give us the blessings that the Scripture readings will tell us about. The Prayer of the Day has a long history in Christian worship services. Many of these prayers have been prayed by countless Christians over hundreds of years. We offer each prayer through Jesus, the living Lord, who said, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father” (John 14:14).
5. First Lesson: The first lesson is usually taken from the Old Testament. Many times we will hear about a prophecy that was fulfilled by Christ in the Gospel lesson for the day.
6. Psalm of the Day: For 3,000 years believers have worshiped God by singing and reciting psalms. Worshiping in this way connects us with the believers who have gone before us.
7. Second Lesson: The second lesson is usually taken from the Epistles (the part of the New Testament after the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Typically they apply God’s Word specifically to the believer’s life.
8. The Gospel: The entire service revolves around the Gospel lesson. We stand to hear the words of Christ our King, just like people stood in the presence of royalty in ancient times.
9. Sermon: The pastor preaches a relevant message based on one of the lessons or the gospel for the day. The sermon teaches how God's word applies to our Christian life. Here is a link to the most recent sermon.
10. Confession of Faith: We proclaim what we believe— what the Christian Church has always believed. To do that we use the words of the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds—both of which have been used in the Christian Church for almost two thousand years.
11. Prayer of the Church: We join to pray to God about specific joys and troubles in our church and in the Church around the world. This is followed by the Lord’s Prayer.
12. Benediction: We receive the same blessing spoken over God’s people for 3500 years (Numbers 6:24-26). Again, the sign of the cross is made, reminds you that you are God’s child. So, we depart in peace, mindful of our status as God’s baptized children.
13. “Amen”: means “so let it be.” We end our prayers and responses with the word “Amen,” expressing our unshakable conviction that God indeed does hear us and will answer us according to his gracious will.
1. Invocation: Each service begins “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” These are the words spoken at your baptism. They show that we enter God’s presence to worship him because we are his baptized children.
2. Confession & Absolution: In each service we humbly confess our sins to God and then gladly hear his proclamation that each one of them has been forgiven. It’s included in every service because we can never hear those amazing, comforting words too often.
3. Song of Praise: In response to the forgiveness so freely to us, we join our voices in a song of praise to God.
4. Prayer of the day: In the Prayer of the Day we ask God to give us the blessings that the Scripture readings will tell us about. The Prayer of the Day has a long history in Christian worship services. Many of these prayers have been prayed by countless Christians over hundreds of years. We offer each prayer through Jesus, the living Lord, who said, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father” (John 14:14).
5. First Lesson: The first lesson is usually taken from the Old Testament. Many times we will hear about a prophecy that was fulfilled by Christ in the Gospel lesson for the day.
6. Psalm of the Day: For 3,000 years believers have worshiped God by singing and reciting psalms. Worshiping in this way connects us with the believers who have gone before us.
7. Second Lesson: The second lesson is usually taken from the Epistles (the part of the New Testament after the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Typically they apply God’s Word specifically to the believer’s life.
8. The Gospel: The entire service revolves around the Gospel lesson. We stand to hear the words of Christ our King, just like people stood in the presence of royalty in ancient times.
9. Sermon: The pastor preaches a relevant message based on one of the lessons or the gospel for the day. The sermon teaches how God's word applies to our Christian life. Here is a link to the most recent sermon.
10. Confession of Faith: We proclaim what we believe— what the Christian Church has always believed. To do that we use the words of the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds—both of which have been used in the Christian Church for almost two thousand years.
11. Prayer of the Church: We join to pray to God about specific joys and troubles in our church and in the Church around the world. This is followed by the Lord’s Prayer.
12. Benediction: We receive the same blessing spoken over God’s people for 3500 years (Numbers 6:24-26). Again, the sign of the cross is made, reminds you that you are God’s child. So, we depart in peace, mindful of our status as God’s baptized children.
13. “Amen”: means “so let it be.” We end our prayers and responses with the word “Amen,” expressing our unshakable conviction that God indeed does hear us and will answer us according to his gracious will.
