Each week as I prepare for the upcoming worship services, I’m continually reminded of the rich worship and musical heritage we have in Christendom and Lutheranism. At any given service we hear the timeless Word speaking to us in readings and sermon. The psalms, whether spoken, chanted, or sung, still resonate with us as they did with Israel. We sing first century New Testament canticles and historic liturgical texts set to musical settings spanning hundreds of years. Our hymn texts are gems collected from the early years of Christianity to the present and set to tunes ancient and modern. Our prayers and collects have been prayed by the great cloud of witnesses before us and added to judiciously by the present. The instrumental and choral music is chosen from a rich treasury that our musical forebears have passed down and is supplemented by composers of today.
Category Archives: Worship
A Blessed Epiphany
Blessings to you on this feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord when we commemorate “God in man made manifest.” Lutherans usually associate Phillip Nicolai’s “O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright” (LSB 395) — the queen of the chorales — with this day.
It is a hymn full of comfort and devotional thought. Jesus the bright Morning Star. God’s blessings in the midst of life’s difficulties. Those blessings being the gifts God gives us in His means of grace that sustain us. Then strengthened and nourished, we go forth and proclaim the story as we wait for the feast to come.
O Morning Star, how fair and bright!You shine with God’s own truth and light, (st. 1)
Another Christmas Season Ending
As the twelfth night of Christmas comes to a close, I’m organizing the Christmas sheet music back into the music filing cabinet and reminded of favorites played, new found friends, and much that will await another year. So many wonderful hymns. So many instrumental pieces that sing these hymns. But more important, I am comforted by the Word made incarnate in the flesh for us, the Word in worship for us, and the Word that will come again for us.
LSB Lectionary Summaries
The beginning of the new Church Year is quickly upon us. In preparation for this, the LCMS Commission on Worship appears to be initiating a weekly series of lectionary summaries on both the one-year and three-year LSB lectionaries for use in the parish. Take a look.
These Lectionary Summaries are designed to be included in Sunday bulletins for worshippers to read prior to the service. As such, they provide a thematic summary of the readings for each Sunday and festival, as well as a description of how the readings fit into the particular season of the Church Year, where appropriate.
These summaries are provided free of charge and may be edited as needed for local use. They will normally be posted two to four weeks in advance. (LCMS Commission on Worship)
These summaries could also distributed the week prior so that worshippers could prepare themselves throughout the week by reading the lectionary texts and the summary.
Soaked, Scrubbed, & Washed in Christ’s Blood
When your pastor says “Amen” at the close of his sermon, are you soaked in Christ’s blood?
Rev. Steven Cholak wrote a blog post for Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary in April 2008 about pastors soaking their flock with Christ’s blood as they preach Christ and the forgiveness of sins. It is a short essay I reread frequently, but recently found that it is no longer available on the seminary blog. Pastor Cholak has graciously given me permission to repost his essay here. The only modification I have made is to break up the 1 long paragraph into several shorter ones for readability. Pastor Cholak has his own blog and website at StarBoCho.
God Speak by Rev. Steven Cholak
I expect to be soaking in the blood of Jesus when the preacher says, “Amen.” That bright red river of life from the cross of Calvary makes the robes of God’s people white like snow. The professors at Concordia Theological Seminary would say that a sermon should be a good exposition of Law and Gospel in a liturgical context. There should be Law that cuts you down and Gospel that picks you up. BUT the Gospel should always predominate. In other words, when the preacher opens his mouth – Jesus picks you up.
The preacher must give you Jesus. He shouldn’t just tell you about Jesus. He shouldn’t just mention the cross. Preachers should never tell you about telling the story. Preachers are called to preach the Christ. They are called out of darkness to proclaim light and life into this dark and dead world. Preachers do that by preaching Jesus to your person.
Pastors bring the forgiveness of sins from the cross and wrap you with it, like a warm blanket on a cold, winter’s night. They take his blood and wash you with it. Like a mother after you’ve played in the mud, a pastor scrubs you clean (even behind the ears) with Christ’s blood. They do it because only that blood can take away your sins. They are faithful to this call because God resurrects the sinner from his watery grave and gives him new life.
How does God do it? He does it by opening the mouths of preachers, and then soaking you in his Son’s blood. He does it by opening your mouth and pouring that blood down your throat. He does it through weak and sinful men. He does it through your pastor. Expect to be soaking in Christ’s blood when the pastor says, “Amen.” Expect to be alive because Christ has wrapped you with his love and breathed new life into your ears. Not only should you expect it, you should demand it. It is your heritage. It is God’s good gift. AND…it’s yours.