Singing With All the Saints
During the Divine Service you probably hear your pastor say or chant these words: “Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising you and saying . . . ” Have the import of those words sunk in? What follows, the Sanctus, is not just a hymn sung by your congregation, whether large or small. It is not limited to the churches spread across the globe. No, it is far more than that.
Survey Says: LCMS Worship Practices & Attitudes
The LCMS Reporter website posted an article earlier today on the newly released LCMS Worship Practice & Attitudes Survey. The survey compares the responses of the Top 5% congregations (highest percentage and number of adult confirmations in 2006) and a random sampling of congregations on their worship practices and attitudes.
And the survey says . . . . nothing earth shattering.
Church, Children, and Autism
Dan at Necessary Roughness has written an informative post on “How Churches Should Handle Autism”. He offers practical suggestions to help congregations understand and help these families affected by autism during the worship service.
And what is Dan’s number 1 suggestion? “The real world has no Gospel and has no forgiveness. The best thing a church can do is preach the Word.” Thanks Dan!
Children & Worship
Cantor Phil Magness was on Tuesday’s “Issues, Etc” and had a worthwhile discussion on children and worship. Basic theme: Give children something in worship they can grow into rather than grow out of. It’s a good listen.
Worship Is . . .
Worship is the gift of the gracious God through the incarnate and suffering Christ for his congregation which receives the gift by faith and so enters into fellowship with God. Thus worship is a participation in the work of Christ. — (Luther On Worship, Vilmos Vajta, pg 63)
A Liturgical and Outreach Oriented Church? Yes!
Floating across the Lutheran blogosphere the last few weeks have been several professional YouTube videos focusing on Grace Lutheran Church in Tulsa, OK – what appears to be a vibrant confessional Lutheran church. I’d encourage you to spend a few minutes watching and learning.
Twittering During Worship
It seems twittering and tweeting may be coming to a worship service near you — perhaps they’ll call it “tworship”. According to Time magazine, some pastors are encouraging their flock to twitter (or tweet) as they are moved during worship.
Wouldn’t this be a distraction during the time when God is showering us with His gifts?
Bach’s Road to Leipzig
I’d like to commend for your reading a paper written by Steven Cholak entitled “Behold, We Go To Jerusalem . . . ” on the history of how J.S. Bach became Kantor in Leipzig and an analysis of one of his audition cantatas – BWV 22. If you can muster up a copy of the cantata to listen to while reading, it will enrich the experience even more.
Heaven on Earth
After Divine Service today, a friend stopped me in the narthex and mentioned that the service was like “heaven on earth”. And so it was—literally. Not because of some “feeling”, but because of what Christ was actually doing. Where Christ is, there is heaven. Christ coming to us and giving us forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation through the read and preached Word and His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.
What a blessing it is to be in the Divine Service when heaven meets earth. Literally.
Compline – Prayer at the Close of the Day
“The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and peace at the last.”
The Lutheran church has been blessed to have Compline – Prayer at the Close of the Day – included in its service books. While I don’t know how many congregations gather to pray Compline on a regular basis, it is a salutary practice to consider. With the recent introduction of Treasury of Daily Prayer, laypeople may be more inclined to pray Compline, if not in a group setting, at least in private prayer before going to bed.
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