Every service begins “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” These are the same words spoken at your baptism. They are a reminder that we enter God’s presence to worship Him because we were made His children through baptism.
In every service we humbly confess our sins to God and then gladly hear His proclamation that each and every one of them has been forgiven. It’s included in every service because we can never hear those amazing, comforting words too often.
In response to the forgiveness given so freely to us, we join our voices in a song of praise to God.
We pray the appointed prayer for that Sunday of the Church year. The prayer fits with the theme for the day.
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.
For 3,000 years believers have worshiped God by singing and reciting psalms.
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.
A short song of praise to God, based on the theme of the day, that thanks God for and prepares us to hear the Gospel lesson.
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.
The pastor preaches a message usually based on one of the lessons or the gospel for the day. The sermon teaches how God’s Word applies to our Christian life.
Either before or after the sermon 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 millennia.
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.
The Lord’s Supper is offered on the first and third Sundays of the month. We, united with our brothers and sisters in the faith, approach God’s altar to receive the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith.
We then receive the same blessing that God gave to the ancient Israelites.
