Lutheran Vocational Evangelism

(Explaining Lutheran Worship (Part Six))

What do you need to know about our Divine Service before attending so that you might get the most benefit from the gifts of God? Let’s continue examining the various parts so that we might better understand from where each part comes and how it connects to the next.

Following the prayers for the day and the offerings we turn to the Sacrament of the Altar or the Lord’s Supper. Because we believe the Lords’ Supper is a Sacrament, a means of grace, a way in which the Lord gives us His gifts, we prepare ourselves to come to His Holy Table where He is the Host and the meal. “The way of versicle and response is the heartbeat of the liturgy: diastole, systole; breath in, breath out” (Norman Nagel). Following the proper preface for the Sunday we join the angel hosts singing the Hosanna: “Save now.” We pray the prayer our Lord has given us and the pastor speaks the words of Institution, a conflation of all four biblical accounts of the Last Supper. As we gather at His Table, we are greeted. As the vicar of Christ, the pastor acts as host. We hear, “‘Take and eat,’ Here take is the same word which Jesus said in ordaining his apostles: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:22). It is a gifting word, a faith word, and so does not permit an intrusion of our doing.” The primary reference of the word is to something outside ourselves, here to what is given us, that is, the true body and the true blood” (Norman Nagel).

Following the distribution we sing the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, who poured out His blood for us, for the forgiveness of sins. We offer a prayer of thanksgiving. And we conclude the service with the Aaronic Benediction. Thus, as we invited the Lord to be a part of our service, to deliver to us His gifts in His Divine Service, so as we conclude we again have the Lord’s name spoken on us. Indeed, whatever the Lord’s name is put on is the Lord’s. As the Lord’s name is put on us, as we leave His House, so we are His.

We conclude the service singing a hymn of His Word, singing back to Him the Word He has given us to speak. And thus we rejoice in gifts given and gifts received.

32 of 52    © Rev. Dr. Ronald A. Bogs (2018)