If you are visiting our congregation today for the first time, we want you to know how glad we are to have you with us. We also want to take this opportunity to explain our worship service to you, so that you will know what is happening, and why.

Our congregation follows a “liturgical” order of service. This means that there is a basic framework or structure in our worship that remains essentially the same each Sunday. This also means that there are many elements in our worship that change from week to week, according to a pattern that repeats itself every year. This kind of service, which has been used by the historic Christian Church for 2,000 years, provides a proper balance of continuity and variety in each Sunday’s service.

The specific orders of service that we follow are found in the front part of The Lutheran Hymnal, where the pages are numbered at the bottom of each page. The bulletin and the hymn boards at the front of the church will tell you whether we are following the “Order of Morning Service,” which begins on page 5, or the “Order of the Holy Communion,” which begins on page 15. You will notice that the Pastor sings or speaks some of his parts of the service according to a slightly updated wording, but the parts of the service that are sung or spoken by the congregation always follow the wording as printed in the hymnal.

The hymns that are appointed for today’s service are indicated in the bulletin and on the hymn boards. They are from the back part of the hymnal, where the pages as such are not numbered, but where the hymns are numbered. The hymn numbers usually appear in the upper outside corner of each page.

Worshipers are invited to sing the “Introit” and the “Gradual” when we come to those parts of the service, according to the instructions that are given in the bulletin. The words of these weekly “propers” are also printed in the bulletin.

God is the primary actor and speaker in worship. In the Liturgy he speaks to us through the Scripture readings, and also through the other components of the service that enshrine and convey his dual message of judgment against sin and forgiveness in Christ. And as God speaks to us in these ways, his Word molds and shapes our response, so that we then say back to him the things that he would want us to say. We come to church, not so much to tell God what we think, or to express ourselves to God, but in humility to learn from God, and to be instructed and guided by his Word in how we should call upon him. This is why the prayers and hymns that we use have an objective and “doctrinal” quality about them.

The Lord’s Supper is available in our congregation on every Sunday. On the first, third, and fifth Sundays of the month, when we follow the “page 15” service, it is offered as a part of the main public service. On the second and fourth Sundays of the month, when we follow the “page 5” service, it is offered in a brief, spoken service following the main public service.

We believe that participation in the Lord’s Supper should be preceded by a course of instruction in the teachings of Scripture and of our church, concerning this sacrament and other important articles of faith. We also believe that such participation serves as a public testimony of unity in faith among those who are communing together. We therefore do not follow an “open Communion” practice. But even if you are not communing with us today, God’s grace is still offered to you through the Gospel, as it is proclaimed in the Scripture readings, in the sermon, and in the hymns.

Gathering before the Lord to hear his Word and to offer our prayers to him is a very serious matter. It is not to be done in a frivolous or light-hearted manner, but with reverence and sobriety. When we enter into the Lord’s presence in worship, we are, in a sense, transported into a realm of eternal realities. Our use of symbolism and ceremony serves as an expression of our conviction that the worship of Almighty God is something special, and unlike anything else we may do in other arenas of life.

We hope and pray that you will be blessed by the ministry of God’s Word during your time with us today. And we hope that you will come and worship with us again next week. You will always be most welcome in our midst, in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ!

Redeemer Lutheran Church
7670 East Jomax Road + Scottsdale, Arizona