Imagine if my wife invited me to a nice steak dinner at a local restaurant. She called me and said she got a sitter for the kids, and has reservations at 6. She gave me the directions to the place, and even ordered a drink for me and an appetizer is sitting on the table. She went out and bought...
"Worship is the most beautiful flower of earthly life," so said Wilhelm Loehe. Today is the day we celebrate the life and Christian death of St. Wilhelm Loehe, a German Lutheran pastor. He was born in 1808 and never left Germany during his ministry. He trained many men and sent them to America...
Yesterday, I posted a quote from the Pastoral Prayer Companion on Facebook. It was about how pastoral care always flows from and leads back to the Divine Service. The Companion speaks of the Divine Service saying, "The liturgy itself is the primary place of ongoing pastoral care as week after...
Today is the commemoration of St. Johann Sebastian Bach, Kantor and 5th Evangelist (1685-1750). Bach is not only one of the most famous musicians of all time, but also and more importantly he was a faithful Lutheran who wrote beautiful music to glorify and magnify the Word of God. This is the...
For our Liturgy reflection today we are looking at the Creed, specifically the Nicene Creed and why we confess it during the Divine Service. There are three ecumenical or universal creeds, the Apostle's, The Nicene, and the Athanasian Creed. However, the creed that is associated with the Divine...
Every Sunday in the liturgy, we are blessed to have what is called a lectionary, or a set of readings for every Sunday and Feast Day in the Church Year. There are specific readings for certain days like Easter, Christmas Eve, Pentecost, Trinity VII, and Epiphany II. Why does the church do this?...
The blessing of St. Boaz to his workers, as recorded in Ruth, says, "And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” (Ruth 2:4). Today we meditate on the Salutation in the...
Today we meditate on the next step in the liturgy, The Gloria In Excelsis. This is an ancient song that paraphrases the song the angels sang at the birth of Jesus from Luke that says, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased" (Luke 2:14). ...
Today on Liturgy Friday we are meditating on the Kyrie, the next step in the Liturgy. So far, in the Liturgy, we have gone through the Invocation, Confession and Absolution, the Introit, and now arrive at the Kyrie. This is the point in the Liturgy when the Celebrant reaches the altar, and now...
For our Liturgical study today we are meditating on the Introit, or the entrance Psalm. This is a proper of the liturgy, or a part of the liturgy that changes either each Sunday or every Church season. The invocation and Sanctus are things that don't change, whereas the Introit, gradual, and...