The Divine Service

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42)

The Divine Service lies at the heart of Faith Lutheran Church. In the Divine Service, Christ comes to us with His gifts, offering forgiveness, reassurance, strength, and guidance through His Word and Sacraments—Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and Confession & Absolution.

The worship services at Faith Lutheran are traditional in both form and content, in keeping with the historic practices of the “one holy catholic and apostolic church.”

The Historic Liturgy

We use the historic liturgy, a form of worship that’s been used for centuries by Christian Churches throughout the world. Every Sunday, the historic liturgy reliably guides worshipers through the waters of their Baptism to Confession & Absolution, God’s Word read and preached, prayers, and the Lord’s Supper.

We follow the three-year lectionary, which identifies our Scripture readings which take us on an annual journey through the God’s story of salvation beginning with Advent, then moving on through Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and the Pentecost seasons of the church year using a 3-year cycle.

Our preaching consistently emphasizes two core messages: the Law (God’s commands, which show us our sin) and the Gospel (God’s promises in Christ, which show us our Savior). Without the Law, there’s no need for a Savior. Without the Gospel, there’s no hope for salvation. (Check out our recent sermons on Facebook.

The Sacrament of the Altar is celebrated as a part of every Divine Service. Here, Jesus promises to be with us in a very real and tangible way. “Take, eat, this is my body” “This cup is the new covenant in my blood”. In this sacrament, Christ promises forgiveness of sins and strengthening of our faith to all who believe His Words.

Our worship is ceremonial, in keeping with reverence for Christ, our Savior. Typical sights and sounds include pastors in colorful vestments, chanted lines from the liturgy, and traditional hymns that reinforce our beliefs and unite us—with each other and with the universal Church.

You may have noticed that the list above addresses what “we do,” but that’s not the focus of the Divine Service. The Divine Service is first and foremost about what Christ has done for us. We preach Christ crucified to save us, reconcile us to God and raise us up to eternal life on the last day of this world.

That’s the intended takeaway message each and every Sunday, delivered to us in Christ’s Word and Sacraments.