God has blessed us with the gift of His Word.  We honor God when we gladly hear the Word of God preached, and we hold it sacred.  We also honor God's Word when we use it in our daily prayer.

We are tempted at times to think, "I can be a Christian without attending church."  That is as true as saying, "I do not have to eat to live today." But how long can we live without eating?

We are able to go to church, because God is at work in us with His gifts that we hold His Word sacred and gladly hear and learn it.


What does "Divine Service" mean?

Historically, the phrase used to describe Lutheran worship is Divine Service.  This helps us understand the rhythm of worship—that it is first and foremost God serving us with His gifts, and then our service to Almighty God in thanksgiving and praise for all He has done.  This rhythm of God giving His gifts and our giving Him thanks is conveyed aptly in the term, Divine Service.

The Divine Service is a “holy” time,meaning a time “set apart.”  It is a time to be set apart from the workaday world—a time to spend with our Lord.  Indeed,in the Divine Service we are gathered together in the presence of the holy, almighty, ever-living God, and thus we are part of a time of “heaven on earth,”as our Lord forgives our sins and gives us new life today, and eternal salvation with Him forever.This understanding of
the Divine Service explains why many who experience Lutheran worship for the first time describe it as dignified, reverent and sacred.


Why does our Lord gather us for worship?

The most precious gifts and treasures our Lord gives us are His forgiveness,life and salvation.  Through His innocent life and bitter sufferings and death, Christ has purchased and won us from sin,death and the devil.  Through Jesus Christ, all the sins of the world were paid for and the wrath of God was appeased.  Christ has reconciled the whole world to God.

Jesus Christ serves us again and again as His Gospel is proclaimed, as His people are baptized and as His Word is read.  He serves us as His forgiveness is pronounced and penitents absolved.  He serves us as He gives us His body and blood under the bread and wine to eat and to drink.  This is how our Lord gives us forgiveness,life,and salvation.  What a blessing it is to be called and gathered for worship by our good and
gracious God!