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Learning the Liturgy – Part 5

The Divine Service – Hymnary, p. 62:4-9 The Entrance The Entrance concludes with the Salutation and the Collect. The Salutation is a greeting of the ancient church.  One says, “The Lord be with you,” and the other replies, “And with your spirit.”  Sometimes it is modernized as “The Lord be […]

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Learning the Liturgy – Part 4

The Divine Service – Hymnary, p. 62:4-9 The Entrance The Entrance used to be the beginning of the service in the early church and consisted of the singing of various hymns, psalms, and portions of Scripture set to music, prior to the entrance of the pastor or pastors who in […]

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Learning the Liturgy – Part 3

The Divine Service – Hymnary, p. 60:1-3 The Service of Preparation commences with a Hymn, as the church has done for millennia whenever God comes to us with His gifts. Then comes, equally in first place, the Invocation, which is a statement that all we do is done in the […]

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Learning The Liturgy – Part 2

The Divine Service – Hymnary, p. 60:1-3 The Service of Preparation came into the historic liturgy of the church during the reformation.  During the middle ages, the salutary use of private confession and absolution was abused into the “sacrament” of penance[1].   The reformers kept the practice of private confession and […]

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Learning the Liturgy – Part 1

The Divine Service Hymnary, p. 60 The liturgy, or service, of the church is first and foremost what God does for us.  Sure, there are opportunities for us to respond with thanks within the service, but the service is fundamentally a blessing of God upon us. It is ironic that […]

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It’s Worth Your Time

I find that I make a lot of decisions based in the question, “Is it worth my time?”  How about you?  Most of us have a big part of our time already obligated – to work, school, commitments we have made, etc.  Then there are things we have to fit […]

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