Prayers before worship

Did you ever wonder why, on Sunday morning, one of the Elders always goes back into the Pastor’s office just before the worship service begins? That’s because I've requested that the Elder on duty for that month say a prayer for me before I go out into the chancel (the part of the church up by the altar). The Elder usually asks God to bless the Pastor’s message, giving him the strength to boldly preach God’s Word, and to bless the congregation, that they may hear the message and be blessed through the gospel of Christ.

When I come out to begin the service, I usually say one more brief prayer before ascending the steps into the chancel, reminding myself that no one dare enter the Lord’s presence without a heart cleansed by Christ Jesus and asking God to bless our worship together.

As you’re waiting for worship to begin, you might consider offering your own prayer on behalf of the pastor, the musician, the choir, and all those involved in proclaiming God’s Word that morning. Ask the Lord also to make you attentive and to bless the Word that you will hear in the Lessons, the sermon, the hymns, and the liturgy itself. God is sure to hear that prayer and bless your time with him and the family of believers.

Starting on page 134 in the front of the Christian Worship hymnal, you’ll find a number of personal prayers to use before worship (or at any time!).

Real Reformation

For having been named one of the top three most influential people of the last 1000 years, Martin Luther is still relatively unknown to most Americans (who often confuse him with Martin Luther King). But this 16th century German preacher set in motion a series of events that would completely transform all of Christendom, most of Europe, and much of the world. The course of entire nations would be shaped by what he wrote and preached. But for all the world-shaking changes that arose from Luther’s writings, the transformation that most concerned him was to take place in the human heart.

On October 31, 1517, Luther nailed a document to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, hoping that the heavier holiday traffic for All Saints Day would bring increased attention to his 95 theses. The general topic was the sale of indulgences -- a promise of release from the burden of sin’s guilt in exchange for money. What bothered Luther about indulgences was not primarily the greed that motivated the Roman church’s leaders at the time (although he would write plenty on that topic as well), but the effect of such a practice on the individual soul.

Although this world is full of injustices and inequality, Luther understood that the one change that was truly necessary was that each human soul turn to God in repentance and trust in his mercy and forgiveness. The Biblical word for repentance, metanoia, means a turning around of the mind, a change in one’s outlook and attitude. A repentant person perceives a new reality -- they see that in their self-centered sinfulness they have made themselves as beggars before a holy God and know that their only hope for forgiveness lies in his mercy.

Clearly, the purchase of an indulgence, a simple piece of paper, was not what the Scriptures called for. The first of the 95 theses states that “the whole life of believers should be repentance.” This transformation, Luther preached, was only possible through the proclamation of pardon, which was made available to all people through the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was offered as a sacrifice for the world’s sin. Through faith in Christ, not in one’s own good works, a person is declared a child of God and absolved of guilt before God. The Holy Spirit occupies the heart of the penitent believer, daily protesting against the greed that he finds there.

Luther understood the power of this message to change hearts and lives. His last words before death were reported to be, “We are all beggars. This is true.” Beggars before a merciful God who is rich in grace and love.

Epiphany

January 6 is Epiphany and is often called the "Gentile Christmas". The word epiphany comes from the Greek and means "appearance," referring to the appearance of Christ as the Savior (see Titus 3:4). On this day the Christian Church recalls the visit of the Magi who came to worship the infant King. They were the first Gentiles (non-Jews) to recognize Jesus Christ as their Savior. We Gentiles today continue to celebrate the appearance of God's Son as our Savior too.

The First Sunday after Epiphany has, for many centuries, focused on the Baptism of Christ. Although Jesus didn't need to baptized for the forgiveness of sins as we do, he came to be our Substitute in all things ("to fulfill all righteousness"). At his Baptism, Christ was also anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power in order to fulfill his mission. Our Baptism connects us with Christ through faith so that his victory over sin, death and the devil is ours.

The Epiphany "season" of the church year continues until Lent starts. Since Easter is so late this year (April 24 - the latest it will be until 2038!), there will be eight Sundays after Epiphany PLUS Transfiguration Sunday before we finally celebrate Ash Wednesday on March 9.

Thoughts from the pew

Christ Lutheran participates in a preaching rotation for the mid-week Lenten services together with WELS congregations from Citrus Heights and Penryn. One advantage to this is that the congregations have the opportunity to hear the gospel of Christ preached from a different perspective, by men with different gifts and speaking styles. It highlights the blessing of fellowship which is based on unity of faith and doctrine. The same truth of Christ crucified can be proclaimed using a variety of styles. The same law and gospel can be preached by men with different perspectives.

Another result of the pulpit rotation is that the pastors are required to prepare fewer sermons, since they can preach the same one at three different locations. In fact, this year there are two Wednesdays that I don't have to preach at all. Which means that I'm free to sit in the pews with everyone else. Here are some of my observations from last night's service:

• It is a blessing to sit next to my wife and children during the service, sharing pew and hymnal, worshiping the Lord as a family. I personally think this is one of the greater sacrifices that pastors are asked to make in their vocation. I know my wife suffered from my "absence" when our children were younger and she had to take care of four little ones by herself. I regret not having been able to fulfill the father's role of modeling behavior for my sons especially.

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Interactive Passion History

During my first years as a missionary in Brazil, I was struggling with culture shock, language acquisition, and my role on the mission team. I knew we had landed in Brazil through the Lord's call, but it took me a while to find my feet. I felt disoriented and useless. But I found an outlet for my stress in a devotional exercise. It eventually would be called the "Interactive Passion History", a story about the events in the last days of Holy Week. Because the story is told in the second person, the reader actually chooses what will happen next.  The result is that you feel like you're really there, following along with the disciples as the passion history unfolds.

[The inspiration for the medium came from two fun "literary" sources: 1) "Choose your own path adventure stories", where the book gives you options of what should happen next (e.g., "If you think the hero should enter the cave, turn to page 34."); and 2) the movie Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in which two minor characters from Hamlet are the focus of the story.]

In the Interactive Passion History my goals were to bring the Biblical text alive and to highlight some details of the account that might otherwise go unnoticed. I spent many hours late at night (after my missionary duties were done) studying the gospel accounts and other commentaries, jotting down details and trying to get the order of events just right. The central story couldn't be changed; it had to focus on Christ and what he accomplished for us with his death and resurrection. But the reader of my story would be free to "poke around behind the scenes" a bit, focusing on different aspects of the events -- much like what happens if you compare the different gospel accounts. For example, at one point in the story, you can choose whether you will go in and listen to the proceedings of the Sanhedrin as they interrogate Jesus or if you will stay outside and witness Peter's denial as it happens. Of course, after you finish, you can go back to the beginning and take a different path.

I enjoyed researching and writing the Interactive Passion History. It was a great release for me during a stressful time and helped me focus on what was most important: the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of all who believe!