Worship is a big deal at St. Peter Lutheran Church. We call it the high point of the week. Let us tell you a bit about it, that you may sense how important it is and come to experience it yourself.
- Our worship focuses on the living God. We believe He comes to meet us in our worship. Through His Word, we sense that He is the One to trust. He has made us. He cares for us. In His Son Jesus, God shows us who He is and what He is like. He loves us; He exposes our sinfulness to call us to repent that He might forgive us. He gives purpose and meaning for living. Our worship helps us trust Him rather than ourselves or other things which cannot deliver the help we need.
- Our worship is in the form of a dialog. We listen to Scripture and hear it applied to our lives. God confronts our sin and brings us His grace. In turn, we speak to God in our prayers and by confessing our faith; we sing our praises to Him and commit ourselves to live as God’s people.
- Our worship reflects the fact that we are part of the one, holy, catholic (universal), apostolic church. Not only does our teaching derive from writings that are 1900 and more years old, get expressed in ancient creeds, but the hymns we sing come from many cultures and times, are both ancient and contemporary. We celebrate the rich heritage of the Christian tradition.
- Our worship has structure. Although we follow different orders of worship for variety’s sake, they all have four basic elements: a) Gathering and preparation; b) the Service of the Word with our response; c) the Service of the Sacrament with our participation; and d) the Sending. Through such structure, we seek to have a well-rounded service which assists us in growing to maturity in the Christian faith.
- Our worship follows the church calendar with a series of readings to help us know who Jesus is, what He has done for us, and what it means to follow Him. In this way we are kept from focusing only on our favorite emphases and exposed to the wisdom of God in its fullness. This practice fosters mature discipleship.
- Our worship is sacramental. It intentionally echoes Holy Baptism to help us claim the rich treasures God gave when He united us with Jesus Christ in this sacred act. It helps us remember that we are God’s adopted children with the blessings and responsibilities that come with that identity. In keeping with our Lord’s institution, our worship normally includes the celebration of Holy Communion, when He comes to us with His body and blood in the bread and wine. The Lord is truly present in this Holy Meal and grants us the forgiveness we need, empowers us with His presence for Christian living, and fills us with hope as we anticipate the heavenly banquet to come.
- Our worship is fellowship—with God and with one another. We enjoy getting together for mutual encouragement, to sing together, to weep and to rejoice with one another, to pray for one another, and to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts that we may know the unity His forgiveness bestows.
- Our worship is designed to lead us from our worship center out into the world. Our worship life is meant to lead to living for God. What we receive on Sunday is connected to how we live during the week! Christ’s sacrifice for us moves us to dedicate ourselves to living for Him. That is the response we encourage each other to make!