What to Expect at Worship
A Typical Service at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church
We believe that everyone can benefit from regularly gathering to worship as a group. At St. Matthew’s Lutheran, Jesus Christ is the center of each service as we celebrate the good news that he lived and died for us. Each week has its own theme as we review these truths from a slightly different angle. This unique theme will be reflected in the individual week’s hymns, lessons, and prayers. Regardless of a particular theme, the focus, comfort, and purpose of our worship is always found Jesus Christ.
St. Matthew’s Lutheran services generally last one hour. Provided is a guideline of a typical Sunday of worship to help you gain a better understanding of our services.
Greeting: The pastor offers a morning greeting and discusses the theme of the day.
Opening Hymn: The opening hymn can be found within the worship bulletins provided to everyone at the beginning of the service. The hymn helps set the tone for the service and is related to the theme that day.
Invocation: The congregation is reminded by the pastor of their baptism through the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Confession of Sins: Confession is time where we can publicly confess our sins to God. This is an important step in worship because it reminds us that we are not capable of approaching God by ourselves. Through our confessions, we acknowledge where we fall short. By expressing our need for Christ the Lord, we can better appreciate his work in us. We also confess our sins to receive the promise of God’s forgiveness to us. Our confessions restore our relationship with God and allow us to stand before Him in joyous worship.
Scripture Readings: Each service places special focus on scripture readings, as God’s Word is an important tool that reminds us of our journey of faith. Our services usually includes one reading from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and from the Gospels. These three readings will influence the sermon that day.
Gospel Music & Choral Anthems: The selection of music used in each service serves to enhance the theme of worship that day. The selection are sprinkled in between the readings and confessions. Of these is the Psalm of the Day which is sung to help point us closer to God. We invite the congregation to sing along to the hymns as we praise our Savior as one.
Sermon: The sermon is led by the pastor and is a means to explore the one or more of the passages we read earlier in the service. The word of the Lord is a valuable tool in our Christian faith. Throughout the week, our pastor studies the readings to find its meanings or lessons. Through his sermon, the pastor provides the congregation with this message in a way that we can apply to our own Christian lives.
The Apostles’ Creed: We recite the Apostles Creed as it is a summary of many teachings that God has given us. These words are also a reminder that all believer around the world and throughout history are united in the love of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Offering: We partake in offering as a way to share with others the gifts God has given us. As children of God, our thank offerings are gathered and used in the hope that it will help others find the loving and forgiving message of our Savior. We do not ask that visitors be expected to participate in Sunday Offering. Instead, we encourage visitors to gain a better understanding of our church’s values and mission before partaking in offering.
Prayer: We believe as the Bible has taught in the power of prayer, and the importance of praying for those in many types of situations. At St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, we boldly raise our concerns, special prayers, and thanks to the Lord.
Lord’s Prayer: At each service, our Lord gives us confidence to recite this prayer as Jesus himself taught to his own disciples.
Blessing: The blessing dates back more that 3,500 years and is a reminder that we depart with confidence that God has given us his grace, peace, and favor to share with others. With this encouragement from God, we can depart from service with the strength to follow the Word and apply it to our own lives throughout the week.