Glory to God in the Highest
Wednesday’s Verse:
From Luke 2:14 KJV
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.”
Yesterday, we took a moment to reflect upon the opening line of the Offertory from Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” The Divine Service liturgy we use in church is not some run-of-the-mill, put-together on a Thursday morning just to give the person doing the screen graphics enough time to finish them before Sunday morning church service.
The liturgies we use in church are supposed to tie closely to Holy Scripture, where we return to the Lord the Words He gives us in those pages. We do not need to be more clever than the next church, or to make our services pithier or include more music than the church on the other side of town.
Liturgies are the ordered framework of public worship in which God comes to serve His people through His Word and Sacraments (God’s Work First), and the congregation responds in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving (Our Response Second). Orderliness is important for us to hear and receive, so we can respond in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
One of the church’s favorite parts of the liturgy is the Gloria in Excelsis, which is based upon the words of the angels in Luke 2. It is a joyous response to the Kyrie, where God’s people cry out for mercy. In the Gloria, we call Jesus, the one the angels came to proclaim His birth, “the Lamb of God,” who takes away the sin of the world.
For us, this is a wonderful expression of God’s grace come alive. By singing it loudly and joyfully, we express God’s love that has made us whole. Through this Lamb of God, our sins are paid for on the cross, and the Father blesses us with salvation and eternal life.
Today’s Prayers
Heavenly Father, may our church worship be pleasing in Your sight as we come to receive You and bring You praise in return. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The photo above was created by Gemini (gemini.google.com)