Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church

05/31/2026

Explanation of the Common Service, #17
What are the three divisions of the Service of the Word?
1. The Psalmody (ending with Gloria in Excelsis)
2. The Word (Pericopes and Sermon)
3. The Offerings (response to the Word)

What is the nature of Part 2: The Word?
The Word is a Means of Grace. In this part of the Service, through the Divine Word read and preached, there is an actual bestowal of the grace which was announced and celebrated in the Psalmody part of the Service (the Introit, the Kyrie, and the Gloria in Excelsis).

How does the Service of the Word begin?
With the Salutation and Response.

What is the Salutation and Response?
“The Lord be with you.”
“And with thy Spirit.”

What is the significance of the Salutation and Response?
They mark the beginning of the Service of the Word, they confess that the Lord is with us in His Word read and preached, and they confess that this takes place through the pastor according to his Office.

Why do we reject the modernized Response: “And also with you”?
The Response was once called the “little ordination”, because it was understood that, by it, the congregation accepted the minister’s service to them. The use of the word, “Spirit” is a throwback to the Christ’s institution of the keys, confessing the Holy Spirit’s work in the called minister. The modern “and also with you” loses the confessional wording which was part of the history and culture of the ancient Church.
John 20:22: “When He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’”

05/31/2026

Sermon for the Feast of the Holy Trinity (5/31/2026):

Old Testament: Ezekiel 18:30-32Epistle: Romans 11:33-36Gospel: John 3:1-15Hymn of the Day: TLH #252, “We All Believe in One True God”Collect:Almighty and Eve...

05/24/2026

Explanation of the Common Service, #16
What comes after the Kyrie?
The Gloria in Excelsis.

What is The Gloria in Excelsis?
“Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will toward men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee…”, etc.
It is one of the oldest morning hymns of the Christian Church—a hymn of adoration, celebrating God’s glory as manifested in the merciful gift of His Son. The title comes from the first words of the Latin, meaning, “Glory in the Highest”.
The Gloria in Excelsis is omitted for the penitential seasons (Advent and Lent).

By whom and when were the opening words sung?
By the Angels at the birth of Christ, emphasizing Christ’s divinity and His gracious presence among us, on earth, in the liturgy.
Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

What does Luther say of this part of the Gloria?
“It did not grow; nor was it made on earth; it came down from heaven.”

How may the contents of this hymn be outlined?
1. Adoration of God the Father,
a. In the words of the Angels,
b. In the praise and thanks of the Church.
2. Adoration of God the Son, as the Lord, Only-Begotten, Christ, God, and Lamb of God.
3. Petition to God the Son,
a. Who obtained mercy, by taking away the sin of the world;
b. Who distributes mercy, sitting at the right hand of God, the Father.
4. Praise to God the Son, who is equally holy with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

05/24/2026

Sermon for the Feast of Pentecost (5/24/2026):

Old Testament: Joel 2:28-32Epistle: Acts 2:1-13Gospel: John 14:23...

05/17/2026

Explanation of the Common Service, #15

What comes after the Introit?
The Kyrie.

What is The Kyrie?
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

What is the meaning of the word “Kyrie”?
The full title is Kyrie Eleison, which is Greek for “Lord have mercy”.
Luke 18:38: the blind man calls out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

What is the purpose of the Kyrie?
It is the recognition by the congregation that they are totally dependent upon Christ for necessities of body and soul.
Psalm 100:3: “It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.”

Why is this prayer uttered three times?
In confession of the Trinity. The grace for which we ask is from God the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit.

What follows this cry for mercy?
The Gloria in Excelsis (“Glory be to God on high…”) follows.
This part of the Service strikingly reproduces the order of events related in Luke 18:35–43. There, a blind man in his misery cried for mercy. So do we in the Kyrie.
He cried persistently. We utter the same prayer three times.
His prayer was answered. Our petitions for grace are also answered within the liturgy itself.
Then he and “all the people with him” glorified and gave praise unto God. So our Kyrie is followed by Gloria in Excelsis.

05/17/2026

Sermon for the Festival of the Ascension, transferred (5/17/2026):

Old Testament: Isaiah 57:15Epistle: Acts 1:11Gospel: Mark 16:14-20Hymn of the Day: TLH #387, “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice”Collect:Grant, we beseech...

05/10/2026

Explanation of the Common Service, #14

What is the Gloria Patri?
“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”

What is the meaning of “Gloria Patri”?
The title “Gloria Patri” are the first Latin words of the text (“Glory to the Father”).

Why does the Introit or the Psalm, when a Psalm is used, always end with the Gloria Patri?
To separate the Christian use of the Psalms from that of the Jews. Jesus declares that the messianic references in the Psalms were written about Him. To confess this truth, the Christian Church has always concluded the Psalms with this ascription of praise to the Holy Trinity.
Lk. 24:44: “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”

05/10/2026

Sermon for Rogate - 5th after Easter (5/10/2026):

Old Testament: Jeremiah 29:11-14Epistle: James 1:22-27Gospel: John 16:23-30Hymn of the Day: TLH #458, “Our Father, Thou in Heaven Above”Collect:O God, from W...

05/03/2026

Explanation of the Common Service, #13

How does the Service of the Word begin?
With the Introit—a psalm or portion of a psalm spoken or sung to announce the beginning of the Service. “Introit” comes from the Latin introitus, meaning beginning or entrance, so called because it is the beginning or entrance of the Service.
It originates with the use of the Psalms at the beginning of the Service in the Synagogue, and in all probability at the beginning of the Service of the Apostolic church also.
Psalm 100:2, 4: “Come before His presence with singing… Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.”

What are the parts of the Introit?
The Antiphon, the Psalm-verse, and the Gloria Patri.

What is the meaning of the Antiphon?
Antiphon means “voice answering voice,” and refers to the responsive singing of verses, back and forth, as the seraphim do in Isaiah 6:3: “And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’”

What is the purpose of the Antiphon?
The Antiphon summarizes the theme of the Day. Therefore it is sung both at the beginning and at the end of the Introit.

Explain the use of the Psalm-verse in the Introit.
It is a single verse which has survived the ancient custom of singing an entire psalm at the beginning of the Service. By using a portion of the Psalms in our liturgy, we confess their fulfillment in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

05/03/2026

Sermon for Cantate - 4th Sunday after Easter (5/3/2026):

Cantate - 4th Sunday after Easter