One of the things I find disconcerting about the Missouri Synod is the tension around worship.  In part, because so much of what I read is a distaste, distrust, abandonment of Liturgy.  So much of the talk is about being relevant and about evangelizing.  Personally, I would like to say that this has to stem, in part, from the fact not all that many Lutherans seem to be regularly studying the Book of Concord.  Okay, that is a blanket generalization...but...I would bet money I'm not wrong by the sampling amongst those I know personally.

I mean, as I have written, really it should have been called the Restoration, not Reformation.  Luther was restoring teaching to the apostolic tradition handed down to us, not creating something new.  Part of that was the Liturgy, part was using the Living Word to frame and guide our worship as Liturgy was being restored.  No empty purchasing of forgiveness for Luther!  No condemnation of Law without the sweet consolation of Gospel!

You should fight to preserve Liturgy, fiercely clinging to the practice of pouring the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of our triune God over you from the first word to the last, supported by the first note to the last.

I have also written before that too many times, in the Protestant Church, I heard the admonition that if I was only at church to get fed, then I needed to go home and reevaluate my priorities.  I shouldn't go to be fed but to serve God.  Balderdash!  The Creator of the universe needs me to do something for Him?  Hah!  My work could even a mere fraction of the work of the cross?  Yeh Right!

God, from the moment of all of creation, has been serving us, caring for us, guarding us.  That is why He gave the children of Israel the Sabbath.  Not that He needed their works, but that they needed time away from their own labors for Christ to heal and nurture them.

It is that truth that another blogger commented on Pastor P's post:

Furthermore, no one is saying we speak to the world and those not yet among the household of believers in the same language we speak within the walls of God's house. Worship is not evangelism. God may open the hearts of those present working through His Word and Spirit but the assembly gathered for worship is by definition the baptized company of believers.

We are not speaking the heart language or the language of the heart to people. We speak the Word of God and it is this Word that convicts the heart with regards to sin and enlivens the heart to faith by the Spirit.

Worship is not evangelism.  Worship is not evangelism.  Worship is not evangelism!

All this seeker-friendly stuff is non-sense, worldly, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the tradition of worship handed down to us or the purpose God gave the Sabbath, now Lord's Day to His children.  Worship is not evangelism.

Worship is being cradled in the arms of the Creator, who gives us all that we need.
Worship is being washed clean from our sin by our Redeemer, forgiving us and saving us from the consequences of our sin.
Worship is being taught by the breath of God, moving through us, giving life to the Living Word, filling our hearts and minds with the Truth of God, and sustaining us for the week to come.
Worship is acknowledging the gift of faith He has bestowed upon us and singing our prayer, our praise, and our thanksgiving.
Worship is being loved and cherished by God.

Worship is not evangelism!

Such a powerful statement—one that effectively silences all talk of seeker-friendly services once and for all—for us to remember, reflect upon, and savor for all that it means for us.


Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!