What happens on Sunday morning
The Divine Service at Immanuel follows the historic Western liturgy, as it has been received and refined in the Lutheran tradition. The service has two main movements.
The first is the Service of the Word: confession and absolution, hymns and psalms, readings from the Old Testament, the Epistles, and the Gospel, followed by the sermon. The Law is proclaimed, laying bare our need. The Gospel is proclaimed, announcing what Christ has done for us. Together they constitute the full counsel of God.
The second is the Service of the Sacrament: the offering of prayers, the Words of Institution, and the distribution of the Lord’s Supper, the true body and blood of Christ, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins. Not every Sunday includes the Sacrament, but it is offered regularly throughout the year.
The church year
Lutheran worship follows the historic church calendar: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and the long season after Trinity. The lectionary appointed to this calendar means that over the course of the year, the congregation hears the full arc of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. The hymns, the paraments, and the appointed readings all reinforce one another, season by season.
This is not a novelty. Christians have structured their common prayer around the life of Christ since the earliest centuries of the Church. At Immanuel, we receive this calendar as a gift.
The Lord’s Supper
We believe, teach, and confess that in the Sacrament of the Altar, Christ is truly present, that His body and blood are given to us for the forgiveness of sins. This is not a symbol or a memorial. Heeding what St. Paul says about the Lord’s Supper, we hold to the historic practice of closed communion: we ask that those who receive the Sacrament at Immanuel be members of this congregation or of a sister congregation in altar and pulpit fellowship with the lcms. If you are visiting and would like to discuss communing with us, please speak with the pastor before the service. Visitors are warmly welcome to receive a spoken blessing at the rail.
Music
Hymnody is central to Lutheran worship. At Immanuel we use the Lutheran Service Book, whose hymns span sixteen centuries of the Church’s song, from ancient chant to Reformation chorales to modern settings of enduring texts.
Wednesday midweek service
In addition to the Sunday Divine Service, Immanuel holds a midweek service on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. This service is spoken, but still formed around the Word and the Lord’s Supper.
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