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What are the services like?
St. John's is a Lutheran congregation and our worship reflects that. Our service is liturgical and reverent. The structure of the service is the same week to week. But the readings, prayers, hymns, and preaching are different every week, making each Sunday unique.
Why have a set structure (the liturgy) each week? In the first place, the portions of the service that are repeated each week are almost exclusively from Scripture. This means that the service is centered on what God says to us in His holy Word. What could be better than that?
The liturgy is also memorable and memorizable. St. Paul exhorts us to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. Repeating a portion of Christ's Word each week helps us to do just that.
Finally, the liturgy is good for congregation participation in worship. When you come to St. John's you are not coming as a spectator to watch what the pastor or others are doing. When you come to church at St. John's, your participation is an important part of the service. Your voice ascends to the Lord in prayer and song along with the others who are gathered here with you. Your voice is an encouragement to them even as their voices encourage you. Using the liturgy every week helps us to lift up our voices to the Lord as one Church. It is the blood of Christ that unites as as members of His one body. So we do not speak and sing in a cacophony, but we speak and sing as one.
How long do services last?
Our services typically run approximately 50-70 minutes.
What do I do during the Lord's Supper?
As Lutherans, we believe that in the Lord's Supper, Jesus truly gives us his body to eat and his blood to drink, the same body and blood that were given and shed on the cross for the remission of our sins. He gives us to eat and drink the same body and blood that are now risen and seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. The bread and wine in the Holy Supper are not merely symbolic of Jesus' body and blood nor do they only represent Jesus' body and blood. The bread is the body of Jesus. And the wine is the blood of Jesus.
According to 1 Corinthians 22, we also believe that the Lord's supper is a statement of unity in faith and confession. When someone communes at St. John's, they are making a statement that they believe all the things that we believe and teach at St. John's, which is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.
Therefore, only those who are members in good standing of a congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod should commune at St. John's. If you are not a member of an LC-MS congregation, but would like to learn more about our confession of faith and receiving the Lord's Supper at St. John's, please speak with Pastor Bartens.
If you are not communing on a Sunday morning, you may remain in your pew during the distribution, or you may come forward and cross your arms over your chest to receive a blessing from the pastor.
What about my kids?
Your children belong in the Divine Service with you. Jesus wants the little children to come to Him. So bring them to church with you. Try to sit where your children can see what is going on in the front of the church. The colors of the chancel and the vestments and the activity in the chancel are fascinating to little children and capture their attention.
But what if they make noise? Don't worry! A church where children cry today will be full of singing years from now. And there are lots of families with smaller children in our congregation. You won't be alone.
If you do need to take your child out, you will find a nursery near the restrooms where the service is streamed onto a TV. But please bring your children back into the church as soon as you can.
How can I learn more?
If you have any questions about our worship or teaching, please reach out to Pastor Bartens. He is more than happy to talk with you about our service, or to arrange a time for instruction in the Lutheran confession of the faith leading to confirmation and communicant membership at St. John's.
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