A document to elucidate the understandings and paradigms we share regarding the worship ministry at Bangsar Lutheran Church, Kuala Lumpur (www.bangsarlutheran.org)

1. OUR SHARED UNDERSTANDINGS
BLC Worship Ministry

2. UNDERSTANDING WORSHIP AT BLC

3. Our Shared BLC Vision
As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you
- John 20:21

4. How does the worship ministry
support our shared vision?
By helping the BLC Family encounter
Christ,
so the world may encounter Christ through us.
“We seek Him, then are sent by Him”

5. Lutheran Paradigm
The Lutheran worship
service offers Christ by
guiding worshippers to a
faith encounter with
Christ in Word and
Sacrament (the biblical
core of Worship).
For a more detailed exposition, please consult “What’s So Special about Lutheran Worship?” a presentation by Jeffrey Truscott, 26 Nov 2009
(jeffreyt@ttc.edu.sg). Available here: [Link]

6. The Road To Emmaus
Luke 24:13-35

7. The Road To Emmaus
Luke 24:13-35
• Reveals the basic structure of worship:
Word and Sacraments
• Reveals the basic content of worship:
Christ Himself

8. The Road To Emmaus
Luke 24:13-35
When the scriptures are read, Christ himself is made
known:
“Were not our hearts burning within us while he
talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures
to us?” (v.32)

9. The Road To Emmaus
Luke 24:13-35
When the bread is broken, Christ is also made known:
He was recognized by them “when he broke the
bread” (v 35).

10. Augsburg Confession 7:
Affirming the Core of Worship
[We teach] that at all
times there must be and
remain one holy,
Christian church. It is the
assembly of all believers
among whom the
Gospel is purely
preached and the
sacraments are The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its
Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of
the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the
administered according Lutheran reformation. The Augsburg Confession was written in both
German and Latin, and was presented by a number of German rulers
to the Gospel. and free-cities at the Diet of Augsburg on June 25, 1530.

11. Augsburg Confession 7:
Affirming the Core of Worship
• Church = the assembly
that gathers for Word
and Sacrament
• The focus of our life
together as a church is
these “central things”
that offer Christ to us –
scriptures proclaimed
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its
and bread broken and Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of
the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the
shared, baptizing or Lutheran reformation. The Augsburg Confession was written in both
German and Latin, and was presented by a number of German rulers
remembering baptism and free-cities at the Diet of Augsburg on June 25, 1530.

12. WHAT ARE OUR CORE VALUES?

13. Worship Is A Lifestyle

14. Involves the whole family

15. Trust & Ownership

16. Technical Excellence

17. WHAT HAPPENS DURING A
BLC WORSHIP GATHERING
The following is adapted from “What’s So Special about Lutheran Worship?” a presentation by Jeffrey Truscott, 26 Nov 2009
(jeffreyt@ttc.edu.sg). Available here: [Link]

18. What Happens During BLC Worship?
Gathering Sending

19. Lutheran Worship
• Structured to put Word and
Sacrament at the center of
worship!
• Most Lutheran Communion
services today have a four-
fold structure:
– Gathering
– Word (Scripture
Lessons/ Sermon)
– Meal (Holy Communion)
– Sending

20. What Happens During BLC Worship?
Gathering Sending

21. BLC Worship Service: Gathering
What typically happens?
• Greeting/Welcome
• Invocation (naming) of the Trinity
• Confession and Absolution
• Collect (opening prayer)

22. BLC Worship Service: Gathering
Why we do it:
• Not a utilitarian act
• It is our transition from being “scattered in the
world” to being “gathered for worship”
• Prepares us to hear Christ speak to us anew by
bringing us into the presence of the God revealed by
Jesus, i.e., the Triune God

23. What Happens During BLC Worship?
Gathering Sending

24. BLC Worship Service: Word
What typically happens?
• Sharing of the Peace
• Old Testament Lesson/reading
• Psalm reading – as a response to OT
• New Testament (Epistle) Lesson/reading
• Gospel Lesson/Sermon/Message
• Creed recital
• Prayers of Intercession (aka prayers of the church,
intercessory prayers, prayers of the people, prayers
and concerns, etc)

25. BLC Worship Service: Word
• Sharing of the Peace
– More than just a way of greeting one another
– A tangible expression of the Peace given to the
church and world by Christ’s saving death and
resurrection

26. BLC Worship Service: Word
• Scripture readings
– Not just a pre-text for the sermon, but Christ
speaking to us
– Order of readings culminates with the Gospel, the
chief reading of the day
– As a recognition of our meeting Christ in the
Word, we answer the Scripture Reader’s
declaration “This is the Word of the Lord” with
“Thanks be to God.”

27. BLC Worship Service: Word
• Sermon
– Not just a Bible study or a moral lecture
– Christ uses the preacher to show us our need
(law) and to assure us of his love and forgiveness
(gospel)
– Law and Gospel in preaching kill and make alive,
and thereby make us conform to Christ.
– The Word in worship is an encounter with Christ

28. BLC Worship Service: Word
• Creed
– Is a summary of what the church believes about
the Christ whom it encounters in the Word
– Is a summary of the faith that is created by the
preaching of the Gospel
– In medieval Germany, the Creed followed the
reading of the Gospel Lesson

29. BLC Worship Service: Word
• Prayers of Intercession
– The church asks for the blessings of Christ
promised in the Word
– The church fulfills the priestly role given to it by
Christ by praying for the world

30. What Happens During BLC Worship?
Gathering Sending

31. BLC Worship Service: Meal
What typically happens?
• Offering (Taking Bread)
• Great Thanksgiving (Giving Thanks)
• Fraction (Breaking Bread)
• Distribution of elements (Giving bread)

32. BLC Worship Service: Meal
• More than just an ordinance to be performed
• Holy Communion offers Christ
• Concerning Holy Communion, Luther’s Small
Catechism says
– “It is the true body and blood of Christ under
bread and wine… for us to eat and drink.”
– “… life and salvation are given to us in the
sacrament…” (Small Catechism)

33. What Happens During BLC Worship?
Gathering Sending

34. BLC Worship Service: Sending
What typically happens?
• Announcements
• Benediction
• Dismissal: “Go in peace. Serve the Lord.”

35. BLC Worship Service: Sending
Why we do it:
• It is our transition from worship to the world /
mission
• Sends us to do Christ’s work in the world

36. END
Prepared by: Leigh