Lutheran Essentials meets in the undercroft of the church on Wednesday evenings at 7pm. You can reach the undercroft by going around to the back parking lot of the church and descending the staircase to the kitchen. Knock on the door if it is closed and some one will let you in. Our current study is on “The Fire and the Staff” by Klemet Preus and the Historic Liturgy. If you do not have a copy of the “The Fire and the Staff” or the Book of Concord we are providing them for free.
The Psalm for this week is Psalm 59. The Small Catechism lesson is the Sixth Commandment.
We will be reading through “The Fire and the Staff”. We will start reading Chapter 10: The Staff is Lost (pg. 313-358). We will pick up our discussion the innovations in American Evangelical worship as put forth by Dwight Moody by reading Enthusiastic, Exhortational, and Entertaining Preaching (pg. 347). We will talk about how exhortational and motivational preaching turns the preacher into a life coach and leads to cults of personality. We will also talk about how all of these techniques really do nothing to convert anyone but rather only appeal to those who are already in church. All of these practices and others work to destroy the actual gifts and blessings God gives us in the Divine Service.
In our study of the Divine Service Setting III in Lutheran Service Book we will talk about the Closing Hymn. We will discuss the recessional and what hymns are typically used at the end of the service. We will then sing the hymn “Sent Forth by God’s Blessing” (LSB 643).
We will then move on and talk about the Postlude. We will discuss how the postlude gives us time to meditate on what we received in the Divine Service, as well as giving time for the organist to give thanks to God. We will sing the hymn “Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good” (LSB 819).
Finally to close out our study of the Divine Service we will talk about what happens after the service is over. We will discuss the cleaning up of the altar and how the service carries us forward into the week. We will finish our study with the hymn “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart” (LSB 708).
As always new people are always welcome to this study at any point during the class. Please talk to the Pastor, Elders or Paul Edmon if you have any questions.
