The liturgy: Patterns of praise
Our patterns of worship praise our gracious Lord and build up one another for life’s journey. It’s Sunday morning. What are we going to do? Most of us will say,…
Fear, fellowship, facts, and freedom
Online worship is truly a blessing. So, is there a curse? As with most things, there can be. My first Sunday of in-person worship since our move back to Arizona…
Psalms: Songs of his people
Called the hymnal of the Old Testament, the psalms continue to give God’s people comfort, strength, and hope. It could have been my deathbed. Personal use of the psalms It…
Investing in a rich worship life
Lomira, Wis., is a small town of about 2,500 people located approximately 50 miles northwest of Milwaukee. St. John has been a fixture in Lomira since 1863 and is the…
Please explain: If the Sabbath law no longer applies, why do I have to go to church?
“Really? You’re going to church again? Didn’t you just go last week? Don’t you know all that stuff already? Are you really going to learn anything new or different? Why…
Worship resource previews new hymns
To help WELS members get a taste of the new hymns that will be included in Christian Worship: Hymnal, the WELS Hymnal Project has released Christian Worship: Hymn Preview. This…
Bible study: The need for the Bible and worship
We listen to God’s voice through his Word, that is, the Bible. Imagine you live in a world exactly like our own but with one exception: The Bible does not…
Bittersweet
We come back to worship, but it’s just not the same. I was giddy with anticipation. After two months of exile, we were finally going to gather again to worship…
Starting a church during a pandemic
Folsom is in northern California, between Sacramento and the Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s an exciting place to start a church. I arrived in Folsom in the fall of 2019, with an…