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Worship is not about us. Worship is not for us; it's for God. He is the audience of our worship, and so we want our worship to focus on lifting up our great God. We want the songs we sing to be worthy of his name. We want what we say to reflect the beauty of God and to express thankfulness for the sacrifice of the Father in sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us.

What Is Lutheran Worship?
We believe that the worship that the church has practiced, crafted, and offered for hundreds--and with some parts--thousands of years is the best expression of worship. Because the church did not begin with us or with our generation, we are concerned to worship in continuity with the church throughout time. We follow a written liturgy for our worship. We recognize that our worship can only take place because God has first moved and acted in our hearts to desire to worship him. Our worship is a response to what God has done. God comes to us and gives us certain gifts that we desperately need -- forgiveness of sins pronounced through confession and absolution, the preaching of the gospel which declares that we are forgiven because of who Jesus is and what he's done and not because of who we are or what we have done, and the gift of his body and blood in Holy Communion. We in turn give back to him thanks and praise for all of the undeserved goodness we have received.

Why Liturgical Garments?
Throughout the year we follow the church calendar. This means that what we emphasize at different times throughout the year is organized around the life of Jesus Christ. Our pastor wears vestments that fit with the particular emphasis in the life of Christ and the life of the church. The colors of the vestments and on the altar differ throughout the year. They are intended to follow the life of Jesus Christ each year. So we start with blue in advent (the time of waiting before Christ's birth), then gold at Christmas, purple at Lent (the time of Christ's ministry leading up to his death), black on Good Friday, white during Easter, red during Pentecost to symbolize the flame of  the Spirit, and green the rest of the year until we start again with advent. We want to do more than just talk about Jesus we want all that we do to be centered around the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Wearing these different colors helps to guard us from getting off track and emphasizing whatever we want to emphasize. It helps us stay focused on Jesus.

If you have any questions about any aspect of our worship, please email Pastor John Fraiser at johnfraiser@htlc-lagrange.org.