Sermon on the "Service of the Word", for Trinity Sunday, "Worship Instruction: Why we do what we do"
Intro: The Lord be with you! Today I wanted to do a special teaching sermon, where we will learn some of the reasons for why we do what we do in worship, and to explain the meaning behind some of the symbols and actions that we often take for granted. I pray that this will help make your weekly worship more meaningful, as we draw near to worship our Triune God and receive His gifts! Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Let’s start with a brief introduction to the theology of worship. Worship could be understood in at least one of two ways—one way is that worship is an activity we do for God, and goes from us up to God, and His blessings return down to us, like a capital “M”. The second way is to see worship as first and foremost what God does for us. His gifts and blessings come down to us, and our praises return up to Him, like a capital “W”. The d...