Why Lutheran Christians Love to Go to Church

The name Jesus means “he saves” or Savior. That is quite appropriate because that is why the Son of
God came to earth and took on human flesh. He came to save the world from its sin. Jesus’ life,
suffering, death, and resurrection were for us. He took the sins of the world upon himself to pay off the
debt we incurred. When he did this, he won forgiveness and salvation for the whole world. Having won
these things is one thing but distributing them to people is quite another.

To illustrate, I like to use the following example. Your parents or grandparents live 2000 miles away from
you. They’ve bought you Christmas presents and they want to come to you personally and deliver them.
They decide they will come to you and bring along the gifts they have for you on an airplane. In this
example, the airplane is the means by which they come to you personally and deliver the gifts. Likewise,
Jesus has the gifts of forgiveness and salvation he won on the cross and he wants to deliver them to you
personally. What is the way he has chosen to come to us and deliver those precious gifts? He comes to
us and personally delivers those gifts in the Divine Service via the means of Word and Sacrament. That is
the reason that going to church is so important. You get to meet Jesus and receive the amazing gifts he
has for you! And they are free of charge! They are indeed gifts!

At church we get to receive the precious gifts Jesus has won for us and to respond with thanksgiving and
praise. When we go to church we are privileged to:

1. Meet with fellow believers in Christ. With them we gather in Jesus’ name.
2. Meet Jesus. Since Jesus has promised that where two or three are gathered in his name he will
be there with those who gather in his name, that means he is there with us in the Divine Service.
3. Meet with the Triune God. As we call upon the Triune God in the invocation, holy God is
present with us.
4. Hear the name of God that was placed on us in our Baptism. In the invocation we hear the
words by which we first became children of God, officially being adopted into his family, and
covered with the righteousness of Christ.
5. Confess our sins and personally hear from God that he has absolved us of them for Jesus’ sake.
6. Pray for mercy in the Kyrie for ourselves, the congregation, all Christians, and all people in the
world before God. Prayer for others is a major task of God’s people.
7. Hear that God has had mercy on us in Christ in the hymn of praise.
8. Hear God speak personally to us in the OT, Epistle, and NT when the scriptures are read.
9. Confess the Christian faith that all Christians around the world believe and confess. All
members of the Christian family repeat what God has taught us in his Word.
10. Sing God’s Word to each other in the hymns we sing, telling each other the Good News of Jesus.
11. Hear God personally speak to us in Law and Gospel in the sermon.
12. Be mediators between God and the world when we pray the prayers of the church, seeking
God’s grace and mercy for all those whom we pray for.
13. Show our appreciation for God’s grace by the offerings we give and the offertory that we sing.
14. Thank the Father for the gift of the Son in the Preface and Proper Preface.
15. Join with the angels in praising Jesus in the Sanctus for his coming in the flesh to save us.
16. Pray the Lord’s Prayer in preparation for the Holy Meal we are about to receive.
 Why Lutheran Christians Love to Go to Church

17. Hear the Good News in the Words of Institution that Jesus is present in the bread and wine in
order to give us the forgiveness of sins.
18. Receive peace and mercy from the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
19. Receive the true body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.
20. Thank God for the holy and saving food we’ve just received which gives us life and salvation and
strengthens our faith and love.
21. Have the Triune Name placed upon us in the Benediction as it was when we were baptized.
That means as we leave God goes with us back out into the world.

There is a hymn that is sometimes sung at the end of the service that summarizes nicely the benefits
received from attending and participating in the Divine Service. It is called Go My Children with My
Blessing.

Go, my children, with my blessing, Never alone.

Waking, sleeping, I am with you; You are my own.
In my love's baptismal river
I have made you mine forever.
Go, my children, with my blessing - You are my own.

Go, my children, sins forgiven, At peace and pure.

Here you learned how much I love you, What I can cure.
Here you heard my dear Son's story;
Here you touched him, saw his glory.
Go, my children, sins forgiven, At peace and pure.

Go, my children, fed and nourished, Closer to me;

Grow in love and love by serving, Joyful and free.
Here my Spirit's power filled you;
Here his tender comfort stilled you.
Go, my children, fed and nourished, Joyful and free.

I the Lord will bless and keep you And give you peace;
I the Lord will smile upon you And give you peace;
I the Lord will be your Father,
Savior, Comforter, and Brother.
Go, my children; I will keep you And give you peace

That is why Lutheran Christians love to go to church. They love to receive the gracious gifts of God. It is
in the Divine Service that he lavishes them on us in Word and Sacrament and we thank him for them.

Why would anyone not want to go to church!? Don’t you want to meet with Jesus? Don’t you want to be
reminded that God has chosen you and made you his child? Don’t you want to personally receive
forgiveness of your sins? Don’t you want to personally hear God speak his Word to you? Don’t you want
your faith fed and nourished by the very body and blood of Christ? Don’t you want to receive comfort
 Why Lutheran Christians Love to Go to Church

and peace? Don’t you want to thank the Lord for all that he has done and will do for you? It’s up to you
whether you go to church or not, but if you don’t, you’ll be missing out on all of this.

Precious Nuggets of Truth about the Divine Service

In addition to the above, here are some precious nuggets about the Divine Service from Dr. Kleinig’s
address in the orientation of students at Australian Lutheran College. He gives us more reasons why
worship is so important and such a privilege. You can find detailed notes from this orientation on my
website under the Divine Service/Liturgy tab. Click on ‘Why Worship is Important.’

 Worship is a mystery. The most important part of worship is not what is visible but what is
invisible. In worship the Holy Spirit works through God’s Word to strengthen your faith.
 Worship has to do with the most amazing fact that the risen Lord Jesus is with us. And what is
he doing? He does the same thing he did for the Emmaus disciples. He preaches himself to us
from the Scriptures and he makes himself known to us in the breaking of bread.
 While on earth Jesus preached and taught and healed. We read about Jesus’ ministry in the
Gospels. And what Jesus did in the Gospels he continues to do today in the Divine Service. He
continues to preach and teach and heal us.
 Worship first of all has to do with listening to the voice of Jesus and letting him work with you,
receiving the Holy Spirit through the Word of Jesus.
 Worship is the center of everything Christians do. It is central to the life of this community.
 Our focus is on the Word of God. God’s Word is enacted in Law and Gospel. Through the Word
forgiveness and reconciliation are enacted.
 In the Divine Service, we enter heaven itself. In the Divine Service we have access to heaven on
earth. The Triune God is with us.
 When we worship we are actually practicing our faith. What is the one thing the devil tries to
do? Keep you away from worship. He wants to keep you away from the Word of God and
receiving the Spirit and praying and praising.
 The time when you most need to worship is the time when you least feel like going.
 When we are under spiritual attack, we need the encouragement in the truth by our brothers
and sisters in Christ. It is a great privilege to worship regularly with other Christians.
 You can pray with assurance for whatever God has promised. You can praise God for whatever
he has said and done for us.
 God’s Word is given to us in order that he might bless us. When blessing is spoken to you, it
actually gives you what is promised in his Word.
 If you don’t worship the Triune God you are not a Christian.  Whether a person worships or not
is a pretty good sign of someone’s spiritual status, if they have faith or not.
 Worship involves our service as priests. We pray for others.

So, what appears to be ordinary people meeting at an ordinary place and time, led by an ordinary man
dressed in funny looking robes, doing ordinary things such as reading and speaking and performing
some rituals, turns out to be something extraordinary. There is more happening here that meets the
eye. The Triune God is coming down to these ordinary people and is meeting with them. This whole
 Why Lutheran Christians Love to Go to Church

service is a mystery that cannot be fully comprehended. Heaven is coming down to earth. Jesus Christ,
who won forgiveness of sins and eternal life for the world, is present for the purpose of giving out the
precious gifts he won. Through the Word and the Sacraments, the Holy Spirit is creating and
strengthening faith, which receives these gracious gifts and responds with thanksgiving and praise.
Simply put, participating in the Divine Service is what Christians do. The Divine Service is where
Christians meet with God and receive his gifts. In the Divine Service the Triune God gathers us, forgives
us, speaks to us, listens to us, feeds us, and sends us out as renewed people. That is why Lutheran
Christians are excited and look forward to and consider it a privilege to go to church.