Lutheran Worship: The Word

Our Path of Worship:
Centered on the Gospel
Orderly and Reverent
The Invocation
Confession & Absolution
The Word
The Sacraments
Prayer and Praise
Our Offerings
The Blessing

From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:15-17)

A young woman suddenly shows interest in getting the family’s mail. She is waiting for a good old-fashioned hand written letter. When it comes, she sifts through the mail. Then she sees it. Her heart races as she opens the letter. She hangs on every word. The love letter changes her entire week.

Did you ever write love letters to your spouse when you were dating? Reading them again and again might bring you more closely together than ever. It may reassure you of the love you have for one another.

Even if you haven’t received a love letter, you do possess a love letter from God. It is his holy Word, the Bible. This is God’s love letter which is powerful to save you and guide you. God’s Word is not just a letter that makes our heart race. It is the only Word that has the power to make us wise for salvation.

Just think of what happens when God speaks. God created the universe by the breath of his mouth. Jesus told Lazarus to come out and his dead body rose and walked from the tomb. Jesus spoke from the cross, “It is finished” and salvation’s work was done. God’s Word is powerful. It has the power to give spiritual life and keep our hearts spiritually alive.

The Bible is different in that way than any other books. The Library of Congress has 32 million books in over 470 different languages. They add about 10,000 items to their catalog per day. Yet the wisdom in that stack of books is an ant hill compared to the wisdom we receive in God’s Word. God’s Word makes us wise for salvation. It gives us spiritual life. It saved us… from God’s promise of a Savior to his victory over death to the Word spoken at our baptism that gave us the forgiveness Jesus won for us to the promise that Jesus will raise us and take us to heaven. God’s Word makes us wise for salvation.

Think back to the young woman reading the love letter. Why does she read it again and again? Those words change her entire outlook on life. They brighten her days. They give her new resolve to live like she is loved. God’s love letter to us does the same thing. God pours his love out to us in his Word. All of his Word is beneficial for life. It changes our outlook on life. It brightens our days. It gives us resolve to live like we are loved. Timothy says that the Word is useful for teaching us so that we grow in faith. It is useful for rebuking us when we’ve done wrong and then for correcting and training us in Christian living to do what is right.

This is why our whole worship service revolves around the Word. The Bible is God’s love letter to you. It has the power to save you and guide you. Read it, hear it, and study it with thankfulness to God for all he has done