Lutheranism 101 - Part 11 - The Third Commadment - Part III

In this lesson I would like to take a look at some of the traditions that we have in the Lutheran church concerning worship.
First of all traditionally we have followed a church calendar. It starts with Advent either at the end of November or the beginning of December. It consists of four weeks where we look at Christ's coming. We focus on Christ's coming at Christmas, coming into our hearts today and his second coming. The color for the season is blue, which I will explain later. On December 25 we start the season of Christmas. The color for this is white. The Christmas season lasts a couple of weeks and obviously we concentrate on the birth of Jesus. The next season which starts on January 6th is the season of Epiphany. The color for this season is green. Epiphany lasts six to eight weeks depending on the date for Easter which changes every year. During the season of epiphany we concentrate on the miracles of Jesus, since the meaning of the word Epiphany means shining forth. Epiphany ends with Transfiguration Sunday where we look at Jesus as he is transfigured on the mountain along with Elijah and Moses. The next season is Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday. The color for Lent is purple. During the season of Lent we prepared for the the crucifixion of Christ. The season lasts six weeks and is a time of repentance and self examination. Sometimes people give things up for Lent to identify with Christ in his sufferings. There are forty days in Lent not counting Sundays. So when you give something up for Lent you can indulge in it on Sunday if you want, because technically it is not one of the days of Lent. The last week of Lent is called Passion Week. During this week we pay close attention to Jesus as he goes to Jerusalem to die for us. On Thursday we celebrate Maundy Thursday. This is the night that Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper and also the night he was arrested. On Friday we celebrate Good Friday which is black. On Friday Jesus was crucified for us on the cross and all our sins were washed away. The next season is Easter which is white. This season lasts six weeks. Easter Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. On this day we proclaim victory and we are assured of the fact that we have eternal life. The next season is Pentecost. The color for the day of Pentecost is red. The season of Pentecost lasts anywhere from 22 to 27 weeks depending again on the date of Easter. The second Sunday of Pentecost is called Trinity Sunday and the color is white. The rest of the season the color is green. The church year is divided into two parts the festive half lasts from Advent to the start of Pentecost. During this season we focus on the life of Christ. The second half is called the non-festive season and we concentrate on the life of the Christian.
Now to the colors. The color blue is the color of hope. The color white is the color of purity. The color green is the color of growth. The color purple is the color of royalty and suffering. The color red is the color of the Holy Spirit.
The Lutheran church is also typically a liturgical church. That means that we have a structured order of worship every week. There are certain things that are always present in that structure, such as confession/absolution, the Lord's Prayer, the Creeds, the Readings, the Sermon and on certain Sundays Communion.
We are also a Word and sacrament church. In the Roman Catholic church most things center around the altar and the sacraments with very little emphasis put on the Word or preaching. In most reformed churches, such as the Baptists and most non-denominational churches, the emphasis is on the Word and preaching with very little attention given to the altar or the sacraments. In the Lutheran church we concentrate on both. We strongly emphasize the Word and preaching and we also strongly emphasize the altar and the sacraments.

Now all that said, the above is all tradition and not required by Scripture. More and more Lutheran churches are finding new ways to do worship. Most of them are trying to be innovative without throwing our great history and traditions completely out the window. That is what we are striving to do here at Family of Christ. If you are interested in more information join us for Sunday morning Bible study. We are looking at worship right now.
Next week we will move onto the Fourth Commandment.

Pastor Fred