service of the word (part 8)
A House of Thanksgiving & Prayer
After the Sermon, the Offering is collected. Offering is a sacrifice of thanksgiving by the individual Christian. With it, we thank God for all the blessings He has bestowed on us in life and in His House.
Our sacrifice of thanksgiving supports the ministry of the Lord’s House. Offering is a spiritual act between God and the believer. It is based on the thank offering offered in the Temple (Lev. 7:11-18; Deut. 26:1-11) and the tithe for alms (Deut. 26:12-15).
The Offertory is sung after the Offering is collected and presented to the Lord at the altar. The Offertory is Psalm 51.
The prayers of the Church are then offered up unto to the Lord. Here the congregation assembled as the people of God offer up prayers to God on behalf of all people. The Service of the Word concludes with the Prayer of the Church.
One thing of note with the Service of the Word, and generally with all of the Divine Service, Scripture is either directly quoted, paraphrased, or it inspires. In other words, we take God’s Word that He speaks and speak it back to Him. You can’t find a more biblical worship than the Divine Service.