Lesson Two
The Conversation of the Liturgy
teacher’s edition
Introduction
How would you define the word “conversation?”
A spoken exchange of dialogue between two are more people.
How do the dynamics change when a conversation takes place
between more than two people?
The width and depth of the conversation is usually increased. People
may form up and take sides to support or to challenge an idea or
opinion.
The liturgy is really just a group conversation between God and his
people who have gathered together. Today we will look at how God
speaks to us and how we respond to what he has said.
A History of Conversations
Look up the following Bible sections and ask three questions:
1. Who started the conversation?
2. What was the back-and-forth flow of the conversation?
3. Do you recognize elements of the conversation in our liturgy?
Genesis 3:8-19
1. God starts the conversation
2. God asks a question, Adam answers with half truths. God
probes further. Adam admits guilt but also points the finger of
blame. Eve does the same. Then God speaks of consequences,
but also gives a promise to fix the mess they made by promising
an offspring of the woman who will crush Satan’s head.
3. Really the confession of sins. Admission of guilt, but
reassurance of forgiveness through the offspring of Eve.
Genesis 8:13-22
1. God starts the conversation by telling Noah and his family to
come out.
2. God makes promises of blessing to Noah and his family. Noah
responds by building an altar and sacrificing animals. God
makes a promise never to destroy the earth by flood.
3. The sacrifice reminds us of Christ and points us to baptism and
the Lord’s Supper where God has made the perfect sacrifice
for us.
Luke 1:26-38
1. The angel speaks for God to Mary and promises the offspring
will be her son.
2. Eve responds with a question of possibility and then the angel
brings reassurance. Eve submits to the will of God
3. The readings of the liturgical service tell us of the impossible
things that God has done. We naturally have question in our
head. The pastor, in a way God’s messenger, during the
sermon tries to reassure us and put those questions to rest so
that we submit to the understanding and will of God.
Luke 2:25-32
1. God makes a promise to Simeon that he will not die before
seeing the Christ
2. Simeon sees Jesus and responds with a song of praise (which
uses imagery from the Psalms)
3. We still use Simeon’s song after our encounter with the very
body and blood of the Christ.
The Conversation of the Liturgy
Using the bulletins from this morning, identify where God speaks to us
and how we respond to him.
Sections where God speaks
God encourages us through his spokesman—the pastor—to come
forward and confess to him
God reminds us we are forgiven through his Son.
God speaks in the sermon
Psalm
Words of Institution—God tells us what he has done for us in this meal
and what this meal really is
Words of Distribution reassuring us that this is for us, for our
forgiveness.
The blessing
Sections where we respond
We admit our guilt to God
We respond to sins forgiven with a song of praise using words from
the Bible (Glory to God from the angels in Bethlehem, Lamb of God
from John the Baptizer)
We pray to God using the Prayer of the Day
We praise our Savior before and after we hear his words in the Gospel
Psalm
Offering—we respond to God’s gift by giving back to him what he has
given to us
Prayer of the Church and Lord’s Prayer we talk to God
Prayer before communion
Holy, Holy, Holy using words that the Jews sang before the Passover
as well as words from Daniel and Revelation where the angels sing
this triune praise of God
O Christ, Lamb of God
Song of Simeon
Thanksgiving after communion
But it is not just a conversation between you and God, your brothers
and sisters in Christ are also in on the conversation.
Look up Hebrews 10:25.
Why is it important that Christians set aside time to meet with one
another?
Review your bulletins for this morning again and find parts where we
encourage one another.
The Lord be with you…and also with you.
Nicene Creed. We believe. You’re not crazy, we all believe this too!
Prayer of the Church—we pray for others
The whole beginning of the Lord’s Supper (“The Lord be with you”
through “it is good and right so to do”)
The peace of the Lord be with you always
By the way, where do the hymns fit? God speaking to us, our response
or encouragement?
They are all three depending on the hymn
The Mark of the Means
Lutherans describe the “Means of Grace” as the way that God brings
new life, forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation to human hearts.
Think of it in terms of the following illustration.
Water goes from the water tower into the home via a pipeline. Without
the pipeline, you could have all of the water in the world in that tower,
but it’s not going to go anywhere.
Another way of speaking of the “Means of Grace” is “the gospel in
Word and Sacrament.” Give these to them (anything where there is an
underlined section in the student sheet indicates you tell them the
answer)
The gospel is the good news of Christ. That can be conveyed by
words (in the readings)
But it can also be conveyed to all five senses. Studies of the human
brain have shown that human beings learn best when all five senses are
involved.
Emotional elements are also conveyed to a greater degree when more
senses are involved (i.e. saying “I love you” compared to saying it as
you hug someone).
What senses are used in the public reading of the Word and in the
sermon?
Sight and hearing
What senses are used in baptism? Sight, hearing—not only words but
the trickle of the water, touch
What senses are used in the Lord’s Supper? Sight, hearing, touch,
taste, smell. All five!
Our order of worship begins with the name of the Triune God which
was first placed on you with your baptisms. God speaks to us and we
respond continuing a conversation that has been going on for
millennia. Our service ends with God involving all of our senses to
reassure us that yes, our sins have been forgiven. It is structured that
way on purpose. It is structured that way so that God can reassure us
and strengthen our trust in him. It is structured that way so that the
focus is taken off of our weaknesses and placed on his strengths.
Next week we will look at a different way to worship God…