The Divine Service
The Divine Service is not a performance. It is the church’s regular gathering around the means of grace — everything in it exists to deliver what God promises, or to respond to what God has given.
The Logic of the Liturgy
The service follows a pattern older than the Reformation — the order of Christian worship received from the early church and reformed (but not invented) by the Lutheran Reformation. It has two movements, and everything in the service belongs to one of them.
In the absolution, in the Scripture readings, in the sermon, and in the Words of Institution at the Table. God acts first; the gift always comes from him to us.
In the Kyrie, the creed, the hymns, the prayer, and the Offertory. We receive, and answer. The Table gives what the sermon proclaimed; everything points in the same direction.
What Happens
Opening — Corporate Confession and Absolution
The service opens with the congregation confessing its sins together — that we have sinned “by thought, word, and deed.” The pastor then speaks the Absolution: as a called and ordained servant of Christ, he declares the forgiveness of sins to all who repent and believe. This is the first word of the service: You are forgiven. The rest flows from that word.
The Service of the Word
Introit — Verses from an appointed psalm set the theme of the service according to the church year.
Kyrie — The threefold cry, from the Greek Kyrie eleison — one of the most ancient elements of Christian liturgy.
Gloria in Excelsis — The canticle of the angels (Luke 2:14), omitted in Advent and Lent to heighten its return at Christmas and Easter.
The Collect — A brief prayer gathering the petitions of the congregation, tied to the theme of the readings.
The Epistle — A passage from the New Testament letters. Response: Thanks be to God.
The Gradual — A psalm verse sung as a musical bridge between the readings.
The Holy Gospel — The congregation stands. Glory be to thee, O Lord… Praise be to thee, O Christ.
The Nicene Creed — The ecumenical statement of faith from Nicaea (AD 325) and Constantinople (AD 381), confessed for seventeen centuries.
Hymn of the Day — The central hymn, from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941). Luther himself considered hymnody a form of preaching.
The Sermon
The sermon follows the appointed readings and typically runs twenty to thirty minutes. First the Law, which shows us our need; then the Gospel, which delivers what Christ has earned for sinners — because the good news only lands on ears prepared by the bad news. Sermons at Annunciation are expository and tied to the liturgical calendar, moving through the life of Christ and the fullness of Christian doctrine over the church year.
Offertory & Prayer of the Church — The congregation prays for the church and its mission, for those in authority, for the sick and suffering, and for the faithful who have died.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
Isaiah 6:3
The Service of the Sacrament
You are welcome to remain for this portion of the service and will receive the benediction with the congregation. See the note on closed communion on the Visit page.
Preface & Proper Preface — A sung dialogue: Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. The Proper Preface gives the reason for thanksgiving on this Sunday.
Sanctus — The hymn of the seraphim from Isaiah 6, with the Benedictus — uniting earthly worship with the eternal worship of heaven.
The Lord’s Prayer — Prayed together by the whole congregation.
The Words of Institution — The words of Christ from the night he was betrayed — the word of God that makes the sacrament what it is.
Pax Domini — “The peace of the Lord be with you always. Amen.”
Agnus Dei — O Christ, thou Lamb of God… grant us thy peace, sung during the distribution.
Distribution — The body of Christ, given for you. The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Nunc Dimittis — The Song of Simeon (Luke 2:29–32). Having received the body and blood of Christ, the congregation sings his words.
Benediction — The Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6:24–26 closes the service.
The Music
Annunciation uses The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), the historic hymnal of confessional Lutheranism in the English-speaking world. The hymns are traditional in text and tune — many date to the Reformation period; others to the church’s first centuries — sung in four-part harmony with organ. Most visitors find that within two or three Sundays they are comfortable with the regular elements of the liturgy.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24–26