Join us for our Advent Midweek Service, a reflective, catechism-based liturgy that prepares our hearts for the coming of Christ. Through Scripture, prayer, and the six chief parts of Luther’s Small Catechism, we walk through God’s gifts of Law and Gospel, Confession and Absolution, Baptism, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Lord’s Supper. This peaceful evening service helps us rest in God’s promises and renew our life in Christ as we await His Advent.
Description of the Service
This Advent Midweek service at Christ Lutheran Church is a deeply catechetical and meditative liturgy built around the six chief parts of Luther’s Small Catechism. Designed as a journey through the Christian life in Christ, the service highlights how God creates, sustains, and matures faith through His Word and Sacraments.
The service begins with an invocation of God’s presence and a series of Scriptural responses that prepare the congregation for Advent: proclaiming God’s coming, His righteousness, and the call to prepare the way of the Lord. A Collect asks God for rest and peace at the close of the day.
1. The Law in the Ten Commandments
The congregation recites the full Decalogue, accompanied by Luther’s explanations. This section emphasizes the Law’s purpose: to reveal sin, destroy self-reliance, and turn hearts toward God’s mercy.
2. The Gospel in the Apostles’ Creed
The Creed is spoken with Luther’s explanations, focusing on God’s work as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Each article is followed by a rich unpacking of its meaning, centering on God’s undeserved goodness and Christ’s saving work.
3. The Gospel of the Lord’s Prayer
Prayer is presented as the Christian’s Spirit-given response to God’s Word. The Lord’s Prayer is recited with its catechism explanations, showing how God invites His children to call on Him in confidence.
4. The Gospel of Holy Baptism
The congregation confesses what Baptism is, what it gives, and how it daily shapes the Christian life. Each question of the catechism is read with Scripture as support, highlighting Baptism as new birth, forgiveness, and ongoing daily renewal.
5. The Gospel of Confession and Absolution
This section includes the Catechism’s teaching on Confession and the Office of the Keys. The congregation practices a communal form of confession—first the pastor to the people, then the people to the pastor—and receives the absolution.
6. The Gospel of the Sacrament of the Altar
The Words of Institution are proclaimed, followed by the catechetical teaching on the nature, benefit, and reception of the Lord’s Supper. The service emphasizes Christ’s promise that His body and blood deliver forgiveness, life, and salvation and that faith receives these gifts worthily.
Closing Prayers and Blessing
A final Collect asks Christ to strengthen His people through the preached Word and preserve them in faith against temptation. The service ends with the Benediction, commending the congregation to the grace and fellowship of the Triune God.