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Worship is 10:00 am Sunday mornings and 7:00 p m Monday evenings at the Historical Society School House in Battlement Mesa, Co.
The Historcial Society School House is located on County Road 300.
Turn south off of Stone Quarry Road just west of the Kum & Go or east of L. W. St. John Middle School.
What is our worship style?
Our Path of Worship
· When Christians come together to worship the Lord, we leave behind our different kinds of work and the different paths we walk during the week.
· We join together, and as one body with one faith we walk together on one path - the PATH OF WORSHIP. The word “worship” comes from an old English word “Worth-ship”. It means to show how much something is worth to you. So in Worship we are showing God how much is his worth to us.
· As we travel this Path, we meet the Lord Himself, who speaks to us and blesses us through His Word and Sacrament (the Means of Grace).
o An Example of our Path of Worship:
o Welcoming comments by Pastor explaining the Sunday of the Church Year we are in, and the Theme of the Worship Service the Scripture Readings for the day suggest.
o Opening Hymn - Meant to bring all the people's focus, who have come from various places and backgrounds, on one thing; the worship of our Lord. (We use hymns and music that ranges from traditional to contemporary, utilizing all types of insturments from organ to guitar, violin to flute, piano to trumpet.)
o Invocation - "In the Name of . . ." This Statement, which we reply AMEN to (which means YES, May it be so!), reminds us that during this special time together we will meet the true God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who is to be worshiped here and now.
o Confession of Sins - One of the important blessings, if not the most important blessing, we worship God for is the forgiveness of all of our sins that we receive through Jesus Christ. Therefore we confess our sins to Him so that we can receive the assurance of His forgiveness.
o Absolution - The pastor announces forgiveness to the people based on the atoning (one for all) sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The pastor has the right to announce this forgiveness based on the Divine (God given) call he received through the congregation to carry out this ministry publicly in its midst.
o The Word - This is one of the High Points of our Path of Worship. Here we hear God's Word, centered in Christ, that is the source of all of our comfort. We usually follow a certain pattern in hearing God's Word: The First Lesson - from the Old Testament which gives us the History of the Promise of a Savior that God made to mankind and how it was passed on from genenration to generation or from one of the New Testament letters that stresses Christian faith and Christian living, and then The Gospel Lesson - we hear about Jesus, his life, his words of law and gospel, his suffering, his death, his resurrection, his ascension, his assignment to his Church, and his promise to return on the Last Day.
o The Sermon - The Pastor uses one of the lessons to share Law and Gospel to give the people assurance of who we are and what we are to do based on Jesus.
o The Creed - We make a confession of our unity in what we believe.
o Prayer of the Church - We pray together thanking God for all that he has given us and asking for his continued care in all of our needs and those of all people.
o Lord's Prayer - We pray together the prayer our Lord and Savior Jesus taught us.
o Hymn of Thanksgiving - We sing to God thanking him for all the blessings he has given to us through Jesus Christ.
o Closing Blessings - The pastor extends to us the favor of the Lord.
o Closing Hymn - We sing together in joy and thanksgiving as we prepare to go out into the world to proclaim in word and deed that Jesus Christ is our Lord.
o Announcements - This is where we share information of any happenings in the upcoming week among the family of God.
· Christians are free to follow any Path of Worship they decide (form of worship), but there will always be the same basic elements:
o the Means of Grace above all (God’s Word and Sacrament)
o and, on our part, responses of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
· These elements in our path of worship indicate the high-points in our worship where GOD is the Do-er, giving us His greatest gifts through his WORD and SACRAMENT.
· Everything else in the church service could possibly be changed or omitted in Christian freedom, such as hymns, candles, flowers, altar hangings, and so forth.
· But the greatest gifts of God, the Means of Grace, cannot be omitted from the Christian worship.
· For it is in these gifts and through these gifts that the living Christ Jesus comes to us today.
· In His Word and Sacraments we find Him and receive His blessings of forgiveness, life and salvation.
· In response, we pray, praise and give thanks to the Lord with some of the words and songs which have been used by the church throughout the ages.
· Finally, with God’s holy name of blessing upon us, we leave the church and each Christian goes to his special calling in this world with Christ in his heart.
Why we worship the way we worship.
Every once in a while I get a question on why we worship the way we worship in the WELS, "What is the basis for our worship services and worship forms?" The answer is that our worship is based on the Christian Church year which is arranged on the basis of Christ’s life. Each year we review the life of Christ, called the festival half of the church year, from Advent (November) through Holy Trinity Sunday (May/June). Then we follow up in the non-festival half of the church year (June - October) with how the life of Christ is reflected in the life of the Christian. Here is a short overview of the Christian Church year.
Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The seasonal color for Advent is purple or violet, the color for repentance. With repentant hearts we prepare to celebrate our Savior’s birth and await his second advent.
Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birth. The seasonal color for Christmas is white, the color for the holiness of our Savior Jesus.
Epiphany means "manifestation" or "appearance." The festival of the Epiphany centers in the visit of the Wise Men, sometimes called the Gentile Christmas. This season of the church year sets Jesus before us as the true Son of God. His glory is shown through his preaching and his miracles. During this time of the year, Jesus is especially revealed to be the Savior of all people. Epiphany accordingly has a mission emphasis.
Lent, from the old English word "lencten," is that season of the church year where the days are lengthening – spring time. This was the time of year during which Jesus suffered and died. The color for the season is again purple or violet, symbolizing repentance. The season of Lent includes a review of Jesus’ suffering and death.
The Festival of the Resurrection of our Lord is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. White is the color for the holiness of Christ and also the color for joy. Because Christ lives, we also shall live.
Pentecost is the festival which recalls the Father’s sending of the Holy Spirit. The color for the festival is red, the color for the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit.
The festival of the Holy Trinity is the Sunday on which we emphasize the personality of our God, that he is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, three persons in one God. White again symbolizes the holiness of God.
The Pentecost season covers the entire non-festival half of the Christian Church year. Green is the color for this season which emphasizes the Christian’s growth in faith.
The Lutheran Reformation of 1517 was a gracious act of God. The Lord used his servant Martin Luther to denounce false teachings and to bring the truths of scripture out of obscurity. We celebrate this day on the last Sunday of October.
The season of End Times concludes the church year with three very focused Sundays: Last Judgment; Saints Triumphant; Christ the King. These Sundays remind Christians that Jesus is coming soon and that living each day with faith in the Savior is the only way to stay prepared for his arrival.
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