Who is welcome?
All who show respect for the congregation, its teaching, and its way of worship are welcome. Your private, personal life is between you and God. For every one of us, there are areas where we have failed to meet God’s righteous expectations. We are reminded of that at every service, and we all need that so that we may have a true faith. A true understanding of ourselves is necessary for us to receive God’s main message: the forgiveness of sins. If you are willing to listen to what God has to tell you, and are willing to abide by the customs of the church, then you are more than welcome to join in our worship services. We may have questions as we get to know you, but it is not our place to judge. Instead, we would like to learn about you as we challenge each other to live boldly with the gift of righteousness that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.
What will happen?
If you are planning a visit to our congregation for the first time, we want you to know how glad we are to have you with us. We also want to take this opportunity to explain our worship service to you, so that you will feel at home.
• Bible Study – Sunday 9:45 AM (Coffee at 9:30)
• Worship Service- Sunday 10:30 AM (Coffee again at around 11:30)
Our congregation follows a “liturgical” order of service according to the tradition favored by Lutherans since the 16th Century. This means that there is a basic structure in our service. It consists of Scripture (God’s word), both spoken and put to song. This liturgy is Trinitarian and Christ-centered. The congregation participates frequently as we speak and sing God’s Word.
The order of service that we follow is found in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary. To make this easy to follow, we print it in a service folder for each participant. You may follow it through the service from beginning to end. You can pick one up outside the doors to the nave (pew area) from the basket. Kids are welcome too! Depending on their age, you might pick up some of the kids’ activity resources in the same basket as the service folders.
We are certain that God will bless you through the ministry of God’s Word during your time at Lakewood Lutheran Church. We hope that you will come and worship with us again next week. You will always be most welcome in our midst, in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ!