Worship is the Spirit-led gathering of God’s people to offer him thanks and praise. It is our response, by the inspiration of the Spirit, to God’s gracious activity accomplished in Jesus Christ. Our singing, praying, processions, standing, kneeling, bowing, and reverencing the cross all reflect our admiration and gratitude for all that God has done for us in Christ. However, Lutherans do not regard worship as exclusively our response.

Lutheran worship is also about continuing to receive the gifts and blessings of God and being sustained in the salvation won for us by Jesus Christ precisely by hearing the Words of Absolution, hearing the proclaimed Word, sharing God’s peace in seeking reconciliation with one another, and receiving the body and blood of Jesus Christ to “keep us in the one true faith,” so that we may “live to the praise of his glory.” Worship, therefore, isn’t just about us coming before God, but God coming to us—to bless us and sustain us as his redeemed people in Christ. Lutheran theologian Arthur Just teaches, “The service to which God calls and gathers His people is to give to them the gifts of life and salvation by means of Word and Sacrament.”

Gathering around to receive both Word and Sacrament constitutes worship. It is essential to our formation as God’s redeemed people. Holy Communion is a unique and powerful encounter with the risen Christ. During Holy Communion we meet Christ where he promises to be—the place where we with faith receive him and take hold of him. The Lutheran Doctrine of Real Presence in Holy Communion means we don’t have to go looking for Jesus “in our hearts” but have the assurance of his external presence “in, with, and under the bread and wine.”