An Explanation of the Common Service

Note: Thank you very much to Rev. Mike Grieve of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Golden, IL for this excellent review of a true classic. Anyone wanting to know more about our worship service in the Lutheran Church truly ought to pick this book up. It can be purchased from Emmanuel Press. It was originally compiled and published by the General Council to teach people about the beauty and truth of the Common Service. What a blessing that it is still in print!

“An Explanation of the Common Service”:  Fifth Edition Revised and Enlarged; United Lutheran Publication House, Philadelphia, 1908; Reprinted in 2006 by Emmanuel Press, 1916 Ridgewood Ave., SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506

            The answer, “that’s the way we’ve always done it,” to the question of, “why do we do what we do in worship?” is not only unhelpful, but it’s also false. We do know “why we do what we do in worship.”  Sometimes we just don’t know where to find the answer to the question.  An Explanation of the Common Service helps give concrete answers to questions that would otherwise be left in abstract thought and speculation.  What would seem to be a daunting number of questions and answers (250) is eased by the reality that the book is just 120 pages in length, which includes a history of Christian hymnody; liturgical colors and their significance; and index and glossary.

Catechism Bible Narratives by George William Lose

               

 

(Note: Thank you to Pr. Andrew Gray for another excellent post on a resource that is both helpful in catechesis and free online.)


               This book published by the Lutheran Book Concern in 1915 for use in Sunday School’s is an excellent resource to have on the shelf and in the home to teach the Biblical basis for the Small Catechism and the Christian Faith.  The connection made between the Scripture reading and the Catechism would be helpful not only for the youth but adults and pastors in their study as well.

                The book provides 86 different texts and also has 20 review sections, for a total of 106 lessons, that take one through the Small Catechism using pertinent Bible narratives.  The text of each passage is provided from the KJV.  Following each passage there is an extensive section of explanatory notes which will help the student and catechist in their understanding of the text. 

The Lutheran Pastor by G.H. Gerberding: PART II

Note: This is the second part of a review of The Lutheran Pastor by G.H. Gerberding. The first part of Mr. Porter's in-depth review can be found here, along with additional information about the book and author.

The work continues with careful examinations of the duties which properly belong to the ministerial Office. Conduct at the Altar, The Preparatory Service, a robust and thoroughly Lutheran section on Preaching, the Holy Communion, Catechizing (Confirmation), Marriage, Christian Burial, And Visitation follow. Each subject is worthily treated at length. Of particular note are the sections on the Holy Communion, Matrimony, and Visitation.

Concerning Holy Communion, Gerberding wishes to encourage fitting dispositions among Evangelical pastors. While all ministers should be cognizant of the dread seriousness of the act, they should also fully rely on the Lord’s present action as warrant for boldly administering the Sacrament. God’s promise to use the individual minister for His good purposes should override excessive scruples. Perhaps most interesting to me is his rather blasé endorsement of a receptionist position concerning Sacramental presence. Gerberding states: “Use the words of the Common Service in the distribution. Speak them deliberately, distinctly, and reverently. Do not forget that it is at the reception that the heavenly joins itself to the earthly element.” One may wonder how one could in good conscience proclaim the distribution formula while at the same time mentally withholding the reality one has just [verbally] offered to a communicant. To say that I find this position to be unconvincing would be an understatement. Further, Gerberding asserts that while the early church practiced, and the Confessions recommended, frequent reception of the Holy Communion, that the church of our time is not fit for this:

The Lutheran Pastor by G.H. Gerberding: PART I

Note: Thank you very much to Mr. Christopher Porter of the greater Detroit area for giving us an in-depth summary of The Lutheran Pastor by G.H. Gerberding. While not strictly an L-TOM, it was an influential work, and Gerberding is well worth a closer look for those interested in what Eastern American Lutherans were thinking at the time. The Lutheran Pastor was published in 1902 by the Lutheran Publication Society. It can be read online here for free. You can also buy it on Amazon. Here are some select quotations on Pr. David Jay Webber's webpage.

Gerberding was born in 1847 in Pittsburgh, PA. He was educated at Thiel College and Muhlenberg College. Ordained pastor and missionary in the ULC for PA, OH, ND and was the founder and first president of the Synod of the Northwest. He was later also a president of the Chicago Synod. He served as the president of Chicago Lutheran Seminary and Northwestern Lutheran seminary. He died in 1927. Other famous works include The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church and The Lutheran Catechist.


A Summary of George Henry Gerberding’s The Lutheran Pastor
by Mr. Christopher Porter


A president of two Synods within the ULCA and a seminary professor, George Henry Gerberding has much of value to share regarding the Office of Ministry and its occupants.

The first main section of the work is an overview of the origin and theology of the Pastoral Office. It offers, in the main, little that is original, but presents a fairly uncontroversial picture drawn from Scripture, Luther, a number of orthodox Lutheran fathers, and from contemporary voices (including Walther). After dealing with the plurality of NT ministerial phenomena which are no longer in force (at least in their NT form) such as prophets, and evangelists, he turns to the two main foci of his concern: elders/bishops/pastors and the diaconate. Here we find one of the more controversial aspects of his understanding of the global ministry, which is that it is comprised of a “ministry of the Word” and a “ministry of mercy”.