Recently I attended a worship service in a congregation that does traditional worship, using the liturgies found in the Lutheran Service Book. They have a wonderful music program at their church and the services are done well.

During the sermon that day, the Associate Pastor was preaching and said something about people getting bored in worship. He said something like: “I understand. After all, it is the same service week after week.” I’m sure there were people who took offense at that. They firmly believe that the services in the hymnal are the only appropriate forms of worship. But I smiled when he said that about it being the same service week after week. Why? Because I thought to myself, “It doesn’t have to be.”

Don’t misunderstand me. I think the historic services of Christendom are wonderful ways to worship and praise God. But they are not the only way, in spite of those who insist to the contrary.

Something from that service I attended even affirmed that point. During communion, their cantor sang part of Psalm 96 in Latin (an English translation was printed in the bulletin). And then he sang in English “Sing to the Lord a new canticle” (many translations of Scripture have “song” instead of “canticle”). Scripture encourages us to worship God in new ways. Even our Confessions tell us worship services to not have to be uniform in all places.

VII. [The Church]
¹ It is also taught among us that one holy Christian church will be and remain forever. This is the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel.
² For it is sufficient for the true unity of the Christian church that the Gospel be preached in conformity with a pure understanding of it and that the sacraments be administered in accordance with the divine Word.
³ It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church that ceremonies, instituted by men, should be observed uniformly in all places.
⁴ It is as Paul says in Eph. 4:4, 5, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
(Augsburg Conession, Article VII, Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord)

Our focus needs to be on sharing the Gospel with people in Word and Sacraments. We need to share Jesus in everything we do, who He is and what He has done for us through His life and death and resurrection. Different people react to different stimuli. We are not all the same. But we all need Jesus. Maybe instead of criticizing those who have forms of worship that our different than ours, we should have the attitude of Paul.

1 Corinthians 9:19–23 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Be all things to all people to point them to Jesus. God help us.