Lectors Part I
Christ the King Lutheran Church
Worship Ministry
March 2006
Part I: Proclamation of the Word and the Christian Assembly
What is the Word of God?
Principle 5
Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate. The proclamation of God's message to us is both Law and Gospel. The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God.
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Through this Word in these forms, as through the sacraments, God gives faith, forgiveness of sins, and new life.
Application 5A
Proclamation of the Word includes the public reading of Scripture, preaching, teaching, the celebration of the sacraments, confession and absolution, music, arts, prayers, Christian witness, and service. The congregation's entire educational ministry participates in the proclamation of the Word.
Sunday provides a day for assembly around Word and Sacrament
Principle 6
Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection and of the appearances to the disciples by the crucified and risen Christ, is the primary day on which Christians gather to worship. Within this assembly, the Word is read and preached and the sacraments are celebrated.
Application 6A
Sunday is the principal festival day of Christians. The Holy Communion is one name for the Sunday service of Word and Sacrament in which the congregation assembles in God's presence, hears the word of life, baptizes and remembers Baptism, and celebrates the Holy Supper. The service of Word and Sacrament is also celebrated on other great festivals of the year, according to the common Christian calendar received in our churches. The Christian community may gather for proclamation and the Lord's Supper at other times as well, as, for example, on other days of the week, and when the services of marriage or of the burial of the dead are placed within the context of the Holy Communion.
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The Scriptures are read aloud
Principle 7
The public reading of the Holy Scriptures is an indispensable part of worship, constituting the basis for the public proclamation of the Gospel.
Application 7A
The use of ELCA-approved lectionaries serves the unity of the Church, the hearing of the breadth of the Scriptures, and the evangelical meaning of the church year. The Revised Common Lectionary and the lectionaries in
Lutheran Book of Worship
make three readings and a psalm available for every Sunday and festival.
Application 7B
The use of a Bible or lectionary of appropriate size and dignity by those who read the Scriptures aloud, the use of this book in liturgical processions, and its placement on the reading desk or pulpit may bring the centrality of the Word to visible expression.
The baptized people proclaim God's Word
Principle 8
All the baptized share responsibility for the proclamation of the Word and the formation of the Christian assembly.
Application 8A
One of the ways lay people exercise the public proclamation of the Word is as assisting ministers. Among these assisting ministers will be readers of Scripture and also cantors and leaders of prayer.
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--from The Use of the Means of Grace: A Statement on the Practice of Word and Sacrament.
© 1997 Evangelical Lutheran Church in the America, pp. 12-14.
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