Having heard the Word of God proclaimed in the readings, we respond by confessing the faith. In a way, the creed functions as a hymn of praise honoring who God is and what He has done for us. The three ecumenical creeds are summaries of the whole Christian faith. By stating, “I believe…” we join the personal faith given to us in Baptism to the corporate faith of the whole Christian Church. The Nicene Creed expands on the person and work of the Son, emphasizing that He is fully God and fully man. This is the creed that is traditionally spoken whenever the Lord’s Supper is celebrated.
The Offertory comes from the ancient practice of chanting Psalms as the offering was brought forward. In the Middle Ages, this procession became rather elaborate and was accompanied by a long prayer. This Offertory prayer was one of the few things that Luther excised from the liturgy. He called it an abomination because it spoke of offering the sacrifice of the Mass, as though we were offering Christ as a sacrifice to God to atone for sin. Luther’s primary concern was that focus remain on the work Christ has done for us, that He offered Himself as the all-atoning sacrifice for the sin of the whole world. Luther returned the Offertory to its ancient roots of simply chanting Psalms. Our sacrifices of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, as well as our giving of offerings to the Church and to the poor, are only done in response to what Christ has done for us. The Lutheran Service Book prescribes Psalm 51 (“Create in me a clean heart, O God…”) or Psalm 116 (“What shall I render to the Lord…”) to be sung as the Offertory, though other Psalms or hymns are also appropriate. The Offertory functions both as a response to hearing the sermon and as a preparatory prayer for the Service of the Sacrament.
The Prayer of the Church is comprehensive. We pray for the Church and for the whole world, for those around us and for ourselves. We pray that the Lord would preserve the teaching of His Word and guard the Church against false doctrine. We pray for our government and for all vocations given by God, for those who are suffering in body, mind, and soul, and for the salvation of the whole world. We give thanks for all that He provides to sustain us in this body and life, and we pray that He would keep us steadfast in the true faith and bring us to eternal life. All of the petitions in the Prayer of the Church are grounded in the prayer of the faithful, “Lord, have mercy,” as we are dependent upon God for all things.