What to Expect at Risen Savior

If you have never set foot in a Lutheran church, walking into one for the first time can feel like arriving somewhere everyone else already knows the rules. So here they are, plainly.

You will be greeted at the door and handed a service folder that walks through the order of service. Hymns are sung from the hymnal, and the folder gives you the numbers — if you lose your place, the person beside you will be glad to find it for you. Nobody will ask you to stand up, introduce yourself, or fill out a card. Come, sit, listen, and receive.

Our worship is liturgical — that is, it follows an order of service that Christians have used, in one form or another, for many centuries. That order is not ceremony for its own sake. It is the shape the Gospel takes when God serves His people: He speaks, and we answer back.

A typical Sunday moves through:

• Confession and Absolution — we confess our sins together and hear the forgiveness of Christ announced.
• The Word — readings from the Old Testament, an Epistle, and the Gospel, followed by a sermon that preaches Christ crucified and risen for you.
• The Creed — we confess the faith in the words of the whole Church.
• Prayer — for the Church, the world, the sick, and the sorrowing.
• The Lord’s Supper — Christ’s true body and blood, given for the forgiveness of sins.
• The Benediction — God’s own blessing sends you back into the week.

We use Lutheran Service Book, Divine Service Setting Four, accompanied by a live keyboardist. Much of the service is sung, including by the congregation. If you do not know the tunes yet, that is fine — listen the first few weeks. Nobody is grading you.

During the Divine Service, the King of kings comes to minister to each one of us. We encourage you to dress as appropriately as you are able — not for anyone else, but to teach yourself the weight of the service. Whatever that looks like for you this Sunday, come; no one here is taking measurements at the door.

Children stay in the service with their families. We do not send them out. Jesus said to let the little children come to Him, and the sanctuary is exactly where they learn the faith — by hearing it, singing it, and watching their parents receive it.

That means our service has some noise in it, and that is by design. If your toddler squirms, babbles, or drops a hymnal, no one is bothered. You will not be the only family with a restless child, and you never need to apologize for a baby’s cry in God’s house.

Sunday School and Bible Class begin at 9:15 AM starting Sunday, August 30, 2026, in the hour before the Divine Service. Children meet for Sunday School while adults gather for Bible class with the pastor. It is a good hour for children to dig into Scripture with other kids and for parents to do the same.

We celebrate the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. We believe and confess what Christ Himself says: that in the Sacrament He gives His true body and blood, in with and under the bread and wine, for the forgiveness of sins.

With LCMS congregations generally, we practice what is called closed communion:

Holy Communion is administered only to Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) members and guests who have been instructed, catechized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith. If you are a visiting LCMS member, please speak to the Elder or the Pastor about receiving the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. For visitors who are not confirmed members of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and are not receiving the communion elements, you are welcome to come to the communion rail to receive a baptismal blessing or to remain seated in prayer. Fold your arms across your chest for identification if you come to the rail. We do so not to offend you, but because the Scriptures clearly teach that those communing together be unified in their confession of the Faith. In this Sacrament we are not only joined to Christ our Head who is present in His body and blood, but are also knit together with one another as His Body, in which there should be no division of belief. Thank you for respecting our confessional practice.

We offer an Adult Instruction Class for all those who wish to inquire about our church’s Biblical doctrine and practice. Speak to the elders if you would like to attend.

Our elders are Gabriel Parker and Carl Schroeder.