Read what A Guide for Introducing Lutheran Service Book has to say about the hymnal as prayer book:
“Here one finds words of Holy Scripture and even the Small Catechism, to be sure. But it is in the familiar words of the services and in the rich poetry of the hymns that the hymnal demonstrates its unique contribution to the formation of the faithful. If the Bible is the source of our knowledge about God and his works, and the catechism is the roadmap that guides us to the essentials in God’s Word, then the hymnal supplies us with the poetry of the faith. Here the Word of God and its teachings appear as verse wedded to melody, penetrating the heart and delighting the soul. Long before children have learned to read, they have sung. And as the elderly approach their twilight years, the melodies and texts of the church’s song are still recalled, even if their eyesight has faded and their fingers are no longer nimble enough to turn a page. From cradle to grave, the church’s song gives voice to the heartfelt cries and joyful strains of God’s children.” (page 55)
You can get yours HERE!
I have had my own hymnal, and carried it to services since my confirmation in 1956. I still have that leather bound TLH. It's in pretty sad shape. My LSB, likewise is used in all services.
ReplyDeleteI miss the propers being part of the LSB, but I resolved that by getting PROPERS OF THE DAY from CPH.
I don't understand why the Proper Prefaces couldn't have been included in the LSB or Propers of the Day.
All that having been said, I love the LSB.
The printing of the Scriptural sources for each part of the liturgies is awesome. I pray that folks understand that when a congregation removes the liturgy from their services, they are removing the Word, the Means of Grace!!
Are we denying the efficacy of the Means of Grace when we remove all or parts of the liturgies from our services?