What To Expect when Worshiping at Zion

Worship at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Annandale is formal, reverent, and distinctively Lutheran because we know that in the Divine Service we are receiving God’s love through his gracious gifts of Word and Sacrament.

Reverence

Our liturgy is planned and deliberate, not spontaneous. It is formal in tone because our focus is on things of eternal consequence. Our ceremonies and traditions are driven by our conviction that the Son of God himself is literally present in the Divine Service in his risen body and blood for us in the Sacrament. God himself is speaking when the Absolution is pronounced and when the Word is rightly preached. Likewise, God himself truly listens and hears the prayers we offer.

Liturgy

We currently alternate between Divine Service 3 and Matins on Sunday mornings. (See the section Holy Communion, below, for more information.) For our midweek Advent and Lent services, we follow the Order of Vespers.

Hymnody

We use the Lutheran Service Book (LSB) for the majority of our service. Hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) and occasionally from other sources such as Lutheran Worship (LW) are sometimes printed in the bulletin to supplement our singing.

Preaching

Zion follows the historic one-year lectionary. The sermons are Christ-Centered, sacramental, and doctrinal in nature. As a result, they are always applicable to those who need the conviction of the Law, the comfort of the Gospel, or instruction in the life of repentance and faith.

Holy Communion

We currently receive the Sacrament on the first, third, and fifth Sundays of each month. On these Sundays, we use the Common Service (Divine Service Setting 3 in the LSB). On the second and fourth Sundays of each month, we follow the Order of Matins (as printed in the LSB). We currently use both chalice (common cup) and individual cups.

If this is your first time seeking to commune at Zion Lutheran Church, please speak with our pastor before the service. We gladly confess that in the Lord’s Supper Christ gives into our mouths not only bread and wine but also His very body and blood to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of our sins. Through this Sacrament, we are joined to Christ our Head and are knit together with one another as his Body, in which there should be no division of belief. Scripture warns that those who eat and drink our Lord’s body and blood unworthily do so to their great harm. Thus, if you are not a communing member in good standing at a congregation in fellowship with the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, we kindly ask you to refrain from communing with us today. We do so not to offend you, but because Scripture clearly teaches that those communing together should be unified in confession of the Faith. Should you have any questions or concerns about this Biblical and historic teaching, please speak with our pastor.

If you have any questions about our worship or anything else regarding our congregation, feel free to contact us and we will do our best to answer your questions!