Amazing Grace Lutheran Church
What To Expect

What To Expect When You Visit Us
From the moment you arrive to visit us at Amazing Grace we hope you feel welcome and comfortable. We look forward to the opportunity to greet you and show you around.
8:45am Sunday School
We take growth and education in the Word very seriously and welcome you to Sunday School as well as other educational programs we offer. At Sunday School we walk through a variety of prepared lesson plans covering things like discipleship, growing as a Christian and more. It is an open and casual format encouraging everyone to share their thoughts and contribute to the discussion.
10am Service
The highlight of our time together is celebrating the worship service together. This is a time we come together to receive the blessings God has to give us through the reading, preaching and proclamation of His Word and in His Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. In return we respond to Him with praise and thanksgiving. It’s not about what we come to Church to do for Him but to celebrate and give thanks for what He has done for us!
As Lutherans, we believe the two requirements for a service are:
- The Word taught in Truth
- The Sacraments (Baptism and the Lords Supper) be administered rightly
All other elements of the church service are considered “adiophora”, things neither commanded nor forbidden to do. So how do we determine things that would be excellent to include in the service? We believe that it is important to take a look at what the early churches felt were important. We do this by studying the people in the Bible who were closest to the time of Christ for the answer.
1st Century AD church: These churches started out small and usually met in a home. Their gatherings often included a shared meal, prayer, teachings about Christ from the disciples or those closest to them, hymns and celebrating the Lords Supper and Baptism.
Typical elements of our Service:
- Announcements
- Time of Quiet Reflection
- Confession and Absolution
- Reading of the Word
- Teaching of the Word
- Prayers of the Church
- The Lord’s Supper
- Final Blessing
- Songs (both Traditional hymns and contemporary music)
We follow this order not because we believe it is the only right way but because we believe this ancient pattern of worship most clearly and beautifully serves the purpose of worship, to deliver the gracious gifts of God.
Misconceptions Or Myths About The Lutheran Faith
Lutherans Do Not Believe in the Old Testament.
It is my experience that nothing could be further from the truth. Lutherans believe that the Bible, in its entirety, is relevant and important. The Old Testament sets the stage for Jesus Christ and the New Testament reveals Him. I was told once not to read the Bible from the beginning to the end in order. Of course, I had to give it a try and I have never been so blessed. Reading the Bible cover to cover in a year is my favorite way to read the Word.
Lutherans Believe the Book of Concord is more important than the Bible.
Wrong! The Book of Concord is a supplement to the Bible explaining, in great detail, why we believe what we believe based solidly on Scripture.
Why Traditional Hymns?
Nowadays it seems contemporary Christian music has “flooded the stage” as they say. While these songs are often rich in their ability to draw people nearer to a relationship with God we must not forget the rich history of hymns that spring forth from Scripture. As in all things, balance is important. If you are uncomfortable with hymns, might I suggest you spend time just reading the words in beautiful historic hymns. Hymns were originally used to not only Worship God but to remember the magnificent things He did and they were used to instruct or as a teaching tool. Consider researching the history of some treasured hymns and you will see what I mean. You may find most Lutheran churches put most emphasis on the old hymns. This springs forth from a deep appreciation for the entire historical Christian picture!
How Do You Know You Are Teaching the Truth of the Word?
We Lutherans are known for the importance we place on studying scripture. No one can know, with 100% certainty that they have the total right understanding of the Word. We take the truth very seriously and do all we can to present the truth to the best of our ability. Much education is required of our leaders and our doctrine, what we believe and why, is wonderfully documented by many expert theologians who have devoted their lives to understanding scripture.
Traditional Services Are Boring.
People can feel this way until they understand what is happening in the Service. Yes, the scripture readings can be long and hard to understand at times but consider this: The Word and the hearing of it has the power to heal! Just understanding this can change the way we approach hearing of the Word. Once hard to understand and perhaps boring passage come to life when we understand that by just hearing the inspired Words has the power to change our lives.
Consider this: God has decided to reveal Himself to us in this time through the Word. Spending time in the Word is spending time with God.
And this: We believe that during the Lords Supper, Heaven meets earth as Jesus, along with all the believers who have gone before us, come down to join us in the celebration of the gift of forgiveness and everlasting life! Now that is profound and anything but boring, Amen?
Thank You

Thank you for taking the time to try to understand what makes our Service so special to us. As always, we welcome your questions and look forward to spending time discussing these and other topics with you. When you visit, be sure to get your copy of “A Simple Explanation of the Church Service”.
God Bless you on your journey!
Rev. Bernadine Anderson
CONTACT US
(270) 933-1215
Info@amazinggracepaducah.com
OUR ADDRESS
1601 Jefferson Street
Paducah, KY 42001