Welcome back to Week 2 of the Liturgy series! Last week’s installment focused on worship leaders reconnecting with the liturgy. This week, we’ll talk about taking those insights to your congregation in the form of a sermon series.
If you’re not someone who gets to write a sermon every week, this article might not be directly applicable for you (hopefully you’ll still get something out of it). But even if not, come back next week—we’ll be talking about reconnecting with the liturgy through religious education, something usually led by laypeople.
Why preach a liturgical sermon series?
If you’re a mainline pastor, chances are, you use the lectionary. Maybe you use it exclusively.
Most of the time, from a personal standpoint, that’s what I prefer. I love it when sermons are rooted in Scripture.
That being said, I’m going to make the case for setting aside my beloved lectionary for a few weeks in favor of a sermon series on the liturgy. Here’s why.
A sermon is the only time during the week that you have the attention of your entire congregation. Talking about the liturgy during optional events will only reach a core, committed group. While that group will certainly benefit from an insightful new look into the liturgy, they’re a limited number—and not necessarily the people who need the most extra help connecting with God.
Not only will a sermon reach the entire regular membership, it will reach visitors, as well.
During college, I used to bring my friends to church, often for special occasions. My congregation did liturgy well. On special Sundays, we had bagpipes, banners, and celebratory hymns.
Experiencing and understanding the regular liturgy set our congregation up for true celebration on special Sundays. But when I brought my friends to these liturgical feasts, they’d often come away with disappointingly “meh” reviews.
At first, I was miffed. But then, I realized I couldn’t blame them. They didn’t understand the significance of liturgy on ordinary Sundays or extraordinary ones. Singing “Alleluia” instead of “Kyrie eleison” meant nothing to them.
In the end, it didn’t really feel like a celebration for them—at least, not to the degree it was for the rest of us. The whole liturgical beauty was (mostly) lost on them.
These are the kinds of visitors who would really benefit from happening to drop by on a Sunday during a liturgical sermon series. Your sermon can help them connect with an otherwise obscure or opaque part of the liturgy, ushering them into an experience of God that they wouldn’t have known how to have.
In other words, preaching about the liturgy in a sermon can break down stumbling blocks for visitors and more loosely affiliated members.
What does a liturgical sermon series look like?
So what would a sermon series look like? If you read the article last week you’ll remember that I asked you to break down your liturgy into parts, assigning a chief aim to each one.
Is the main purpose of the Liturgy of the Word to convince the congregation of Biblical truths? To encourage them to change behaviors that are ungodly? Or is it something else?
There are probably multiple aims for each part of the service, but try to find one main one that the others are supporting. This aim can become the thesis of each sermon.
Your sermon series can easily take the form of one section of worship per week. Or, you could preach on themes or emotional arcs through the service—moving from lamentation to joy, for instance. Maybe you want to preach a sermon on redeeming parts of the service that can seem judgemental.
Maybe you’re from an evangelical-style church, with only two or three parts to the service and no standard words week-to-week. You’ve still got liturgy to preach on! Liturgy includes formulated prayers, sure. But it also includes the flow, the emotional and theological arc of the service from one section to the next.
As you’re writing the sermons themselves, think back to the most frustrating conversations you’ve had as a pastor or person of faith. What are some of the most annoying, eye-opening responses you’ve gotten to your collar, stole, or cross?
When you go to a party and tell someone secular what you do, what do they tell you to explain their lack of religiosity? “I don’t go to church because they do ________.” Maybe it has to do with eating the Body and Blood of a human being. Or perhaps the Confession feels like it heaps too much shame on them.
Think about each section of the liturgy through the eyes of someone who’s never been to church before. Someone who’s never heard of the doctrines in the Nicene Creed or about Jesus’ body and blood.
Hone in on those most difficult or controversial parts of the service. The most misinterpreted parts of the liturgy. The ones most likely to create a stumbling block, most likely to keep someone from feeling like they’re welcome or included.
For instance, if you recite a Creed, I think that’s a part of the service people often have questions about. If you do confession, same thing. Along with, of course, the main building blocks like Communion or the sermon.
How did the Church Fathers and Mothers (or Reformation leaders) envision this part of the service connecting us with God? Why do we continue to do them all these centuries later? How is it still valuable to us, with our spiritual needs in this time and place?
For those congregants who can’t really connect with ancient figures, perhaps you can create a personal access point to the liturgy through the eyes of a relatable contemporary: you. How do you connect to God during that part of the service? What made you say “yes” to this liturgy when you last thought it through?
Finally, think about each section of the liturgy through the eyes of someone who’s been wounded at their previous church because of the theology around that part of the service. When I traveled to South Bend and Denver, interviewing congregants about their spiritual lives, I learned about many harmful or downright traumatic theologies around different parts of the liturgy.
In some cases, my interviewees were still recovering from them decades later. I’d had no idea these theologies existed—and thus, that those parts of of the liturgy needed redemption.
So, redeem the liturgy for them. Acknowledge the ways that this part of the service can be confusing, boring, or hurtful. Breathe new life into difficult or traumatic experiences.
What’s the effect of a liturgical sermon series?
After the sermon, I encourage you to take note of the result. What was it like to recite the Nicene Creed after you’d reinvigorated it and redeemed it for your congregation? What was it like to give the absolution to a congregation that truly understood the significance of having their sins forgiven?
God continues to imbue fresh meaning in the ancient practices of the Church. Sometimes, though, it can take a little nudge for the average attendee or visitor to see what God’s doing there. In the coming months, I encourage you to be that nudge for your church, to expose God’s work in the liturgy visibly and fruitfully for your congregation.
Stay tuned for next week’s installment on reinvigorating the liturgy through religious education!
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