Music
Music in the Christian Church
Music is central to the life of Immanuel Lutheran Church. We take to heart the words of Martin Luther on the role of music in the church:
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"[N]ext to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits... Our dear fathers and prophets did not desire without reason that music is always used in the churches. Hence, we have so many songs and psalms. This precious gift has been given to man alone that he might thereby remind himself that God has created man for the express purpose of praising and extolling God."
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More from Martin Luther on music:
"Music is a fair and lovely gift of God which has often wakened and moved me to the joy of preaching. I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives away the devil and makes people happy; they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like. Next after theology I give to music the highest place and the greatest honor. I would not exchange what little I know of music for something great. Experience proves that next to the Word of God, only music deserves to be extolled as the mistress and governess of the feelings of the human heart. We know that to the devil music is distasteful and sufferable. My heart bubbles up and overflows in response to music, which has so often refreshed me and delivered me from dire plagues." (From Roland Herbert Bainton's Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther)​
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​The Lutheran Service Book
Immanuel uses the music of the Lutheran Service Book (LSB), the hymnal of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
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Within this hymnal one will find the historic liturgy as it has been handed down through the ages by Christians in the West. As the liturgy is sung at the various church services Christians will recognize and share in various portions of the Scriptures and various prayers of the biblical saints.
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With the blind and with worried parents we pray according to ancient song the Kyrie, “Lord have mercy.”
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With John the Baptist we anticipate and sing of Christ’s arrival bringing with Him the forgiveness of sins in the words of the Agnus Dei.
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With Mary, the Mother of God, we praise the Father in heaven in His Spirit who knocks down the proud and raises up the lowly.
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Every Sunday has the songs of the angels as they gave glory to God for the birth of Christ (the Gloria) and a bit of Palm Sunday as with the children waving branches we pray for God to intervene in this world with His salvation singing their ancient song “Hosanna in the highest.”​
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The Psalms
Through the course of a year most nearly every service sings some of the hymnbook of the Bible, the Psalms, spanning the various thanksgivings, emotions, and needs of Christians. These are songs that Jesus Himself knew by heart and sang with His disciples and family. They are first to be understood as coming forth from God’s lips so we can sing them to one another’s ears and back all the more again to our Father in heaven’s ears who loves us and delights in hearing His children's prayers.
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Luther called the Church's hymns "the people’s psalms." Luther is a special person in the history of Christianity for many reasons, but he especially gave a voice to be heard to the ordinary people including the children when he put music and hymnody into their language. The Lutheran Service Book contains a large portion of Luther’s hymns, more ancient hymns still than these, as well as contemporary hymns written by a variety of authors and people you could even meet today.​
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​Hymns to know and learn
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A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (LSB 656): Known as the Battle Hymn of the Reformation, this Lutheran favorite comes from Psalm 46, which Christians have long prayed in the face of disaster. Written by Martin Luther.
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Holy, Holy, Holy (LSB 507): Originally composed for Trinity Sunday, this beautiful hymn is easy to memorize, and celebrates the Triune God in all His glory using the words of the cherubim themselves. Written by Reginald Heber and based primarily on Isaiah 6:2-3 and Revelations 4:1-11.
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Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me (LSB 756): This hymn carries a powerful proclamation that even in the midst of life's greatest sorrows, in Christ we have comfort, victory, and joy that cannot be taken from us. Written by Paul Gerhardt, another great writer of Lutheran hymnody.
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More About the Divine Service...