Music

Music is central to the life of Trinity Lutheran Church, taking to heart Martin Luther's view, "In summa, next 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."

St. Paul uses the music of Lutheran Service Book (LSB), the hymnal of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.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.

• With the blind and worried parents we pray according to ancient song the Kyrie, “Lord have mercy.”

• 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.

• 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.

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.”

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 sang, knew by heart, and sung 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 the Father in heaven’s ears who loves us and delights in hearing His people’s prayers.

Martin Luther called their hymns the people’s psalms.  He 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, and contemporary hymns written by a variety of authors and people you could even meet today.

• Our Paschal Lamb That Sets Us Free (LSB 473): Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we have forgiveness, life, and salvation, and we will celebrate the feast gallantly, with leaping alleluias.  The music for the refrain of alleluias that keeps coming back literally makes them leap for joy, as if they cannot be contained. This hymn is based primarily on 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 and was written by Martin Franzmann.

• 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 longed prayed in the face of disaster. Written by Martin Luther.

• 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.

• We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God (LSB 941): Also referred to as The Great Te Deum, this hymn is a versification of the Te Deum laudamus set in the LSB composed by Stephen Starke.