The Commission on Worship (CoW) and other LCA pastors and scholars have written extensively on the biblical and theological underpinnings of our worship. These continue to inform and guide the church in its practice.
Commission on Worship Statements
02. The colours and seasons of the church year
03. The difference between rites of blessing and rites of consecration
04. The distribution of holy communion (reference to possible infection)
05. Guidelines for the use of drama within the liturgy of the church
06. Guidelines for modern English in hymns
07. Guidelines for the use of the Passover Haggadah
08. The location of the baptismal font
09. Marriage in a garden setting
11. Principles for the tunes of hymns
12. Principles for the words of hymns
13. Principles governing the use of language in the liturgy of the church
14. Public worship and its environment
15. The purpose of the visual arts in worship
16. Rationale – synodical decision on use of approved orders with holy communion
17. The use of multi-purpose worship centres
18. The use of the Service with Communion for the ministry to the sick
20. Liturgical vestments and the alb
23. The role of assistants in the liturgy
24. A Lutheran approach to the theology of worship
25. Children in corporate worship
26. Guidelines – involvement of vicars in leading public worship
27. The role of the lay reader in regular corporate worship
28. Parts of the service for musical settings
29. Guidelines for services on special occasions
30. Preparing the service with holy communion
32. The celebration of the Lord's Supper with Thanksgiving
33. The distribution of the Sacrament of the Altar
35. Solidarity in worship: the Lutheran understanding of adiaphora
36. The Collect (Prayer of the Day)
37. The liturgical duties of the presiding minister
College of Bishops Statements and Guidance in Relation to Worship
16.07 Holy Communion dealing pastorally with those who have allergies
General resources
- Towards Freedom – The Practice of Forgiveness in the LCA – Report from GCC Taskforce 2009
Biblical foundations for worship
- Proclaiming the Name – Victor C Pfitzner
- Naming God – John W Kleinig
- Worship and Full Assurance – John W Kleinig
- Entrance into the Heavenly – John W Kleinig
History of Lutheran worship
- Liturgical Uniformity and Church Polity in the Augsburg Confessions and the Formula of Concord: The Church Orders as Hermeneutical Key – Matthew C Harrison
- Sasse on Worship – John W Kleinig
- The Origin And Nature Of The Service With Communion Of The LCA, As Published In The Lutheran Hymnal, 1973 – Michael Lockwood and Jonathon Kummerow
- Traditional and contemporary worship in the LCA – A discussion paper – David Schubert
- The Liturgical Heritage of Theodor Kliefoth – John W Kleinig
- Some Aspects of the History of Worship in the LCA – David Schubert, 2004
- Paul Gerhardt as a Teacher of Lutheran Spirituality – John W Kleinig
Theology of worship
- The Biblical View of Worship – John W Kleinig
- Where Is Your God? Luther on God’s Self-localisation – John W Kleinig
- The Mystery of Christ and the Divine Service – John W Kleinig
- Sharing in God’s Holiness – John W Kleinig
- The Lord’s Supper as a Sacrificial Banquet – John W Kleinig
- Witting or Unwitting Ritualists – John W Kleinig
- Worshipping with the Angels – Victor C Pfitzner
- Worship at Luther Campus – Faculty of Luther Campus, 1995
- What's the use of Praising God – John W Kleinig
- Luther on Participation in God's Holiness – John W Kleinig, 1985/2003
The Lutheran liturgy
- The Privatisation of the Cultus Publicus – Lutheran Theological Journal 27/1 (1993): 13–22 – John G Strelan
- Ways of Opening a Service – John W Kleinig, 2001
Congregational song
- Singing with Grace in Our Hearts – The Function of Hymnody in Its Cultural Context – John W Kleinig
- The 1973 Lutheran Hymnal of the Lutheran Church of Australia: Alan Collyer: 2004
Music in worship
- Bach, Chronicles and Church Music – John W Kleinig
- Incarnation and Music – John W Kleinig, 2000
The practice of worship
- Some Pastoral Guidelines for Worship with Small Numbers
- The Use of Testimonies in the Divine Service – John W Kleinig
- The Use of Visual Media Technology in Liturgical Worship – Andrew Ruddell
- LCA Worship Guidelines - Summary of recent decisions and suggestions about the divine service – Compiled by David Schubert for the Department of Liturgics
- Language in Worship: David Schubert, 2006
- Some guidelines for the use of data projectors in worship – Adam Cooper, 2003
- Worship and Outreach – BCL COW Taskforce
- Worship and Mission – John W Kleinig
- Speech Acts in the Liturgy – David Schubert
- Advice on Bible translations for worship (updated 2020)
Studies on worship
- Worship for the sake of the world – Linards Jansons
- Studies on Weekly Communion – Greg Pietsch, 2004
- A series of studies on the Liturgy (formatted for church bulletins) – Linards Jansons
