Pastor, I've participated in Bible studies that resemble worship services. I've also been to worship services that seem more like Bible studies. Can you tell me the difference, for we Lutherans, between a Bible study and a worship service?
Here's my response:
For questions like this the Augsburg Confession is very helpful. Concerning the Church: "It is the assembly of all believers among whom the gospel is purely preached and the holy sacraments are administered according to the gospel."
The role and purpose of the church is to communicate the gospel, the means of God's grace in and for the World. While Christ declares in Matthew 18 that he is present wherever two or three are gathered in his name; making it possible for the gospel to be preached by any believer to anyone, virtually anywhere, still the assembly of believers for worship remains the church's primary instrument for this purpose.
Secondly, our confessions seem clear that to carry out this purpose there need not be uniformity in method or practice across the church. The only necessities are that the gospel is purely preached (put simply, this means that both the law and the gospel are exposed from the Scriptures to bring about faith), and that the sacraments are administered. There are no other requirements for the worship service to be considered "Lutheran". It behooves us to participate in the Lord's Supper whenever we gather for worship, since it is the real presence of Christ for the forgiveness of sin. Why would any of us ever choose to not want such a gift as often as possible? Even so, the frequency of the Lord's Supper is not a requirement for the uniformity of Lutheran worship. Essentially, the only requirements for Lutheran worship is that it is the assembly of believers where the Word is preached and the sacraments administered. All other elements (music, liturgies, rites) are left to the discretion of the local congregation to form its own identity and edify its practice, but they are not required.
Therefore, the difference between worship and a Bible study is to do with whether or not the Scriptures are preached and the sacraments administered. Most of the Bible studies I have participated in, and even some in which I have led are not places where the Scriptures are preached. Preaching is very different from studying. So, the first question to ask is whether or not there is a person designated to preach the Scripture, not just lead a study of it. Still, there are some Bible studies where a leader may in fact be preaching on the text of that day.
This leads me to the next portion of the answer. Are the people who gather, coming with an expectation of receiving the sacraments? As we've already determined, for we Lutherans a worship service requires both Word AND sacrament. Even if we do not offer the sacraments at every worship service we still respect the fact that it is within our designated worship service where a person might expect to find the sacraments.
So, even when a Bible study resembles a worship service, or a worship service resembles a Bible study they are not the same, because (a) preaching is not the same as studying, and (b) there is no expectation of receiving the sacraments in a Bible study.He replied:
Thank you for your answer. I am unclear on one thing. If a church only has Communion every other week, does that mean that, technically Worship only happens on those weeks when Communion is expected?My response:
No. The efficacy or legitimacy of Worship is not determined by the frequency of Holy Communion. Also, a single worship service does not make a congregation. The Holy Spirit calls us into the life of a community of believers. Our Lutheran piety is congregational. That congregation is assembled by the Holy Spirit, and brought to life upon new life through time by the gospel shared within the community in the Word and Sacrament. Therefore, the life of the congregation is dependent upon Word and Sacrament, like a child is dependent upon parents. Within the life of the congregation, the ELCA encourages Holy Communion as often as they gather for worship. But, the life of the congregation is not dependent upon the frequency of Holy Communion, just that the worship remains connected to it. Each member participates within that community on faith, while faith is fed and nourished by the same Word and Sacrament. Think of it like this. St. Gus Lutheran by the gas station might have communion every Sunday, while St. Bill Lutheran by the bank might have communion once each month. Yet, both hold worship every Sunday. In both cases the life of the faithful as well as the congregation is fed and nourished by Word and Sacrament, because both worship services remain connected to the sacrament. Each individual member, as they participate within the life of the congregation, are fed and nourished in their faith by the presence of Christ in both Word and Sacrament. Now, getting back to your original question, let's say you are not a member of a congregation, and you are not regularly attending worship. Yet, you attend the every Wednesday evening Bible study at St. Gus Lutheran, where the pastor leads you in prayer, singing, and even preaches on the text for the day. However, that gathering of the faithful is not the regular worship service, where the sacraments are expected among the life of the congregation. The Holy Spirit has gathered you into an encounter with the presence of Christ in Word, but not Sacrament. So, this weekly event is not a worship service, and you are not a part of the congregation---even if you've been attending that weekly Bible study for years, and have made many friends. This is hypothetical, of course. I can't honestly imagine the Holy Spirit calling a person that close for that long without the person finally being willing to dip their toe into the waters of Baptism and start coming to worship.
A resource that you would find helpful on this subject, if you haven't found it already, is the ELCA's document called "The Use of The Means of Grace". You can download it here: The Use of the Means of Grace
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