There is nothing we need to do to secure God's presence among us. Rather, his coming to us is a gift that he promises. With this assurance, we see worship ultimately as God's work for us, not our work for him.  He specifically comes to us through his Word which is read at every worship service.  The pastor also expounds on a reading from the Bible each week in a short message called a sermon.

Since we are a church from the Lutheran tradition, our worship follows an order.  This is called the liturgy.  Through the liturgy, the worshipper is taken on a journey from the confession of sins to the announcement of God's forgiveness; from receiving the benefits of Jesus' saving work to praising him through song; from making requests through prayer to receiving God's blessing.  The liturgy is meant to proclaim God's grace to God's people every week so that we might serve our neighbor in love.

St. John's celebrates a rich musical history, but we also look to more modern styles of music as well.  For evening worship services, the music is accompanied on the piano.  For Sunday mornings, we offer a wide variety of music styles, from choir singing and handbells, to hymn singing on the organ, all the way to modern music you'd hear on Christian radio.  We encourage congregational singing, but it is not required.  No matter what the music style is, it is done with God's gifts and to his glory.