Service of the Word: Part IV

Scripture Readings

Historically: The readings for each Sunday are based on what is called a "pericope", which is an organisation of readings throughout the church year, intended to cover each of the major points in the life of Jesus and the life of His church. I will discuss this more in a later post; for now, suffice it to say there is a reason we read what we read when we read it.
Explanation: There are usually 3 readings: the 1st from the Old Testament or the book of Acts, the 2nd from the Epistles (Letters of Faith), and the 3rd from one of the four Gospels.
Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16,17; many others
Sacramental: We hear God's speaking to us through His word.
Alternatives: One way to shake things up is to have various readers read different parts. For example, have one person read Jesus' words, another read Mary's words, and still another Martha's. Whether this is done or not, all readers should at the very least be familiar with the readings so as to not impede the work of the Spirit. (i.e., don't monotone, stumble over pronunciations, stutter, etc. It's annoying and takes to focus from the Word to the speaker.)
Hymns: Obviously there are quite a few hymns based on Scripture readings. Some hymnals are generous enough to include an index in the back of the hymnal. Cyberhymnal also has a similar section.

Gradual or Psalm

Explanation: This is a short response taken usually from a Psalm, but there are occasions when other Scripture is used. The theme usually corresponds to the Introit. Like the Introit, it is usually sung antiphonally, or responsively.
Scripture: Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3
Sacramental: We repeat God's Word back to Him.
Alternatives: Many congregations have the choir sing at this time. That's fine, but I would prefer them to "highlight" other portions of the service, such as singing a stanza of an hymn or a portion of the liturgy, like the Kyrie; but that's a matter of taste.
Hymns: There are many Psalm paraphrases out there: our LSB has quite a few, the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (Evangelical Lutheran Synod) has a few more, and the Cantus Christi (Reformed) has a lot more, let alone Cyberhymnal. See also Hymnoglypt.

The Creed

Explanation: The three "ecumenical" (universally Christian) creeds are the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. They are basically summaries of what we believe and what the Scriptures say about God. While no Scripture is directly quoted, they are based heavily on Scripture. This shows Scripture verses for the Nicene, this shows the Same for the Apostles'.
After hearing God's Word, we are moved to "boldly confess" our unity in the faith. I have heard one person describe the Creed as the liturgical version of "testimonials." While this analogy is not perfect, it can be an "in" with those who might be apprehensive of the notion of "creed." This is not a statement of what is needed to be believed (although this is true), but rather a statement of what is believed. A similar idea is that most grammar books do not prescribe how to speak, but instead describe the normal patterns of speech.
Sacrificial: We state what we believe.
Scripture: See my two links in the explanation.
Alternatives: "Because We Believe" Also, check out this document, which offers alternative translations. Then there's this link, as well.
Hymns: In addition to the LSB, Timothy Dudley-Smith has this hymn.