The worship service is less like servants entering the throne room to wait on the king’s needs and more like a father joining his family around the dining room table.
We have the Gospel in Word and the Gospel in Sacrament. Both are poised to declare the peace of the Lord, the good news of God’s forgiveness because of the life, vicarious atonement, and resurrection of Jesus the Son.
“Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.
He destroyed Hell when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead!” - Chrysostom