"Give Us Lips To Sing Thy Glory, Tongues Thy Mercy To Proclaim"

The juxtaposition of preaching and the de tempore hymn (Hymn of the Day) within the Eucharistic ordos of the Lutheran Book of Worship and With One Voice become a context for the performative exegesis of the biblical Word. This work examines how particular genres of hymnody may work in concert with a preacher s homiletic intentions, so that preaching and hymn singing lead the assembly to the table of thanksgiving and to a life of thanksgiving. An analysis of types of preaching structure the discussion concerning the ways that a sermon may function within the liturgy. The genres of hymnody presented in current hymnals are analyzed so that their identifiable characteristics are made available for our further discussion concerning the contextual associations of each genre. Communities identities are formed as they engage in a liturgical setting, and through such ritual patterning, which includes preaching juxtaposed to hymn singing, multiple layers of meaning may be evoked from the spoken biblical Word. Through the performative doxological actions of preaching and hymnody the assembly discovers their source and their destination. It is the manner of their journey which is epiphanic.