Posts from June 2012 (Page 2)

Liturgy comes from the Greek leitourgia which is composed from words for work (ergon) and people (laos).  In ancient Greece, a liturgy was a public work performed for the benefit of the city or state.  Its principle was the same as the one for paying taxes, but it could involve donated service as well as taxes. Paul speaks of the Roman authorities literally as “liturgists of God” (Romans 13:6) and of himself as “a liturgist of Christ Jesus to the…

Yesterday we made the first “stop” on our summer series, The Evolution of Church. Children danced, women sang as they tapped out rhythms and listened to the story shared by the voices of men. This week we will experience the basic form of Christian Worship.   We see how the Jewish understanding of the way to give thanks taught Christians to do likewise by reading the early communion prayers. Psalm 118:26 records the sentiment of a gathering that honored God.  Set in…

Is this really where it all began?  Can we imagine a group of people, so overjoyed that they have been delivered from a life of captivity to a life of freedom that they break into a victory song? What did the earliest gatherings of worship look like? Is this closer to your image of church? Describe church for yourself.  What does it feel like?  What does it look like?  What do you expect to hear in church?  What makes church…