CURRENT SERIES & STUDY GUIDES
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INTRODUCTION
Liturgy is not a word many of us are accustomed to hearing in our daily lives. However, when you study and realize that our very DNA as Christians is woven through various aspects and expressions of God’s activity in the history of humanity and the church, you will encounter this word, liturgy. Even before the church existed, the Jewish people of Israel and Judah practiced liturgy.
As Christ established His Church and salvation history continued to unfold, certain expressions of the Church developed a liturgy centered on the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. This is known as the liturgical year or calendar. It includes Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
The literal definition of the word "liturgy" refers to public service or the work of the people, originating from the Greek word "leitourgia" (λειτουργία). For Christians, it provides an intentional and strategic framework to both live in and live out our relationship and discipleship with our Triune God. It helps us stay present with God... to abide with God.
To live a life of liturgy means choosing to live ritually. Think about this: anything we truly value or want to grow in, we must live out ritually. Living ritually means living with routine. Christian ritual involves embracing routines and various religious practices that we believe are valuable and necessary to experience a full life alive in Christ and His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.
Living a liturgy for life with God is our response to His love and grace revealed through Jesus and experienced in His Spirit. This allows us to participate in His divine presence through our worship, celebration, lamentation, prayers, and much more. A liturgy for life serves as a sacred ritual and routine, enabling us to grow in our relationship with God and engage in His mission of love and reconciliation in the world.
Pastor Jon Ciccarelli & the Crosswalk Series Guide Writing Team
Liturgy is not a word many of us are accustomed to hearing in our daily lives. However, when you study and realize that our very DNA as Christians is woven through various aspects and expressions of God’s activity in the history of humanity and the church, you will encounter this word, liturgy. Even before the church existed, the Jewish people of Israel and Judah practiced liturgy.
As Christ established His Church and salvation history continued to unfold, certain expressions of the Church developed a liturgy centered on the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. This is known as the liturgical year or calendar. It includes Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
The literal definition of the word "liturgy" refers to public service or the work of the people, originating from the Greek word "leitourgia" (λειτουργία). For Christians, it provides an intentional and strategic framework to both live in and live out our relationship and discipleship with our Triune God. It helps us stay present with God... to abide with God.
To live a life of liturgy means choosing to live ritually. Think about this: anything we truly value or want to grow in, we must live out ritually. Living ritually means living with routine. Christian ritual involves embracing routines and various religious practices that we believe are valuable and necessary to experience a full life alive in Christ and His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.
Living a liturgy for life with God is our response to His love and grace revealed through Jesus and experienced in His Spirit. This allows us to participate in His divine presence through our worship, celebration, lamentation, prayers, and much more. A liturgy for life serves as a sacred ritual and routine, enabling us to grow in our relationship with God and engage in His mission of love and reconciliation in the world.
Pastor Jon Ciccarelli & the Crosswalk Series Guide Writing Team