[This was a liturgy I delivered at my church a couple of months ago, while we were going through our series “Practice Resurrection”. You can hear the sermon delivered that Sunday here.]

Greeting and Preparation

Leader: Alleluia! Christ is risen.
People: The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Hi, my name Is Paul. Welcome to Liberti: South Philly. We’re a community of believers in Jesus Christ wrestling and struggling trying to learn what it looks like to live in the tensions and ambiguities of an ever-changing world; of a world whose systems too often attempt to isolate and pull each other apart. Maybe you’ve graced these pews many times before, maybe you’re still trying to get over the shock that you’re actually sitting in here in the first place. Either way, we want to welcome you today. We hope your time here is meaningful and that you feel the freedom and invitation to wrestle and struggle alongside us.

The aspect of Christian faith we will be exploring today is hospitality. The God of Christianity is not a distant god demanding things of us; putting ever-increasing weights upon our shoulders. Rather, he is a God that removes our burdens, shows us what a well-lived life looks like and invites us in. He invites us into the experience of His Self and His Works.

Continue reading →