This is the last week of Your Kingdom Come: Gospel Promises from Isaiah, observing Christmastide. During Christmastide, we take time to savor and celebrate the incarnation of Christ. You can learn more about the season and find additional music, visual artwork, and prayers for Christmastide at The Christian Year.
1. Read through our text, Isaiah 54:1–17.
Isaiah 54 marks the reversal of everything after the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 arrives. God is reversing things for His people, making them into a fruitful people who reflect His glory.
2. Read, pray and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Luke 1:49–55
Joy To The World (Isaac Watts)
He Who Is Mighty (Katie DeGraide, Rebecca Elliot)
CONFESSION OF SIN: Isaiah 64:6–9
All The Poor And Powerless (David Leonard, Leslie Jordan)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Issiah 54:10
Here Is Love (Edwards, Limpic, Raab, Rees)
THE WORD MADE FLESH (Ligonier):
We confess the mystery and wonder of God made flesh
and rejoice in our great salvation
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
With the Father and the Holy Spirit,
the Son created all things,
sustains all things,
and makes all things new.
Truly God,
He became truly man,
two natures in one person.
He was born of the Virgin Mary
and lived among us.
Crucified, dead, and buried,
He rose on the third day,
ascended to heaven,
and will come again
in glory and judgment.
For us,
He kept the Law,
atoned for sin,
and satisfied God’s wrath.
He took our filthy rags
and gave us His righteous robe.
He is our Prophet, Priest, and King,
building His church,
interceding for us,
and reigning over all things.
Jesus Christ is Lord;
we praise His holy Name forever.
Amen.
GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer
Throughout Every Season (God With Us) (Joel Limpic, JD Raab)
Hallelujah, What A Savior (Bliss, Carter, Ivey, Suh arr. Austin Stone)
BENEDICTION
We come to our third and final Wednesday in the season of Advent as we pray through The Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13:
“The Lord And His Prayer” (NT Wright)
Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
The Prayer has six petitions: the first three pray for the furtherance of God and His work—His holiness, His will, His kingdom; the matching triad is oriented around human needs—food, forgiveness, deliverance. The pair of triads is connected by the phrase, “on earth as it is in heaven,” which is to say that prayer has its source in heaven, the home country, so to speak, of God, but the action takes place on earth—our home country. Prayer that is not firmly grounded “on earth” is not prayer as our Lord taught us to pray.
We are going to look at each petition and then in turn take time to pray through it, closing our time in prayer.Petition #4: Give us this day our daily bread
As our Creator and our Father, we are instructed to ask God to provide for us our daily bread. Up to this point, every request has been God-centered (note the use of the word “your” in all the prior petitions) and now we become honest about our own needs. We can often fall in an “either/or” ditch in prayer: we can either only focus on praising God and asking nothing from Him because we feel guilty about that. We tell ourselves, “He already knows what I need before I ask, so I won’t ask.” There’s a ditch on the other side which treats God like a cosmic vending machine. We only come to Him when we want something. He becomes our Genie in a bottle instead of our heavenly Father. Jesus rejects this false dichotomy by teaching us to adore and ask; to praise and petition. In this petition we learn that He knows He’s made us with real human needs and we are to come to Him in our need to ask Him to provide for our basic needs.
Where do you need God to provide today? Physically? Spiritually? Emotionally? Are there others we need to pray for?Petition #5: Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors
Jesus reminds us here that part of our relationship with God as Christians will continue to be coming before Him in confession and repentance. Confession isn’t a “one and done” act when you initially come to faith. Rather, it is to be an intimate and repeated practice of being honest before God about all the ways you wander from Him (both things you’ve done and things you’ve left undone). The aim of this prayer for forgiveness is not to seek the judicial forgiveness which you already received from God when you first came to Him in faith, but rather relational forgiveness. What is at stake in this prayer is not union with God, but rather communion with Him. The amazing thing is that we’re promised in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Not only are we to ask for forgiveness from God, but we are to image and imitate Him in how we forgive others! Unforgiveness and Christianity are incompatible because forgiveness lies at the heart of our relationship with God and must manifest itself in our relationship with others too.
Where do you need to ask God forgiveness today? Be specific. Where do you need to forgive others today?Petition #6: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
It’s so easy to forget this powerful reality: there is a war happening right now as we speak. It’s a spiritual war where there is real good and real evil at work all around us! The Bible likens Satan to a prowling lion (1 Peter 5:8), a schemer (Ephesians 6:10), who is both a murderer and a father of lies (John 8:44). His aim is tempt us and ultimately destroy us. Jesus teaches us to call out to our Father of lights to protect us from this father of lies. We are to ask Him to take every situation in our lives, both pleasant or unpleasant, and use it for His glory! Satan wants to take that exact situation and use it to tempt us to forget God or even curse Him. God wants to use it to shape us to love Him more and look more like Him.
Where do you most naturally find yourself tempted by Satan? Which are the top three areas you are most prone to wander in? Where are you currently being tempted? Where do you need deliverance? What about those around you? Take the next few minutes to cry out for deliverance both for yourself and others.Resources
“Look At The Book: Part 2: Deliver Us From Evil” (John Piper)“The Lord And His Prayer” (NT Wright)
This Sunday at Park Church is Christmas Eve, and the fourth week of Your Kingdom Come: Gospel Promises from Isaiah, our series for Advent. Our service times will be slightly different this week for the holiday—10am, 5pm, and 6:30pm. Here’s how you can prepare for worship:
1. Read through our main text, Isaiah 9:1–7.
The wait has been long, we have walked in darkness and dwelt in a land of deep darkness, but no more. The “sunrise from on high” has visited us (Luke 1:78); we’ve seen a great light. Of the increase of that light and of the government of that light there shall be no end. It will be for peace, justice, and righteousness. A Son is given.
2. Read, pray and sing through the service:
First Advent Candle
Reading One: Isaiah 9:1–7
Second Advent Candle
O Come, O Come Emmanuel (John Neale, Henry Coffin, arr. Chichi Agorom, The Christian Year)
Joy To The World (Isaac Watts)
Reading Two: Luke 2:1–7
Third Advent Candle
Oh Come All Ye Faithful (C. Frederick Oakeley, John Francis Wade)
Reading Three: Luke 2:8–21
Fourth Advent Candle
Angels We Have Heard On High (James Chadwick)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Author Unknown)
HOMILY & COMMUNION
Christ Candle
O Holy Night (Placide Cappeau)
Congregational Candles Lit from Christ Candle
Silent Night (Joseph Mohr)
BENEDICTION
We’re in the third week of Your Kingdom Come: Gospel Promises from Isaiah, our series for Advent. Read more about the season of Advent here! Here’s how you can prepare for this week:
1. Read through our text, Isaiah 40:1–11.
God is the God who announces ultimate comfort to His people. This comfort comes only from the Lord and happens only when the Glory of the Lord is revealed to all flesh. What is the glory of the Lord? It’s seen now in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus and seen ultimately in Jesus’ glorious return. Therefore, take comfort in the Lord who has come once, for He will come again!
2. Read, pray and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: The Lord’s Prayer, from Matthew 6:9–13
Come Thou Fount (Robert Robinson, John Wyeth)
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (Robert J. Hughes, Charles Wesley, arr. Rain For Roots)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From Scotty Smith’s Every Season Prayers
Dear heavenly Father, with the angels, we shout loud praises over the birth of Jesus; with the shepherds, we respond with joy for the gift of a Savior; with Mary, we treasure and ponder this good news in our hearts. You have been faithful to fulfill ancient prophecies and Your covenant promises. Because of Jesus’ finished work, we now live in Your perpetual favor; and because of the Spirit’s ongoing work, we now humble ourselves before You.
We confess our sins to You: Forgive us for attitudes and actions that misrepresent You, contradict Your grace, and sabotage love. Forgive us for speaking words that brought harm and shame, and for withholding words that bring healing and hope. Forgive us for spending so much time and energy on ourselves and our trifles, and so little time with You and on the things that matter the most. We offer our prayer, humbly, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hallelujah, What A Savior (Philip P. Bliss, arr. Austin Stone)
Build My Life (Barrett, Kable, Martin, Redman, Younker)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Romans 8:31–39
THE APOSTLES’ CREED:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
I believe in the holy catholic church;
the communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer
Jesus Paid It All (Elvina Hall, Kristian Stanfill)
Joy To The World (Isaac Watts)
BENEDICTION
As we continue to fast and pray our way through the season of Advent, we find ourselves in the Lord’s Prayer again. When asked by His disciples how to pray, He taught them what is now known as “The Lord’s Prayer” and is found in Matthew 6:9-13:
Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Re-Address
Let’s start off our time of prayer re-centering our hearts around Who it is we pray to! We pray not to a vague deity, but to our very Father in heaven who holds all power and has invited us to come before His throne of grace with confidence… May we remember and truly believe that it is not our own personal names or Park Church’s name that we want exalted, but rather the name of Jesus lifted up in our lives, in this church, and in this city! Song Ideas: Forever Reign, Be Lifted Up Let’s look at the next two petitions: Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.Petition #2: Your kingdom come
Why would Jesus instruct us to pray, “Your kingdom come”? Is not God already King? Psalm 103:19 tells us His kingdom rules over all. Tim Keller helps us as he explains:
“God is reigning now, but just as a light is absent to those refusing to open their eyes, so it is possible to refuse God’s rule. This is the cause of all our human problems, since we were created to serve Him, and when we serve other things in God’s place, all spiritual, psychological, cultural, and even material problems ensue. Therefore, we need His kingdom to ‘come.’”
The Bible teaches us that His kingdom has a two-fold reality: it is both present (already) but also it is future (not yet). This is the tension we live in, and it is precisely the tension we see in Advent! Jesus came to bring about the promises of God, and one day He will come again to fully and finally fulfill all that He promised and make all things new again. Some have compared this tension to the tension we saw in World War II between the Allies’ initial D-Day and final V-Day. Jesus’ first Advent in Bethlehem is likened to D-Day, while His second Advent is compared to a coming V-Day when He returns as our Savior Judge. To pray for God’s kingdom to come is to acknowledge that there are so many areas of our lives (internally and externally) that aren’t aligned with the kingdom of God and to ask for all those areas to come under His good rule and reign. Where are there areas of your life where you long for God’s kingdom to come and change things? Where are there areas of your household? Workplace? Denver? Song Ideas: King Of My Heart, Here As In HeavenPetition #3: Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
The next petition is similar to the last one… We might ask the question, “Is God’s will not always done?” Just as there are different ways to understand kingdom in the Bible, we must work to understand the will of God. Scripture speaks of God’s revealed will (which includes His commands in Scripture) but also of His hidden will (all the things He hasn’t clearly told us in His eternal decrees). His hidden will always comes to pass while His revealed will clearly doesn’t. We break His commandments and laws all the time, even though it His will that we would follow them. In “The Prayer of the Lord” RC Sproul comments, “In this petition, then, Jesus is affirming that the will of God is done in heaven. However, He is also affirming that it is not done here. People here on earth do not strive to glorify God. They do not seek the kingdom of God. They do not hallow the name of God. So Jesus says we ought to pray, ‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’”Prayer
What would it look like for God’s kingdom to come and will to be done on earth as it is in heaven? Let’s finish our time praying through each item on the “Missions” handout (click button below). We want to pray for our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, city (including organizations we support), and nations (including missionaries we support). Missions Guide Song Ideas: Lord’s Prayer (Park Church Music), Oh Holy NightResources
“Look At The Book: Park 1 Your Kingdom Come” (John Piper) “What Is The Kingdom of God?” (John Piper) “What Is The Kingdom of God?” (George Eldon Ladd) “When Heaven Meets Earth” (The Bible Project) “The Lord And His Prayer” (NT Wright) God’s Will Hidden and Revealed (Ligonier)
Person
Jeremy Grant is an emerging artist and award-winning graphic designer. He was born in California in 1985. He studied Graphic Design and Illustration at John Brown University. Grant has exhibited his collage and assemblage work regularly across Colorado since 2008. An active member of local arts communities, Jeremy has been invited to participate in numerous group shows, donated art to charity, and been awarded a PPAC micro-grant. His work explores themes of destruction and creation, death and resurrection, and chaos and familiarity. Jeremy Grant currently lives and works in Denver, Colorado.Piece
Isaiah 40 • Mark 1
Often during Advent, I contemplate the calling of John the Baptist—“to prepare the way of the LORD,” and to “make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” This calling feels just as relevant for us as it was for him. The people of God had been waiting for Messiah, their Savior King, for hundreds of years. Generations upon generations had lived and died and not seen the promise fulfilled. John’s prophetic calling took him on a difficult path through the desert to preach a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John was asked to clear the path for the coming Messiah, Jesus. The scriptures that refer to this calling paint a picture where “every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low.” The subject of the piece is a landscape that visualizes the work of John the Baptist—the transition from rough, mountainous terrain to open plains is making smooth the way of the LORD. The mountains are cut from pieces that I felt had a sense of static and a feeling of brokenness. We still live in a broken reality. Some brokenness is obvious and agonizing, and other times brokenness is characterized by the monotony of existence—the lack of joy, color, and celebration. The extra-long proportion of the piece is meant to convey the passage of time, a sense of waiting and of a long journey still ahead. The dark to light transition hints at the coming sunrise, our current reality is dim, but the bright light of the coming messiah is a dawn on the horizon. Click on an image below to enlarge.The complete, final piece:
The sequential pieces, with Advent 2017 sermon series titles:
Process
Hand-cut paper collage inspired by the themes of the season of Advent. At first, I sought to express brokenness through fragmented pieces—tiny windows into pain. Ultimately, this felt a little one-dimensional and I left it in favor of the landscape idea which had a more rich meaning (see final artwork above).
In another early concept, I envisioned cracks and a shattered pattern getting less and less cracked -the color getting brighter and brighter as the collage progressed. U;timately, I felt like it was—again—less robust of an idea, and cracks don’t really “heal themselves.” It’s difficult to express that idea, even though I liked the graphic potential of it.
Lastly, an image of the final collage in-process, before I added the pink squares. The squares sort of came to symbolize markers in the passage of time, little ebeneezers if you will.
