We’re in week ten of Exodus, a book all about God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in this world.
We’re also in week four of Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter where we prepare our hearts to remember and celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection. A couple good resources for this season include this recent blog by Joel Limpic and the The Christian Year. Here’s how you can prepare for this week at Park:
1. Read through our text, Exodus 7:1–13.
After a season of resistance and hesitation, Moses has finally come to the point of trust and obedience to the call of God on His life. God will speak to Moses, and Aaron will his spokesperson before Pharaoh. The passage reiterates that Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. They performed God’s sign before Pharaoh, turning Aaron’s staff into a serpent, but the Egyptian magicians matched their sign, turning their own staffs to serpents. The dual of powers had begun, and the story is clear about who will prevail.
Aaron’s staff swallowed up the Egyptian magician’s staffs, displaying the supreme power of Yahweh above all other powers. This first sign sets the trajectory for the rest of the ten plagues that will follow. In the end, the power of Yahweh will prevail against all who oppose Him. This demonstration of the power of the Lord, however, did not move Pharaoh’s hardened heart. He continued in his refusal to let the people go, just like the Lord had foretold to Moses.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 95:1–3, 6–7
Praise To The Lord The Almighty (Joachim Neander, Catherine Winkworth addl. verse Joel Limpic, JD Raab)
The Lion And The Lamb (Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson, Leeland Mooring)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:
We confess today that though You are a great God, we act as if we are gods without regard for You. Though You are a great king, we act as if we are kings and queens ruling our individual kingdoms. Though You are our good Shepherd, we stray like sheep far from Your pasture and care. Though You are a God who speaks, we harden our hearts and busy ourselves with a million other things.
Today, would You soften our distracted hearts by Your Spirit? Where there are barriers and blockades, would You tear them down? Where there are anxieties and fears, would You still them? Where there is shame, would You lift our eyes to see Your kind loving eyes? We want to hear Your voice and in turn follow You as beloved children of God. Not just today, but also throughout the week! In our homes, in our jobs, in our lives. For this we need Your grace and Your power.
In Jesus’ powerful name, amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Matthew 11:28–30
O Come To The Altar (Brock, Brown, Furtick, and Joye)
GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE, & COMMUNION
Christ The Sure And Steady Anchor (Matt Boswell, Matt Papa)
Living Hope (Brian Johnson, Phil Wickham)
BENEDICTION
Last August, we celebrated 10 years as a church.
We gathered at Morse Park to eat, drink, and celebrate God’s kindness to us!
We’re grateful for all that He’s done in and through us, and expectant for his Holy Spirit to move even more in the city of Denver and beyond.
Melanie Fenwick took the above photos of our time, and we wanted to share those with you now. Enjoy!
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The artwork for our Exodus series was illustrated by hand by Christian Robinson of Oklahoma City. If that name sounds familiar, or if the style of the artwork looks familiar, it’s because Christian was our artist for Genesis as well. As such, the artwork for Exodus serves as fitting follow-up to Genesis.
The book of Exodus, in short, is about God’s mission to redeem a people for His kingdom in this world. Christian’s artwork, in three pieces, illustrates the narrative of the book:
Part Two, the central piece, shows the path through the Red Sea: a sort of climax to the story, God’s final crushing of Pharaoh, and the gateway between the first and second half of the narrative.
Part One depicts Egypt and the way out of it. Egypt’s God-rejecting kingdom is symbolized by their man-made glory-mountains (the pyramids) and false gods (represented by the hawk, symbolic for Ra). The stalks of straw speak to Israel’s oppression and the cruelty of their overlords (ch. 5), while the path and the blood over the doorway describe the ultimate trajectory of the story as seen in the Passover and the people’s flight out of Egypt.
Part Three depicts Mount Sinai and Moses. Images on this piece show a direct contrast to the images on the Part One panel—instead of man-made mountains and false gods, Mount Sinai (an actual God-made mountain) looms in unapproachable glory and gloom and fire and smoke and the presence of the only true God. Moses in the foreground represents both God’s leadership and His giving of the Law, His means for His redeemed children to be holy.
This is our ninth week in the book of Exodus, a book all about God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in this world.
This is also the third week of Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter where we prepare our hearts to remember and celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection. A couple good resources for this season include this recent blog by Joel Limpic and The Christian Year. Here’s how you can prepare for our service together this week:
1. Read through our text, Exodus 6:14–7:7.
Here we come across our first genealogy in the book of Exodus. Although genealogies have a reputation for being boring and challenging to read, they actually play a significant role in the narrative.
First, the genealogy connects the story to real, ordinary, Hebrew families. This is not a fictional story about some mythical hero. It’s a story about real people, real families, and what God did to deliver them from evil and to make them into His People. Second, the genealogy serves to connect Moses and Aaron to the broader story of God. This genealogy picks up from the genealogies in Genesis that go all of the way back to Adam and Eve, reminding us of God’s promise that an offspring of the woman will come to crush the head of the serpent and restore God’s blessing to the world (Genesis 3:15). Moses and Aaron stand in continuity with that promise, and the evil reign of Pharaoh stands in continuity with the serpent as the enemy of God and His people.
Though the people of God have suffered greatly, God again promises that He will deliver them and crush His enemies under His feet.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 90:1–2; 12
All Creatures Of Our God And King (William Henry Draper, St. Francis of Assisi arr. The Christian Year)
Yet Even Now (Joel Limpic)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:
Most merciful God
whose Son, Jesus Christ, was tempted in every way, yet was without sin,
we confess before You our own sinfulness;
we have hungered after that which does not satisfy;
we have compromised with evil;
we have doubted Your power to protect us.
Forgive our lack of faith; have mercy on our weakness.
Restore in us such trust and love that we may walk in Your ways and delight in doing Your will.
Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 Peter 1:3–5
Living Hope (Brian Johnson, Phil Wickham)
GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE, & COMMUNION
O Come To The Altar (Brock, Brown, Furtick, and Joye)
VOCATION COMMISSIONING: FINANCE
Your Labor Is Not In Vain (Wendell Kimbrough, Isaac Wardell, Paul Zach)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Our guests are Steve and Candice Watters. Steve is the Vice President of Communications at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Steve and Candice co-founded the website Boundless.Org.Listen
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By now you may have heard about the women’s seminar we had planned for the first weekend of April. Unfortunately, our speaker has had a family emergency come up, and thus, we’re cancelling the Extravagant Grace Women’s Conference. Please join us in praying for health and God’s nearness for their family.
However, we still have a great event for you! We are coming alongside Grace Community Church in Westminster to learn from Courtney Reissig that same weekend. Courtney is a dynamic speaker with The Gospel Coalition and The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. (In fact, she’s a speaker we have considered bringing to Park!)
The title of the conference is Delighting in God’s Good Design, and explores her book, Accidental Feminist. Not only will this be a great weekend of learning, but as women of Park, we will have the opportunity to sit together and learn together!
For more details, and to sign up, click here.
The conference cost is the same as ours ($30) and includes three meals and conference materials. If you are in need of a scholarship, please email kyle@parkchurchdenver.org.
Thanks!
Kyle Nelson
P.S.—We also learned that Jackie Hill Perry is speaking at the Well Church in Boulder those same dates. The cost is $99, so you’re welcome to check out this event instead! Details here.
The title of the conference is Delighting in God’s Good Design, and explores her book, Accidental Feminist. Not only will this be a great weekend of learning, but as women of Park, we will have the opportunity to sit together and learn together!
For more details, and to sign up, click here.
The conference cost is the same as ours ($30) and includes three meals and conference materials. If you are in need of a scholarship, please email kyle@parkchurchdenver.org.
Thanks!
Kyle Nelson
P.S.—We also learned that Jackie Hill Perry is speaking at the Well Church in Boulder those same dates. The cost is $99, so you’re welcome to check out this event instead! Details here. We continue this week in Exodus; week 8. In brief, Exodus is all about God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in this world.
This is also the second week of Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter where we prepare our hearts to remember and celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection. As a reminder, The Christian Year is a Park Church Music project that provides an artistic accompniament to the historical church calendar with songs, visual art, and prayers for the season. See our resources for Lent here. Here’s how you can prepare for service this week:
1. Read through our text, Exodus 5:22–6:13.
For Moses, the reality of Pharaoh’s intensified brutality seemed incongruent with God’s plan. But the Lord had already said that this would take place (vv.4:21). Rather than rebuking Moses for his questions, the Lord reiterated His own covenant promise that He had made long ago to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He promised that He would free them from their slavery with great acts of judgment, and He would lead them into their own land where He would dwell with them as their Lord and Redeemer. But the deflated morale of the Israelites and of Moses outweighed their confidence in the Lord’s promise. Nonetheless, the Lord had promised, and He would be faithful.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 46
Take A Moment (Will Reagan)
How Great Thou Art (Stuart K. Hine arr. Citizens)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:
Our Father, forgive us for thinking small thoughts of You
and for ignoring Your immensity and greatness.
Lord Jesus, forgive us when we forget that You rule
the nations and our small lives.
Holy Spirit, we offend You in minimizing Your power
and squandering Your gifts.
We confess that our blindness to Your glory, O triune God, has resulted in shallow confession,
tepid conviction, and only mild repentance.
Have mercy upon us.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Ephesians 1:7–10
Rising Sun (Leslie Jordan, Kyle Lee, David Leonard, Paul Mabury)
GREETING, & CHILD DEDICATIONS
SERMON, RESPONSE, & COMMUNION
Steadfast (Leslie Jordan, Sandra McCracken, Joshua Silverberg)
Yes And Amen (Anthony Brown, Chris McClarney, Nate Moore)