June 7, 2020
Every summer at Park Church, we spend several weeks in the Psalms. The Psalms give us a vocabulary and a “hymnal” for relating to God through the full range of human experience and emotion, ultimately pointing us to Jesus. This annual series, now in its ninth year, is called Christ in the Psalms. This Sunday is week one of Christ in the Psalms 2020. We’ll be in Psalm 100.
Two resources you need to know about:
- Christ in the Psalms sermons for Psalms 1–99 are available here. If you can’t wait for Sunday, take a trip back in Park Church history and listen to the sermon from one of your favorite Psalms. You can also return here as a way to study the Psalms on your own or to share a message about a particular Psalm with a friend.
- Since 2015 (starting with Psalm 41), different artists within our community have done a piece of artwork for each Psalm, going week-by-week in step with the sermon series. This week’s piece for Psalm 100 is an acrylic painting by Jennie Pitts Tucker. See the piece and read about the art and the artist here. For all Christ in the Psalms artwork pieces, click here.
Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday!
1. Read our text, Psalm 100.
A Psalm for Giving Thanks
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100 is a call to joy and thanksgiving. But what if you are feeling sorrow and pain? Are joy and sorrow mutually exclusive? Does the desire for joy require you to suppress the realities of pain and sadness? Not at all. Psalm 100 was written by and for suffering and oppressed people, and it is inviting us to look to the loving presence of the Good Shepherd—who was a Man of Sorrows—as the source of joy in the midst of the sorrows of life.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
Don’t have Spotify? Click the song title below to see song on YouTube.
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 100:
A Psalm for Giving Thanks
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
House of God Forever (Jon Foreman)
CONFESSION & LAMENT: Adapted from Apostles Church Uptown:
Lord, this morning as we gather together-though apart-
We praise you that you see us, you know us, and you love us.
We also gather today with heavy hearts,
lamenting the evil at work in our world.
We lament the racism and violence against the black community.
Among others, we lament the loss of your image bearers,
Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd.
When we are apathetic to violence, forgive us.
When we are numb to compassion, soften our hearts.
When we are confused and bewildered, comfort us.
Be with us, Jesus.
Grant us the humility and the courage
to be your hands and feet to our neighbors,
pursuing justice, loving mercy,
and walking humbly with you.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Romans 8:35–39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Oh God (Dustin Kensrue)
PASSING THE PEACE
(Click to Read)
When we’ve met as a large group on Sundays, we’ve always had a time of greeting one another after singing. Many churches call this time “passing the peace.” In some church traditions, one person will say to another, “The peace of Christ be with you” to which the other person responds, “And also with you.”
While potentially unfamiliar for some, we felt that “passing the peace” during greeting times at home could be a powerful act in this age marked by very little external peace. In Isaiah 9, Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace. He wants His kingdom to be marked by this very peace! We want to “pass” to one another this peace that only Jesus can give, especially at a time like this.
It might feel a bit cheesy, but we encourage you to actually pray the peace of God over each other during our times. We encourage you to look into each other’s eyes as you say, “The peace of Christ be with you!” and have others respond with, “And also with you.” Be open-hearted to Jesus, asking Him to fill you with His peace.
SERMON & COMMUNION
King Of My Heart (John Mark McMillan, Sarah McMillan)