November 1, 2020

Last week we worked through Matthew 6:25–34, discussing Jesus and anxiety. We’re going to camp out here for one more week and focus in on Jesus and emotional health. As always, you can listen to or watch any past Matthew sermon here, including last week if you’d like to hear the overview on this passage before we dig a little deeper.

Another important thing for you to know about this Sunday is that the music and liturgy might feel a little different. We believe that the body of Christ is beautifully diverse, coming from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Part of that diversity can be seen in how we express ourselves in our worship of God. Spend some time with these Gospel songs that you may not know, and think about engaging not only your heart and mind, but also your body! Why? Because Jesus is worthy of everything.

Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday at Park Church:

1. Read our text, Matthew 6:25–34.

See passage

“Therefore I tell you, fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Last week we considered Jesus’ teaching on anxiety. In the context, Jesus is teaching that faith in God’s Eternal Kingdom and His Fatherly care sets us free from the anxiety that comes from living for material things. The truth is easy to understand, but it can be challenging and complicated to apply.

This week we’ll look at the same passage and the same foundational truth, but we’ll consider some of the broader issues related to faith in the Gospel and our emotional health.

2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:

Don’t use Spotify? Click the song title below to see song on YouTube.

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 16:8–11

See passage

I have set the Lord always before me;
because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let Your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life;
in Your presence there is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Joy (Anthony Brown, Pat Barrett
 arr. VaShawn Mitchell)

CONFESSION OF SIN: Psalm 51:1–2, 10–12

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to Your steadfast love;
according to Your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Your presence,
and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 John 1:7–9

See passage

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Promises (Alvarado, Barnes, Bowe, Gaines, Marin, Moses)

PASSING THE PEACE

What is 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

Everlasting God (William Murphy, Fellowship Church) / How Great Is Our God (Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves, Chris Tomlin)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

October 25, 2020

This week we’ll discuss “Jesus and Anxiety” in our ongoing Matthew series. It’s week seven of Part Two, and week 21 overall (not counting all the times we’ve taken an additional week to expand on something awesome from a previous week!). We’re enjoying spending tons of time in this book—re-listen or re-watch any Matthew sermon here.

Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday at Park Church:

1. Read our text, Matthew 6:25–34.

See passage

“Therefore I tell you, fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Jesus teaches that those who treasure God and live for His heavenly Kingdom are not only liberated from the bondage of materialism and consumerism (6:19–24), they can also experience freedom from the anxiety that is caused by living for material things. When we are preoccupied with accumulating more and better food or clothing—or any of the things that we often think we need for life—we’ve lost sight of what constitutes true life. True life comes from a relationship with your sovereign Father who loves you and welcomes you into His eternal and incorruptible Kingdom. When you get your heart aligned with the nature of the Kingdom of God, then you are freed from the anxiety of needing to secure and improve your own future. For you have a heavenly Father who is paying attention to your life and who will provide all that you really need to experience the life that is truly life.

2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:

Don’t use Spotify? Click the song title below to see song on YouTube.

CALL TO WORSHIP: From Psalm 91:1–2:

See passage

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

Praise To The Lord The Almighty (Joachim Neander, Catherine Winkworth arr. Citizens, Page CXVI)

CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:

God of love and justice,
we long for peace within and peace without.
We long for harmony in our families,
for serenity in the midst of struggle.
We long for the day when our homes
will be a dwelling place for Your love.
Yet we confess that we are often anxious,
we do not trust each other,
and we harbor violence.
We are not willing to take the risks
and make the sacrifices that love requires.
Look upon us with kindness and grace.
Rule in our homes and in all the world;
show us how to walk in Your paths,
through the mercy of our Savior. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Romans 8:14–17

See passage

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

King Of Kings (Jason Ingram, Brooke Ligertwood, Scott Ligertwood) / This Is My Father’s World (Maltbie Davenport Babcock arr. Gungor)

PASSING THE PEACE

What is 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

Through And Through (Will Reagan) / Stand In Your Love (Baldwin, Harris, Hulse, Springer)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

Matthew 6:19–24

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jesus is calling people into a Kingdom where God is known as the true and eternal source of security and love. God Himself is the treasure our hearts long for, and living for His Kingdom brings indestructible joy.
in Chris Gillespie • Matthew • Sermons

October 18, 2020

We continue in Matthew this Sunday, discussing “Jesus and Possessions”.

Also, as a reminder, if you missed Monday’s Love Your Neighbor seminar on the Gospel and Racial Justice (or if you just want to replay it), you can find the video, audio, and other resources from that event here. We ask that you continue to join us in praying for humility, love, and unity as we allow Christ to refine us and as we seek to reflect His love to those around us.

Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday at Park Church:

1. Read our text, Matthew 6:19–24.

See passage

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

In yet another call to a radically distinct way of life, Jesus calls His followers to live free from a slavish preoccupation with wealth and material possessions. When wealth and possessions are valued as a source of security or a status marker, they become like false gods that have the power to deceive and enslave your heart. The power to live free from this bondage to materialism comes first from the realization that material possessions are ultimately doomed for destruction and can never give you what your heart truly craves. More importantly, preoccupation with material accumulation pulls humanity away from a better, and incorruptible treasure. Jesus is calling people into a Kingdom where God is known as the true and eternal source of security and love. God Himself is the treasure our hearts long for, and living for His Kingdom brings indestructible joy.

2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:

Don’t use Spotify? Click the song title below to see song on YouTube.

CALL TO WORSHIP: From Psalm 84:1–2, 10:

See passage

How lovely is Your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

For a day in Your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Better (Joseph Pat Barrett, Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin)

CONFESSION OF SIN:

Lord Jesus,

With our mouths we confess that you are our greatest treasure, but with our actions we reveal a desire to lay up treasures on earth and not heaven. Open our eyes to see the ways we’ve done this and forgive us.

Because we can’t serve two masters, Jesus we ask that You would help us see Your true worth and value today. Spirit, stir a devotion for Jesus deep in our bones and help us live accordingly. Release our grip on money and believing that it can make us happy and whole.

Jesus, be the one true treasure that our hearts are devoted to. Only You can satisfy and only You will never fade. Let our hearts and homes reflect this reality.

Amen

Be Thou My Vision (Mary Elizabeth Byrne, Eleanor Henrietta Hull arr. Citizens & Saints)

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Isaiah 55:1–3

See passage

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.”

PASSING THE PEACE

What is 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

I Belong To You (Hagan Anderson, William McDowell) / Take My Life And Let It Be (Frances Ridley Havergal, Henri Abraham Cesar Malan arr. Norton Hall Band)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

Love Your Neighbor Seminar: Part 2

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Reflections, appeals, and testimonies from part two of the Love Your Neighbor Seminar on Monday, October 12, 2020. See video and other resources from the seminar at parkchurchdenver.org/neighbor.
in Misc. Sermons • Sermons

Love Your Neighbor Seminar: Part 1

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Positional clarification and Gospel centering on the issue of Racial Justice from part one of the Love Your Neighbor Seminar on Monday, October 12, 2020. See video and other resources from the seminar at parkchurchdenver.org/neighbor.
in Gary McQuinn • Misc. Sermons • Sermons