This is a weekly blog post with one purpose: to help those coming to Park’s Sunday gathering engage with the teaching and liturgy in a more meaningful way. We use this space to share in advance our Sunday’s liturgy: the scripture we’ll be studying, the songs we’ll be singing, and the prayers we’ll be praying together. We also share a handful of thoughts each week to help you use these things to prepare for the service.
This Sunday at Park, we’re in week 17 of The Book of Acts: You Will Be My Witnesses. Here are a couple things you can do to prepare for this week’s service:
1. Read through our text, Acts 8:26–40.
An angel of the Lord instructs Philip to head south from Jerusalem on the road to Gaza. He does as told and meets an Ethiopian eunuch, sitting in his chariot on the way to Jerusalem, reading Isaiah and struggling to understand who this Suffering Servant must be. Philip tells him about Jesus, and the man immediately believes and desires to be baptized, so it happens. As they come up from the water, Philip is carried away by the Spirit and the Eunuch goes “on his way rejoicing.”
This passage teaches us that the Holy Spirit empowers us to share good news that brings great joy to people—people who need it. As you prepare this week, consider who the people are in your life that need to hear good news and receive joy. Look back through the text; how does the Holy Spirit empower you to do this work?
When Philip meets the eunuch, he’s reading from Isaiah 53. In your preparation this week, consider making use of these Isaiah 53 entries by The Verses Project. Simply put, The Verses Project provides musical and visual art to help people memorize and meditate on scripture. We think this is a great resource for personal and corporate devotion!
2. Read, pray and sing through the service.
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 98:1–3
Before The Throne of God (Charitie Lees Bancroft, arr. Modern Post)
Be Thou My Vision (Author Unkown, arr. Ascend The Hill)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook
God of grace,
you have given us Jesus,
the light of the world,
but we choose darkness
and cling to things that hide the brightness of your love.
Immersed in ourselves, we have not risen to new life.
Baptize us with your Spirit,
that, forgiven and renewed,
we may preach your Word to the nations
and tell of your glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ,
our Lord and our light forever.
Amen.
Christ Or Else I Die (William Hammond, arr. Red Mountain Church)
Jesus Paid It All (Elvina Hall, Kristian Stanfill)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 John 1:5–7
GREETING
SERMON & COMMUNION
How Marvelous (I Stand Amazed) (Charles H. Gabriel)
All I Have Is Christ (Jordan Kauflin)
BENEDICTION & SENDING
Around 300 of us gathered at Moss Denver on November 30 to celebrate our fourth annual Bread & Wine event.
Why do we return to this celebration year after year?
Our tagline for Bread & Wine is as follows: An evening to taste and see the glory of God through his good creation. Let’s unpack this a bit.
Think back to the last meal Jesus shared with his group of disciples before his crucifixion. There in the upper room, God incarnate grabbed two of the most basic elements of mealtime – bread and wine. And with a couple sentences he breathed new meaning into them: “Take and eat; this is my body… Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Jesus selected common elements to represent the drastically uncommon – God’s reconciliation of His people to Himself through the labor of His Son.
But wait. Could there be another layer of import woven into Jesus’ actions that night?
It’s fascinating that Jesus chose elements that required human activity and involvement in order to create. Truth be told, he could have used barley instead of bread, grapes instead of a Grenache. His selected symbols for his sacrifice on the cross could have been items that exist within untouched creation, apart from the work of people.
But they weren’t. He chose bread and wine – elements that necessarily require the work of human minds and hands – to represent his reconciling work, work that actually created the family of God.
This demonstrates the value God places upon the activity to which he has called us. Certainly, the sovereign Lord of the cosmos is Himself working salvation for his namesake through the narrative of human history. And yet, he knits our individual and localized stories into this grand narrative, ushering us to play our part in restoring all things through our daily actions.
In short, God’s redemptive and unifying grace is communicated and established through human interaction with one another and the created order. And it is in these places that we see the very glory of God. But only if we’re looking for it.
That’s why we host Bread & Wine each year. We need regular reminders to experience our dynamic world as one that is “charged with the grandeur of God.” These reminders need be more than verbal; oftentimes we need embodied practices to teach our souls what our intellect may already grasp.
This particular evening we highlighted the role and reality of hospitality in the renewed Christian family. You see, this “bread” was broken for us, and this “wine” was poured out for our sins, that we may be brought near to our Father. Like the prodigal son from Luke 15, we have run away from the Author of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness in order to glut ourselves on cheap substitutes. But through the meal of Jesus’ body and blood, we are recreated into the family of God.
Now, compelled by this infinite hospitality shown to us, may we step into our daily lives portraying this same gracious welcome, making use of the material things at our disposal to sacrificially love those around us.
What a beautiful, merciful, and creative God we serve!
Photos of the event taken by Melanie Fenwick.
This is a weekly blog post with one purpose: to help those coming to Park’s Sunday gathering engage with the teaching and liturgy in a more meaningful way. We use this space to share in advance our Sunday’s liturgy: the scripture we’ll be studying, the songs we’ll be singing, and the prayers we’ll be praying together. We also share a handful of thoughts each week to help you use these things to prepare for the service.
This Sunday at Park, we return to The Book of Acts: You Will Be My Witnesses. This will be our 16th week in the series. If you’d like to listen through a previous Book of Acts sermon to refresh yourself, you can do so at parkchurchdenver.org/sermons, where every past Park Church sermon is always available for streaming. Additionally, here are a couple things you can do to prepare for this week’s service:
1. Read through our text, Acts 9:1–19.
Paul’s mission—or so he thought—was to end Christianity. His goal was to bring down the the Church and yet, as we see in this passage, God redirected his heart. His new mission is to see the gospel further saturate the entire world as the water covers the sea. Paul goes from inflicting persecution to receiving the persecution because of his desire to lift up the name of Jesus.
As you prepare for Sunday, reflect on what Paul’s conversion can tell us about our own. What does it mean that we, too, have met Jesus and been converted?
2. Read, pray and sing through the service.
CALL TO WORSHIP: Isaiah 60:1–3 NIV
O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing (Charles Wesley)
Holy Spirit (Bryan and Katie Torwalt, arr. Jesus Culture)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook
Almighty and merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned
against you and one another
in both our actions and our inactions.
We recognize that in Jesus Christ our light has come,
yet often we choose to walk in shadows and ignore the light.
Gracious God, forgive our sins and remove from us
the veil of darkness that shrouds our lives.
Illumined by your Word and sacrament,
may we rise to the radiance of Christ’s glory.
Amen.
His Mercy Is More (Matt Boswell, Matt Papa)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: John 1:9–12
No Longer Slaves (Jonathan & Melissa Helser)
GREETING
SERMON & COMMUNION
How Majestic (Citizens & Saints)
All The Poor And Powerless (All Sons & Daughters)
BENEDICTION & SENDING
This is a weekly blog post with one purpose: to help those coming to Park’s Sunday gathering engage with the teaching and liturgy in a more meaningful way. We use this space to share in advance our Sunday’s liturgy: the scripture we’ll be studying, the songs we’ll be singing, and the prayers we’ll be praying together. We also share a handful of thoughts each week to help you use these things to prepare for the service.
This Sunday at Park Church, it’s the second week of Christmastide and we continue in The Coming of the King, our series for the season of Advent and Christmas.
1. Read through our text, Luke 2:22–40.
In this passage, we see the Messianic longing of men and women like Simeon and Anna fulfilled in the incarnation of Christ. The Holy Spirit comes upon them and they speak of the wondrous mystery! As you prepare this week, consider starting with this prayer from The Worship Sourcebook.
O Christ, the prophets foretold your coming,
the poor longed to see you.
The heavens celebrated your birth;
the apostles, the martyrs, and the faithful down though the ages repeated the song of the angels.
Your church praises you in every human language,
for she has seen your salvation.
Son of God, you humbled yourself and became a servant,
raising us up to share in your glory.
We were in darkness and you have given us
light and strength, peace and joy.
Lead us according to your loving will;
make us a people who follow you in holiness.
Give us generous hearts to hear your Word,
and produce in us abundant fruit,
through the power of your Spirit.
Amen.
2. Read, pray and sing through the service.
CALL TO WORSHIP: Isaiah 52:7–10
Always (Kristian Stanfill, Jason Ingram)
How Firm A Foundation (Bob Kauflin, Robert Keene)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook
Almighty God who inhabits eternity
but dwells with those who are of a humble and contrite spirit:
before you and our Lord Jesus Christ
we confess our sins.
We have ignored the presence of your Spirit.
We have failed to look for the return
of our Savior and Judge.
We have been blind to your coming
in the suffering of the hungry, the exiled,
the destitute, the sick, and the imprisoned.
In your great goodness
put away our offenses
and cleanse us from our sin,
for Jesus’ sake.
Amen.
On Christ the Solid Rock (William Batchelder Bradbury and Edward Mote, arr. Austin Stone)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 2 Corinthians 6:2
Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee (Ludwig van Beethoven, Edward Hodges, Henry Van Dyke)
The Word Made Flesh by 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
Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery (Matt Papa, Matt Boswell, Michael Bleecker)
God I Look To You (Jenn Johnson)
BENEDICTION & SENDING
Below are some ways to engage with God during this season of Advent, particularly through reading, praying, and singing. We pray that God meets us in these disciplines! If you want to read about why we’re in a season of fasting during Advent, read “A Call To Fasting During Advent”.
Read
Isaiah 58:1-12 | Micah 6:8
Pray
This week we want to encourage you to do a prayer walk either in your neighborhood or by your work or school. What’s a prayer walk? It is what it sounds like: praying while walking. We’re used to associating prayer with a closet or a church sanctuary, not city streets. Some have described prayer walking as “on-site intercession” or praying “on-site with God’s sight.” It helps us pray in a new way in the neighborhood God has placed us, seeing new things we might never have seen, and immediately bring them before God in prayer. It breaks us out of our routines and gets us out of the church’s four walls. It reminds us our neighbors are real people and there are real issues to talk to God about for our neighborhood. God’s heart is to see His kingdom come and His will be done in the Highlands as it is in heaven, and prayer is one of the main ways we participate in His work!
While you can always prayer walk alone, we encourage you to go in groups of two (or three max). Before heading out, pray for the leading of the Spirit as well as spiritual protection and insight as you go! Briefly plan where you are going to walk, but don’t be afraid of adjusting that as you walk. Remember that as you go, don’t be creepy & don’t make a scene. It’s also helpful to re-group once you come back to discuss what God might have spoken or done while you were out praying. Here are a few directives as you go:
- Pray Scripture. While not necessary, some choose to pick a particular Scripture to pray as they walk. You can even read the Scripture out loud and then expand on that passage in your own words.
- Pray out loud. Proclaim and speak out the rule and reign of Jesus over dark places. Jesus is Lord even if those in the neighborhoods don’t recognize Him as such.
- Pray as the Spirit leads. He might give you discernment, a word of knowledge, or insight into something that you can pray about. Be responsive to whatever He might be speaking.
- Pray aware of your surroundings. This includes people as well as your senses. Observe houses, buildings, posters, signs, graffiti, anything that might direct your prayers. If God opens the opportunity for a conversation with someone, engage with them telling them that you’re walking around praying for the neighborhood and ask them if you could pray for them.
Below are some ways to engage with God during this season of Advent, particularly through reading, praying, and singing. We pray that God meets us in these disciplines! If you want to read about why we’re in a season of fasting during Advent, read “A Call To Fasting During Advent” at http://www.parkchurchdenver.org/blog/post/a-call-to-fast-during-advent.
Read
Matthew 28:18-20 | Acts 1:8
Pray
This week we’re going to focus in on praying the Bible. Often we struggle to find the words to say to God, and this method or prayer utilizes Scripture as an aim in informing and directing our prayers. This can be done both alone as well as with others! Feel free to meet up with the same person you met last week or pray with someone new.
It’s highly simple: let the words of Scripture become the words of your prayers. For example, if you pray through Psalm 23, read “The Lord is my shepherd,” and thank Him for being your shepherd. Ask Him to shepherd your family that day, to guide, protect, and provide for them. Pray that He will make your family members His sheep; that they will look to Him as their shepherd. Ask Him to shepherd you through the decision you must make about your future. Pray for Him to bless the undershepherd at your church, shepherding him as he shepherds the church, etc. When nothing else comes to mind, go to the next line—“I shall not want”—and continue to pray.
Simply go through the passage, line-by-line, praying what you find in the text or what it brings to mind. If nothing comes to mind, or if you don’t understand the verse, go to the next. You might choose to linger long on one verse. Conversely, there may be only a handful of matters that prompt prayer as you go through many verses. Nothing says you have to pray over every verse. Continue in this way until (1) you run out of time, or (2) you run out of Psalm (or Bible).
Here are a few other things you could pray and ask God for:
- Praise Jesus who holds all authority on heaven and earth!
- That we would be disciples who love & obediently follow Jesus
- For your neighborhood, workplace, & schools
- Pray for church plants/missionaries that Park Church supports:
- Nationally – Marottas in Richmond, McLaughlins in Knoxville, Morginskys in Denver
- Internationally – Bartols in the Czech Republic, Procopios in Paris, and the Perezs in Spain
- That we would be filled with the Spirit to boldly witness of Jesus
About the Artwork
You may have noticed the artwork for The Coming of the King: Advent & Christmas—the two banners on the sides of the stage and the design on your bulletin and on the screen during the service. If you were here last year, you may have already picked up on the fact that it’s all very similar to the artwork for God With Us, our Advent 2015 series. You’re correct.
Last year we worked with Jeremy Grant, an incredible designer and collage artist, to create that work. This year, we’ve taken Jeremy’s art from last year and, with his permission, “remixed” it for The Coming of the King. Why did we choose to do this? Here’s what Jeremy writes about the original piece:
Purple and dark blue colors symbolize waiting and longing, and are the traditional colors of Advent. These darker areas (collaged from images of evening, twilight, deserts and water) show the brokenness and chaos of our world as they cut back and forth sharply.
Lighter colors (collaged from images of clouds and morning light) symbolize Jesus, the “light of the world,” cutting through darkness and chaos to bring light and peace. Little stabs of pink color represent joy.
There are two banners, representing Jesus’ comings to earth. Jesus, the messiah, has already come down to earth (as a child in Bethlehem) fulfilling the longing of the prophets and people of God from centuries past. And Jesus, the master of the cosmos, has promised he will return to earth again. So we look back, and remember what he has done. And we look forward with eager anticipation to what he will do next.
Whereas last year the lighter colors were in the shape of a sunburst, symbolizing the great shock and “thrill of hope” that is Christ actually among—God With Us—this year the lighter colors make a crown. Not too much of a stretch for a series entitled The Coming of the King, right? Why use something so obvious?
The lordship of Jesus Christ, although “obvious” to His followers, is certainly not obvious enough—not even to His followers! Do we understand that, in all of our darkness, in the valley of the shadow of death, in sin and error pining, a King has come and rescued us? Do we prepare Him room in our hearts to be the actual King? His crown is not symbolic, and His authority is over a real kingdom whose increase will never end.
Lastly, at the point of each crown is dot. Three of the four dots are purple and one is pink, symbolizing the advent candles that traditionally symbolize the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas Eve. In an Advent wreath, these four candles surround a larger, white “Christ candle” to be lit on Christmas Eve. In our illustration, the white crown stands in for the Christ candle, supporting those four other points.
About the Artist
Jeremy Grant is an award-winning artist and graphic designer. His collages and found-object assemblages have been exhibited in solo and juried shows across Colorado and Arkansas. Jeremy is married to an author, has two beautiful babies and loves Jesus, bourbon and robots. You can check out more of his work at jeremygrantcreative.com.