What is a Disciple?

Each year at Park Church, we take several Sundays at the end of summer to rehearse and renew vision for our mission as a church: to make disciples of Jesus for the glory of God and the joy of all people.

This year, we want to clarify what we believe it means to be a “disciple of Jesus”—someone who is learning to be with Jesus and follow His way of life. Over three weeks of Sunday worship and teaching, we’ll discuss what it means to be human, to bear the image of God, to be in union with Jesus and communion with the Father, and to follow Jesus’ way of life in the most practical sense.

Psalm 129—Artwork

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: Rachel Buterbaugh

Rachel Buterbaugh is a Denver native and private music teacher who has always harbored a passion for the visual arts.

Piece: Photography

“The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.” (v.3)

The picture the psalmist paints in this verse immediately jumped out at me and provided the inspiration for the main image of this piece. I knew I wanted the furrows to be actually cut into the picture instead of just drawn in, which was the jumping off point for the 3D elements. As I started to create furrows on a human back, I got to thinking about what comes later from furrows made in the ground. Their purpose is to make room for seeds in order that there might be a harvest later. In the same way, the Lord is capable of bringing great blessing out of great suffering in our lives. The image of marks on a human back also brought to mind Jesus’ scourging prior to His crucifixion, and yet, not a single drop of His suffering was wasted. Death, sin, and wickedness did not prevail against Him. On the other side of Jesus’ unimaginable suffering was unfathomable life and blessing.

Process:

This piece is paper layered on paper. There was a lot of measuring and cutting involved throughout the process (and hot-gluing for the flowers). The different ways the different types of paper reacted to the adhesive was the most challenging aspect to creating this piece, which I eventually solved by layering on yet more paper. My main desire was to represent life out of suffering, thus the flowers growing out of the furrows. I chose colors and textures that had a royal feel and suggested the future glory that those in Christ will one day experience.

Psalm 129

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 eleventh year, is called “Christ in the Psalms.”

Psalm 128—Artwork

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: John Forney

I came out to Colorado 20+ years ago and have lived here ever since. My wife, Veronica, and I can often be found riding trains throughout Colorado with our 11-year old, Grayson. I’m a black and white photographer who enjoys using an 8×10 large format camera.

Piece: Photography

I wanted an image that conveyed blessing, fruitfulness, and family (family tree). The image I shot is from a fruit tree in a vineyard.

Process:

I used an analog process called lith printing. Part of the lure of the process is the ability to work with certain papers that have been out of production for decades. The image was taken with a lens from the 1800’s that rendered a rather soft image. The lith process allowed for a high contrast print I was looking for.

Psalm 128

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 eleventh year, is called “Christ in the Psalms.”

Psalm 127—Artwork

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: Lou Ann Summers

I am a mother of four and a grandmother of eight. I’m in love with flowers! I am also obsessed with creating things!

Piece: Acrylic

When I read the words of Psalm 127, “ unless the Lord builds the house,” I thought of the saying “a man’s house is his castle.” How fitting then is this warrior contending with his opponents. “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior… Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them!” If you’ll take a close look you’ll see that this quiver has four different arrows representing our four children.

Process:

God allowed me the perfect opportunity to go and visit my sister who is a professional artist. She is my artistic hero, and I was blessed for her to “hold my hand” while I painted this picture!

Psalm 127

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 eleventh year, is called “Christ in the Psalms.”

Psalm 126—Artwork

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: Anna Armstrong

My name is Anna, and I’m finding my way as a new mom while balancing my career and creative pursuits. These days you’ll find me drinking lots of coffee, snuggling my daughter Margot for as long as she’ll let me, and dreaming about the next mountain adventure or trip for our little family.

Piece: Acrylic

This was a deeply meaningful piece to create. I lost my brother to cancer last November and Psalm 126 was a balm to my soul as I watched his health decline. We who sow in tears will reap in joy. I wanted to create a piece that conjured the beauty that can be born from faithful suffering.

Process:

The idea for this painting came to me one day while I was on a walk. I had the image in my mind of a bountiful field of wheat held within a teardrop. As I started painting, a scene emerged that blended my image of a wheat field with an image of the meadow where we laid my brother to rest. Within the tears is a place of bounty. The process of creating this peace was a small step of healing and faith.

Beirut Bible Church Update: July 2022

On Sunday, July 17, we shared a video update from pastor Marwan Aboul-Zelof of City Bible Church, our partner church in Beirut, Lebanon. Here is that video in case you missed it! Learn more about City Bible Church at cbcbeirut.com.

More about Missions at Park Church

Contact Kyle Nelson, Director of Community, Formation, & Missions, to learn more about what’s happening in the realm of missions at our church.

Psalm 126

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 eleventh year, is called “Christ in the Psalms.”