This is our last week in the book of Exodus, ending the series we first began in January. Exodus is about God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in the world.
Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday:
1. Read through our text, Exodus 40:1–38.
After the people of Israel had faithfully constructed all of the furnishings of the tabernacle, the Lord spoke to Moses again instructing him on how they were to set up and consecrate the tabernacle in preparation for His coming. After everything was prepared and the priests were consecrated, the people of Israel were finally ready to experience the arrival of God’s holy presence. As they watched, the cloud that had represented the presence of God covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. The Lord, who had rescued His people from bondage, had now made His home among them, and He would be with them throughout their wilderness journey until they finally reached their promised home.
In the same way, after Jesus had cleansed His people from their sin through His death and resurrection, He made a promise to His people—that He would send His Spirit to dwell in them, and that He would be with us always, even to the end of the age.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Exodus 34:34–38, Welcome (From Immanuel Nashville):
To all who are weary and need rest,
To all who mourn and long for comfort,
To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares,
To all who fail and desire strength,
To all who sin and need a Savior,
This church opens wide her doors
with a welcome from Jesus Christ,
the Ally of His enemies, the Defender of the guilty,
the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners,
Welcome!
Doxology (Amen) (Bourgeois, Ken, Owens, Wickham addl. verses JD Raab)
We Will Feast In The House Of Zion (Sandra McCracken, Joshua Moore)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:
Almighty God,
who sent the promised power of the Holy Spirit
to fill disciples with willing faith:
We confess that we resist the force of your Spirit among us,
that we are slow to serve you
and reluctant to spread the good news of your love.
God, have mercy on us.
Forgive our divisions
and by your Spirit draw us together.
Inflame us with a desire to do your will
and be your faithful people
for the sake of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Acts 4:11–12
What A Beautiful Name (Ben Fielding, Brooke Ligertwood) / Break Every Chain (Will Reagan arr. Tasha Cobbs Leonard)
Refugee King (Away From The Manger) (Benedict, Reagan, Ruth, Scheer, Vice)
GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION
What A Friend (Josh Garrels, Jay Kirkpatrick)
VOCATIONAL COMMISSIONING: Government & Politics
We Labor Unto Glory (Craig Harris, Isaac Wardell)
BENEDICTION
It’s our eleventh week in the book of Exodus—next week will be our last! The book of Exodus is about God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in the world. We’re in Part Two of this series. You can always go back and listen to sermons from Exodus Part One starting here!
Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday:
1. Read through our text, Exodus 35:1–39:43.
After the Lord showed incredible mercy and renewed His covenant with Israel, the people begin to carry out His instructions to build the tabernacle. First Moses gathered the people, calling them to make generous contributions to supply the materials for the tabernacle, and commissioning them to use their God-given skills and energy to construct the various elements of the tabernacle. The Spirit of God moved in their hearts in remarkable ways. The whole community was stewarding their material resources, their God-given skills, and Spirit-empowered abilities to accomplish this work together. The generosity was so great that Moses eventually had to stop them from giving more. The people responded to God’s mercy with faithful obedience, generosity, and worship, and they built the tabernacle according to God’s design.
The tabernacle, like the temple, was not merely a place for priests to make sacrifices. It was the place where people could come to engage with the presence of God and where God would radiate His presence to the world. When the Messiah would come, He would embody the tabernacle as the personal presence of God on earth and the radiance of His glory. Then, after His death and resurrection, He would fill His people with His Holy Spirit, calling on us to generously contribute our resources, skills, and spiritual gifts in order to spread the glory of His presence across the face of the earth.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 62:5–7, Welcome (From Immanuel Nashville):
To all who are weary and need rest,
To all who mourn and long for comfort,
To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares,
To all who fail and desire strength,
To all who sin and need a Savior,
This church opens wide her doors
with a welcome from Jesus Christ,
the Ally of His enemies, the Defender of the guilty,
the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners,
Welcome!
On Christ The Solid Rock (William Batchelder Bradbury and Edward Mote, arr. Austin Stone)
Better (Pat Barrett, Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From Thou, Dear God by Martin Luther King, Jr.:
Our Holy Father, we confess the weakness and sinfulness of our lives. We have often turned away from thee to seek our own desires. And often when we have done no evil, we have undertaken nothing of good, and so have been guilty of uselessness and neglect. From this sin of idleness and indifference set us free. Lead us into fruitful effort, and deliver us from profitless lives. We ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Romans 5:6–8
Jesus Paid It All (Elvina Hall, Kristen Stanfill) / Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) (Matt Crocker, Joel Houston, Salomon Ligthelm)
GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION
Fall Afresh (Jeremy Riddle)
Great Are You Lord (Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan, David Leonard)
BENEDICTION
We’re in week 10 of Exodus at Park Church. The book of Exodus is about God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in the world. We’re in Part Two of this series. You can always go back and listen to sermons from Exodus Part One starting here!
Including this Sunday, there are only three weeks left of Exodus before the series ends and we move into Advent. But here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday:
1. Read through our text, Exodus 33:1–34:35.
After the devastating incident with the golden calf, the Lord tells Moses that He will not continue to dwell among the people of Israel due to their perpetual sin. This was a disastrous word for the people of Israel, and yet again Moses interceded for the people, and pleaded to God for mercy. The passage says that Moses prayed to God in the tent of meeting and the Lord spoke to Moses “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” At this point in Moses’ life, he had become desperate for God’s continued presence. He begged the Lord to continue with them on their journey to the promised land, and the Lord graciously promised that He would do exactly what Moses had asked.
Encouraged by God’s willingness to grant his requests, Moses takes this desire to be with God to another level, praying, “Please show me Your glory.” Yet again, the Lord was willing to accommodate this request, at least in part. The Lord passed by Moses, allowing Moses to have a partial glimpse of His glory, and revealing His character as a God who is marked by unfathomable mercy, grace, patience, love, faithfulness, and forgiveness, and yet, mysteriously, is committed to absolute justice and righteous judgment. He immediately demonstrates this character to Israel by renewing His covenant with them, promising to bless them with His presence and to fulfill His purposes to spread the knowledge of His glory through them.
This section leaves the reader wondering how the mercy and grace of God can be reconciled with His holy justice. This mystery would ultimately be resolved through the arrival of One who was better than Moses, whose life would radiate God’s glory perfectly, and whose sacrificial death would bring a reconciliation of God’s love and justice.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Exodus 33:18–21, Welcome (From Immanuel Nashville):
To all who are weary and need rest,
To all who mourn and long for comfort,
To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares,
To all who fail and desire strength,
To all who sin and need a Savior,
This church opens wide her doors
with a welcome from Jesus Christ,
the Ally of His enemies, the Defender of the guilty,
the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners,
Welcome!
Our Great God (Fernando Ortega, Mac Powell)
I Will Exalt (Amanda Cook)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:
There are many times we think we love You well, O God.
But upon hearing Your call to love You with all our heart,
and all our mind, and all our strength,
we confess that our love for You is a diluted love,
made insipid and flat by lesser loyalties and a divided heart.
Our love seems pure only for brief moments;
soon our affections are drawn away.
How easily our devotion dies.
Forgive us;
in deep mercy spare us, despite our lost love for You;
in grace rekindle our love for You
in seeing anew Jesus’ love for us. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Galatians 4:4–7
No Longer Slaves (Joel Case, Jonathan David Hesler, Brian Johnson)
GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE, BAPTISMS & COMMUNION
Here Is Love (William Edwards, Robert S. Lowry, William Rees arr. Matt Redman)
Be Thou My Vision (Mary Elizabeth Byrne, Eleanor Henrietta Hull, Reuben Kendall, arr. Ascend The Hill)
BENEDICTION
We’re in week nine of Exodus at Park Church. The book of Exodus is about God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in the world. We’re in Part Two of this series. You can always go back and listen to sermons from Exodus Part One starting here!
Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday:
1. Read through our text, Exodus 32.
While Moses was with the Lord on Mount Sinai for 40 days, the people of Israel were growing impatient at the base of the mountain. The people had seen the Lord’s power to redeem; they had heard His voice from the mountain; they had committed to obeying His instructions. But when their journey didn’t proceed according to their desires, they immediately turned from Him. They demanded that Aaron make them a god that they could worship in place of the Lord, and he readily accommodated. He made them a golden calf, and they declared to one another “these are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” And they worshipped and made sacrifices to the golden calf, breaking the covenant by disobeying the first two commandments.
The Lord’s wrath burned against the people for their blatant disregard for His redeeming mercy and rejection of His good reign over them. He told Moses that he intended to consume them because of their sin and that He would accomplish His plan to build a great nation through Moses instead. Although God’s intention to wipe Israel out would have been entirely just, Moses interceded for the people, pleading for God to show mercy. His powerful plea for mercy was not merely for the sake of the people, but for the sake of God’s own reputation among the nations and for the sake of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of, but the people would experience judgment through Moses and through another devastating plague. Here we see that the ability to follow God’s instructions will require a transformation of the heart and that mercy for the unfaithful comes through the intercession of a Faithful One.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 105:1–4, Welcome (From Immanuel Nashville):
To all who are weary and need rest,
To all who mourn and long for comfort,
To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares,
To all who fail and desire strength,
To all who sin and need a Savior,
This church opens wide her doors
with a welcome from Jesus Christ,
the Ally of His enemies, the Defender of the guilty,
the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners,
Welcome!
Praise To The Lord The Almighty (Joachim Neander, Catherine Winkworth addl. verse Joel Limpic, JD Raab)
Great Is The Lord (Joseph Pat Barrett, Daniel Bashta, Ben Smith)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From Every Season Prayers by Scotty Smith
Dear heavenly Father, we come into your presence this morning only because your mercies are new every morning. We stand before you in this place only because we stand firmly in your grace. We dare call you Abba Father only because you have made us your beloved sons and daughters. We freely confess our sins to you only because you fully gave Jesus for us.
For the ways we loved poorly this past week—in our families, at our vocations, and among our neighbors, forgive us. From the foolish idols to which we cling, the broken cisterns from which we drink, and the false lovers to which we turn, free us. For not believing Jesus is enough and your grace is sufficient, and for not trusting you to be really sovereign and really good, have mercy on us. Our hope rests alone in Jesus’ finished work and your steadfast love. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: John 10:10
King of Kings ((Jason Ingram, Brooke Ligertwood, Scott Ligertwood)
GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE
Give Us Clean Hands (Charlie Hall)
COMMUNION
Better (Pat Barrett, Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin
Living Hope (Brian Johnson, Phil Wickham)
BENEDICTION
The season of Advent begins on Sunday, December 1, running through Christmas Eve. Our artwork for Advent this year is by Jeremy Grant—keep reading to learn about the artist, the artwork, and its meaning.
Person
Jeremy Grant is an emerging artist and award-winning graphic designer. He was born in California in 1985. He studied Graphic Design and Illustration at John Brown University. Grant has exhibited his collage and assemblage work regularly across Colorado since 2008. An active member of local arts communities, Jeremy has been invited to participate in numerous group shows, donated art to charity, and been awarded a PPAC micro-grant. His work explores themes of destruction and creation, death and resurrection, and chaos and familiarity. Jeremy Grant currently lives and works in Denver, Colorado.Piece
Isaiah 40 • Mark 1
Often during Advent, I contemplate the calling of John the Baptist—“to prepare the way of the LORD,” and to “make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” This calling feels just as relevant for us as it was for him. The people of God had been waiting for Messiah, their Savior King, for hundreds of years. Generations upon generations had lived and died and not seen the promise fulfilled. John’s prophetic calling took him on a difficult path through the desert to preach a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John was asked to clear the path for the coming Messiah, Jesus. The scriptures that refer to this calling paint a picture where “every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low.” The subject of the piece is a landscape that visualizes the work of John the Baptist—the transition from rough, mountainous terrain to open plains is making smooth the way of the LORD. The mountains are cut from pieces that I felt had a sense of static and a feeling of brokenness. We still live in a broken reality. Some brokenness is obvious and agonizing, and other times brokenness is characterized by the monotony of existence—the lack of joy, color, and celebration. The extra-long proportion of the piece is meant to convey the passage of time, a sense of waiting and of a long journey still ahead. The dark to light transition hints at the coming sunrise, our current reality is dim, but the bright light of the coming messiah is a dawn on the horizon. Click on an image below to enlarge.The complete, final piece:
The sequential pieces, with Advent titles:
Process
Hand-cut paper collage inspired by the themes of the season of Advent. At first, I sought to express brokenness through fragmented pieces—tiny windows into pain. Ultimately, this felt a little one-dimensional and I left it in favor of the landscape idea which had a more rich meaning (see final artwork above).
In another early concept, I envisioned cracks and a shattered pattern getting less and less cracked -the color getting brighter and brighter as the collage progressed. U;timately, I felt like it was—again—less robust of an idea, and cracks don’t really “heal themselves.” It’s difficult to express that idea, even though I liked the graphic potential of it.
Lastly, an image of the final collage in-process, before I added the pink squares. The squares sort of came to symbolize markers in the passage of time, little ebeneezers if you will.
