Psalm 91—Artwork

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms artwork and download artwork guides here.

Person: Jennie Pitts Tucker

Originally from Austin, Texas, Jennie graduated with a BFA from Baylor University in 2012. She started her own art business in 2014, “Jennie Lou Art,” and now works as a full-time artist in Denver. She specializes in live wedding/event painting and custom pieces. Learn more at jennielouart.com or on Instagram at @jennielouart.

Piece: Acrylic Painting

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. (v.1)

Last year, I went through a long season of depression and anxiety. In the midst of the ever-present darkness in my mind, I often felt alone and afraid. I came across Psalm 91 in my desperation, and found the words comforting and soothing to my fears. Although it took many months (and doctors) to help me come out of depression, I always held on to a sliver of faith. I had hope that God would restore my joy and help me out of this miserable mindset. All I had to do was dwell in the shelter of my Savior, and trust I was safe in His shadow. Today, the Lord has brought me from darkness into the light again, He has restored my joy. Looking back, I can see how the Lord was with me, even when I felt so alone in the darkness. Despite what I saw and felt, He was working out my redemption and salvation, even in the dark, making me more like Himself.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways. (v.9–11)

This painting is an abstract illustration of the very real conflict that arises within us when our emotions tell us one thing and the Truth of God’s Word assures us of another. The dark parts of the painting represent how we can so often feel like we are alone in the darkness and sin consumes us as we wander in the wilderness—we feel trapped and desperate for a way out. The bright colors rising beyond the cave represent the reality that our Father is working out salvation in the depth of our darkness. Although the figure is physically in a dark space alone, praying for God’s help, there is something happening just beyond what she can see—Eden is arising out of the darkness. Life rises from the darkness, and Jesus rose to bring us life. This painting is a picture of our Savior, Jesus, and how his death assures us of life and purpose, even when we cannot see.

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation. (v.14–16)

in Blog • Christ in the Psalms Artwork

June 16, 2019

This is our second week of Christ in the Psalms, our annual summer series. Over the last eight years we’ve gone Psalm-by-Psalm, finding ourselves in Psalm 91 this Sunday. But why 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.

As a means to engage further with the Psalms each summer, we have a different artist in our community make a piece each week to be displayed in the foyer. Last week our piece for Psalm 90 was done by Bruce Butler. Read more about that here. You can also see and read about all past Christ in the Psalms artwork pieces right here (they go back as far as Psalm 41).

As for this Sunday at Park Church, here’s how you can prepare:

1. Read through our text, Psalm 91.

Psalm 91 promises that God is a shelter for His people in the midst of the storm. He is like a suit of armor in the face of attack. He is like a protective bird who hides His young under the shelter of His wings. These images are meant to be encouraging, yet we and other Christians around us are still facing suffering and difficulties of all kinds where we feel unsheltered, unarmored, and unprotected. How can God say that He will protect His people from evil?

This Psalm brings us into the complexity and comfort of God’s covenant love—a love that is thoroughly secure for all who call on His name.

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 62:5–8, 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!

Rock of Ages (Mary Elizabeth Byrne, Eleanor Henrietta Hull, arr. Charlie Hall)

CONFESSION OF SIN: Psalm 51:1–3, 9–10

Your Name Is Good (Psalm 54) (Joel Limpic, Scott Mills)

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 Peter 2:9–10

Who You Say I Am (Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE

Always (Jason Ingram, Kristian Stanfill)

COMMUNION

Psalm 3:1–4 (John Petterson)
The Lion And The Lamb (Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson, Leeland Mooring)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

Psalm 90—Artwork

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms artwork and download artwork guides here.

Person: Bruce Butler

I am a graphic designer and musician from the East Coast. In 2012, I moved to Denver from Buffalo, New York to be closer to family and began designing for WorldVenture, a missions organization in Littleton. Now I create brands and digital artwork as a freelancer and work in the specialty coffee industry through Sweet Bloom Coffee in Lakewood. I co-lead a Gospel Community in the Sloans Lake neighborhood and, in my free time, I enjoy playing music, cooking with friends, and spending time with my nieces and nephew. You can see more of my work on Instagram at @madebybruce or by visiting madebybruce.com.

Piece: Digital Artwork

In Psalm 90, Moses writes about the brevity of life and God’s provision therein, charging his readers to pray with him, “Teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (v.12) The piece depicts a human life, starting on the far left with the silhouette of an infant, maturing progressively to become an old woman on the far right. In each increment, a different image is shown, starting coherently in the center and losing its stability as it drifts away toward the top and bottom edge of the piece, becoming almost dreamlike. Rhetorically, this first seeks to illustrate that each season of life is greatly variable from the next—more complex than “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter,” but no less diverse. Second, though it seems clear in the moment, every season is hardly discernible at its edges, and for each human life as a whole, Moses writes, “You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream…” (v.5)

in Blog • Christ in the Psalms Artwork

June 9, 2019

Every summer at Park Church, we spend 10–12 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 eighth year, is called Christ in the Psalms. Up to this point we have gone week-by-week through Psalm 89, and you can find each of those sermons here. We are so excited to be back in Christ in the Psalms this weekend with Psalm 90! Here’s how you can prepare:

1. Read through our text, Psalm 90.

The only Psalm directly attributed to Moses, Psalm 90 gives us a framework for all of life. The psalm begins with grateful worship, reflecting on God’s faithfulness—”Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations… from everlasting to everlasting You are God.” (v.1–2) Moses continues with a startling meditation on the fragility and brevity of life, causing God’s people to say with him, “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (v.12) The psalm closes with an appeal to God for revelations of His power and steadfast love to His people, and for favor on them as they carry out their numbered days working and living.

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 90:1–2, 12, 14, 17, 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!

All Creatures Of Our God And King (William Henry Draper, St. Francis of Assisi addl. verse Sovereign Grace Music)
Doxology (Amen) (Bourgeois, Ken, Owens, Wickham addl. verses JD Raab)

CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:

Generous God,
You send us the Spirit of courage,
but we have been afraid.
You send us the Spirit of truth,
but we cling to our illusions.
You send us the Spirit of healing,
but we cannot let go of our hurts.
Holy Spirit of forgiveness, come to us again;
shake our hearts,
set our souls on fire with Your love;
send us out into the world
rejoicing in Your power.
We hold out to You
all our particular burdens of guilt and sin,
and we ask for Your help
to live the way of Your justice and love. Amen.

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) (Matt Crocker, Joel Houston, Salomon Ligthelm)

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Romans 8:9–11

Fall Afresh (Jeremy Riddle)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION

Forever Reign (Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan)
Establish The Work Of Our Hands (Cunningham, Keyes, McCracken, Palmer, Vice, Wardell, Zach)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

June 2, 2019

It’s week 18 of Exodus at Park Church, ending Part One of the series. As a brief refresher, the book of Exodus is about God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in the world.

Exodus Part Two will begin early this fall, after Christ in the Psalms (our annual summer series, past sermons here) and a three-week series on our mission (also annual, listen here).

This is also the seventh and final Sunday of Eastertide, the season of 50 days after Easter where we celebrate Jesus’ victory. These 50 days end next Saturday, June 8, and are followed by Pentecost Sunday on June 9. More on that in next week’s Preparing for Sunday! For now, here’s how to prepare for this week:

1. Read through our text, Exodus 19:1–25.

At last, the people of Israel arrive in the wilderness around Mount Sinai. This will be the setting of the rest of the book of Exodus, where the Lord will instruct the Israelites about what it means to be the chosen people of His Kingdom. Here, the Lord gives one of the most defining declarations about the identity and purpose of God’s people (19:4-6): He reminds them that the foundation of their identity is His grace in saving them from evil and reconciling them to Himself. Now, they are to trust and obey His voice as His treasured people so that they can mediate and reflect His holiness and glory to all the nations of the earth.

In this defining scene of Israel’s existence, the Lord descended on Mount Sinai with thunder and lightning, smoke and fire, a great trumpet blast, and His holy presence that made the whole mountain tremble. The Lord gave Moses specific instructions to protect the people from His Holy presence as they drew near to the foot of the mountain, and He invited Moses to meet with Him on the mountain where He would give them His Holy Law, teaching them about the way of life in His Kingdom.

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: From Revelation 4:8, Welcome (From Immanuel Nashville):

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,
to all who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
and to whoever will come—
this church opens wide her doors
and offers her welcome in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before The Throne of God (Charitie Lees Bancroft arr. The Modern Post)
Come Ye Sinners(Joseph Hart arr. Robbie Seay)

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

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Ezekiel 36:25–26

Give Us Clean Hands (Charlie Hall)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION

O Come To The Altar (Brock, Brown, Furtick, and Joye)
Build My Life (Barrett, Kable, Martin, Redman, Younker)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

Campus Outreach Baptisms

We’re grateful to work closely and share several staff members with Campus Outreach Denver. During the critically formative college years, Gospel voices make an enormous difference. On Sunday, May 19, Campus Outreach baptized four people at Park Church.

Since 2016, we’ve seen 61 people make decisions for Christ through the work of Campus Outreach at the University of Denver, the University of Northern Colorado, and Colorado School of mines. These decisions for Christ are in addition to countless Gospel conversations, Bible studies, retreats, and other organized outreaches. To learn more and explore supporting Campus Outreach Denver, visit their website here.

The photos above were taken by Melanie Fenwick.

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