Easter & Good Friday Artwork 2019

Person

Our artwork for Easter and Good Friday this year was done by Bruce Butler of Art /Rhetor. In addition to being a graphic designer and artist, Bruce co-leads a Gospel Community and often plays electric guitar at Park Church (and all around Denver). Most recently, Bruce has also joined the team at Sweet Bloom Coffee as a barista.

Piece

This piece aims to represent all that we celebrate on Easter. The white line coming in from the left represents Jesus entering into the sinful world in purity, as joined by the darker lines made from images signifying death. The left hand illustrates His work on Good Friday: the climax where all the consequences of our rebellion from God met in Jesus, were taken on by Him, and He died under the wrath of God and at the hands of sinful men.

Between the two hands, the darkness and hopelessness of the 3 days Jesus lay in the tomb is illustrated. For his followers, and I imagine for Satan himself, this time must have been a space where sin and death seemed like it had won. Though Jesus had foreshadowed His resurrection (John 2:19, etc.), the visceral reaction of seeing a close friend and leader you believed to be God incarnate viciously beaten and slain must have put the disciples in a state of deep pain and shock.

However, as we know, Jesus rose from the grave on the third day, claiming victory over sin and death. Sin and death’s reign over humanity came to a conclusion at the work of Jesus’ still-pierced hands (John 20:27). Now the life of Jesus, experienced by those who physically met him hundreds of years ago, is a light still continuously shown and refracted, able to be experienced by all who put their faith in Him through the Holy Spirit. This is illustrated by the right hand, where on the other side of Jesus’ death was a radiant joyous life that flows forever.

Click the image below to enlarge.

in Artwork • Blog

April 14, 2018

This week is Palm Sunday. We will be in our 12th week in the book of Exodus, discussing God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in this world.

Holy week continues after this Sunday with Good Friday services on Friday, April 19 at 5:30 and 7pm, and Easter services on Sunday, April 21 at 6:30, 8, 9:30, and 11am. Here’s how you can prepare for Palm Sunday this week:

1. Read through our text, Exodus 7:14–11:10.

In the midst of the series of plagues, a major theme begins to take shape—the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. As the first five plagues wreak havoc in Egypt, the text tells us that either “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened” (v.7:13, 14, 22; 8:19; 9:7) or that “Pharaoh hardened his heart” (v.8:15, 32). Pharaoh has chosen to harden his heart in opposition to the explicit warnings of God and the clear displays of His power. Then, throughout the last five plagues, we see that the Lord Himself “hardened the heart of Pharaoh” (v.10:1, 20, 27; 11:10, 14:8). Here we see the sovereign judgment of God, hardening the heart of Pharaoh to accomplish His own redemptive purposes. Taken as a whole, we find one of the mysterious tensions of the Bible: On the one hand, human beings are responsible and accountable for our actions, and at the same time, God is absolutely sovereign and nothing happens outside His sovereign purposes. Above all, God wields His sovereign purposes to judge rebellion and to redeem a people for His Kingdom.

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Zechariah 9:9

All Creatures Of Our God And King (William Henry Draper, St. Francis of Assisi addl. verse by Sovereign Grace Music)
Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery (Michael Bleecker, Matt Boswell, Matt Papa)

CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:

O Lord, who on this day entered the rebellious city that later rejected You,
we confess that our wills are as rebellious as Jerusalem’s,
that our faith is often more show than substance,
that our hearts are in need of cleansing.
Have mercy on us, Son of David, Savior of our lives.
Help us to lay at Your feet all that we have and all that we are,
trusting You to forgive what is sinful, to heal what is broken,
to welcome our praises, and to receive us as Your own. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 John 4:14–16

Reckless Love (Cory Asbury, Caleb Culver, Ran Jackson)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE, & COMMUNION

Crown Him (Majesty) (Bridges, Cash, Elvey, Maher, Thring, Tomlin)
Hosanna (Praise is Rising) (Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

April 7, 2019

This will be our 11th week in the book of Exodus, discussing God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in this world.

This is also the fifth week of Lent, the ending of the season of 40 days leading up to Easter. Next Sunday, April 14, will be Palm Sunday, followed by Good Friday on April 19 and Easter Sunday on April 21. But here’s how you can prepare for the Sunday ahead of us:

1. Read through our text, Exodus 7:14–11:10.

The drama of the Exodus story increases with God’s decree of the ten plagues. Far from being a cavalier showcase of power, the plagues are each aimed at very specific purposes. First and foremost, each of the plagues are an escalated judgment against Pharaoh’s evil and hard-hearted determination to keep God’s people in slavery. Second, the plagues are also specifically designed to show the people of Egypt the sovereign power of Yahweh, the God of Israel. Each plague makes a disrupting example out of a specific Egyptian deity, explicitly targeted at the three realms of Egypt’s primary sources of life—the Nile, the land, and the sun.

Last, the plagues are also intended to show the Israelites the sovereign power of Yahweh, their Redeemer. When the people experience deliverance from their brutal experience in slavery, and when they are free to live in their own land with their God, they will be forever look back and see that it was not their strength or cunning that saved them—There was was no epic human hero. It was Yahweh, and Yahweh alone.

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 91:1–6, 9–10

Build My Life (Barrett, Kable, Martin, Redman, Younker)
Yet Even Now (Joel Limpic)

CONFESSION OF SIN:

Oh God who is both fearful and merciful,
We confess that we often forget whose people we used to be,
and whose people we are now.
Forgive us when we consider ourselves above judgement
and surely on the “Israel” side of the plagues,
for this is only true so far as Christ, our Passover Lamb, has borne our judgement.
Forgive us also when we consider ourselves targeted by You,
afflicted by You, and surely on the “Egypt” side of the plagues,
for Christ, our Passover Lamb, is the one who was truly smitten by You,
and afflicted by You on our behalf.
Father, as we consider the endless joy You now take in us as a result of Your Son’s work,
we repent both of our ignorance to our sin and our ignorance to our salvation.
We gratefully receive His work,
and we ask You for greater joy in all that it means for us,
through Jesus Christ our Savior, amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 Peter 2:9–10

What A Beautiful Name (Ben Fielding, Brooke Ligertwood)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE, & COMMUNION

King Of My Heart (John Mark McMillan, Sarah McMillan)
Stronger (Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

RightNow Media with Neil Long

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Our guest is Neil Long. Neil is the Director of Formation and Missions at Park Church.

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in James Lepine • Neil Long • Park Church Podcast

March 31, 2019

We’re in week ten of Exodus, a book all about God’s mission to redeem a people for His Kingdom in this world.

We’re also in week four of Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter where we prepare our hearts to remember and celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection. A couple good resources for this season include this recent blog by Joel Limpic and the The Christian Year. Here’s how you can prepare for this week at Park:

1. Read through our text, Exodus 7:1–13.

After a season of resistance and hesitation, Moses has finally come to the point of trust and obedience to the call of God on His life. God will speak to Moses, and Aaron will his spokesperson before Pharaoh. The passage reiterates that Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. They performed God’s sign before Pharaoh, turning Aaron’s staff into a serpent, but the Egyptian magicians matched their sign, turning their own staffs to serpents. The dual of powers had begun, and the story is clear about who will prevail.

Aaron’s staff swallowed up the Egyptian magician’s staffs, displaying the supreme power of Yahweh above all other powers. This first sign sets the trajectory for the rest of the ten plagues that will follow. In the end, the power of Yahweh will prevail against all who oppose Him. This demonstration of the power of the Lord, however, did not move Pharaoh’s hardened heart. He continued in his refusal to let the people go, just like the Lord had foretold to Moses.

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 95:1–3, 6–7

Praise To The Lord The Almighty (Joachim Neander, Catherine Winkworth addl. verse Joel Limpic, JD Raab)
The Lion And The Lamb (Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson, Leeland Mooring)

CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:

We confess today that though You are a great God, we act as if we are gods without regard for You. Though You are a great king, we act as if we are kings and queens ruling our individual kingdoms. Though You are our good Shepherd, we stray like sheep far from Your pasture and care. Though You are a God who speaks, we harden our hearts and busy ourselves with a million other things.

Today, would You soften our distracted hearts by Your Spirit? Where there are barriers and blockades, would You tear them down? Where there are anxieties and fears, would You still them? Where there is shame, would You lift our eyes to see Your kind loving eyes? We want to hear Your voice and in turn follow You as beloved children of God. Not just today, but also throughout the week! In our homes, in our jobs, in our lives. For this we need Your grace and Your power.

In Jesus’ powerful name, amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Matthew 11:28–30

O Come To The Altar (Brock, Brown, Furtick, and Joye)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE, & COMMUNION

Christ The Sure And Steady Anchor (Matt Boswell, Matt Papa)
Living Hope (Brian Johnson, Phil Wickham)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

Park Member BBQ—10 Years

Last August, we celebrated 10 years as a church. We gathered at Morse Park to eat, drink, and celebrate God’s kindness to us! We’re grateful for all that He’s done in and through us, and expectant for his Holy Spirit to move even more in the city of Denver and beyond. Melanie Fenwick took the above photos of our time, and we wanted to share those with you now. Enjoy!
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