This week, we’ll wrap up our Fall study of Ephesians with Jesus’ letter to the church in Ephesus from Revelation 2. It’s also week three of Advent. Read more about Advent here and visit The Christian Year for our creative accompaniment to the season!
Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday:
1. Read through our text, Revelation 2:1–7.
Something like 20 years after Paul writes his letter to the Ephesians, John is imprisoned on the island of Patmos when Jesus appears to him as a part of his Revelation. John is given seven letters by Jesus to be sent to seven different churches, one of which is the church in Ephesus. Although the Ephesian church is commended by Jesus for their “patient endurace” and lack of tolerance for evil, Jesus warns them that they have “abandoned the love [they] had at first.” This lovelesness warrants a stern warning from Jesus that He will remove them as a church unless they repent, remember where they came from, and return in heart.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: From Psalm 130; The Apostles’ Creed
ADVENT CANDLE THREE
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
I believe in the holy catholic church;
the communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel (John Neale, Henry Coffin, arr. Chichi Agorom, The Christian Year)
Come Thou Fount (Advent) (Luke Brawner, Robert Robinson, John Wyeth)
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 first love for You;
in grace rekindle our love for You
in seeing anew Jesus’ love for us. Amen.
Better (Pat Barrett, Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin)
Fall Afresh (Jeremy Riddle)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 John 4:10–17
GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer
O Lord, You’re Beautiful (Keith Green)/I Love You Lord (Laurie Klien)
Joy To The World (Isaac Watts)
BENEDICTION
It’s week 14 of Ephesians and the second week of Advent. Advent (which includes the four Sundays leading up to Christmas) is a season of waiting and longing, designed to help us cultivate awareness of God’s actions—past, present, and future. While we hear the Messianic prophecies of old and reflect on how we have seen them fulfilled in Christ’s first coming, we also hear the prophecies of His second coming and cry out from our hearts for His return! Read more about Advent here and visit The Christian Year for our creative accompaniment to the season.
In regards to Ephesians, this week is our final week in the book. As our society continues a trend toward self-centered and superficial worldviews, many have adopted a watered-down view of God that that leads them away from the glory they were made to enjoy. Paul’s letter shatters this diluted view of God by putting the weight of His glory in our faces in a way that is overwhelming and life-transforming. Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday:
1. Read through our text, Ephesians 6:10–14.
Before Paul closes his letter, he calls the Ephesians’ attention to the reality that there is real opposition to their faith in Christ. The opposition is not ultimately coming from other people, but from the devil and other evil spiritual beings that are constantly scheming to oppose and destroy the people of God. Paul says that in order to stand against this spiritual attack, the Church needs strength and resources that only God can provide. He uses the image of a soldier suiting up with armor in preparation for battle, understanding that the spiritual lives of his friends and the Church as a whole are on the line—It is vital that they be aware, prepared, and vigilant. They must know God’s truth and righteousness, be ready with His Gospel, have faith in His promises, be secure in His salvation, be sharp with His word, and be constantly communing with and relying on His Spirit. This call for prayerful vigilance is not merely for the individual Christian, the call is to be prayerfully engaged in the battle with all God’s children so that we might wage the war and overcome together.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: From Psalm 130; The Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
I believe in the holy Catholic church;
the communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (Robert J. Hughes, Charles Wesley, arr. Red Mountain Church)
Joy To The World (Isaac Watts)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From Every Season Prayers by Scotty Smith:
Almighty and most merciful Father,
we begin the season of Advent with the brokenness of the world in our eyes,
the cries of our neighbors in our ears,
and the reality of our sin in our hearts.
Thus, we look to Jesus—the author and perfecter of our faith;
sacrifice and priest of our salvation;
Lord and restorer of all things.
By Your grace, and for Your glory, forgive our sins and renew our hearts.
Help us to move through a worldly holiday of excess
unto a worshipful Advent and Christmas.
Help us to love as You love us, forgive as we’ve been forgiven,
and freely give as we have freely received.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.
Cornerstone (Bradbury, Liljero, Morgan, Mote, Myrin)
Break Every Chain (Will Reagan)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Romans 8:31–39
GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer
Guard My Heart (Aaron Strumpel)
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Martin Luther)
BENEDICTION
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Our guest is Derek Kuykendall. He’s the Executive Director of Providence Network.Listen
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3:15 – Who Derek Kuykendall Is 9:45 – Challenges He Faced When He Joined Providence Network (in 2008) 24:55 – A Specific Story You’ll Want To Hear 32:00 – How You Can Get Involved 39:05 – Rapid Fire QuestionsLinks
We’re in week 13 of Ephesians and week one of the season of Advent. Advent (which includes the four Sundays leading up to Christmas) is a season of waiting and longing, designed to help us cultivate awareness of God’s actions—past, present, and future. While we hear the Messianic prophecies of old and reflect on how we have seen them fulfilled in Christ’s first coming, we also hear the prophecies of His second coming and cry out from our hearts for His return!
You can read more about the season of Advent here. Additionally, over at The Christian Year, we’ve recorded some songs and shared some prayers and artworks to help you prepare for the season and anticipate Christ’s coming.
Lastly, although we’ve started the season of Advent, we continue our series in the book of Ephesians. As our society continues a trend toward self-centered and superficial worldviews, where many have adopted a watered-down view of God that that leads them away from the glory they were made to enjoy. Ephesians shatters this diluted view of God by putting the weight of His glory in our faces in a way that is overwhelming and life-transforming. Here’s how you can prepare for this Sunday.
1. Read through our text, Ephesians 6:5–9.
Next in his letter, Paul draws out implications for institutions of labor. He calls the one who is employed to obey the employer with sincerity, just as they would for Christ Himself. This means far more than merely working when people are paying attention or working to get approval from others. The call is to receive one’s work as a responsibility given by God Himself and to do good work for the good of others in order honor God, knowing that He sees and will reward His children accordingly. Similarly, employers are to represent God in the way that they lead their employees, knowing that they too will give an account to the one Master in heaven who sees all and judges all without partiality.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: From Psalm 130; The Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
I believe in the holy Catholic church;
the communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
Be Thou My Vision (Mary Elizabeth Byrne, Eleanor Henrietta Hull, Reuben Kendall, arr. Ascend The Hill)
Here Is Love (William Edwards, Robert S. Lowry, William Rees)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From Every Season Prayers by Scotty Smith:
Dear heavenly Father, as we begin the season of Advent,
we rejoice in the gift of Your Son, Jesus—
Immanuel, God with us and God for us.
Even as we trust in His finished work,
we long for the fullness of Jesus’ kingdom.
Until that day, grant us power to grow in the love of Christ.
For we are weak and foolishly prone
to look to people, places, and things to fill us up.
Grant us grace to mature in the likeness of Jesus.
For we are broken, and we cannot change our hearts,
left to our own resources.
Grant us joy in living to the praise of Your glory.
For we are deceived, and we spend too much energy
living for comfort and the approval of people.
Have mercy on us, O Lord; have mercy on me.
In Jesus’ loving and trustworthy name we pray.
Amen.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel (John Neale, Henry Coffin, arr. Chichi Agorom, The Christian Year)
Oh God (Zach Bolen)
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Romans 8:38–39
GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer
This Is My Father’s World (Maltbie Davenport Babcock, arr. Gungor)
Before The Throne Of God (Charitie Lees Bancroft, arr. The Modern Post)
BENEDICTION
This is Ephesians week twelve. If you’ve missed a week or would like to share a sermon with someone, remember that the Sermons Page is a complete resource for this and every other sermon series at Park Church.
As for Ephesians, our society continues a trend toward self-centered and superficial worldviews where many have adopted a watered-down view of God that that leads them away from the glory they were made to enjoy. Ephesians shatters this diluted view of God by putting the weight of His glory in our faces in a way that is overwhelming and life-transforming.
1. Read through our text, Ephesians 6:1–4.
Paul calls children and parents to represent the character of God through the dynamics of their relationship. Children are to obey and honor their parents with the general promise that trusting and obeying the leadership of their parents will lead to a flourishing life. Parents are to show the loving authority of God that would cultivate this joyful obedience.
2. Read, pray, and sing through the service:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Based on Lamentations 3:22–23, 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!
Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Thomas Obediah Chisholm, William Marion Runyan)
King Of My Heart (John Mark McMillan, Sarah McMillan)
CONFESSION OF SIN: From The Worship Sourcebook:
Holy God, You have given us many good gifts.
Today we thank You for all of them,
but we also confess that sometimes we love those gifts more than we love You.
We confess wanting more and more things:
food, clothes, toys, and money.
Forgive us for not being content and thankful.
Forgive our selfishness.
Help us to love You more than everything else.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Psalm 103:8–13
Better (Pat Barrett, Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin)
Be Thou My Vision (Mary Elizabeth Byrne, Eleanor Henrietta Hull, arr. Ascend The Hill)
GREETING, SERMON, & COMMUNION
RESPONSE: Song & Prayer
O Come To The Altar (Brock, Brown, Furtick, and Joye)
His Mercy Is More (Matt Boswell, Matt Papa)
BENEDICTION