August 4, 2019

It’s week nine of ten for Christ in the Psalms 2019. Each year at Park Church, we spend about ten weeks in the Psalms, tackling one Psalm at a time and taking them in order. Why do we do this? 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 throughout the whole Psalter.

As an additional way to engage with the Psalms, 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 97 was done by Beth Dryer. Read more about that here. See and read about all past Christ in the Psalms artwork pieces here (they go back as far as Psalm 41). Lastly, be sure to visit the side gallery (where you get coffee) each week to see all the originals for this year’s Christ in the Psalms series displayed together.

Here’s how you can prepare this week:

1. Read through our text, Psalm 98.

Psalm 98—like Psalm 96—invites the earth and everyone on it to praise the one true King. God’s rule and reign are celebrated as He goes about setting things right!

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 98:4–6, 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!

Before The Throne Of God (Charitie Lees Bancroft arr. The Modern Post)
Great Are You Lord (Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan, David Leonard)

CONFESSION OF SIN: From Every Season Prayers by Scotty Smith:

Dear heavenly Father,
we come boldly to Your throne of grace,
praising You for Your steadfast love and everlasting kindness.
We were dead in our sin, and You raised us to life in Christ.
We were alienated and alone, and You reconciled us to Yourself.
We were broken, in need of healing,
and You showered us with mercy and compassion.
Because of Your great love for us in Christ,
we acknowledge our great need of Your grace.

In the relationships in which we struggle, hear our cry.
In the battle between choosing your will, or ours, hear our plea.
For the sins of which we stand convicted, hear our confession.
Gracious Father, forgive us, cleanse us, free us, and change us.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Isaiah 53:4–6

In Tenderness (Garvey, Gordon, Walton arr. Brian Eichelberger)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION:

All The Poor And Powerless (David Leonard, Leslie Jordan)
O Praise The Name (Anástasis) (Benjamin Hastings, Marty Sampson, Dean Ussher)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

July 28, 2019

This will be week eight of ten for Christ in the Psalms 2019 at Park Church. Each year we spend about ten weeks in the Psalms. We tackle one Psalm at a time, taking them in order. Why do we do this? 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 an additional way to engage with the Psalms, 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 96 was done by Alyssa Beck. Read more about that here. See and read about all past Christ in the Psalms artwork pieces here (they go back as far as Psalm 41). Lastly, be sure to visit the side gallery (where you get coffee) each week to see all the originals for this year’s Christ in the Psalms series displayed together.

Here’s how you can prepare for this week at Park Church:

1. Read through our text, Psalm 97.

Psalm 97 is a celebration of God’s reign over the earth. The reign of God is the source of joy, security, and hope for those who love the Lord, as well as the basis for judgment for those who oppose His reign and vainly attempt to forge alternate paths to joy and life. In the midst of the complexities of our world, this Psalm calls all “lovers of God” to “hate evil” and to hold fast to the hope that the darkness in our world will soon give way to the dawn of God’s New Creation.

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 97:1–6, 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 The Lord (Joseph Pat Barrett, Daniel Bashta, Ben Smith)
This Is My Father’s World (Maltbie Davenport Babcock arr. Gungor)

CONFESSION OF SIN: Based on The Worship Sourcebook:

God of grace,
we confess that we have elevated
the things of this world above You.
We have made idols of possessions and people
and used Your name for causes
that are not consistent with You and Your purposes.
We have permitted our schedules to come first
and have not taken the time to worship You.
We have not always honored those who guided us in life.
We have participated in systems
that take life instead of give it.
We have been unfaithful in our covenant relationships.
We have yearned for, and sometimes taken, that which is not ours,
and we have misrepresented others’ intentions.
Forgive us, O God,
for the many ways we fall short of Your glory.
Help us to learn to live together according to Your ways
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 Peter 1:3–5

Living Hope (Brian Johnson, Phil Wickham)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION:

Psalm 32:10–11 (Sean Brage)

VOCATIONAL COMMISSIONING: Law

Let Justice Roll Like A River (Rebecca Elliot, Bobby Gilles)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

July 21, 2019

This is week seven of Christ in the Psalms 2019 at Park Church. This annual summer series dates back to 2012. Why do we do this? 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 another way to engage with the Psalms, 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 95 was done by Taylor Powers. Read more about that here. See and read about all past Christ in the Psalms artwork pieces here (they go back as far as Psalm 41). Lastly, be sure to visit the side gallery (where you get coffee) each week to see all the originals for this year’s Christ in the Psalms series displayed together.

Here’s how you can prepare this week:

1. Read through our text, Psalm 96.

This Psalm calls us to praise God, not as dictated by the circumstances of life, but for His great acts in creation and redemption. It also points us forward to the future coming of Christ Jesus who will judge all with righteousness and truth, making all things new for good.

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 96:1–4, 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!

10,000 Reasons (Jonas Myrin, Matt Redman)
Great Are You Lord (Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan, David Leonard)

CONFESSION OF SIN: Based on The Worship Sourcebook:

We confess that we have sinned against You
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved You
with our whole heart and mind and strength.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

In Your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be,
so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways,
to the glory of Your holy name.
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Romans 5:8–9

His Mercy Is More (Matt Boswell, Matt Papa)
Kids: Joshua 1:9 (John Petterson)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION:

O Praise The Name (Anástasis) (Benjamin Hastings, Marty Sampson, Dean Ussher)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

July 14, 2019

This week we’ll be in our sixth week of Christ in the Psalms at Park Church. This is an annual summer series dating back to 2012 when we started with Psalm 1. Why do we do this each year? 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 another way to engage with the Psalms, 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 94 was done by Nikki Rasmussen. Read more about that here. See and read about all past Christ in the Psalms artwork pieces here (they go back as far as Psalm 41). Lastly, be sure to visit the side gallery (where you get coffee) each week to see all the originals for this year’s Christ in the Psalms series displayed together.

Here’s how you can prepare this week:

1. Read through our text, Psalm 95.

Psalm 95 comes to us in two main parts, a call to consider our God and worship Him (v.1–5), and a call not to harden our hearts when we hear His voice (v.6–11). In regards to the second part, the example given is the rebellion by God’s people at Meribah and Massah, where the people were given water from the rock Moses struck: “And [Moses] called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, ‘Is the LORD among us or not?'”(Exodus 17:7; Massah means “testing” and Meribah means “quarreling.”).

As Christians, we’re called to remember the Rock that was struck for us in the wilderness, our Lord Jesus, who was given to us in our testing of and quarreling against God. Hear again the charge of the Psalmist, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…”

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 95:1–5, 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!

Psalm 92 (It Is Good) (Joel Limpic)
Come Thou Fount (Above All Else) (Shane Barnard, Robert Robinson, John Wyeth)

CONFESSION OF SIN: Based on The Worship Sourcebook:

Lord, we are like sheep, and we get lost.
We forget the needs of our neighbors and do not love you above all else.
We need a Savior, so we long for Jesus. Come, fill our lives, Jesus. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Isaiah 53:4–6

Man Of Sorrows (Matt Crocker, Brooke Ligertwood)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION:

Twenty Three (Aaron Strumpel)
Jesus Paid It All (Elvina Hall, Kristen Stanfill)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

July 7, 2019

It’s Christ in the Psalms week five at Park Church. We study the Psalms for about ten weeks each summer, because they 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 week, we’re in Psalm 94.

As an additional means to engage with the Psalms, 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 94 was done by Lou Ann Summers. Read more about that here. You can also see and read about all past Christ in the Psalms artwork pieces here (they go back as far as Psalm 41). Lastly, be sure to visit the side gallery each week (where you get coffee) to see the originals of all this year’s artwork pieces displayed together.

Here’s how you can prepare for Sunday this week:

1. Read through our text, Psalm 94.

In Psalm 94, the people of God are oppressed by ruthless enemies—the kind of people who attack the vulnerable and weak (the widow, the sojourner, the fatherless). In the midst of this oppression, they are reminded of God’s faithfulness and steadfast love, even as they long for a day when the oppression will cease.

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 94:16–19, 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!

Rejoice The Lord Is King (Joel Limpic, Charles Wesley)
Joy (Pat Barrett, Tony Brown arr. VaShawn Mitchell)

CONFESSION OF SIN: Based on The Worship Sourcebook:

Loving Father and King,
together we grieve the brokenness and darkness
we find in the world around us.
We lift our voices and say, “How long?”
We also acknowledge the deep brokenness
found in each of our hearts.
We confess that often we have failed to be an obedient church:
we have not done Your will;
we have broken Your law;
we have rebelled against your love;
we have not loved our neighbors;
we have not heard the cry of the needy.
Forgive us, we pray.
Free us for joyful obedience.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Based on Revelation 5:5, 9–10:

Do not weep!
See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.
With His blood He has purchased people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
He has made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.

Is He Worthy? (Andrew Peterson, Ben Shive arr. Shane & Shane)
One Thing Remains (Christa Black Gifford, Brian Johnson, Jeremy Riddle)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION:

Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Thomas Obediah Chisholm, William Marion Runyan)

YOUNG LIFE NORTH HIGH

Establish The Work Of Our Hands (Cunningham, Keyes, McCracken, Palmer, Vice, Wardell, Zach)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

June 30, 2019

This Sunday will be week four of Christ in the Psalms, our annual summer series. 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 92 was done by Benjamin Rogers. Read more about that here. You can also see and read about all past Christ in the Psalms artwork pieces here (they go back as far as Psalm 41). Lastly, be sure to visit the side gallery each week (where you get coffee) to see the originals of all this year’s artwork pieces displayed together.

Here’s how you can prepare for this week:

1. Read through our text, Psalm 93.

We’re no strangers to the chaos of this world, especially when the headaches and hardships of life batter us with rhythmic devastation. Our hearts cope somehow, but often in anemic ways. All the while, Yahweh reigns as King. He rules the brokenness by His word: “This far and no further.” (Job 38:8–11) He does battle with the chaos and knows no defeat, and He is building a house, a dwelling place for His presence among His people. It is marked by His abiding word and perfect beauty and is ruled by Jesus, King over the chaos and Savior of our souls. Here we find hope and rest without ceasing.

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

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 93:1–2, 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, Matt Powell)
God I Look To You (Ian McIntosh, Jenn Johnson)

CONFESSION OF SIN: Based on The Worship Sourcebook:

Righteous God,
you have crowned Jesus Christ as Lord of all.
We confess that we have not bowed before Him
and are slow to acknowledge His rule.
We give allegiance to the powers of this world
and fail to be governed by justice and love.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Raise us to acclaim Him as ruler of all,
that we may be loyal ambassadors,
obeying the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Based on Revelation 5:5, 9–10:

Do not weep!
See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.
With His blood He has purchased people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
He has made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.

King Of My Heart (John Mark McMillan, Sarah McMillan)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION:

How Majestic (Brian Eichelberger)
Jesus Is Better (Aaron Ivey, Brett Land)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

June 23, 2019

It’s week three of Christ in the Psalms, our annual summer series. 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 91 was done by Jennie Pitts Tucker. 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).

Here’s how you can prepare for this week:

1. Read through our text, Psalm 92.

Psalm 92 celebrates the great, deep works of the Lord, specifically in His distinction between the righteous and the wicked. God’s people are called to respond with joyous worship. Additionally, Psalm 92 is recorded as a “Psalm for the Sabbath.” God intends for our day of rest to be one of worship and contemplation.

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

See full blog post here for a playlist of the songs.

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 92:1–4, 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!

It Is Good (Psalm 92) (Joel Limpic)
We Will Feast In The House Of Zion (Sandra McCracken, Joshua Moore)

CONFESSION OF SIN: Based on The Worship Sourcebook:

Lord, we are like sheep, and we get lost.
We are like Martha, and we busy ourselves
with technology and various activities,
refusing to rest and sit at your feet.
We forget the needs of our neighbors
and do not love you above all else.
We need a Savior, so we long for Jesus.
Come, fill our lives, Jesus. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Psalm 92:12–15

Lord I Need You (Carson, Maher, Nockels, Reeves, Stanfill)
Establish The Work Of Our Hands (Cunningham, Keyes, McCracken, Palmer, Vice, Wardell, Zach)

GREETING, SERMON, RESPONSE & COMMUNION:

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

VOCATIONAL COMMISSIONING: ART, MEDIA, & DESIGN

Your Labor Is Not In Vain (Wendell Kimbrough, Isaac Wardell, Paul Zach)

BENEDICTION

in Preparing for Sunday

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

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