Advent Dinner Photos

For photos from the Advent dinner and other Park Church events, go to: parkchurchdenver.phanfare.com

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The work of  Christ I sing,
And glory in his name;
Immortal life to bring,
The Lord of Glory came;
He gave himself for wretched me,
And sets my soul at liberty.

He magnified the law
And made an end of sin;
Without a single flaw,
A righteousness brought in.
Come, mourning souls, in Jesus trust;
His righteousness makes sinners just.

- W. Gadsby from Gadsby’s Hymns

ADVENT IS COMING

Advent marks the season in the church calendar leading up to Christmas Day. Whereas the season of Christmas (December 25th and the 11 days following) celebrates the incarnation and Christ’s first coming, the season of Advent anticipates Christ’s second coming. It is a season marked by longing and hope. We will spend the month leading up to Christmas anticipating Christ’s return, celebrating the promises that are ours in his first coming, and longing for His righteous rule to come.

Piper on Prayer

John Piper:

  But the hard truth is that most Christians don’t pray very much. They pray at meals—unless they’re still stuck in the adolescent stage of calling good habits legalism. They whisper prayers before tough meetings. They say something brief as they crawl into bed. But very few set aside set times to pray alone—and fewer still think it is worth it to meet with others to pray. And we wonder why our faith is weak. And our hope is feeble. And our passion for Christ is small.

   And meanwhile the devil is whispering all over this room: “The pastor is getting legalistic now. He’s starting to use guilt now. He’s getting out the law now.” To which I say, “To hell with the devil and all of his destructive lies. Be free!” Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? … Is it a discipline?

   You can call it that.

   * It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater.

   * It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers.

   * It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns.

   * It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food.

   * It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water.

   * It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid.

   * It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin.

   * It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey.

   * It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

   I hate the devil, and the way he is killing some of you by persuading you it is legalistic to be as regular in your prayers as you are in your eating and sleeping and Internet use. Do you not see what a sucker he his making out of you? He is laughing up his sleeve at how easy it is to deceive Christians about the importance of prayer.

   God has given us means of grace. If we do not use them to their fullest advantage, our complaints against him will not stick. If we don’t eat, we starve. If we don’t drink, we get dehydrated. If we don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies. If we don’t breathe, we suffocate. And just as there are physical means of life, there spiritual are means of grace. Resist the lies of the devil in 2009, and get a bigger breakthrough in prayer than you’ve ever had.

Happy Birthday Park Church!

What a great night of celebration!  To look around and see all the new faces…and by “new”, I really mean all of us.  Think about it - none of us have been a part of the Park Church community for longer than three years.  We are all new to this thing.

I can’t speak for everyone there tonight, but I can share my amazement at all I have experienced these past few years.  Armando and I have had the joy of having a Gospel Community meet in our home and just having such consistent relationships has been so transformative for me.  (I am not naturally a relational person…unfortunately.)  If I were to stop and count how many deep friendships I have now that I didn’t have three years ago…well, there would be dozens.  God is so good to me.

Brothers and sisters of Park Church, I call you that because in Christ, we are family.  I don’t say that lightly.  I’ve never been one to just open armedly consider new people in my life as dear as family.  But through the cross, God literally adopted us into His family and made us one in Him.  It is not always easy.  It is not even always rewarding.  But for all of eternity, I will know you and you will know me and we will share in the glorious riches of God’s grace and love.  I am your sister.  You are my brothers and sisters.  From my heart, I love you dearly.

Thanks for three great years and I look forward to many more to come!