Renewal After Exile
June 6, 2021
ARE YOU NEW TO KNOX?
WELCOME!
Questions?
If you’d like to talk with someone about questions you have, please contact the Knox Office. Information is also available through the Knox app or website.
Communion
We celebrate Communion weekly. If you are a baptized follower of Christ, we invite you to join us.Prayer
If you would like someone to pray with you, pastors will be available at the front of the Worship Center after the service.
Connecting at Knox
Community Groups are one of the ways we seek to help folks get and stay connected at Knox. These small groups are a way to engage in Gospel-centered community as we study God’s Word, worship, pray, serve, and seek to live out a God-honoring, neighbor-loving life together. Visit the Knox website (Ministries -> Adult) to find out more about Community Groups and to complete a request form to join one.
LEADING IN WORSHIP TODAY
Pastor Bryan Gregory (sermon) • Pastor Josh Boehr (liturgy)
FOR REFLECTION
-The church’s liturgy, what the Lord’s people do when they are
gathered together to praise and worship him, is the clearest
and fullest ordinary foreshadowing of heavenly existence
given to us.
— GOD GATHERS —
Prelude
(You are invited to pray and reflect silently.)
Welcome
Call to Worship
*Hymn of Praise
Come, Christians, Join to Sing
*Prayer of Praise
*Songs of Praise
Your Grace Is Enough
God Is Able
— GOD RENEWS —
Silent Confession of Sin
Assurance of Grace
Psalm 32:3-5
Pastoral Prayer
Hymn of Preparation O Breath of Life, Come Sweeping Through Us
— GOD FEEDS —
Scripture Reading
Isaiah 62:1-12
Sermon
Pictures of Renewal: A Crown of Beauty in the Hand of the Lord
Approaching the Table
Behold the Lamb
The Lord’s Supper
*Hymn
Crown Him with Many Crowns
— GOD SENDS —
*Benediction
ORDER OF WORSHIP
A CROWN OF BEAUTY IN THE HAND OF THE LORD
Isaiah 62:1-12
GOING DEEPER
-Today’s sermon takes us yet another step deeper into Isaiah’s glorious vision of the renewal of God’s people.
As Pastor Bryan noted, one of our biggest temptations is seeing renewal as our project rather than God’s. So, we make our plans, roll up our sleeves, and get busy working on our renewal. What in you, what in us, needs to be crucified to reverse this order? What must change in us so that we would embrace the Biblical truth that first God works, then we work?
This problem has only been compounded by the pandemic. It feels like we have been idle so long that nothing seems more natural than bursting out of the gate like a racehorse. Isaiah says, “Wait, pray – long, deep, and hard - then hope mightily in God. After that, put your hand to the plow.” What is it we have forgotten about God and his promises that makes this so counterintuitive?
Jonathan Edwards, in his treatise on renewal, An Humble Attempt, calls the churches of the American colonies to commit to praying for seven years for God’s renewing work. If that work doesn’t come in those seven years, he says, then commit to praying for another seven. We tend to think one sparsely attended prayer meeting shows a lot of commitment. What is it about Edwards’ vision for renewing prayer that is so different from our own? Clue: The answer is not that they didn’t have the Internet in the 18th century. How might we get in step with Edwards rather than making Edwards get in step with us?
How can you slow down to pray and hope for the long haul? How does Knox need to slow down to pray and hope for the long haul? Why is doing that so hard?
KNOX NEWS
Community / Ways to Connect
Special Moms prayer Special Moms, who pray for their special needs children and each other, will meet for an end-of-year, in-person gathering to celebrate God's faithfulness through another year of parenting. We will meet on Saturday, June 26, 10 AM to noon in Monika's backyard in Dexter. Children are welcome; lawn games will be provided. For more information, contact Monika Lamine ([email protected]).
For more details please refer to the Knox app or website.
Family Matters
Job openings Knox family, as you are likely aware, we are actively searching for a Children’s Ministry Director and an Assistant Pastor of Shepherding and Care. You can find the job descriptions and a link for initiating the application process on our website (Knox home page > About > Job Openings). Please spread the word, share the website, and encourage qualified individuals to consider if God may be calling them to join our Knox community. Questions about the Assistant Pastor search may be emailed to [email protected].
Church directory Thanks to everyone who sent us updates! We'll soon share
instructions re: accessing that information via a new app. Please know there are safeguards in place to protect your data. In particular, requestors must have an email on file in our database to receive login credentials. That said, you are able to opt-out. So if you don't want your contact info/picture made available, email the Knox Office ([email protected]) no later than June 20th.
Knox Library news For those of us who utilize the Knox Library, it's been a long season without those resources. We are glad to announce that you may now request materials to check out. Your requested books or DVDs will be left on a shelf outside the library, with your name on the front, the Sunday after your request is received. Please visit the website (Knox home page > Resources > Library) to find materials that may interest you.
For those of you who checked out Knox library items prior to the pandemic, please place them in the drop box outside the library as soon as possible. Thank you!
