Worship Service for July 11, 2021
WELCOME
Good morning, welcome and thanks for joining CrossPointe Community Church’s online worship presentation. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May they bless us this day as a result of our choosing to be here.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
TIME TO TICKLE YOUR FUNNY BONES
What do you call a bone who thinks he is god?
A blasfemur!
A boy was sitting on a park bench with one hand resting on an open Bible.
He was loudly exclaiming his praise to God: “Hallelujah! God is great!”
A man heard the boy and asked why he would say that.
The boy said, “I just read God enabled the Israelites to cross the Red Sea.”
The man laughed and said, “Modern scholarship has shown that the Red Sea in that area was only 10 inches deep at that time. It was no problem for the Israelites to wade across.”
The boy gave it some thought and then exclaimed, “God is greater than I thought! Not only did He lead the whole nation of Israel through the Red Sea, He topped it off by drowning the whole Egyptian army in 10 inches of water!”
Which reminds me of Psalm 96
CALL TO WORSHIP
Sing a new song to the Lord!
Psalm 96:1-9a
Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Sing to the Lord; praise His name.
Each day proclaim the good news that He saves.
Publish His glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things He does.
Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
He is to be feared above all gods.
The gods of other nations are mere idols,
but the Lord made the heavens!
Honor and majesty surround Him;
strength and beauty fill His sanctuary.
O nations of the world, recognize the Lord;
recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
Give to the Lord the glory He deserves!
Bring your offering and come into His courts.
Worship the Lord in all His holy splendor!
OPENING WORSHIP SONGS
You, You Are God
Beach, Walker
You, You are God. You are Lord.
You are all I’m living for.
You are King of everything.
I want my life to praise You.Here I am; I’ve come to find You.
Here I am to see Your grace,
To bring to You an offering.
I have to ask myself one thing:
How can I do anything but praise?
I praise….You, You are God. You are Lord.
You are all I’m living for.
You are King of everything.
I want my life to praise You.Here I am; I’ve come to thank You.
Here I am, a life You’ve changed.
Because You gave Your life for me,
You crucified Your Son for me,
Now how can I do anything but praise?
I praise….You, You are God. You are Lord.
You are all I’m living for.
You are King of everything.
I want my life to praise You.You are God. You are Lord.
©2003 Walker Beach, admin Can’t Get Enough Publishing/BM
You are all I’m living for.
You are King of everything.
I want my life to praise You.
CCLI License No. 1843349
How Great is Our God
Tomlin, Chris
The splendor of the King,
Clothed in majesty
Let all the world rejoice,
All the world rejoice.
He wraps Himself in light,
And darkness tries to hide,
It trembles at His voice,
Trembles at His voice.How great is our God,
Sing with us
How great is our God,
And all will see,
How great, how great is our God.Age to age He stands,
And time in His hands,
Beginning and the end,
Beginning and the end.
The God head three in one,
Father, Spirit, Son,
The lion and the lamb,
Lion and the lamb.How great is our God,
Sing with us
How great is our God,
And all will see,
How great, how great is our God.Name above all names,
Worthy of our praise;
My heart will sing,
‘How great is our God’.How great is our God,
Sing with us
How great is our God,
And all will see,
How great, how great is our God.How great is our God,
©2004 worshiptogether.com Songs
Sing with us
How great is our God,
And all will see,
How great, how great is our God.
CCLI License No. 1843349
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Lemmel, Helen H.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
©Public Domain
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth
Will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
CCLI License No. 1843349
OPENING PRAYER
O Lord our God, thank You for admonishing us to set aside a time each week to gather together with like-minded people to turn our eyes upon You in worship. Help us in this time to forget about the many things which can distract us from focusing on You (pause). With the Psalmist, help us to proclaim Your greatness not only with our lips, but also in the way that we live our lives. For we ask this in the name of our everlasting Savior, even, Jesus, our Lord, Amen.
THE GIVING OF THE LORD’S OFFERING
For those of you who participate in the Lord’s offering by giving through the mail, our address is P. O. Box 126, Chippewa Lake, OH, 44215.
PRAYER SONG
Blessed
Zschech, Darlene/Morgan, Reuben
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house
They are ever praising You
Blessed are those whose strength is in You
Whose hearts are set on our GodBlessed are those who dwell in Your house
They are ever praising You
Blessed are those whose strength is in You
Whose hearts are set on our GodWe will go from strength to strength
Till we see You face to Face
Hear our prayer, O Lord, God Almighty
Come bless our land as we seek You
Worship You.Blessed are those who dwell in Your house
They are ever praising You
Blessed are those whose strength is in You
Whose hearts are set on our GodWe will go from strength to strength
Till we see You face to Face
Hear our prayer, O Lord, God Almighty
Come bless our land, as we seek You
Worship YouHear our prayer, O Lord, God Almighty
Come bless our land as we seek You
Worship You.For You are holy, for You are holy
For You are holy, LordFor You are holy, for You are holy
For You are holy, LordFor You are holy, for You are holy
For You are holy, LordFor You are holy, for You are holy
For You are holy, LordHear our prayer, O Lord, God Almighty
Come bless our land as we seek You
Worship YouHear our prayer, O Lord, God Almighty
©2002 Darlene Zschech/Reuben Morgan/Hillsong Publishing
Come bless our land as we seek You
Worship You.
CCLI License No. 1843349
MORNING PRAYER
God our Father, giver of life, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care. You are the rock on which this nation was founded. You alone are the true source of our cherished rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Send your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation’s leaders. Give them the wisdom to know what is right, and the courage to do it. We appeal to You for our President and Vice President, members of the Cabinet, along with the members of both the House and the Senate, to make decisions that will lead toward a more righteous, peaceful, and orderly America.
Remind us as your people that true happiness is rooted in seeking and doing your will. Give us your light and your truth to guide us in our ways so that we may seek your will in our lives and impact the world around us for Your Kingdom. We ask that you’d bring about an awakening of your presence as never seen before. We ask that your Name be proclaimed, that all plans to silence the Name of Jesus would be thwarted and crushed. We pray that many would come to know you as Lord and Savior, we pray that many would see your Light, that you would open blind eyes and release those still imprisoned. We pray that you would unify your people for the glory of your Name. Help us to be willing to make a difference in this land for the sake of Your Kingdom. Bring honor to your Name, Oh Lord, for You alone are worthy. We pray in the name of Jesus, amen.
SCRIPTURE
Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from Your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and Your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to Your Father in private. Then Your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and gain. Don’t be like them, for Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him! Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy.
May Your Kingdom come soon. May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. ‘If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.’And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except Your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:1-33
SERMON
Randy K’Meyer
Seek Ye First
A stressed-out lady was tailgating a man and as he slowed to stop at a yellow light, she blasted her horn, rolled down her window, and let a few choice words fly his way. As she was sitting there fuming, a policeman walked up and asked for her license and registration. After he checked them out, he said, “I’m sorry, Ma’am, when I saw your “What Would Jesus Do?” bumper sticker, I figured your car must have been stolen.” 1
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33
Isn’t that a wonderful promise? “everything you need.” In its context, everything we need to live well regardless of the circumstances in which we live.
But notice that the promise of our Lord is tied to a command: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously.”
Is this not a call to become more like Jesus? Obviously, He sought God’s kingdom and righteousness with unparalleled passion. And we all know that we are to emulate Him.
A few years back, our leaders came up with a document that would serve to encourage us to do just that; that is, to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else.” The title of the document is Marks of a Mature Christian. Even though most of you have heard this before, I am going to read it.
I am a church member. I have been adopted into Christ’s universal church through faith in Christ to forgive sins (Ephesians 5:5-7). I will join with other members at CrossPointe Community Church to participate in the body of Christ” (I Corinthians 12:27). I will attend corporate worship services to honor Christ and to grow in grace. I will individually engage in prayer and scripture study in order to become more like Jesus. I will help build up the body of Christ by using my gifts to love, to serve, to give, and to offer Christ to the people in my sphere of influence.
I am a church member. I will pray for our church’s pastor, other leaders and our ministry. Because our leaders cannot serve our church in their own power, I will pray for God’s strength and wisdom for them every day. I will also pray for fellow church members as the need arises (Colossians 4:3).
I am a church member. I will be a source of unity in His church. I understand that people in the church are not perfect; that includes me. I will not be a source of gossip or conflict. I will not judge others. I will do all I can to humbly accept, love and forgive others (Ephesians 4:1-6).
I am a church member. I am in this church to serve others and to serve Christ (Romans 12:1). Therefore, I will not let my preferences and desires adversely affect my participation. I will humbly follow the directives of our church leaders who have been called by God to advance His Kingdom.
I am a church member. In order to honor Christ, I will make a prayerful, informed decision about the giving of a portion of my income to Christ’s Church (II Corinthians 9:7).
I am a church member. I will view this membership as a gift of God; therefore, I will not take membership for granted. I am humbled and honored to serve and to love others through the church.
I am a church member. And I thank God that I am.”
But wait a minute, that’s not all our leaders have gifted us with. They want to help us obtain that high calling and therefore also came up with what we call a Process of Discipleship, whereby, we would offer short term classes, anywhere from 4 to 6 session classes on the following eight subjects: prayer, Bible, worship, unity, serving, forgiveness, stewardship, and evangelism.
As you know COVID put a damper on these classes being offered. And since we still weren’t out of the woods this past January and since I felt strongly I needed to strengthen the church in 2021, I began to preach on these eight Christian descriptors.
We just finished up talking about serving.
As it concerns our future short-term class on serving, I am very happy to announce that Lindsay Brandenburg is going to use her gifts and graces to serve as our point person for the short-term class on serving that will be offered as the need arises.
I shared with you that God’s desire, according to Saint Paul in Romans, I Corinthians, and Ephesians is that every Christian serve somewhere in the church using the gifts, talents, and abilities God has given for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.
When everyone knows their place the church is hitting on all eight cylinders. God is so grateful for those of you who are already plugged in. His hope is that the same would be true of all of us.
Gail and I are working on a list of most of the things that are accomplished by her and me that could actually be accomplished by others. That list will be available as soon as it is complete.
But for just a few examples; it would be nice to have someone serve the Lord by coming about 30 minutes prior to having outdoor worship in order to prepare the pavilion. We need at least two people to serve the Lord by being custodians of our outdoor sheds; to make sure they are periodically cleaned and organized. Need at least two people to serve the Lord by taking responsibility for periodically spraying the weeds in the landscaping.
What we need is for 145 Jerry Barnes clones. Without fanfare, Jerry humbly goes out of his way to accomplish all kinds of maintenance-type things. He’s recently repaired, sanded, and painted the center post of our front doors. Some of you may have noticed he repaired the rather large split in one of those 4 x6 beams supporting our ceiling.
Thank you, Jerry. May your tribe increase.
Prior to serving, we spent four weeks on evangelism; reaching people for Christ.
For without Christ, we believe that people are lost and they need to be found.
I love how Paul put it so plainly in his letter to the Romans: “But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:14).
And then, twice in one paragraph, in his second letter to the Corinthians: “He gave us this task of reconciling people to Him” (II Corinthians 5:18). “He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:19).
He gave it to us, that is, it is a gift. And like any gift, it is to be highly esteemed, to be treasured. He trusts us with it, He honors us with it. It is a privilege to be able to testify to the love of God; the love of God that prompted Him to send His Son on a rescue mission, the love of God that has touched our hearts.
I’m sure you recall Each One Reach One; my challenge for every one of us to reach one new person for the Lord by next Easter.
You can reach them in one of two ways:
1. You can share your faith with them. This could include your story of how you came to faith. Or His story of how Jesus gave His life so that you could be forgiven. Or in a more general manner, what your faith means to you.
- Or you can simply invite them to come to church with you.
I asked you to prayerfully think about and write down the names of five persons whom you would like to reach. And then I asked you to pray for those persons. For the key to reaching people for Christ is prayer.
Which leads me to say that we started this year by focusing on the importance of prayer in the life of the believer.
If prayer is not an integral part of your life, I advise you to go to our church’s website and review those messages.
On June 9th, we observed another of our quarterly prayer vigils, the theme of which, was prayer. We asked you all to pray that our church would grow with respect to prayer. We asked you to pray that God would stir up our hearts anew to the importance of prayer for God’s will to be done.
So today, I want to call us to this most vital and holy discipline of prayer:
Pray for God to stir our hearts to commune with Him on a daily basis.
Pray that all of us would discover our place of service to God. And then pray that God would motivate us to serve.
Pray for the persons we are hoping to reach for Christ. And then pray that we will each one of us would have the courage to either share our faith with them or invite them to church with us.
Pray that Each One of us would indeed Reach One for Jesus.
Pray the Marks of a Mature Christian will inspire us all to become more like Jesus. And then pray that our process of discipleship will enable us to do just that.
Pray that all CrossPointers will be committed to worship, to value prayer, to study scripture, that we will value unity, serving, giving, forgiving, and reaching people for Christ.
You know, I got to thinking that some of us might think of those eight disciplines as a real challenge, maybe even hard work. And some of us may be thinking, ‘What I really need in my life right now with everything that’s going on in my life and in the world is peace of heart.’ I understand that.
Please be aware that the result of engaging in those disciplines is what will convey peace to us.
So above all, pray that as we engage in those disciplines we will place more and more trust in our heavenly father to provide everything we really need to live well regardless of the circumstances that surround us.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33
CLOSING PRAYER
[Please pray as you feel God is directing you.]
CLOSING SONG
Seek Ye First
Lafferty, Karen
Seek ye first the kingdom of God
And His righteousness,
And all these things shall be added unto You
Allelu, alleluia.Man shall not live by bread alone,
But by ev’ry word
That proceeds from the mouth of God,
Allelu, alleluia.Ask, and it shall be given unto you.
©1972 Maranatha! Music (admin. by The Copyright Company)
Seek, and ye shall find.
Knock, and the door shall be opened unto you.
Allelu, alleluia.
CCLI License No. 1843349
BENEDICTION
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58
1 http://hotsermons.com/sermon-illustrations/sermon-illustrations-witness.