Worship Service for July 4, 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
Happy Independence Day!
By the way, does anyone know who we gained independence from?
England.
You might be saying, “Everybody knows that.”
But as you will see later, not everybody in this country knows that.
Where was the Declaration of Independence signed? Wait . . . wait . . . wait for it . . . at the bottom!
Actually, it was signed in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia
In what year did we sign the Declaration of Independence?
1776
That’s right, for 245 years, Americans have been sipping liber-tea.
Who was President when the Declaration was signed? Be careful with this one. If you don’t know the answer, look it up.
The theme for our float in the 4th of July parade is Founded on Faith; with a flag at one end and a cross at the other.
You are all invited to come to the church next Saturday, July 10th between 1 and 5 pm to help Ron and Rena Thomas celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary!
Today is Communion Sunday. You may want to stop reading to prepare your communion elements.
CALL TO WORSHIP
In you, Lord my God,
Psalm 25:1-7
I put my trust.
I trust in You; do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one who hopes in You will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.
Show me Your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways.
According to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.
OPENING WORSHIP SONGS
It Is You
Furler, Peter
As we lift up our hearts,
Will You meet us here?
As we call on Your name,
Will You meet us here?
We have come to this place
To worship You,
God of mercy and grace.
It is You we adore.
It is You praises are for.
Only You the heavens declare.
It is You. It is You.And holy, holy
is our God almighty.
And holy, holy is His name alone, yeah.
And holy, holy
is our God almighty.
And holy, holy is His name alone.
It is You we adore.
It is You, only You.As we lift up our hearts,
Will You meet us here?
As we call on Your name,
Will You meet us here?
We have come to this place
To worship You,
God of mercy and grace.
It is You we adore.
It is You praises are for.
Only You the heavens declare.
It is You. It is You.And holy, holy is our God almighty.
And holy, holy is His name alone, yeah.
And holy, holy is our God almighty.
And holy, holy is His name alone.As we lift up our hearts,
As we call on Your name,
Will You meet us in this place
By Your mercy and grace?
As we lift up our hearts,
As we call on Your name,
Will You meet us in this place
By Your mercy and grace?
It is You we adore.
It is You. It is You.And holy, holy is our God almighty.
And holy, holy is His name alone, yeah.
And holy, holy is our God almighty.
And holy, holy is His name alone.It is You we adore.
©2002 Ariose Music, admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing
It is You praises are for.
Only You the heavens declare.
It is You. It is You.
CCLI License No. 1843349
To You, O Lord
Kendrick, Graham
To You, O Lord, I… lift up my soul.
In You I trust, O my God.
Do not let me… be put to shame.
Don’t let my enemies triumph over me.Show me Your ways and…teach me Your paths.
Guide me in truth…lead me on.
For You’re my God… You are my Savior.
My hope is in You… each moment of the day.No one whose hope is in You, will ever be put to shame
That’s why my eyes are on You, O Lord.
Surround me, defend me, oh how I need You.
To You I lift up my soul, to You I lift up my soul.Remember, Lord, Your…mercy and love
That ever flow… from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my rebellious ways.
According to Your love, remember me,
According to Your love, for You are good, O Lord.No one whose hope is in You, will ever be put to shame
That’s why my eyes are on You, O Lord.
Surround me, defend me, oh how I need You.
To You I lift up my soul, to You I lift up my soul.No one whose hope is in You, will ever be put to shame
©1998 Ascent Music, Ltd. Admin by Music Services
That’s why my eyes are on You, O Lord.
Surround me, defend me, oh how I need You.
To You I lift up my soul, to You I lift up my soul.
CCLI License No. 1843349
OPENING PRAYER
Lord, as we continue to worship today, we invite You to open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that, as the Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what You say to us today. We pray in the name of Jesus, 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
He Is Our Peace
Groves, Kandela
He is our peace
Who has broken down ev’ry wall.
He is our peace, He is our peace.
He is our peace
Who has broken down ev’ry wall.
He is our peace, He is our peace.Cast all your cares on Him,
For He cares for you,
He is our peace, He is our peace.
Cast all your cares on Him,
For He cares for you,
He is our peace, He is our peace.He is our peace
Who has broken down ev’ry wall.
He is our peace, He is our peace.He is our peace
©1975 Maranatha! Music (admin. by The Copyright Co.)
Who has broken down ev’ry wall.
He is our peace, He is our peace.
CCLI License No. 1843349
MORNING PRAYER
Karen Tate
Dear God,
We come to you praying for Your peace. May we learn to trust You and your guidance.
Often I try so hard to control my life instead of surrendering to You. No wonder I do not feel peace since I am not listening to the One who knows best!
You have equipped us with gifts to grow Your kingdom on Earth. Please help us recognize those gifts and use them as You direct.
I can only imagine the satisfaction, happiness and peace that I could realize when I walk more closely with You.
I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen
SCRIPTURE
Similar to today’s Call to Worship from Psalm 25 is Psalm 35:9-10.
Then I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will be glad because He rescues me.
With every bone in my body I will praise him:
“Lord, who can compare with You?
Who else rescues the helpless from the strong?
Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”
SERMON
Happy Birthday America
Dave Barton
Today’s presentation is by David Barton. He is the founder of WallBuilders, a reference to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. From their website, WallBuilders is “an organization dedicated to presenting America’s forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built.”
Dave Barton is a Bible-believing Christian. He does not have a degree in history. But he has studied American history extensively and accumulated quite a library of historical documents that date back to the founding of our nation and support the belief that our founding fathers were conversant with the Bible and Biblical principles. He is; therefore, oft criticized by those who disagree.
I have watched this video several times and fact-checked it the best I could. I could not verify his assertion that Congress issued 15 calls to prayer and fasting. This does not mean that they didn’t. Mr. Barton has access to thousands of documents that are not published on the internet.
He also mentions that “29 of our founding fathers graduated from schools considered in their day as bible schools or seminaries for training ministers.”
From what I found, although those colleges, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, were created as religious institutions and did teach the Bible and religion, and pastors in training did attend them, they were not seminaries as we consider a seminary today; that is, limited to specifically the training of ministers.
Other than being a little picky on those two assertions, as far as I could ascertain, everything Barton posits on this video is factual.
Why did I choose to offer this video today? First, because today is the 4th of July. And the 4th of July does have Christian overtones as you will see. But more importantly, consider the evidence you will see today as testimonies of some of our founding fathers. Many of us appreciate those Sundays when we have someone come forward to share their testimony of either how they came to faith in Christ or what their faith in Jesus means to them. Consider what you hear today 245-year-old testimonies to faith in Christ.
CLOSING PRAYER
[Please pray as you feel God is directing you.]
SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
INVITATION TO COMMUNION
We thank God that we live in a free country in which we can come together to share in this Holy Sacrament. All who desire to live in harmony with God through faith in His Son are welcome to receive the elements that represent the body and blood of Christ.
COMMUNION SONG
Majesty (Here I Am)
Smith, Martin & Garrard, Stuart
Here I am, humbled by Your Majesty.
Covered by Your grace so free.
Here I am, knowing I’m a sinful man,
Covered by the blood of the Lamb.Now I’ve found
The greatest love of all is mine
Since You laid down Your life,
The greatest sacrifice.
Majesty, Majesty,
Your grace has found me just as I am,
Empty handed but alive in Your hands.Here I am, humbled by the love that You give,
Forgiven so that I can forgive
Here I am, knowing that I’m Your desire,
Sanctified by glory and fire.Now I’ve found
The greatest love of all is mine
Since You laid down Your life,
The greatest sacrifice.Majesty, Majesty,
Your grace has found me just as I am,
Empty handed but alive in Your hands.Singing Majesty, Majesty,
©2002 Kingway’s Thankyou Music
Forever I am changed by Your love
In the presence of Your Majesty, Majesty.
CCLI License No. 1843349
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
On the night in which Jesus gave Himself up for us,
He took bread, gave thanks to You, broke the bread,
gave it to His disciples, and said:
“Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”When the supper was over, He took the cup,
gave thanks to You, gave it to His disciples, and said:
“Drink from this, all of you;
this is My blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me.”
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Eternal God, we give You thanks for this holy mystery
in which You have given yourself to us.
Grant that we may go into the world
in the strength of your Spirit,
to give ourselves for others,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever. Amen.
CLOSING SONG
Worthy is the Lamb
Zschech, Darlene
Thank You for the cross, Lord.
Thank You for the price You paid.
Bearing all my sin and shame,
In love You came
And gave amazing grace.Thank You for this love, Lord.
Thank You for the nail-pierced hands.
Washed me in Your cleansing flow,
Now all I know,
Your forgiveness and embrace
Worthy is the Lamb,
Seated on the throne.
Crown You now with many crowns,
You reign victorious.
High and lifted up,
Jesus, Son of God.
The Darling of heaven, crucified.Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.Thank You for the cross, Lord.
Thank You for the price You paid.
Bearing all my sin and shame,
In love You came
And gave amazing grace.Thank You for this love, Lord.
Thank You for the nail-pierced hands.
Washed me in Your cleansing flow,
Now all I know,
Your forgiveness and embraceWorthy is the Lamb,
Seated on the throne.
Crown You now with many crowns,
You reign victorious.
High and lifted up,
Jesus, Son of God.
The Darling of heaven, crucified.Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.Worthy is the Lamb,
Seated on the throne.
Crown You now with many crowns,
You reign victorious.
High and lifted up,
Jesus, Son of God.
The Darling of heaven, crucified.Worthy is the Lamb.
©2000 Darlene Zschech/Hillsong Publishing
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
CCLI License No. 1843349
BENEDICTION
The Lord bless you and keep you;
Numbers 6:24-26
the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.