Worship Service for November 21, 2021
WELCOME
Good day, 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.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thanks to all of you who supported our youth by giving to Operation Christmas Child.
I thank God for you by the way you have responded to the opportunity to provide food items for our 15 Thanksgiving boxes.
If you placed someone on our weekly prayer list and their status has changed, please e-mail Gail or I and give us an update. By the way, I received a wonderful call from Marla Wilson on Friday expressing her profound appreciation for your prayers for her son, Eric, who had back surgery over a week ago. He is standing up straight again with little pain.
CALL TO WORSHIP
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High.
Psalm 92:1-4
It is good to proclaim Your unfailing love in the morning,
Your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp, and the melody of a lyre.
You thrill me, Lord, with all You have done for me!
I sing for joy because of what You have done.
OPENING WORSHIP SONGS
You, You Are God
Beach, Walker
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
For All You’ve Done
Morgan, Reuben
My Savior….Redeemer
Lifted me from the miry clay
Almighty…forever…
I’ll never be the same
Cause You came near
From the everlasting to the world we live
The Father’s only SonAnd You lived and You died
And You rose again on high
And You opened the way
For the world to live again
Hallelujah…for all You’ve done.My Savior….Redeemer
Lifted me from the miry clay
Almighty…forever…
I’ll never be the same
Cause You came near
From the everlasting to the world we live
The Father’s only SonAnd You lived and You died
And You rose again on high
And You opened the way
For the world to live again
Hallelujah… for all You’ve done.And You lived and You died
And You rose again on high
And You opened the way
For the world to live again
Hallelujah…Cause You came near
From the everlasting
to the world we live
The Father’s only SonCause You came near
From the everlasting
to the world we live
The Father’s only SonAnd You lived and You died
And You rose again on high
And You opened the way
For the world to live againAnd You lived and You died
And You rose again on high
And You opened the way
For the world to live againHallelujah…Hallelujah…Hallelujah…
This arrangement ©2008 Reuben Morgan and Hillsong Publishing
For all You’ve done.
(admin in the US and Canada by Integrity’s Hosanna! Music/ASCAP)
CCLI License No. 1843349
Give Thanks
Smith, Henry
Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He’s given
Jesus Christ, His Son.Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He’s given
Jesus Christ, His Son.And now let the weak say,
‘I am strong.’
Let the poor say, ‘I am rich’
Because of what the Lord
Has done for us.And now let the weak say,
‘I am strong.’
Let the poor say, ‘I am rich’
Because of what the Lord
Has done for us.Give thanks.
©1978 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music
Give thanks.
Give thanks.
CCLI License No. 1843349
OPENING PRAYER
O Lord, our God, here we are, we’ve come to thank You for all You’ve done on our behalf. In the most unforeseen and unimaginable way You, the Originator of all that is, came among us, lived among us, and then allowed us to execute You. We are awe-inspired by Your unfailing love. Hallelujah for all You’ve done. And we are thankful that You instructed us to set aside one day a week to gather together as Your people to worship and praise your Holy name. And here we are Lord. Give us this day a newfound appreciation for what You have done that we might be ever more thankful in the name of Christ, amen.
OFFERING
If you would like to send your offering through the mail, our mailing address is:
P O Box 126
Chippewa Lake, OH 44215
I thank God for you and for your continued faithfulness in giving.
Let’s continue to worship the Lord by singing a song of praise: God is Good, All the Time. The words come right from Psalms 106 and 107 both of which begin with, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.”
OFFERING/PRAYER SONG
God is Good
Chapman, Morris
God is good (God is good)
All the time (all the time)
God is good (God is good)
All the time (all the time)Well, He’s filled with compassion,
And His mercies are everlasting;
God is good,
God is good,
All the time.God is good (God is good)
All the time (all the time)
God is good (God is good)
All the time (all the time)Well, He’s filled with compassion,
And His mercies are everlasting;
God is good,
God is good,
All the time.O give thanks unto the Lord
His mercies endure forever.O give thanks unto the Lord
His mercies endure forever.O give thanks unto the Lord
His mercies endure forever.God is good,
God is good
All the time.God is good (God is good)
All the time (all the time)
God is good (God is good)
All the time (all the time)Well, He’s filled with compassion,
And His mercies are everlasting;
God is good,
God is good,
All the time.God is good,
God is good,
All the time.God is good,
©1992 Universal Music-Brentwood Benson Publishing
God is good,
All the time.
(admin. By Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 1843349
MORNING PRAYER
Brad Winter
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank for the wonderful day you have given us! Your greatness and grace has empowered all of us to gather together today to hear your word and give thanks to you for the incredible work you do in each of our lives.
Thank you for hope. Even during the toughest of times you give us strength to push through each day, move mountains and empower us to love each other. You give us the only weapon needed to conquer fear, and that is hope!
Thank you for bearing the sins of this world. The incredible sacrifice by your son Jesus gives us the freedom of everlasting life for those who believe and ask you into their heart. John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
As we go out into the world please empower us and give us strength to go the extra mile for the benefit of serving others. We know serving and loving others puts a smile on your face.
With the rising of the sun each day, renew us, give us courage, wisdom, and strength, and fill us with peace and joy so we will be a shining beacon of light to illuminate the path leading others to you.
On Thanksgiving day may we reflect on the many blessings in our lives and the joy and peace that comes from knowing you.
Psalm 107:1 – Oh give thanks to the lord for he is good for his steadfast love endures forever! We give you praise and thanks Lord. Please bless this day and keep us safe!
In Jesus’ name, amen.
SCRIPTURE
As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, He reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As He entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him for what He had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
Luke 17:11-19
For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out His anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when He returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.
Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:9-18
MESSAGE
It Is Good to Give Thanks to the Lord
Randy K’Meyer
On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I have two brief stories to tell you. One’s a cute little ditty, and the other a heart-warmer.
Here’s the ditty about a food editor of a local newspaper who received a phone call from a woman who asked him how long to cook a 22lb turkey. “Just a minute,” says the food editor, turning to look at a chart.
“Thanks a lot,” replied the novice cook . . . and hung up.
I remember one Thanksgiving long ago when my grandfather explained for the first time to my younger brother, Steve, about the breaking of the turkey wishbone. Eager to have his wish come true, Steve was disappointed when he saw that he held the small end of the bone while Gramps had the larger part. “That’s all right, Steve,” my grandfather said, “My wish was that you would get yours.”
Paul’s wish for his congregation at Thessalonikki, as well as for the congregation at Crosspointe, is that they and us would “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for us who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Today, of course, we are all more interested in the latter of the three injunctions; “give thanks in everything.”
But before talking about giving thanks, note that thanksgiving flows from gratitude.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “attitude of gratitude,” right? It was coined by famed European researcher Hans Selye, who claimed that one attitude more than any other influences the quality of everyday life. And that is the attitude of gratitude. “The healthiest of all human emotions is gratitude.” Grateful people are happier, healthier, easier to work with, more accomplished, calm, and at peace with themselves and others. 1
It’s almost impossible to feel grateful and victimized at the same time. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude will crowd out an attitude of complaining, for some say, that the two attitudes cannot co-exist in the same heart.
The devotional book Springs in the Valley tells of a man who found a barn where Satan kept his seeds of destruction ready to be sown in the human heart; seeds of anger, bitterness, confusion, greed, jealousy, etc. He noticed that the seeds of discouragement were more numerous than the others and he learned that those seeds could be made to grow almost anywhere. But when the man questioned Satan about that, the devil reluctantly admitted that there was one place where he never could get them to grow.
“And where is that?” the man asked.
And Satan sadly replied, “In the heart of a grateful person.” 2
I recall seeing an interview with Michael J. Fox in which the interviewer asked him about his battle with Parkinson’s disease; how he felt about, and its impact on his life. Without skipping a beat, Michael said, “I’m grateful for it.”
He talked about how much it has taught him about himself, others, and life. He talked about being grateful for being able to use his name and resources to make a positive difference for those who suffer from it.
What an amazing perspective! Here’s a guy who was on top of the world in the 80’s and 90’s, whose life has been significantly altered. If he were depressed and/or angry, we wouldn’t blame him. Instead, he is an amazing example of the power of gratitude and how we each have a choice to be grateful despite the circumstances.
If we learn to be grateful, even in the midst of dire circumstances that will greatly improve our peace and happiness. So we do well to cultivate an attitude of gratitude.
Not only because it contributes to our well-being; but more importantly, it sets the stage for thanksgiving. I say that because one application that bubbles to the surface from Luke’s story is that there is a difference between being grateful and being thankful.
We can safely assume that all ten lepers who were healed of leprosy were grateful. How could they not be? Their lives had just been dramatically changed in an unexpected, miraculous, marvelous, and undeniable way as they were healed of a dreaded disease that was not only eating away their flesh, but also their souls. They had just won the largest lottery jackpot in world history!
So we’ve got to believe that all ten of those lepers who had been healed and set free by Jesus were grateful. However; sadly, only one of them parlayed their gratefulness into thankfulness.
And so the story teaches that gratefulness is a state of being, that may or may not lead the grateful person to express their gratitude in an act of thanksgiving. Expressing thanksgiving, as in, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord” (Psalm 92:1). Thanksgiving, then, is an action we take based upon our gratefulness.
All of us, I’m sure, are grateful to God for many, many things, not the least of which is the gift of salvation through faith. We too have been healed and set free. And so the story Luke recorded for us begs us to consider how we parlay our gratefulness into thanksgiving.
In order to be thankful people, we need to cultivate the habit of giving thanks to God every day.
How?
The most obvious way is to pray. That’s why I endorse the A.C.T.S. method of praying; where A stands for adoration, C confession, T for Thanksgiving, and then S which stands for supplication, that is making our requests. It is always a good thing to model many Biblical prayers by “giving thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His faithful love endures forever” (Psalm 106:1).
I once heard of using a grateful/thanksgiving rock. Find a small rock, put it in your pocket or purse and leave it there. Then each time you reach your hand in during the day and encounter the rock, think of something you are thankful for. It will remind you at the end of the day when you clean out your pockets or purse to be not only grateful but also thankful. And when you pick it up in the morning to place back in your pocket or purse, the same thing will happen.
Keep a gratitude/thanksgiving journal. This is a very simple, powerful, practice that can have life-altering results. I was reading about a lady who had been on antidepressants for a long time. One day her husband suggested she keep a thanksgiving journal. Although she resented the notion, she got up the next morning, picked up paper and pen, tried in vain to think of one thing she was thankful for. And when she couldn’t, she laid back down and dosed off to sleep.
When she came to, she decided to try again. She thought, “Okay, I am thankful for a roof over my head.” She wrote that down and she slammed the journal shut.
The next day, she wrote, “I am thankful I have food to eat and clothes to wear.” Each day, it got a little easier. She went from being thankful for her husband one day, to I am thankful for the back rub he gave me the next.
The more I wrote, the more I found to be thankful for. The more thankful I became the more my depression lifted. Thus began my thanksgiving journals. I have a whole box of them now. I literally count my blessings each day by writing them down. My perspective has become optimistic and anticipatory, very unlike the droopy person that once couldn’t think of anything for which to be thankful. Now, one of my frequent entries is “Thank you, Lord, for the gift of thanksgiving.” 3
Matthew Henry, the famous Bible scholar, after being robbed by thieves, wrote these words in his journal: “Let me thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my money, they didn’t take my life; third, although they took my all, it was not too much; fourth, it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” 4
Which brings up one last point.
It is one thing to give thanks for blessings in life, quite another to give thanks when bad things happen or tragedy strikes.
I know of an evangelist who was told that he had a cancerous tumor growing in his inner ear. He was at the place on his spiritual journey where he said, “God, I know you can heal me if You wish to, but if You can get glory by me having this cancer then I thank You for it.” Today, that evangelist wears a false ear to the glory of God and he thanks God for using him more powerfully as a result of his illness.
When I was in Seminary at Ashland Theological School, I’ll never forget the day that one of my professors, Dr. Munson, stood up in chapel on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to lead us in morning devotions. All of us knew that Dr. Munson and his wife had been having a difficult time as months before they had asked everyone in the seminary to pray, for their only daughter was losing the battle to cancer.
He read I Thessalonians 5:18 as his text; “give thanks in all circumstances.” Everyone waited with bated breath to see how he was going to apply the text to his daughter’s situation. Those of us who were there will never forget him saying so humbly, “I’m not going to give thanks for the cancer, (and he paused)
but I am here to give thanks to Jesus for being with my daughter in the cancer.” A couple weeks later, Jesus was with his daughter in a special way as she received her ultimate healing by going home to be with the Lord.
The book, Mayflower , by Nathaniel Philbrick is the story of the Pilgrims coming to America in 1620. Their governor and spiritual leader here was William Bradford. We know him best for leading the first Thanksgiving. But Philbrick writes of how Bradford’s view of living a thankful life included having an eternal perspective: “In the winter of 1657, Bradford began to feel unwell. His health continued to decline until early May when a sudden and marvelous change came upon him. ‘The God of heaven so filled his mind with ineffable consolations,’ Cotton Mather wrote, ‘that he seemed little short of Paul wrapped up unto the unutterable entertainments of paradise.’ That morning Bradford told those gathered around his sick bed, ‘The good Spirit of God had given him a pledge of happiness in another world and the first fruits of his eternal glory.’
He died the next day. 5
The year 1899 marked the deaths of two well-known men; Dwight L. Moody, the acclaimed evangelist and Robert Ingersoll, the famous lawyer and orator. The two men had many similarities; both were raised in Christian homes, both were skilled orators, both traveled and were widely respected, both drew immense crowds when they spoke. But there was one striking difference between them; their view of God. Ingersoll was an agnostic and a follower of naturalism; he had no belief in the eternal, but stressed the importance of living only in the here and now. He was a bold spokesman against the Christian faith.
Dwight L. Moody, had different convictions. He embraced the cross as the turning point of history and dedicated his life to presenting a resurrected Jesus to a dying people. The impact of their decisions is seen most clearly in the way they died.
Ingersoll died suddenly. The news of his death stunned his family. His body was kept at home for several days before being cremated because his wife was reluctant to part with it. For a man who put all his hopes on this world, death was tragic and came without the consolation of hope.
Moody’s legacy was different. On December 22, 1899, Moody awoke to his last winter dawn. Having grown increasingly weak during the night, he began to speak softly “Earth recedes, heaven opens before me!”
Son Will, who was sitting nearby, said, “Father, you are dreaming,”
“No, this is no dream, Will, it is beautiful, if this is death, it is sweet. God is calling me, and I must go. Don’t call me back.” At that point, family gathered around, and moments later Moody died.
The funeral service of Dwight L. Moody reflected that same confidence. There was no despair. Loved ones gathered to sing praise to God at a triumphant home-going. Many remembered the words the evangelist had spoken earlier that year: “Someday you will read in the papers that Moody is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I was born of the flesh in 1837, I was born of the Spirit in 1855. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit shall live forever.” 6
Therein lies our greatest hope!
Jared Wilson, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary illustrates being thankful to God for His Son by asking us to imagine driving down the road and your car stalls on a railroad crossing. You are understandably nervous as you try to restart the engine, but you become even more so when you see a train appear in the distance and it begins to quickly close the gap between it and you. The diesel’s horn is blaring and the engineer has thrown on the brakes, but it is too late the stop the heavy train. You move from trying to get the car to start to trying to unfasten your seat belt, but fear has made your hands stiffen and you can’t get your seat belt unfastened. The train is rushing toward you, and you know you’re going to be hit. And suddenly you are saved by a man in a truck behind you who has decided to ram into your car and push you off the tracks, even as he is destroyed by the impact in the very spot you once occupied.
You get out of the car, shaken and still frightened. You are terrified by the gruesome scene; in shock over your rescuer’s sacrifice. Even in your terrified awe, it feels good to be saved, to be alive. You are grateful in a way that you’ve never been grateful before. 7
My friends, figuratively speaking, that’s what has happened to us. We were sitting on the tracks waiting for the inevitability of death. Until someone unexpected came to our rescue by pushing off the tracks. And in our case, our rescuer wasn’t just one of our fellow human beings with a compassionate heart. Oh no, in this case the person who came to our rescue by taking our place was no less than the very holy Lamb of God.
CLOSING PRAYER
[I encourage you to pray as you feel led by the Spirit of God].
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
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for He who calls you is faithful.
I Thessalonians 5:23-24
1 Jean Stinnett, Psychology and Jesus: The links between stress and gratitude
Special to San Angelo Standard-Times
Published November 25, 2020 by Go San Angelo
https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/life/faith/2020/11/25/psychology-and-jesus-links-between-stress-and-gratitude/6424571002/
2 L. B. Cowman, Springs in the Valley: 365 Daily Devotional Readings,
[Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, © 2016]
3 Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Amy Newmark, Chicken Soup for the Soul; Think Positive, [Cos Cob, Connecticut: Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, © 2010] Pages 353-355.
4 45 Top Quotes By Matthew Henry That Will Make You Love The Puritans
https://quotes.thefamouspeople.com/matthew-henry-2313.php
5 Adapted from Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower (London: Penguin Books, 2007], Page 189; submitted by Lee Eclov, Lake Forest, Illinois
6 https://www.sermonillustrator.org/illustrator/topics/sermon6/dwight_l_moody.htm
7 Jared C. Wilson, Gospel Wakefulness, [Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway,
© 2011], Pages 24-25.
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2011/november/6111411.html