Sermons

Worship Service for April 10, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Our community Easter Egg Hunt will be on Saturday. Please pray that we have good weather, that the kids of the community will come out for it, and that they will leave with a better understanding of what Easter is really all about.

There will be an Easter breakfast of pancakes and sausage served at 9 am. Please make your reservation by calling Randy or Gail no later than Wednesday.

Our leaders decided to have one worship service on Easter, hoping that that would be the day that some folks will begin attending worship again. And they wanted all of us to be together for that special worship service. Please let me remind you again that it will be especially important to fill up the back parking lot first. Thank you.

Today is Palm Sunday, called that, of course, because as Jesus made His last entrance into the city of Jerusalem, His followers laid down palm branches on the road ahead of him.

A couple of years ago, it was Palm Sunday but because 5-year-old Sammy came down with a bad cold, he stayed home from church with a babysitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several palm fronds. Sammy inquired as to what they were for.
His sister said, “People waved them at Jesus as He walked by.”
“Wouldn’t you just know it?” Sammy complained, “The one Sunday I don’t go to church and He shows up.”

Which just goes to remind you that when you miss worship, you never know what you’re going to miss.

CALL TO WORSHIP

After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of His disciples. As He came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, He sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” He told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”
And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for Him to ride on. As He rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of Him. When He reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of His followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

Luke 19:28-40

Worship Service for April 3, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Today, we have the high privilege of celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Communion. All who strive to live with faith in Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross are welcome to receive this sacrament. If you are reading or listening to this presentation, please pause and prepare your communion elements so they will be ready when the time comes.

In my e-mail Wednesday, I asked you who arrive first to fill in the back parking first. And then how many of you caught the spelling error? This will leave more readily visible and available species for guests. I don’t how many caught that but Annie Dean not only caught it at the right time. She e-mailed me back: “So I’m watching an episode of Star Trek Discovery when I read your reminder to park so as to make the “SPECIES” visible out front to our guest! I agree Randy! If the species are anything like the ones I’m seeing on Star Trek they should be put out front for all to see!”

Our community Easter Egg Hunt will be on the Saturday before Easter. We noticed that last three years we were able to have one, the majority of the families came as a result of being invited by a CrossPointer or a friend of CrossPointe in the community. So your mission if you wish to accept it is to spread the word. The event will begin at 11 am and conclude at 12:30 pm. We will be encouraging people to pre-register online. We would love for you to get involved. We will need both candy and helpers. There are sign-up sheets on the table in the back.

Did you catch that there will be an Easter breakfast of pancakes and sausage served at 9 am? Please make your reservation. There is a sheet for that purpose on the new information table in the back.

A woman who is 3 months pregnant falls into a deep coma. 6 months later, she awakes and asks the doctor about her baby.
Her doctor informs her she had twins, a boy, and a girl, and lucky for you, your brother named them.
She says, “Oh no, not my brother! He’s an idiot! What did he name the girl?”
The doc says, “De-nise.”
She says, “Well this isn’t too bad, what did he name the boy?”
“De-nephew.”

CALL TO WORSHIP

For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With His love, He will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Zephaniah 3:17

Worship Service for March 27, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Attendance is returning almost to normal. We had 61 this past Sunday. That’s the highest since the start of the pandemic! Denny Huff is soon to arrive at the church to help me pull down 20 more chairs from the attic. And it is time for me to ask all of you who are able to fill in the west parking lot facing the pavilion first. This will leave more readily visible and available spaces for newcomers. This does not apply to those of you who need to be close to the entrance for health reasons.

We will be opening the nursery and kids’ worship next Sunday. We still need 3 volunteers for kids’ worship and one for the nursery. The folks who lead kids’ worship take the kids in the kids’ worship room during the sermon time to give them a Bible lesson. You will be given a very easy-to-follow curriculum the Sunday before. Both the nursery and kids’ worship will be available each Sunday as volunteers come forward to fill those positions. Please see Gail today after worship to let her know if you can help.

Our community Easter Egg Hunt will be held on the Saturday before Easter. We noticed that in the last three years we were able to have one, the majority of the families came as a result of being invited by a CrossPointer or a friend of CrossPointe in the community. So your mission, if you wish to accept it, is to spread the word. The event will begin at 11 am and conclude at 12:30 pm. We will be encouraging people to pre-register online. We would love for you to get involved. We will need both candy and helpers. There are sign-up sheets on the table in the back.

Let’s show some appreciation to Chuck Lemmon who has been leading our Recovery Ministry for five years!

Larry and Cathy Warner made their weekly sojourn to Akron to fetch some of those wonderful Gardner’s Pies. Please take one home for a donation that will go toward paying down our church mortgage! Thank you Larry and Cathy! And thank you who have been taking home those pies!

In the middle of creation, God is talking to one of his angels and says, “Do you know what I have just done? I have just created a 24-hour period of alternating light and darkness on Earth. Isn’t that good?”
The angel says, “Yes, but what are You going to do now?”
God says, “I think I’ll call it a day.”

CALL TO WORSHIP

He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

John 1:10-17