Worship Service for March 6, 2022
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thanks to all who participated in this past Wednesday’s Prayer Vigil.
Today, we are blessed to be able to celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion. I am so happy to say all who desire to be right with God through the Lord Jesus are welcome to come to the table and receive what God in Christ offers. If you are reading or listening at home, I encourage you to pause in order to prepare the communion elements you will be using.
This is also the first Sunday of six in the Lenten season. On these Sundays, I plan on drawing closer to Christ by examining the lives of some of the people who were close to Jesus then. Today we will focus on who I am calling “the fickle follower.”
CALL TO WORSHIP
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.
Ephesians 1:1-7
OPENING WORSHIP SONGS
You, You Are God
Beach, Walker
Here I am; I’ve come to find You.
Here I am to seek 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
All for Love
Fieldes, Mia/Smith, J. Daniel
All for love a Father gave
For only love could make a way.
All for love the heaven’s cried
For love was crucified.
Oh, how many times
Have I broken Your heart.
But, still You forgive
If only I ask.
And how many times
Have You heard me pray,
‘Draw near to me.’Everything I need…is You
My beginning, my forever.
Everything I need…is You.Let me sing…all for love
I will join…the angel’s song.
Ever holy…is the Lord
King of glory…King of all.
Oh, how many times
Have I broken Your heart.
But, still You forgive
If only I ask.
And how many times
Have You heard me pray,
‘Draw near to me.’Everything I need…is You
My beginning, my forever.
Everything I need…is You.Everything I need…is You
©2004 Hillsong Publishing/ASCAP (admin in the US and Canada
My beginning, my forever.
Everything I need…is You…is You.
by Integrity’s Hosanna! Music) This arrangement ©2008 Hillsong Publishing/ASCAP
(admin in the US and Canada by Integrity’s Hosanna! Music)
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, it is certainly true that we have broken Your heart. Not just once, but on many occasions; too many to count, really. Sometimes we wonder why You would have gone to the trouble to give Your life for the likes of us. And yet, Your servant Paul assures us that You have showered us with Your grace, forgiven all our sins and, if that were not enough, adopted us into Your own family through the blood of Your son. And to top it off, this gave You great pleasure! Indeed, everything we really need in life is You. How can we then do anything but sing Your praises? As we contemplate celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion, Lord, use the time between now and then to turn our eyes upon Jesus, for we humbly ask this in His precious name, amen.
OFFERING
If you would like to send your offering through the mail, our mailing address is:
CrossPointe Community Church
P O Box 126
Chippewa Lake, OH 44215
As we respond to the opportunity to give generously, let us be encouraged by a prayer of Kind David’s that is found in 1 Chronicles 29:14 on the occasion of receiving an offering of the people of God to help support the Temple of God: “But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to You? Everything we have has come from You, and we give you only what You first gave us!”
Speaking of King David, let’s join together singing what has become the most beloved of all his Psalms.
OFFERING/PRAYER SONG
Psalm 23
Morgan, Trevor
The Lord is my Shepherd
And I shall not want
He makes me lie down in green pastures
And He leads me beside still waters
And He restores my soul
He leads me in paths of righteousness
For His Namesake
Even though I walk through the valley
Of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
For You are with me
Your rod and Your staff
They comfort me
Oh, they comfort me.You prepare a table before me
In the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil
My cup overflowsEven though I walk through the valley
Of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
For You are with me
Your rod and Your staff
They comfort me
Oh, they comfort me.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever…forever.Even though I walk through the valley
© Words: 2001 Crossway (Admin. by Good News Publishers / Crossway)
Of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
For You are with me
Your rod and Your staff
They comfort me
Oh, they comfort me.
Music: 2009 Trevor Morgan Music
CCLI License No. 1843349
MORNING PRAYER
Author: Elton Streyle
Loving Heavenly Father, we come to You in Jesus’ Name to thank You for the peace, comfort and joy that we can gain from this Psalm. You promise all-encompassing provision in our lives and that we will lack nothing. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
We ask You to guide us along the right path, to provide us with comfort and refreshment. In Your Name is where we can find peace, joy and a more fulfilled life. “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
It is such a blessing to know that no matter what comes our way, we do not need to fear because we know that You are with us, and Your protection is unfailing. This continually brings us comfort. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
We appreciate the fact that wherever we are, You provide and bless us beyond what we could ever understand. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.”
Thank you that we can know that Your goodness and love towards us will never end. When You call us home we will join You in glory, praising Your Name forever and ever. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Direct our relationship with You to be like that of a sheep to his shepherd, where we rely on You in total trust for everything in life at all times. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 1
SCRIPTURE
One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on Him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So He sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Luke 5:1-11
When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before My suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
Then He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”
He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
After supper He took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people—an agreement confirmed with My blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
“But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing.
Luke 22:14-23
So they arrested Him and led Him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”
Luke 22:54-62
But Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know him!”
After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!”
“No, man, I’m not!” Peter retorted.
About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.”
But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.
MESSAGE
The Fickle Follower
St. Peter (Randy K’Meyer)
My name is Simon . . . son of John. Most of you probably know me by another name . . . Peter. That’s what Jesus re-named me the day my brother Andrew introduced me to Him.
Do you know what my name means? Rock! Rock is strong, rock is durable!
What he was saying was He could always solidly rely on me.
But I am here to confess that I didn’t live up to my namesake on that night when people accused me of being one of His followers. That kind of peer pressure crushed me . . . the ‘rock-man’ . . . to pieces.
I suppose you’ve heard the story . . . how I denied even knowing Jesus three times. I didn’t mean for it to go down that way . . . somehow it just did, you know what I mean? That was the worst night of my life.
What makes the memory of that night so incredibly painful is that of all people . . . I should have known better.
For three years I had the privilege of being the most popular of all His followers. Just ask anyone to name one of the twelve disciples and chances are good they will give my name first. Look it up in that book you guys are always reading . . . the Bible? My name is always listed first.
That’s because I was His right hand man. He chose me to be included in His inner circle of disciples. There were certain times when something really important was going to go down that Jesus would ask me first and then James and John to accompany him.
Anyway, because of that privileged position, I was closer to Jesus than anyone else. If anyone should have remained faithful and strong, it should have been me. I was an insider, a special friend, a trusted companion; His right hand man. I knew Him well from the beginning.
I can still remember as if it happened yesterday. We had fished all night long . . . hadn’t caught a thing. An hour after daybreak, we headed in . . . pulled the boats on shore and were washing our nets when Jesus came by. He asked me to put my boat back out in shallow water and then he used my boat to teach the crowds who gathered as close as they could. When He was through teaching, He told me to take my boat out into deeper water and throw out the nets again. I said to Him, “I’ve been fishing this lake all my life, we didn’t catch anything all night long, and we’re not going to fare any better in daylight.” But I could tell by the way he looked at me He wasn’t going to take my advice. “All right, all right, have it Your way, but You’ll see.”
But I was the one who saw. Never in all my days of fishing that lake had I seen so many fish in one net. It was crazy; the nets were beginning to tear, fish were escaping back into the sea, we filled my boat, James and John filled theirs. When I looked at all those fish, all I could see at first was dollar signs.
And then it hit me. What I was seeing was a miracle! What I began to see was this Jesus wasn’t just another Jewish Rabbi trying to drum up a following. No . . . He was different. Nobody could have pulled that off unless . . . unless . . . unless.
As I realized who He was, and knowing full-well who I was, I fell to my knees, “Lord, I am not worthy to be in Your presence; I’m a sinner!”
And you know what? He didn’t agree with me, He didn’t condemn me. He simply said, “Stick around . . . and I’ll show you how to catch men.”
And slowly it began to dawn on me that that there was something here even bigger than the miracle we just witnessed. Something began to convince me that my life was about to change . . . for the better. And right then and there, we left our boats, our nets, our lives as we knew them, and began to follow this Jesus of Nazareth.
And what a ride it was! I wish you could have been there with me to have seen Him and hear Him; the way He taught the scriptures with such authority, the way He preached with such power. But more than that, I’ll never forget the look of compassion in His eyes as He healed the sick.
I’ll never forget the time the ruler of the synagogue at Capernaum asked Jesus to come and heal his sick and dying daughter. We were still making our way to his house, when word came that his daughter had already died. But Jesus never missed a step. And when we got to the man’s house, Jesus took me . . . and James and John right into the room where that sweet little girl lay dead. He took her lifeless hand in His and said, “Little girl . . . it’s time to get up.” Believe it or not, that’s exactly what she did. I tell you, when Jesus spoke, His words carried power.
Of course, not everyone saw it that way. There was a day when Jesus asked His father’s blessing on five loaves of bread and two measly fish and then fed over 5,000 people. You would think that kind of powerful miracle would have convinced all who participated in it to believe in Him. But when He followed the miracle with the claim that there would be eternal life for anyone who would eat His flesh and drink His blood, many of those who had been following Him, even from the beginning, gave up on Him.
As He watched those folks turn away, He asked the rest of us if we were ready to give up on Him too. I said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we believe that you are the Holy One of God!”
Perhaps you’re wondering then how in the world I could have denied Him. I’ll tell you how . . . it was my foolish pride. I thought I could live up to my namesake. He named me the rock. I was strong, I had enough courage to withstand anything; even if threatened with imprisonment or even death.
As a matter of fact . . . that’s exactly what I told Jesus that night. After we had shared the Passover meal, Jesus took bread and broke it, “Take, eat, this is my body.” The He took a cup of wine ”Take, drink, this is my blood. This is the new covenant for the forgiveness of sin, sealed in My blood.”
Now I’m not the brightest crayon in the box; I really didn’t understand what He was getting at about a new covenant (not yet anyway). But when He started talking about shedding His blood, that one of us was about to betray Him and that I would deny Him, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back!
“These other guys might betray You and deny You and run away, but I will not! I am ready to go to jail for You, Jesus. I’m ready to sacrifice my life for You.”
As long as I live, I’ll never forget what Jesus said next. He turned in my direction and looked at me with pain and sadness in His eyes and said, “Peter, I hate to tell you this but before this night is over you will deny that you even know Me, not once, but three times.
“But Jesus . . . I’m Your Rock.”
I guess He knew me better than I knew myself.
From that point on, things happened very quickly. From that Upper Room flat to the Garden of Gethsemane; the soldiers of the Temple came to seize Him. I started to get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach when I saw that Judas was with them. If Jesus was right about Judas . . .?
I wasn’t about to let Jesus be right about me. I’d show Him I would never give up. I grabbed a sword . . . tried to split the head of the soldier who was putting the cuffs on Jesus. My aim was a little off and I sliced his right ear off instead.
Jesus yelled . . . “Peter . . . put that sword away before you kill yourself!” And then like I had seen Him do so many times before, He reached His hand out and healed, even the man who was arresting Him.
They began to lead Jesus away into the darkness. I followed behind, keeping out of sight the best I could we ended up in the courtyard of the High Priest. At first I remained in the shadows . . . but there was a heavy frost in the air and when someone made a fire I edged up. Some of the soldiers were laughing about how easy it had been to capture Jesus and how ridiculous His followers looked as they scattered in ten different directions.
As I got closer to the fire, one of the servant girls came up, gave me the once over. She said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”
Immediately I was seized with fear that they would take me away too and the words were spoken before I could even think: “Woman, I don’t even know Him.”
One of the men standing there said, “You must be one of them.”
“No man . . . I am not.”
“This must be one of them because he is a Galilean too.”
“Damn it man, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this, I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!”
But you know what I’m talking about?
My guess is that all of you have stood where I stood that day; when peer pressure begins to squeeze when threatened with misunderstanding or ridicule or being left out all of us can be tempted to deny Him. Or when we have a chance to say a good word on His behalf and choose not to. Or when we have a chance to reach out and help someone in His name and do not. Or when we behave in ways that we wouldn’t if He were right beside us.
We know what it’s like to not stand up for Him. All of us have denied we know Him and all of us have wondered if He could ever forgive and love us again.
If that’s true for you, the way it was for me I want to invite you to come with me, to the place where I found healing. Come with me to the foot of the cross. Look up and see His body broken for you, take a long look if you dare . . . at the blood being shed for you. Listen to Him as He prays, “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”
It was only after I thought deeply about what happened on His cross that I began to understand what He had said in that Upper Room “This is the new agreement between God and humanity the forgiveness of sin sealed through the shedding of My blood. It was then that I realized that regardless of the how much I let Him down, He still loves me . . . He still accepts me for who I am and the sacrifice He made is more than sufficient to cover over all my denials.
PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO THE MESSAGE
[I encourage you to pray as you feel led by the Spirit of God].
SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
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
Loving Lord Jesus, we come before You now and confess that You alone are the living God, You alone are worthy of all honor and praise, for You set aside Your heavenly glory and came into this world as a man, to redeem lost sinners from the curse of the law, and we praise You that we are included in Your gracious forgiveness.
Thank You, that You willingly offered up Your body to be the sacrifice for our sins. Thank You, that Your body was broken for us, and that Your precious blood was shed to pay the full price for all our sins, and not for us only but all who would trust in Your name.
Lord, we kneel before You in humble submission, as we partake of the bread and wine, in remembrance of You. Amen.
The Body of Christ, broken for you. (take the bread)
The Blood of Christ, shed for you. (take the wine)
Lord Jesus, what a privilege to be able to come before Your throne of grace and partake of the precious sacraments of bread and wine, in remembrance of Your atoning sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. Thank You for dying for us on the cross and paying the enormous price for our sins, so that we may be forgiven of all our faults and receive Your indwelling life.
May we never forget the enormous price that was paid on our behalf. May we never forget that we have been bought with a price, the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. May we live for Him from this day on, knowing that Your body was broken and Your blood was spilt for us.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed it be 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
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
Townsend, Stuart
How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss.
The Father turns His face away.
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders.
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life.
I know that it is finished.I will not boast in anything;
No gifts, no pow’r, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer,
But this I know with all my heart;
His wounds have paid my ransom.Why should I gain from His reward?
©1995 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music
I cannot give an answer,
But this I know with all my heart;
His wounds have paid my ransom.
CCLI License No. 1843349
BENEDICTION
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21
1 Prayer Based on Psalm 23
JULY 20, 2018 / TIMEWITHOURCREATOR
https://timewithourcreator.com/2018/07/20/prayer-based-on-psalm-23/