Month: December 2021

Worship Service for December 26, 2021

WELCOME

Good day, and welcome to Christmas Day Plus One worship presentation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Next Sunday, I want to start the New Year right with a service of prayer for the coming year.

CALL TO WORSHIP

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Luke 2:8-14

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Worship Service for December 24, 2021

WELCOME

Good evening, and welcome to this Christmas Eve, 2021 worship service. I thank you so much for coming. Toward the end of this hour, we will light candles and sing Silent Night, Holy Night. If you haven’t received a candle, raise your hand. I also thank you for your willingness to wear a mask tonight. I understand they are a pain, but I’m glad you see it as an opportunity to participate in a greater good.

As a result of Covid, we stopped passing an offering plate during the service. If you’d like to give to support the mission of CrossPointe Church in our community, you may do so by placing your gift in the wooden box on the table on the right near the door as you are leaving. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

I wish to thank you for your generous support of our various mission projects in Chippewa Lake all year long, but especially the last 30 days. I am speaking primarily of the Thanksgiving boxes we packed and gave away, the way that we responded again to the need of the Church-at-the-Lake Food Pantry, and last but not least, the amazing response to the opportunity to provide Christmas for six families who live in our neighborhood.

What is it about Christmas? People decorate their homes, put up lights, go to the trouble to put up Christmas trees, spend hours coming up with lists, and shopping for just the right Christmas presents for friends and loved ones. Everywhere we go, we hear Christmas music. Would you believe that there are 9,274 songs with the word Christmas in the title! Someone dug into the streaming service Spotify and discovered 914,047 Christmas songs! So what is about Christmas that draws the world’s attention? I think you know.

SCRIPTURE

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past,
will come from you on My behalf.

Micah 5:2

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped Him snugly in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Luke 2:1-7

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Worship Service for December 19, 2021

WELCOME

Good day, and welcome to the 4th and final Sunday in Advent worship presentation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Thanks to all of you who participated in Friday’s Community Meal. And thank you to all you wonderful and generous people who so wonderfully gave to our Adopt-a-Family Mission Project.

Last Wednesday’s e-mail informed you that in order to safely accommodate up to 100 people, I was hoping to have two Christmas Eve Services. Thus far, 6 people have rsvp’d for the 4 pm and 7 for the 6 pm. I want to assume that more than that will attend. Please e-mail me at randykmeyer@hotmail.com to let me know which service you would prefer to attend.

CALL TO WORSHIP

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped Him snugly in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Luke 2:1-7

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Worship Service for December 12, 2021

WELCOME

Good day, and welcome to the 3rd Sunday in Advent worship presentation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Our monthly Community Meal is this coming Friday. If you would like to serve, please let Sandy Barnes know.

There are still a few opportunities to participate in our annual Christmas Adopt-a-Family program. Please call Annie Dean at (330) 807-8148 for more information.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Isaiah 9:1-7

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Worship Service for December 5, 2021

WELCOME

Good day, and welcome to the 2nd Sunday in Advent worship presentation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Yes, here we are in sunny and 78 degrees Sarasota, Florida. And, yes, I am wearing one of my favorite Ohio State t-shirts. Sugar Bowl champs January 1, 2021. I wear it proudly even though the beloved bucks were thoroughly beaten by Michigan a week ago Saturday. My head is bloodied but it is not bowed for until my dying day, I will always be an Ohio State alum and supporter of the Buckeyes. And I say, “Congratulations to Larry Warner for being a loyal fan of the Wolverines.” We could all take a lesson from Larry about loyalty. I mean it takes a lot of faith to hang in there and support his team through the thick and thin of the last 20 years of college football’s greatest rivalry. But last Saturday, his faith was rewarded!

As you are viewing this, Gail and I are headed back north to wintry Ohio. We celebrated Thanksgiving with daughter, Sarah, and her family in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. From there we came to Sarasota to help celebrate the 4th birthday of grandson, Carson. We plan on arriving back in Medina County sometime Tuesday after stopping to celebrate grandson, Matthew’s 20th birthday. Wow; that’s a lot of celebrating. We are grateful!

We are also grateful that we can take a trip like this knowing that the worship service is in good hands in Chippewa Lake. Thanks to Annie for arranging and announcing our Adopt-a-Family intentions, and for leading the communion portion of today’s worship service. Thanks, as always to the singers and musicians for using their gifts to help us worship the Lord with gladness and joy. And thanks to Robyn Tresch and Phil Strauss for leading us in prayer.

I will be delivering a Christmas/Communion meditation a little later. Thanks to Lindsay for receiving these video files and making them available to you. For now, I will turn it over to Annie Dean for an announcement about our Christmas Adopt-a-Family Program. (For you readers, please see last Wednesday’s e-mail which contains an attachment with this information).

CALLS TO WORSHIP

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

Isaiah 7:14

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

Matthew 1:22-23

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