Category: Sermons

Worship Service for February 27, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS

After today, the books on the table in the back will be donated to Project Learn.

Gail and I will be traveling to Florida tomorrow and will return Friday.

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday; the 40 day period that precedes Easter and is known as the Lenten season. The tradition of placing ashes on the forehead originated in the Roman Church in the 6th century. Many Christian churches continue this practice. Here at CrossPointe, we have not. We are going to observe Ash Wednesday by having another of our Prayer Vigils. We are inviting you to sign up for one or more 20 minute time slots to pray. Please pick up a prayer folder that will help you.

CALL TO WORSHIP

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are Mine.
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

Isaiah 43:1-3

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Worship Service for February 20, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS

As you are probably aware, our leaders voted this past week to make mask-wearing optional. However; for the time being, we are asking that should you choose not to, please sit to my right.

I am so sorry that those of you who were looking forward to jumping into the freezing waters of Chippewa Lake yesterday were disappointed. The Medina County Park District closed the lake due to flooding. However; the remainder of this Year’s Chippy’s Back event went off without a hitch. I thank all of you for participating so generously. A special thanks to Alan Robbins for all the hours of planning that went into making this such a successful event. Thanks also to Annie Dean for all the communications and for coordinating the volunteers.

Even though the event itself is over, we’re not through. As in years past, the Lions’ Club looks to us for help in retrieving yard signs and policing the beach area. So if you have the time today after worship, please see Annie for a list of sign locations. We also need two persons to walk the beach area and one person to drive along Beachside to pick up any trash that may have been left behind. Thank you.

OPENING WORSHIP SONGS

As We Gather

Coomes, Tom/Fay, Mike

As we gather, may Your Spirit work within us.
As we gather, may we glorify Your name.
Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship,
We’ll be blessed because we came.
We’ll be blessed because we came.

As we gather, may Your Spirit work within us.
As we gather, may we glorify Your name.
Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship,
We’ll be blessed because we came.
We’ll be blessed because we came.

We’ll be blessed because we came.

©1981 Maranatha! Music (admin by The Copyright Company)/
Coomesietunes (admin by The Copyright Company)
CCLI License No. 1843349

SCRIPTURE

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1-7

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WELCOME

Good morning and welcome to CrossPointe Community Church. I thank God for all of you and for the opportunity to spend this time with you. My name is Jim and I am filling in for Randy this week.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Annie – Polar Bear

CALL TO WORSHIP

A psalm of thanksgiving.
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Psalm 100

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Worship Service for January 30, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Thanks to all of you who participated in this past Friday’s Community Meal.

Please take for free any or all of the books on the table in the back. Whatever is left after today is going to be dropped at Project Learn.

MDG Flooring will be here tomorrow morning to start the install on this stage and in the office. If you have some time after worship, we’d like to clear those areas.

Today is Gather to Scatter Sunday. We are celebrating and highlighting it by focusing on our participation in the Chippy’s Back Polar Bear Event. As it stands right now, the walk/run/plunge will be a live event on Saturday, February 19th. The Chief Polar Bear and his sidekick Chippy are with us today and will have some news to share about this year’s event in a few minutes.

Gail and I will be leaving for Florida next Friday to spend a week with Brett and his family in Sarasota. And then we’ll be flying to Houston to see my son, Brian, and his family for a few days. So next week, on Communion Sunday Jim Brandenburg will be preaching. And on February 13th Randy Hall will fill the pulpit. I don’t want to give away his message, but let’s just say he had a life-altering experience that drew him closer to God that he will be sharing with you.

CALL TO WORSHIP

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what He has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:1-3

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Worship Service for January 23, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Next Sunday is Gather to Scatter Sunday. Our focus will be on the upcoming Chippewa Lake Lions’ Chippy’s Back fundraiser.

CALL TO WORSHIP

(This passage appears as Peter and John were being questioned by Jewish religious authorities for preaching Jesus and the resurrection.)

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:8-12

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Worship Service for January 16, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Annie Dean and Gale Arthur will be hosting another 12 week Grief Share group that will begin this Tuesday, January 18th at 12 noon at the church. If you or someone you know could benefit by attending these sessions, please give Annie a call at (330) 807-8148.

We thank Annie Dean for taking the lead in providing you with information about the February 19th Polar Bear Event. We encourage you to participate in this wonderful event in any number of the following ways: (1) jumping in the lake and/or walking or running, (2) volunteering your time to block roads during the walk/race, or (3) purchasing one or more $ 50 raffle tickets. The first prize ticket holder will receive $3,000, second prize is $ 1,500 and third prize will be $500. Last year, our own Kathy Sheppard held the first prize ticket. I highly encourage you to visit the Chippewa Lake Lion’s Club website to register and/or to buy a raffle ticket.

CALL TO WORSHIP

One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate (between Jesus and the Sadducees who insisted here is no resurrection from the dead). He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: (and Jesus quotes the Shema, meaning ‘hear’ from Deuteronomy 6) ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: (and here Jesus quotes Leviticus 19:18) ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Mark 12:28-31

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Worship Service for January 9, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS

On January 30th, MDG Flooring of Medina will be replacing the carpet on the stage and in the office behind the stage with a new flooring material. Toward that end, the Trustees are encouraging anyone who is able to remain after worship today to help quickly clear those two areas. Then a group of guys will take up the old carpet.

I want to thank those of you who have given to the cause of live-streaming our worship services. Funds came in last month and we were able to purchase what I hoped would work as a camera. Unfortunately, the camera did not work out for us and I had to return it. I have since learned that the camera we need is going to cost about $1,500 of which we are about $700 shy. If you would like to see our church begin to live-stream our worship services, and would like to make a special offering for that purpose, please mark your check, ‘live-stream.’

CALL TO WORSHIP

Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Sing to the Lord; praise His name.
Each day proclaim the good news that He saves.
Publish His glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things He does.
Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
He is to be feared above all gods.
The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens!
Honor and majesty surround Him; strength and beauty fill His sanctuary.
O nations of the world, recognize the Lord;
recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
Give to the Lord the glory He deserves!
Bring your offering and come into His courts.
Worship the Lord in all His holy splendor.

Psalm 96:1-9a

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Worship Service for January 2, 2022

WELCOME

Happy New Year! And welcome to CrossPointe’s written worship service. Today we are starting out the year right by celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Communion and focusing on prayer. (With that in mind, I would suggest you ready your bread and juice).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Next Sunday, I will give sort of a State of the Church address. As part of that service, we will present to you and recognize our church leaders.

If you would like to send your offering in the mail, our mailing address is:

CrossPointe Community Church
P O Box 126
Chippewa Lake, OH 44215

Before I read today’s Call to Worship Scripture, how about a couple of New Year’s zingers?

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Abby.
Abby who?
Abby New Year.

What is a New Year’s resolution?
Something that goes in one year and out the other.
(Well, maybe they’re not zingers, but can you stand one more?)

A woman took an afternoon nap on New Year’s Eve. When she woke up, she told her husband, “I just dreamed that you gave me a diamond ring for a New Year’s present. What do you think it means?”
He replied, “You’ll find out tonight!”
At midnight, her husband handed her a small gift-wrapped present.
Excited, she opened it quickly, but was even more surprised: In it was a book titled The Meaning of Dreams.

I guess I should stick to what I know!

CALL TO WORSHIP

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
They are new every morning;
great is His faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

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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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