Evening Worship for May 17, 2020

Seacrest Evening Worship Service, May 17, 2020

Call to Worship:  On your own, or together with your family, read the call to worship.  You may find it beneficial to read it out loud.  Let the words of the Scripture draw your heart and mind near to God.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
³ and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south. (Psalm 107:1-3 ESV)

Invocation:  Spend a few minutes in prayer.  The word invocation comes from a Latin word invocare which means to call upon or to appeal to.  So in the invocation, we call upon our Father (Matthew 6:9), acknowledging that He is God, confessing that we trust Him.  Ask Him to lead you by his Spirit in worship through the intercession of Jesus Christ.

Sing:  Singing is an important part of worship.  God desires it, (Psalm 96:1-2).  We will be including the words of several familiar hymns.  I urge you to lift up your voice and Sing to the Lord, bless his name, tell of his salvation from day to day.

Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It!
By Fanny J. Crosby

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child and forever I am.

Refrain:
Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.

Refrain

Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.

Refrain

I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long:
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.

Refrain

Prayer:  Take time for extended prayer.  Don’t forget, prayer is talking with God just as you would talk with an earthly parent who loves you, (See Matthew 6:9-15).  There is a model that God’s people have used for may years that gives a helpful outline for your prayer.  It has been called the ACTS Model:  Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.

• Adoration: Begin your time of prayer by praising God.  Praise Him for who he is and for all that he has done. (See Psalm 150 for an example)
• Confession: Confession is the act of agreeing with God about the things that we have done wrong.  It is acknowledging what we have done that is displeasing to God.  It includes things done, and things left undone.  It includes our words, thoughts, and actions.  Confess them and ask God to forgive you.  Be assured of his promise:  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn. 1:9 ESV)
• Thanksgiving: Take time to be thankful to God.  Sometimes in times of crisis such as these we forget to thank God for his many blessings.  Thank him for your salvation, for his steadfast love, for his protection, his peace and provision, for our Seacrest Church family, to suggest a few things.
• Supplication: This is when you pray regarding your needs and the needs of others.  Prayer for your family, your friends, your pastor, elders and deacons, missionaries, those who are ill.  Pray for the spread of the gospel, and the building up of followers of Christ.  This is also a time when you would pray concerning what is going on in the world, praying for those in authority, the Coronavirus pandemic.  This is also a time to pray for God’s guidance, wisdom, protection, and opportunities to serve Him.

Give:   God calls upon his people to give at least a tithe of our income and other offerings to the work of the Lord through the Church of Jesus Christ.  By doing so we acknowledge that God is the Lord of our life, and that all that we have has come from his hand.   We have recently made available Online Giving at Seacrest.  You can do so by going to    seacrest.breezechms.com/give/online, and following the directions.

Scripture Reading:    We will be posting the Scripture passage that the sermon will be drawn from.  Don’t forget, as I have often reminded you, God speaks most directly to his people when His Word is read.  Take your time as you read the Scripture.  You may find it helpful to read it out loud, (See Psalm 1).

Numbers 3:1-51

These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ² These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. ⁴ But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. ⁷ They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁸ They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁹ And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. ¹⁰ And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

¹¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, ¹³ for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

¹⁴ And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵ “List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” ¹⁶ So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. ¹⁷ And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. ¹⁸ And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰ And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.

²¹ To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. ²² Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 7,500. ²³ The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, ²⁴ with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. ²⁵ And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these.

²⁷ To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. ²⁸ According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. ²⁹ The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰ with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of the Kohathites. ³¹ And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. ³² And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.

³³ To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. ³⁴ Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. ³⁵ And the chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; ³⁷ also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords.

³⁸ Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. ³⁹ All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000.

⁴⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. ⁴¹ And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” ⁴² So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³ And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.

⁴⁴ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, ⁴⁷ you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs), ⁴⁸ and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” ⁴⁹ So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰ From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁵¹ And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Click HERE to listen to the sermon.

The Text: Numbers 3:1-51
The Title:  In the Wilderness: The Levites

Pray:  Pray for your understanding of God’s Word and for wisdom and ability to believe what the Word of God says we should believe, and to do what the Word of God says we should do.

Sing: 

All to Jesus I Surrender
By Judson W. VanDeVenter

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
May I ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

Refrain
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Saviour
I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender
Humbly at His feet I bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me Jesus take me now

Refrain

All to Jesus I surrender
Make me Saviour wholly Thine
May thy Holy Spirit fill me
May I know thy pow’r divine

Refrain

All to Jesus I surrender
Lord I give myself to Thee
Fill me with Thy love and power
Let Thy blessing fall on me

Refrain

Close your time of worship with prayer.

We will post the Sunday Worship Service on the Web-site on Friday for your use on the Lord’s Day.

Please remember that you are deeply loved by God, (see Romans 8:35-39) and by us, (see Philippians 1:3-10).  If you have particular needs, prayer requests, ideas, or just want to talk, I can be reached either at the church (561) 276-5533, or on my cell phone (561) 704-8333.  If you would like a pastoral visit, please call and we will be happy to set up a time to get together.

May the Lord bless you during these difficult days!