Morning Worship for April 19, 2020

Sunday Morning Worship Service, April 19, 2020

Beloved Congregation of Seacrest,

We are continuing to worship together through either the services posted on our website or through Zoom.  You can get both video and Audio by connecting to your Zoom App and typing in the ID Number.  Or you can dial into Zoom, type in the ID Number and listen over your phone. The information for Zoom is available through an email sent out by the church office last week.  That ID number will be the same for this week.

We are also continuing to post the worship service format on the web-site, with an audio recording of the Sermon.  (www.seacrestchurch.com)

So whether we are together or apart, we will be worshipping the Lord our God in unity, joining in a chorus of praise to God.

You do not have to use this format, God did not prescribe a fixed format for worship.  But we believe the following elements ought to be present in our worship and we hope that this format will prove to be a helpful tool.  The goal of our worship is the glory of God.

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.

To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. ² Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. ³ Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. ⁴ Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. ⁵ Because they do not regard the works of the LORD or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more. ⁶ Blessed be the LORD! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. ⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. ⁸ The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. ⁹ Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever. (Ps. 28:1-9)

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.

On the Sunday after Jesus rose again, the disciples were gathered together.  This time, Thomas was with them (he had been missing from their number on that Easter Sunday when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, John 20:24.)  When the others told him that Jesus had risen, Thomas laid down the challenge.  Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.  The depths of doubt are almost unfathomable.

But Jesus did not leave him in the depths of despair.  Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’  And then he spoke to Thomas, and  said, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe’, Jn. 20:27.  Thomas’ response – My Lord and my God!

Jesus will meet you in your doubts and give you ‘Blessed Assurance.’

Blessed Assurance
By Fanny J. Crosby

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
born of his Spirit and washed in his blood

This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long

Perfect submission, perfect delight
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy and whispers of love

This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blessed
watching and waiting,  looking above
Filled with His goodness, lost in his love

This is my, I know that this is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long

Prayer:  Take time for extended prayer.  Do not 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 https://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.  Do not 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).

This morning, I am beginning a new sermon series from 1 Corinthians.  An Honest Look at How We Apply The Gospel To Daily Living In a Fallen World.   This morning we will be looking at Acts 18:1-17, which gives the account of the church being planted in Corinth.

Acts 18:1-17

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, ³ and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. ⁴ And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. ⁵ When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. ⁶ And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. ⁸ Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” ¹¹ And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. ¹² But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, ¹³ saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” ¹⁴ But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. ¹⁵ But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” ¹⁶ And he drove them from the tribunal. ¹⁷ And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Click HERE to listen to the sermon.

The Text: Acts 18:1-17
The Title: “I Have Many In This City Who Are My People”

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:  Close your time of worship with prayer.

My Tribute
By Andre Crouch

How can I say thanks
For the things You have done for me?
Things so undeserved
Yet You gave to prove Your love for me;
The voices of a million angels
Could not express my gratitude
All that I am and ever hope to be
I owe it all to Thee

To God be the glory, To God be the glory
To God be the glory for the things He has done
With His blood He has saved me
With His power He has raised me;
To God be the glory for the things He has done

Just let me live my life
Let it pleasing, Lord to Thee
And if I gain any praise let it go to Calvary

To God be the glory, To God be the glory
To God be the glory for the things He has done
With His blood He has saved me
With His power He has raised me;
To God be the glory for the things He has done

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!