Morning Worship for April 26, 2020

Seacrest Morning Worship Service, April 26, 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.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! ² Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! ³ Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! ⁵ For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Ps. 100:1-5 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.

We Are God’s People
By  Brayan Jeffery Leech

We are God’s people, the chosen of the Lord,
Born of His Spirit, established by His Word;
Our cornerstone is Christ alone,
And strong in Him we stand:
O let us live transparently
And walk heart to heart and hand in hand.

We are God’s loved ones, the Bride of Christ our Lord,
For we have known it, the love of God outpoured;
Now let us learn how to return
The gift of love once given:
O let us share each joy and care,
And live with a zeal that pleases Heaven.

We are the Body of which the Lord is Head,
Called to obey Him, now risen from the dead;
He wills us be a family,
Diverse yet truly one:
O let us give our gifts to God,
And so shall his work on earth be done.

We are a temple, the Spirit’s dwelling place,
Formed in great weakness, a cup to hold God’s grace;
We die alone, for on its own
Each ember loses fire:
Yet joined in one the flame burns on
To give warmth and light, and to inspire.

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    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.  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).

Last week, from Acts 18 we learned how the Church in Corinth was planted.  We saw how God met Paul’s struggles with the condition of the city, loneliness, financial need, and lack of response to the Gospel by providing fellowship in the persons of Priscilla and Aquila, finances through the gifts of the church, Conversions, and promises.  This morning we will begin our study of the book of 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 1:1-3

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, ² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: ³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Click HERE to listen to the sermon.

The Text: 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
The Title: Who Am I and Why Am I Here?

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: 

I Am Thine, O Lord, I Have Heard Thy Voice
By William Cowper

I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,
and it told thy love to me;
but I long to rise in the arms of faith
and be closer drawn to thee.

Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord,
by the power of grace divine;
let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
and my will be lost in thine.
(Refrain)

O the pure delight of a single hour
that before thy throne I spend,
when I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend!
(Refrain)

There are depths of love that I cannot know
till I cross the narrow sea;
there are heights of joy that I may not reach
till I rest in peace with thee.
(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!