August 4, 2024
We’ve been talking about “THAT ALL MAY HEAR” for 17 Sundays now. We have made steady progress, but we aren’t at goal yet. We are above 85%, which is awesome, but let’s dig in and finish this particular race. I know that we sometimes grow weary of talking about giving. Giving is an act of worship, and I love to talk about worship. Not just music, but worship, which is our greatest priority.
One of the most extraordinary stories in the Bible has to do with worship. The key verses that introduce this story are Genesis 22:1-2 “Some time later, God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’‘Here I am,’ he replied. Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’” Abraham received a call to worship. But what a shocking call it was! Can you imagine what Abraham must have thought and felt? “The God of love whom I serve, who has called me from the emptiness of a world that kills its young, is now commanding me to take my only son and sacrifice him.” And yet that was God’s call.
In every one of our lives, there is a call to worship much like Abraham’s. The call to worship that he received, alien as it seems, has a very real application to us. But to understand it, we need to look at the whole story.
Abraham followed the Lord, even with what seemed to be a tormenting vision of his only son slain on a pile of wood and going up in flames. His answer to the call brought him to a place called Moriah, where God directed that he go and offer the sacrifice. Genesis 22:9-12 says, “When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said, “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
The Bible tells us that the Lord provided another sacrifice, a ram, and it was offered in place of Isaac. And in the New Testament we read that Abraham was so persuaded about the faithful nature of God that he believed that if he did slay Isaac, God would raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). Abraham is called the father of the faith. And this faith is that of those who answer God’s call to worship. As it was with Abraham, so it is with us. If we answer God call to worship, there are certain things that will be required of us.
The first is that we’ll be called to a new place with Him. He calls us to a new place in following Him, by responding to His call to worship Him in a way we’ve never learned before. Second, we are called to surrender to God’s claims. As Isaac belonged to Abraham, there are things in our lives that are our “children.” Maybe it’s a project or goal, or our plans for the future, or our actual children, or our monetary resources. Many times the Lord will call us to surrender those things that are at the heart of our aspirations and dreams.
But we’re afraid, we want to hold on to things. If we press on, we always discover that His true nature is never to destroy what He created us to be, but rather to release in us what has always been His highest intention. Abraham discovered that God’s will was to take away Abraham fears. It resulted in a fresh revelation of God’s nature: His goodness, mercy and grace.
As we come in worship, we find God’s nature revealed in fresh, new ways. God calls us to worship not to exploit us, but to expose our fears and remove them. And as we answer that call, we are introduced to the discovery of our “very great reward” (Gen. 15:1). Gen. 22:15-18 tells us that the Lord blessed Abraham in response to his faithfulness. We, likewise, find that we are blessed in response to answering the call to worship. Even to the act of worship called “giving.” The very things that we were afraid of losing are often the things that the Lord promises to multiply and bless abundantly.
Let’s finish our goal, replace our sound system, and watch God bless us, and our church.
Pastor
Bart
ScheduleforSunday,August4,2024:
The Saints Class @ 9:00 AM Room #201
Ruth Class @ 9:00 AM Room #202
Prayer Room open @ 9:00 AM Room #206
Preschool Worship opens @ 10:15 AM KID CITY
Sunday Morning Worship @ 10:30 AM in Worship Center
Kidz4Christ (K-6th) dismissed during Morning Worship
Schedulefortherestoftheweek:
Tuesday@ 10:00 AM IMMERSE: Beginnings Men in Room #202
Women in Fellowship Hall @ 7:00 PM Deacons Meeting in Room #202
Wednesday@ 6:30 PM Youth Group in Fellowship Hall
Thursday@ 6:00 PM IMMERSE: Beginnings in Fellowship Hall
Saturday@ 2:00 PM Senior Care Home Ministry with our
Do you have skills in anything electronic, or are you interested in learning? We have an immediate need for help in our Sound Booth. Marc and team are doing a great job with this ministry, but they need help. We need at least one more person for weekly needs as well as to fill in for illness or vacation. Please contact Marc or Pastor Bart if you feel a nudge from the Holy Spirit that this is something you could do as a ministry for the Lord and for His Church here at First Southern.
Beginning this week: August 6th and 8th . Tuesdays @ 10 a.m. - Men in Room #202 & Women in Fellowship Hall
Thursdays @ 6 p.m. in Fellowship Hall - open to all Register on your Connection Card.
3380 N. Windsong Drive Prescott Valley, AZ
Senior Care Home Ministry Saturday, August 10th @ 2:00 PM. Contact Gene Moore @ 928-350-8789 to be involved.
Morning Worship at a Glance
“Majestic”
“Holy is the Lord”
“The Heart of Worship”
CREATION
Welcome & Offertory Prayer
Kidz4Christ dismissed
“Ah Lord God”
“In His Time”
“Fairest Lord Jesus”
BEGINNINGS
Immersing Our Lives in God’s Word A Crash Course on Creation and Worship
Genesis 1:31
“Fairest Lord Jesus”
“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”
2820 N. Pleasant View Drive
Prescott Valley, AZ 86314 928-772-7218
fsbcpv@firstsouthernpv.org www.firstsouthernpv.org
Church Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8:30AM - 2:30PM
Senior Pastor Terrell Eldreth: 619-244-6265
PastorTerrell@firstsouthernpv.org
Worship Pastor Bart Young 928-254-8713
PastorBart@firstsouthernpv.org
Offerings and Connection Cards will be collected in the Offering Boxes located just inside the two main entrances into our Worship Center, as well as in the Office Hallway.
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