'to Every Generation'

SERMON OUTLINE:

#1: A call to worship (Vs 1-3).

•Shout (vs 1)

•Sing (vs 2)

•Remember (vs 3)

#2: A call to thanksgiving (Vs 4-5).

•Be full of awe!

•Be full of Gratitude!

•Be full of praise.

SERMON BODY:

• There are 150 songs/poems in the book called Psalms.

• The Jewish hymn book of the Bible.

• Out of this great anthology of Psalms,

• Psalm 100 is unique,

• It is exceptional because it is entirely a "Psalm of Praise."

• There is not one single note of sadness in the entire Psalm.

• This Psalm is ablaze with gratitude and thanksgiving.

• It is an appeal for everyone to gratefully worship the Lord.

Ill:

• Photo: Anyone know who this is?

• Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist,

• A short-story writer, poet, and novelist.

• His works include, Jungle Book, (1895), Kim (1901),

• The Just So Stories (1902) and many short stories,

• Including The Man Who Would Be King (1888)

• Joke: And if I say so myself,

• “He made exceedingly good cakes!”

• (one for the oldies)

• On one occasion,

• A newspaper reporter came up to Rudyard Kipling,

• And said,

"Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over a hundred dollars a word.”

• Rudyard Kipling raised his eyebrows and said,

• "Really, I wasn’t aware of that."

• The reporter then cynically put his hand into his pocket,

• And pulled out a $100 dollar bill and gave it to Kipling.

• He said,

"Here’s a hundred-dollar bill, now,

you give me one of your hundred-dollar words."

• Kipling looked at the $100 dollar bill for a moment,

• He took it and folded it up and put it in his pocket,

• And said one word, "Thanks."

• TRANSITION: Bang on Mr Kipling,

• Because ‘Thanks’ is a $100 dollar or a £100 word.

• It is a word people don’t say often enough!

• And ‘thankfulness,’

• Is an attitude that is desperately missing in our world!

Well, this Psalm has the title 'A Psalm, for giving thanks.'

• Now many of the other Psalms instruct us to give thanks to the Lord.

• i.e. Psalm 118 uses the word 'thanks' more than any other Psalm.

• Yet Psalm 100 is the only Psalm,

• That is explicitly identified as 'A Psalm for giving thanks'.

• i.e. Some Bibles have it as a title to this Psalm.

IF YOU WANT A QUICK OVERVIEW.

• Psalm 100 contains seven great imperatives,

• Seven instructions in giving praise.

• i.e. Verse 1: “Shout” (NIV) or “Make.” (KJB)

• i.e. Verse 2a: “Worship” (NIV) or “Serve.” (KJB)

• i.e. Verse 2b: “Come.”

• i.e. Verse 3: “Know.”

• i.e. Verse 6: “Enter.”

• i.e. Verse 4b: “Give thanks.”

• i.e. Verse 4c: “Praise” (NIV) or “Bless.” (KJB)

• Note: The simplest outline to the Psalm is.

• That it divides into two parts:

• Verses 1-3: A call to worship.

• Verses 4-5: A call to thanksgiving.

• Let’s have a general look,

• And then we will go back to the two sections,

• And have a more detailed look.

General look #1: A call to worship (Vs 1-3).

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness.

come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his.

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”

• The experts tell us that this Psalm,

• Was probably sung in Jerusalem outside of the temple.

• The people gathered outside of the temple.

• And then the priest (or worship leader) gave the instructions,

• To the people,

• Who were to turn their back on the temple,

• And face the directions from which they had come from,

• Then they were to shout to the nations and invite them,

• No! Command them to come!

• From, “All the earth.” or to the "Ends of the earth."

• To come and to worship the true God.

• To come and publicly & declare; That “The Lord is God".

• "That the Lord (him alone) is God".

Ill:

• Can you imagine doing that tomorrow when you meet.

• Stand around this building.

• And call out to the houses all around.

• “Come and worship” the living God.

Ill:

• With the introduction of Mosques in the UK,

• In many major cities like Birmingham etc.

• The people hear the 'adhan' the Islamic call to prayer.

Ill:

• The Church of England had bells,

• Their main function was to call worshippers to the church,

• For a service of worship.