Hot Dog Song

Pastor Tom Wallace shares an event that took place in his church, Bible Baptist Church in Elkton, Maryland.

"The Sunday morning service was just ready to begin when in came a man who had never attended our church before. He looked around with awe and amazement at the great number of people packed into the large auditorium.

He came slowly down the aisle looking from side to side and seated himself on the second row from the front.

As I preached he listened with the keenest of interest.

When the invitation time came, I said, "Now how many of you are not saved, but you would like to be, and you want us to pray for you? Will you raise your hand?"

He shot up his hand and waved it back and forth persistently until he was sure I had seen it.

When I asked those who would claim Christ to come forward, he literally bounced out and darted to the altar.

He stood stiff and erect.

I asked, "Sir, do you believe that Christ died to save sinners?"

"Yes, Sir. I want to do just that," he said rejoicing, with a beam of triumph about him.

When he came into the baptistry, I dropped him into the water and out again to walk in newness of life.

He came up out of the water clapping his hands, and shouting, "Hot dog, hot dog, hot dog!"

Our people roared with laughter.

I quickly asked them for silence as I explained that this poor man had not been around the church and didn't know about "Amen, Praise the Lord, and Hallelujah"; his word was "Hot dog," and he was praising the Lord with the only vocabulary he knew.

QUESTION: When was the last time you or I got that excited about our worship of the Lord?

As a pastor, I hear a lot of complaints from professing Christians on why they don’t come to church, and often the response is, “Church is plain boring.”

Gladys Dunn

Gladys Dunn was new in town and decided to visit the church nearest to her new apartment.

She appreciated the pretty sanctuary and the music by the choir, but the sermon went on and on. Worse, it wasn't very interesting.

Glancing around, she saw many in the congregation nodding off.

Finally it was over.

After the service, she turned to a still sleepy-looking gentleman next to her, extended her hand and said, "I'm Gladys Dunn."

I’ll be honest with you. I’ve preached sermons before where people surely must have thought, “glad it’s done.”

But listening to boring sermons isn’t the reason you and I come to church, is it?

We should be here to honor and praise His Majesty, His Holiness.

In fact, there is no other better reason to come to church than to give our thanksgiving and praise to Him

When you and I come to church, we should be so full of anticipation of praising God, that we can’t help but shout “hot dog” with all our being!!

King David knew what it meant to praise God!

Before David, when Saul was king, the Philistines had won a major battle against Israel and captured the ark of the covenant, the ornamented chest the people had made for God representing a symbol of His Presence.

Years came and went, Saul died on the battlefield, and David became King.

God blessed David. David led Israel's army to attack and conquer the Philistine army and recapture the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark was left at the household of Obed-Edom for a brief time, before it’s return to Jerusalem.

I wish I could have been there. There was some kind of celebration!

2 Samuel 6:14-15

David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

UNDERSTAND, DAVID DIDN’T JUST HALF-HEARTEDLY PRAISE THE LORD!

HE WAS DANCING!

HE WAS SHOUTING, AND CARRYING ON.

AND DAVID WASN’T THE ONLY ONE DOING CARTWHEELS IN THE STREETS THAT DAY.

“THE ENTIRE HOUSE OF ISRAEL” WERE SHOUTING AND BLASTING THEIR TRUMPETS!

Question: What are you implying, pastor? That we start dancing in the aisles, shouting “hot dogs” and carrying on like that?

No, but I truly believe you and I need get more excited about praising and worshipping God then we have been.

.

We need to begin afresh enjoying His presence

David penned a song. a "how to's" manual on praising the Lord. It could very well be nicknamed the “hot dog” song, for praising God is what it’s about.

It exhorts believers to get excited about the goodness of their Lord.

Psalm 100 is also a Thanksgiving psalm, as its title states:

Psalm 100:1