Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Psalms 101

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

Thanksgiving is a special time of year. Living in North America there are many reasons to count our blessings with a smile on our face and joy in our hearts. For most thanksgiving is a time of meeting family and having an all you can eat buffet of turkey, ham, potatoes and stuffing smothered in a mountain of gravy, with side dishes of cranberry sauce, corn, beans, pickles and rolls; topped off with apple, lemon, cherry and blueberry pies! And if the food was not enough to get us to smile certainly catching up on the stories of loved ones and getting hugs from them certainly will! As we look upon our thanksgiving feast, we can’t help but thank God that we live in a time of relative peace and in a country whose people have more “stuff” than they could ever unpack or use! While it is important to thank God for our families and material possessions how much more important is it to thank our Creator for His existence and undying love to sustain our very lives? This sermon is going to review four steps to giving grateful praise to God: serving God with joy, knowing the Lord as our Shepherd, entering His gates with thanksgiving and remembering that his love and faithfulness endures forever!

Serving God with Joy (verses 1-2)

Illustration: It is at this point that I played a 30 second clip of each of the following songs:

“Another Brick in the Wall” by Pink Floyd

“Hallelujah” by Kate Voegele

“Amazing Grace” – Guy Penrod

“Nessun Dorma,” America’s Got Talent 2019

“God’s Country,” Blake Shelton

“The Thrill is Gone,” B.B. King

“Living Well,” Signum Regis

“MUCH of the sweetness of music lies in the ear to which it is addressed. There are mysterious sweetnesses and unknown harmonies which lurk amid the notes, and are detected only by the ear attuned to melody. The song in itself may embody the soul of delight, and yet it may be misery itself to the ear which is not in tune therewith.”

Charles Spurgeon

While some of the songs had your foot tapping, heart racing and tongue flapping other songs were irritating and you were grateful when the 30 second clip ended! When we hear a musical genre that we don’t like we simply change the station. The same is true when it comes to which kingdom that we want to serve in. For those whom have been given over to their reprobate minds (Romans 1:28) the mere thought of walking in the footsteps of Christ (1 John 2:6) makes them want to shout with Pink Floyd, “Hey Teacher leave those kids alone.” The spirit of this age is too much that of Pharaoh whom asked: “who is the Lord that I should obey his voice?” Their love of the ways of this world has made many people at best case indifferent to God’s existence and at worst loath even the thought of bowing their knee to a Being that restricts their freedom to live drunk in the sins of their stone, black filled hearts! When offered the “life music” that is filled with love, peace, obedience and grace they simply turn the channel back to the broad path where “self” and gratification are their gods!

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs (verses 1-2)

In sharp contrast with unbelievers, serving the Lord is a “delightful sonnet” for those whom have received the Spirit and mind of Christ (Ephesians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 2:16)! When we think about “worship” we tend to think about singing songs of praise and reading our Bible but the kind of worship the Psalmist has in mind also includes service that honors God’s gift of life by becoming a living sacrifice unto Him (Romans 12:1)! This means that the words read or sung concerning God are done so with joy and gratitude that is so intense that the submission of the heart to the rule of God becomes the basis in which all steps and decisions are made (James 1:22-25). Those who come into the presence of God shout out their allegiance and celebrate the grace they have received. They are not timid or lukewarm pretenders of the faith but are ambassadors and royal priests of the most High God and as such will not allow anything or anyone stop them from sharing the treasure or pearl they have found to the fallen of this world (Revelation 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:20; 1 Peter 2:9). And when it comes to obedience all requests from God are welcomed for it truly is an honor to have one’s filthy rages (Isaiah 64:6) washed white as snow!

Knowing the Lord as our Shepherd (verse 3)