Thanksgiving Worship

Thanksgiving Worship

1 Chronicles 16:7-36

November 23, 2003

Intro:

A. Welcome to our Thanksgiving Worship at Somerset Church!

B. [Getting Around to God, Citation: Joel Gregory, "The Unlikely Thanker," Preaching Today, Tape No. 110.]

One Thanksgiving season a family was seated around their table, looking at the annual holiday bird. From the oldest to the youngest, they were to express their praise. When they came to the 5-year-old in the family, he began by looking at the turkey and expressing his thanks to the turkey, saying although he had not tasted it he knew it would be good. After that rather novel expression of thanksgiving, he began with a more predictable line of credits, thanking his mother for cooking the turkey and his father for buying the turkey. But then he went beyond that. He joined together a whole hidden multitude of benefactors, linking them with cause and effect.

He said, "I thank you for the checker at the grocery store who checked out the turkey. I thank you for the grocery store people who put it on the shelf. I thank you for the farmer who made it fat. I thank you for the man who made the feed. I thank you for those who brought the turkey to the store."

Using his Columbo-like little mind, he traced the turkey all the way from its origin to his plate. And then at the end he solemnly said "Did I leave anybody out?"

His 2-year-older brother, embarrassed by all those proceedings, said, "God."

Solemnly and without being flustered at all, the 5-year-old said, "I was about to get to him."

Well, isn’t that the question about which we ought to think at Thanksgiving time? Are we really going to get to him this Thanksgiving?

C. Today we are going to do things just a little bit different than we usually do.

1. We are going to look at a Psalm of David.

2. However, this Psalm of David is recorded in 1 Chronicles 16.

3. There is another version of it recorded in Psalm 105, but I want to look at the one recorded in 1 Chronicles 16 today.

4. David wrote this Psalm after they finally brought the ark back to Jerusalem.

5. It had been carried away many years before.

6. David attempted to get it back in chapter 14 and they didn’t do it right and somebody died because of it.

7. But in chapter 16, they finally read the Bible and learned how it was supposed to be moved and they were successful the second time.

8. Verse 7 says David first gave this Psalm to the choir director, Asaph, on that day.

9. Today I want us to walk through this psalm of thanks to the Lord.

I. Give Thanks to the Lord

1 Chronicles 16:7-8 (NIV), That day David first committed to Asaph and his associates this psalm of thanks to the LORD: 8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

A. [Coget children: responsive reading, “Praise, Love and Thanks” from Psalm 118:29; Revelation 7:12 (NIV)]

Amber: Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

Rachel: Praise and glory and wisdom

Rebekah: and thanks and honor

Alan: and power and strength be to our God

Andrew: Forever and ever. Amen!

B. The Hebrew word for thanks here is “Yadah”-to throw, cast, confess, to revere or worship

1. It means the openness of the hand after it has thrown something.

2. We are going to throw thanksgiving to God today!

3. That is what we are here to do today.

4. Today I want us to actually get around to God.

5. Today, four days before Thanksgiving Day, we are going to give thanks to God!

6. We are going to call on His name.

7. We are going to make know what He has done.

C. Let’s pause for a moment right now and call on His name. [Prayer]

II. Sing to Him

1 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV), Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

A. When it says to sing praise to Him it means to sing and play music.

1. It means to touch the strings.

2. David is saying that we should throw thanksgiving to God and then with our open hands we are to make music to God.

3. Touch the instruments and praise Him for all His wonderful acts.

4. Clap your hands.

5. Play the piano.

6. Play the tambourine.

7. Play the harmonica.

8. Celebrate in song and music our wonderful God.

B. Cecil and the choir are going to come and get our blood flowing with a few songs of thanksgiving.

III. Glory in His Name