Text: Psalm 100
A Psalm for giving thanks.
1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
On this Trinity Sunday (Weekend) we look to the hope that is our one true God who has revealed himself as one divine essence, but also as three unique and coequal persons … Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
We all love a joyful noise and a joyful noise is proclaimed to our God through singing, as was just proclaimed in the singing of the sermon hymn, The King of Love My Shepherd Is.
We sing of God’s goodness that never fails and our lacking nothing that we need, because he provides for all of body and soul in this life and in the life to come. The Father’s love is made known to us in his Son who hold’s us in the palm of his hands promising never to lose a single one – I am his and he is mine – forever!
This joy is yours and mine by the work of God’s Spirit. He points, directs and comforts so that we serve those in need joyfully and with glad hearts. A friend’s dad, Bill Wilstermann, once told me after church many years ago:
“When I’m feeling down and things seem to be going wrong I go and do something nice for someone and I feel a whole lot better!”
Come into his presence with singing!
We have a Call to Worship at 10:30. Maybe you know that and maybe you don’t. We sing it together with joyful hearts. Some unfortunately, have got in the habit of coming late - maybe getting here by greeting time or the opening hymn – You may miss a beautiful prelude before service and it’s not uncommon to have 15 people in the pews at the call to worship and 45 or more standing for the Closing hymn. Come for the call to worship, sing joyfully … you’ll be glad you did!
3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
To know the Lord is to know our Triune God as he has revealed himself to us through his word. God speaks to us through his word. His word read, sung and meditated upon reveals who he is and his love for us. The Spirit shines the light on Christ, the word made flesh, for you and me. We know him by his word and through the word he continues to be made known.
Matthew 11:28 King James Version (KJV)
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
John 3:16 King James Version (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Romans 6:23 King James Version (KJV)
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
At times I need to read the old King James for the majesty to conveys. As Judy Harroun has said of the late seminary Professor John Saleska who, having memorized much of the KJV bible, it is what will be spoken in heaven! The beginning and end of Reverend Saleska’s obituary speaks of his hope.
Rev. John Saleska, 87, whom God adopted as his own beloved child at his Baptism, now rests with Jesus, where he is waiting with all of us for the Resurrection that God promised him in Christ.
Revelation 21:4 King James Version (KJV)
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Dear friends, this is our Triune Gods hope for you and me as well!
No tears, no death, no sorrow, no crying, no pain … all gone.
We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. The Psalmist reminds us.
The Lord’s sheep know the shepherd and by the Holy Spirit we are his and know him. But like sheep we wonder from the truth.
Ill.
Dr. Andrew Bonar told how, in the Highlands of Scotland, a sheep would often wander off into the rocks and get into places that they couldn't get out of. The grass on these mountains is very sweet and the sheep like it, and they will jump down ten or twelve feet, and then they can't jump back again, and the shepherd hears them bleating in distress. They may be there for days, until they have eaten all the grass. The shepherd will wait until they are so faint they cannot stand, and then they will put a rope around him, and he will go over and pull that sheep up out of the jaws of death. "Why don't they go down there when the sheep first gets there?" I asked. "Ah!" He said, "they are so very foolish they would dash right over the precipice and be killed if they did!" And that is the way with men; they won't [come] back to God till they have lost everything.
If you are a wanderer I tell you that the Good Shepherd will pursue you and bring you back when you have given up trying [go it your own way and let the Spirit turn you back to Christ.]
Moody's Anecdotes, pp. 70-71.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
John 1:11-13 English Standard Version (ESV)
11 He [Jesus] came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood [not who we are] nor of the will of the flesh [not the things we do] nor of the will of man, [or what others tell us we can do of ourselves] - but of God.
Born from above, born again, born of God!
You and I enter God’s presence with thanksgiving and praise by God’s work revealed in his son and the promise never fails. Hold on to it for dear life and proclaim it to your children and your grandchildren! Give them an example to model. Show your friends your faith and invite them to church. My friend Rob showed me the truth of God’s love in word and example. I in turn shared it with my friend Mark. Mark told me he went to the gas station for a coffee and the lady behind the counter who was African American had a cross around her neck. Mark who is Jewish said to her with his big Mark smile, “Are you my sister in the Lord?” She gave him a big smile and a hug.
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the LORD is good;
We who are broken in sin are made good in Christ.
From verse 4 of The King of Love My Shepherd Is:
In death’s dark vale I fear no ill with thee, dear Lord beside me.
Thy rod and staff my comfort sill, thy cross before to guide me. Vs 4
Christ’s cross and work for you and me - guide and lead - in times of sorrow and joy. Father, Son and Holy Spirit united in our life now and for eternity.
The prophet Jeremiah heard this comfort from the Lord directly.
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
We hear it in the word proclaimed.
Our God knows you and he knows me and he has numbered our days and appointed us here for this time and for this work. We proclaim Christ because it is his desire for us to do so. His love for us will never fade and we are his forever.
his steadfast love endures forever, - his love is never ending!
and his faithfulness to all generations. – it is his promise for all!
God is faithful. He will continue dear friends to pursue you all the days of your life. Do not flee like Jonah, do not despair as Judas did taking his own life, but turn back as Peter did and give ear as the apostle Paul did so that the Lord might make himself known in your life to those who need to hear!
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
In death’s dark vale I fear no ill with thee, dear Lord beside me.
Thy rod and staff my comfort sill, thy cross before to guide me. Vs 4
Christ’s cross and work for you and me - guide and lead - in times of sorrow and joy. Father, Son and Holy Spirit united in our life now and for eternity.
The prophet Jeremiah heard this comfort from the Lord directly.
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
We hear it in the word proclaimed.
Our God knows you and he knows me and he has numbered our days and appointed us here for this time and for this work. We proclaim Christ because it is his desire for us to do so. His love for us will never fade and we are his forever.
his steadfast love endures forever, - his love is never ending!
and his faithfulness to all generations. – it is his promise for all!
God is faithful. He will continue dear friends to pursue you all the days of your life. Do not flee like Jonah, do not despair as Judas did taking his own life, but turn back as Peter did and give ear as the apostle Paul did so that the Lord might make himself known in your life to those who need to hear!
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
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