Psalm 150
1 – Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 – Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 – Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 – praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
5 – praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 – Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
TO ALL YE PILGRIMS
“Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; now, I , your magistrate do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November ye 29th of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor, and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.”
Four days from now we will celebrate THANKSGIVING—that day set aside every year to acknowledge that all blessings in life come from God. And, as you know, this tradition began back in 1623 when, after a perilous ocean voyage and years of hardship and hunger, those pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts stopped to thank God for their first harvest. Listen to the declaration made 375 years ago by the governor of the Plymouth Colony, William Bradford.
I think Bradford made this proclamation because he new that his people needed a tangible reminder that all the good they enjoyed had come from God above. They needed to be encouraged to stop and thank God—because thankfulness doesn’t always come naturally to us. Often when things go good in life we take the credit or thank our lucky stars. Perhaps this is why someone once said that “all nations grow odious in prosperity” They forget the source of their good fortune. Well, in each of the six verses of our text the psalmist reminds us as we enter another Thanksgiving season that there is Someone to whom we should give thanks every day.
Look at verse one: “Praise the Lord…..Praise God in His sanctuary….Praise Him in of His mighty heavens…” Note that each of the first five verses begins with “Praise Him.” and verse 6 closes with “Praise ye the Lord.” The Psalmist uses repetition to emphasize that God is the source behind all our abundant blessings. Well, today we are doing things a little bit different because like Governor Bradford, I feel we as a church need to stop and say Thanks to God. We need to heed the exhortation of the Psalmist and give PRAISE to our Heavenly Father! He has blessed us with amazing bounty in the past year.
Since last fall we have seen nearly 90 people join our church. Our finances are amazingly healthy thanks to God’s provision. We have been able to do nearly $100,000 worth of capitol improvements….not to mention the new van God has provided. He has guided a new staff member to minister to our youth and their families. He has helped us to understand our uniqueness as a church by giving us a new purpose statement. We’ve seen dozens of people come to faith in Christ through our missions efforts both here in Montgomery County and as far away as Matamoros, Mexico. Our fellowship is healthy and strong. We love one another around here! And all of this good is due to God’s great faithfulness to us so I think it is important for us to remember that and to acknowledge it in worship. Hebrews 12:28 encourages us to, “….be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”
We are here in this meeting place today to think and thank….to remember all that God has given us and to thank Him for it. So today instead of a sermon—a time of hearing what God has to say to us—.I want us to turn the tables and make this a time for God to hear what we have to say to Him. We are taking this portion of our service and make it into a time of prayer in which we say, “Thank You, God for all Your blessings!” Six individuals have prepared prayers for that purpose. Let us now enter a time of conversational prayer communicating together with God eyes and ears open as we hear these prayers of thanks and offer our own. They will come in the order that they are printed in the bulletin. Between each prayer we will sing together a song of thanks and then after these prayers we will pause to give us all a chance to offer our own thanks to God. So, now let us pray.
Heavenly Father, Hear now the prayers of Your people….
1. SUZANNE ANDERSON
Father, we gather today in a spirit of worship to thank you for the blessings you bestow on us. We come here from many different places. Some of us come with hearts brimming with gratitude for the abundance of good things in our lives; day-by-day aware of your blessings and presence. Some of us come with empty and pained hearts, out of obedience, knowing in our heads you bless us, but not feeling your blessings in our hearts or seeing them in our lives. We come together, as a community of faith, to thank you. We have cried and laughed together, studied your Word and shared our faith together.
We have dared to share with one another our hopes, and our despair, our dreams, and our disappointments. We have walked life’s road together and woven the fabric of our lives together in this body of Christ. Therefore, we now assemble our thanks together. In Ecclesiastes 3 you remind us that . . .For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: There is a time to be born, and a time to die; Father we cherish all the fresh new promises of physical birth. Likewise, we cherish the promise of being new spiritual creatures in Christ. We thank you for finality, endings and death, even when they elude our understanding. Somehow they have a place in this chaotic world. Thank you, that when life ceases, you prepare an eternal place for each of your children in your loving presence. There is a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; We thank you for the simple things that we so often take for granted, the rising and setting of the sun, spring flowers and fall leaves, rain showers and morning dew.
There is a time to kill, and a time to heal; Help us to die to self, Lord, and put to death all that displease you in our lives. Thank you for healing us, both from our physical wounds and emotional scars. The scars we carry deep inside are hidden from everyone but you. You heal us and nurture us when we don’t even know we are in need of your grace. There is a time to break down, and a time to build up; Father, thank you for breaking us, and molding us, using us and filling us with your Spirit. There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh; Thank you for the height of joy and the depth of sorrow. Our emotions are gifts from you with which we praise you, and relate to our sisters and brothers in the experiences of life. There is a time to mourn, and a time to dance; We thank you for lovingly listening when our wordless cries of grief never seem to cease, and for gently drying each tear. And we thank you for carrying us through our valleys of darkness until we are ready to celebrate life again. There is a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; We thank you for your provision of food on our tables, a roof to shelter us, a pillow on which to lay our head and places to serve you and our brothers and sisters in this world. Thank you for reminding us that there is a time to gather these gifts and there is a time to let them go. There is a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; We thank you for the people you have placed in our livesùour family, friends, co-workers and this church family. Help us to know when to hold close those who are dear, and when to set them free. There is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Thank you for discernment when to keep silent and listen to each other, and when to speak and share words of testimony, words of truth difficult to hear, or words of love and encouragement. There is a time to love, and a time to hate; Thank you for the gift of love. The gift of your love for us as our Father. The gift of love we have for each other. The lessons of love we learn as we choose to selflessly love another without expecting anything in return. Thank you for giving your people the capacity to hate those things which are despicable and vile to you. There is a time for war, and a time for peace. Thank you that there is a time to fight for what we believe and for what is important and for reminding us that there are times to sow peace instead of our own self-righteousness. Father, we thank you for the seasons of our lives and your presence in each. Moreover, we thank you Father for the gift of your son who, through his incarnation, understands our humanity and gave himself as an atoning sacrifice for this sinful humanity. This is your ultimate blessing. We are humbled by the breadth and depth of your love and the blessings you give us. We are not worthy to receive your goodness, but through your grace we are healed and in you, are brought to the fullness of life in all of its seasons. Amen.
2. TAD WEHUNT
If you’ve never heard the mountains singing, or seen the trees of the field clapping their hands, do not think because of that they don’t. Ask God to open your ears so you may hear it, and your eyes so you may see it, because, though few people ever know, they do. Some people will one day stand before God and try to excuse their lack of belief by saying, “I never knew you because I never went to church.””Nonsense,” God will probably reply, “Did you never take a walk, look into the star-spangled sky, or watch a tree catch fire at sunset? I surrounded you 24 hours a day with evidence of my love and glory. You were just too busy to notice.”
Lord, I thank you for the opportunity to hear the mountains song, and see the trees in action in numerous places in your beautiful world. From the North Albanian Alps to the Flathead Alps of Northwestern Montana. The Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Bighorn Canyon, Chaco Canyon, Palo Duro Canyon, and the Grand Canyon. Your evidence is overwhelming. I thank you for the Grand Teton, Glacier Bay, and the Glacier National Park. For the big belt buckles, bass fishin’ and big grizzly bears, especially the one that didn’t run me over, of the Bob Marshall Wilderness and for the Badlands of South Dakota. For the Smokey Mountains and the Shenendoah valley. The Black Mountains of North Carolina and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. And, Lord, sitting atop Beartooth Pass at 11,000 feet, I realized that just like these views, which are breath-taking, moving, powerful, unparalleled, awe-inspiring, strong, vast and boundless, so is your love for me. Today, I thank you. Not only are these places evidence of your love and glory, but they are places where we can go to hear your still, small voice. As soft as a forest breeze, as silently as a cloud sailing in the sky. I thank you for these places where we can get away; to shut out the high-decibel sounds of people, traffic, and music; that we may again hear the sounds of Your silence so deep within our hearts. And most of all, dear Father, I thank You for Yourself; the King of all kings, Author of love, Giver of life beyond life, and hope in despair. For these things and easily a hundred thousand others, I offer this prayer.
3. GLADYS MCLAIN
Heavenly Father, at this time of the year we are reminded of the early settlers at Plymouth Rock and it gives us a special opportunity to pause and count our blessings. We have not suffered the freezing cold, the struggles and devastation faced by those pioneers. We who receive countless blessings each day — beyond that we can even think or ask — come to You today not to ask for more blessings, Lord, although we count daily on Your boundless love. We have come to tell You how much we adore You. Such a God of love, mercy and grace deserves our praise and thanksgiving. You are so worthy to be praised. Grant us, Lord, Your forgiveness for our selfishness — we who are fully clothed, fed and sheltered — we who waste so much of the earth’s bounties in this great land — the greatest on earth. There is no way to repay You, Lord, but we offer ourselves to You today. Help us to see the hungry, the poor, the sick, the orphaned, the homeless, the troubled, the imprisoned, and in seeing them have our hearts opened to meet their needs as we become aware. As the autumn leaves fall to the earth, Heavenly Father, they remind us of the showers of blessings that have fallen on us. Your blessings are as varied as the colors of the leaves in this wonderful masterpiece You paint each fall. The yellow leaves appear to represent the sunny and bright blessings
of our daily lives, the simple pleasures, the thank yous and the I love yous, the things we often take for granted, the bright morning sun to which we awaken and which gives us hope for a glorious new day, the smiles of our loved ones, the extended hand of a friend, the joy of our salvation and our walk with You, the prayers of the righteous, a church that loves You and whose members love each other, the peaceful rest from our labors each night, the laughter of a child, beautiful music that cheers our hearts. The green leaves remind us of daily opportunities for growth, growth in body, mind and spirit, opportunities to study Your Word and to gain spiritual insight and guidance for the day, opportunities for mending a broken relationship, reconciliation of a husband and wife, sitting at the feet of the local shepherd You have sent our way, teachers who prepare to share Your Word each week, the many opportunities we have to serve You each day. The red leaves remind us of the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the privilege we have to serve Him , the gift of eternal life, the joy of worshiping You and of having fellowship with Your children around the world and right here at Redland. We thank You, Lord. The brown leaves, sometimes cracked and crumbling, remind us of the areas of weariness in our lives watching a friend or family member suffer from the ravages of cancer and the therapies that are often so painful the suffering from depression, the distress of parents with an ailing child, seeing an older child stray from the teaching of a godly parent, witnessing a marriage crumble, family members mourning their beloved, natural disasters about the world. To paraphrase the song writer: We should be thankful for the mountains, the valleys and the storms of life. For if we never experienced those things, we would never know that You could solve the problems associated with those experiences and we would never know what faith in You could do. You have told us, Lord, in Your Word to give thanks in all things –and try as we may — often it is difficult to us to understand these words when we go through the valley and the shadow of death — But we recognize, Lord, You are the wise One, the Alpha and Omega who knows the beginning from the end and we trust You to see us through every circumstance. We give You thanks for Your strength and for making Your strength perfect in our weakness. In Jesus Name. Amen.
4. Dan & Jan Geissing
Dear Lord, we are gathered here this morning to give thanks. And we have so much to be thankful for. We recognize you this morning as our good and gracious God. While we have much for which to give thanks, we recognize first and foremost your great and precious gift of salvation. There is nothing that we have here on this earth that compares to having you as our Lord and Savior. Father, You have taken us from being dead in our trespasses and sins and have restored us into a right relationship with you through Jesus. Nothing is so precious to us as our oneness with you and our anticipation of spending eternity with you. It is from this perspective that we also then give thanks to you for all of the other blessing that our ours from your good and gracious hand. We give you thanks for guiding us. We know your hand has been upon us, and you have shown us the paths to take. We have made decision this year on jobs, you have directed our way. We have made decisions this year on where to live; you have directed our path. We have made decisions this year on retirement, you have given us your wisdom. We give you thanks for our families and our close relationships. Those who are wives thank you for husbands, we who are husbands , thank you for our wives. We thank you for our children, for our parents, for our relatives and other close friends. As we recognize the blessedness of family, it gives us a glimpse of what it means that you are our Father and that we are part of your family. We thank you for your protection and health. We can see, we can hear, we can walk, we can smell, we can think We know this year O Lord that Satan and this world have conspired against us; sometimes in ways we know and at other times in ways we don’t know. But you have sent your angles to surround us and protect us. You let nothing happen to us without your knowledge. We ask for your help for those times when the outcome is not what we have wanted. We can do nothing in those times but to trust in you and know your hand of blessing has not departed but is still holding us fast.
And you have blessed us with great wealth; we lack for nothing Father. We have places to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, opportunities for recreation. We know all we have is from you and we pray for wisdom in our stewardship and rsponsibility for all that has come from your gracious hand. We thank you for our church. We thank you for our faithful pastor Mark and how he has brought us your word of truth and has cared for us as a loving shepherd. We thank you for Tom and how he helps bring us closer to you through times of worship and times of praise and thru songs of rejoicing. We thank you for bringing Steve to us Lord and for the things that have and are happening with our youth. And we thank you for the other staff that serve here so faithfully; you have blessed us with their skills and dedication. We thank you for our country. What a great county we have O Lord and we know it is of your doing. We have freedom and liberty unmatched in the world. We have strength, we have resources for our good . We have beauty in our mountains, our seas, our plains, our farms, our cities. Even as we thank you for this Lord, we are aware of our great responsibility in how we act as a nation, how we use our resources for good, and how you call us to live righteously in our land. May we, as your people, be the best examples of what a good citizen should be. Father, the things for which we have thanked you are but a small fraction of the praises that are due you. We could raise our songs of thanksgiving all day and not even get started. And Father, we know there are many more ways you have blessed us that are beyond our knowing. Your hand is on us even when we are not aware of it. And we look forward to the day when we will be in heaven with you and can sit next to you and look back at those myriad of additional blessing for which we are presently unaware. And in so doing Lord, our praise and songs of thanksgiving will multiply even more.
In Jesus name Amen.
5. BOB MICHAEL
Father God, in this season of Thanksgiving, I am thankful our Father that you have guided me to this Church and placed me among people of like faith and devotion to you. I am thankful for the leadership in this Church, for your servants Mark, and Tom and Steve and a faithful staff that daily does your work and seeks your face. I am grateful Father God for a congregation that not only hears your word but seeks to do your word. Your Word lays before this Congregation, a Great Commission that we should go out in the world and spread your Word to all nations and all people. I am grateful Father God for the people in this Church who respond to your commandment by donating their money, their goods, their time, and their love in participating in the many outreach opportunities that are present here.
I am especially grateful Father for the opportunity this last year to serve you in such a direct and hands on way in Matamoros, Mexico. I praise and exalt your name Father God in the way this congregation has responded to your Great Commission in the prayers, words of encouragement and support, and financial sacrifice in supporting this outreach ministry. I am thankful Our God for those who were willing to leave their homes, sacrifice their time, risk illness and disease, and step out of their comfort zones to represent You to the people in Matamoros, Mexico. I am grateful, God, for the privilege and opportunity to serve you in such a direct and meaningful way. I am grateful Father for this opportunity to lay aside all of the normal pressures and demands on my life which so often seem to push You out and which so often seem to leave so little time for my relationship with you. So Father God, I am grateful for this opportunity, even though for a brief period, in which I can lay aside all of my other many responsibilities and duties to spend time doing Your work in a way that I know pleases You.
And I am grateful Lord for the lessons that this opportunity teaches about how lucky we are in Montgomery County, Maryland, for the abundant provisions you have made for us. I am grateful Lord that I can raise my children in a place where they have clean and healthy water, where they can go to school and be educated, where life is not a constant struggle just to stay alive, and where my children have the freedom and the knowledge to worship You. And I am grateful Lord that this experience has become the basis for spiritual growth in my own heart not only for the people in Matamoros, Mexico, but also the people in my own community and in my own church who are of different races and skin color. I thank you God that you have used this opportunity to break through the barriers of my mind and spirit to teach me more of the lessons that you want your children to understand-. Red and yellow, black and white, we are all precious in Jesus’ sight.
Now it is your chance to join in this time of thanks-praying. As the instrumentalists continue to play let us now bow our heads and all thank God., praying together at the same time softly but audibly….
And all God’s people said….A-MEN!