Come Close, I’ll Tell You What God Has Done for Me
Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:8-20
Music, praise music in worship, praise music here in our sanctuary - that is so important for us each week. This church has been blessed with gifted music leaders for many years now. Our organ has been played, as have pianos and more recently keyboards. There’s also been a great many people who’ve sung in a choir, a cantata, or a praise band. Instruments have been played solo, or with others; within these walls there have been trumpets, guitars, drums, flutes, tambourines, violins, cellos, bells, and more. This morning we’re blessed to have Isabelle Layer here playing the piano. She’s helped lead us in our songs of praise and worship. Praising and worshipping God is today’s theme.
I loved discovering that this week’s Scripture lessons included Psalm 66. That psalm praises God for His provision in the past, His presence each day and his help in the future. In other words, God’s got us covered. God is with us and for us. The psalm describes how God delights in us when we’re faithful, but God will help us (if we’re willing) when we’re foolish, doubting, or doing things we know are wrong.
The author of this psalm and many others was David, whom we’re told was a shepherd as a young man. That meant he spent months at a time out in fields, tending sheep, without much in the way of distractions. He was a man of faith, who used that time in his life to compose Hebrew poetry. He must have taken scrolls with him during his travels; perhaps he wrote in the early hours of the day, as the sun rose over the horizon. But David did more than that: God gifted him with the ability to compose music for his poetry and play stringed instruments. I wonder if he did that at night, under a starlit sky.
David continued to praise and worship God over the years. When Saul was king, he often called on David to sing and play for him, because it comforted his troubled heart. When David himself became king, he led his nation well some of the time, but he also failed in his leadership and personal life. Through it all he continued to write psalms and put them to music.
The psalms are one of the most well-loved sections of the Bible; people find they can relate to them. David was brutally honest about his pain; he expressed his doubts and he admitted when he’d lost all hope. But when he emerged out of dark times, he thanked God profusely. His joy was uncontainable - he radiated faith in God. The whole spectrum of what a person can feel and go through is captured in David’s writings. If you haven’t spent much time reading the psalms, or you haven’t done so recently, I encourage you to do that soon. You’ll be glad you did!
I want to share a good definition of what “worship” means. It’s what we do when we come to church, but it’s probably not something most of us stop and analyze. Here’s a simple definition: worship is reverent love and devotion of God. Here’s a longer description shared by A.W. Tozer: “Worship is feeling in your heart and expressing in your being - with humility and delight - your awe, wonder, and overpowering love of God.”
In Psalm 66 David talks about two ways we can worship God. We can praise and worship God individually or in the company of others. There’s all manner of ways we can worship; God is pleased with them all when they come from a sincere heart. We can worship God in our singing. We have not just one hymn book, but two with hundreds of songs for all sorts of occasions. We also use contemporary music. We use a wide range of songs because we each have our favorites.
Another form of worship, one we don’t often use as a congregation but tend to do when we’re alone, is to commune with God in silence. Many people love to walk and use that quiet time to be with God. Being out in nature in general often inspires people to silently praise and thank God. Another form of worship that can be done silently or aloud is prayer. We may pray by ourselves or join with others and pray.
One more way we can worship God is to use our bodies. Who has ever clapped along or tapped their toes when worship music was lively? Some people like to lift their palms or raise their arms in praise. We Methodist adults tend to be more contained in using our body to worship God, but that’s not true when it comes to children. Who, besides me, loves watching little kids singing up in front here at church? It gets even better when they’ve been taught certain moves to accompany their song. Some of them are right on cue, but others not so much. My favorites tend to be either the children who are extra joyful, loving every second of it - a bit of a ham - or the quiet ones who’ve not just memorized the song, they’re singing out its message and seem to be feeling it on the inside too.
I’ve been thinking this week about a third way we can worship God. We can worship on our own or come together like we do, as a congregation, but what I have come to appreciate in recent years is the gift of worship leaders. King David was an early worship leader for Israel. He led the people in singing praises to God, songs he’d written and put to music.
He lived around 1000 B.C., and from then until 1700 A.D., did you know that the psalms were the only songs used by God’s people in worship? David helped write the first holy hymnal; it was used not just across the centuries, but also in different parts of the world. They were translated into many different languages, including English. But that changed because one Sunday morning a teenage boy came home from church and complained to his father that the music was dull. His father, who also happened to be the pastor, said, “Don’t complain, unless you think you can do better!” As it turns out he could, and he did. Isaac Watts was the first of many who wrote, composed, and shared hymns with others. Thanks to Isaac Watts, we sing songs like “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “Joy to the World”.
Today we’re blessed with an abundance of praise and worship music. Let’s remember to thank God: for those who write the words, compose the music, play the instruments, and sing the lyrics. Some are artists who perform at Christian concerts, others are worship leaders in churches. They are gifted men and women using their musical talents, just as like David did, to lead others to worship and praise God! Thanks be to God, amen!
I loved discovering that this week’s Scripture lessons included Psalm 66. That psalm praises God for His provision in the past, His presence each day and his help in the future. In other words, God’s got us covered. God is with us and for us. The psalm describes how God delights in us when we’re faithful, but God will help us (if we’re willing) when we’re foolish, doubting, or doing things we know are wrong.
The author of this psalm and many others was David, whom we’re told was a shepherd as a young man. That meant he spent months at a time out in fields, tending sheep, without much in the way of distractions. He was a man of faith, who used that time in his life to compose Hebrew poetry. He must have taken scrolls with him during his travels; perhaps he wrote in the early hours of the day, as the sun rose over the horizon. But David did more than that: God gifted him with the ability to compose music for his poetry and play stringed instruments. I wonder if he did that at night, under a starlit sky.
David continued to praise and worship God over the years. When Saul was king, he often called on David to sing and play for him, because it comforted his troubled heart. When David himself became king, he led his nation well some of the time, but he also failed in his leadership and personal life. Through it all he continued to write psalms and put them to music.
The psalms are one of the most well-loved sections of the Bible; people find they can relate to them. David was brutally honest about his pain; he expressed his doubts and he admitted when he’d lost all hope. But when he emerged out of dark times, he thanked God profusely. His joy was uncontainable - he radiated faith in God. The whole spectrum of what a person can feel and go through is captured in David’s writings. If you haven’t spent much time reading the psalms, or you haven’t done so recently, I encourage you to do that soon. You’ll be glad you did!
I want to share a good definition of what “worship” means. It’s what we do when we come to church, but it’s probably not something most of us stop and analyze. Here’s a simple definition: worship is reverent love and devotion of God. Here’s a longer description shared by A.W. Tozer: “Worship is feeling in your heart and expressing in your being - with humility and delight - your awe, wonder, and overpowering love of God.”
In Psalm 66 David talks about two ways we can worship God. We can praise and worship God individually or in the company of others. There’s all manner of ways we can worship; God is pleased with them all when they come from a sincere heart. We can worship God in our singing. We have not just one hymn book, but two with hundreds of songs for all sorts of occasions. We also use contemporary music. We use a wide range of songs because we each have our favorites.
Another form of worship, one we don’t often use as a congregation but tend to do when we’re alone, is to commune with God in silence. Many people love to walk and use that quiet time to be with God. Being out in nature in general often inspires people to silently praise and thank God. Another form of worship that can be done silently or aloud is prayer. We may pray by ourselves or join with others and pray.
One more way we can worship God is to use our bodies. Who has ever clapped along or tapped their toes when worship music was lively? Some people like to lift their palms or raise their arms in praise. We Methodist adults tend to be more contained in using our body to worship God, but that’s not true when it comes to children. Who, besides me, loves watching little kids singing up in front here at church? It gets even better when they’ve been taught certain moves to accompany their song. Some of them are right on cue, but others not so much. My favorites tend to be either the children who are extra joyful, loving every second of it - a bit of a ham - or the quiet ones who’ve not just memorized the song, they’re singing out its message and seem to be feeling it on the inside too.
I’ve been thinking this week about a third way we can worship God. We can worship on our own or come together like we do, as a congregation, but what I have come to appreciate in recent years is the gift of worship leaders. King David was an early worship leader for Israel. He led the people in singing praises to God, songs he’d written and put to music.
He lived around 1000 B.C., and from then until 1700 A.D., did you know that the psalms were the only songs used by God’s people in worship? David helped write the first holy hymnal; it was used not just across the centuries, but also in different parts of the world. They were translated into many different languages, including English. But that changed because one Sunday morning a teenage boy came home from church and complained to his father that the music was dull. His father, who also happened to be the pastor, said, “Don’t complain, unless you think you can do better!” As it turns out he could, and he did. Isaac Watts was the first of many who wrote, composed, and shared hymns with others. Thanks to Isaac Watts, we sing songs like “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “Joy to the World”.
Today we’re blessed with an abundance of praise and worship music. Let’s remember to thank God: for those who write the words, compose the music, play the instruments, and sing the lyrics. Some are artists who perform at Christian concerts, others are worship leaders in churches. They are gifted men and women using their musical talents, just as like David did, to lead others to worship and praise God! Thanks be to God, amen!