Rev. Bill's Sermons

PSALM 150October 30, 23005 (Song and praise service)

Praise the Lord! Let everything that breathes – praise the Lord! What a wonderful thought – and a wonderful invitation to live a life that gives praise to God! God – who created us and all things – and who at the end of the creative process declared – as Genesis 1:31 tells us – that His creation was “very good” – deserves our response of love – adoration – and praise. God – who loves us so much that He does not let us die in our sins – but has sent Christ to die for our sins and rise again so we might have new life in Him – as Paul tells us in Romans 4:6-11 – deserves our response of love – adoration – and praise. God – who loves us and provides for our needs – as Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25-33 – deserves our response of love – adoration –and praise. God – creator, savior, and provider – is truly deserving of our love – adoration – and praise. Praise the Lord! Let everything that breathes – praise the Lord! In all things – in all circumstances of life – praise the Lord! This may be easy to do in the good times – when things are going well for us – but harder to do in the more difficult – the more trying times. But I don’t think the Psalmist was trying to say to give this praise to God when things are going well – but to be mad and upset with God when things are not going well for us. Just as Paul admonishes the Christians in Thessalonica to give praise in all circumstances when he wrote 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, we too are admonished to give praise to God in all things. It may go against our nature. It may not be easy for us to do. It may be very difficult for us to see God’s hand in the midst of our hard times – but God is still there – still creating new opportunities for us – still loving and redeeming us – still providing for us in the midst of even the hardest times of our lives. Even in the hard times – we can praise the Lord. Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28-39 that all things – good and bad – work together for our good if we will trust in God – and that through all hard times we will be more than conquerors because God is with us. Praise the Lord! Let everything that breathes – praise the Lord! This is indeed an invitation to live a life of praise -- a life where we realize what God has done for us – and praise God for what He has done for us. Praise the Lord! In the good times – praise the Lord – because He has blessed you. In the hard times – praise the Lord – because He is with you – and is blessing you. I once read about a woman who – despite many hardships in her life – learned how to live a life of praise to God – at all times! This woman’s daughter had been killed in an automobile accident -- her husband had died -- and she had a crippling disease that confined her to a wheelchair. But instead of being angry with God or giving up -- she struggled on with great courage -- and even found ways to focus on the needs of others and how she could help others. She decided that she would live as full, productive, and joyful life as she could . She gave her philosophy of life this way:

“God has given me life that is rich and full. I have drawn closer to God. I love getting up in the morning. Each day is a blank canvas and I get to paint the picture. I don’t ask God to remove the mountains, only to give me strength to climb. In this way I can see what I do have -- and give thanks to God.”

What a witness this lady is. What a life of praise she lives. We all can learn from her. We all can learn to move past focusing on our complaints – our hardships – and move to a faith in God that knows God is with us in all times of our lives – Always creating new possibilities for us – Always redeeming us – Always loving, caring for, and providing for us. Indeed – Praise the Lord! Let everything that breathes – praise the Lord! Amen