"Give praise to the LORD, call on his name." - Isaiah 12:4
I love you! And thank you!
A friend of mine says that there are no sweeter words to the ears of a parent than "I love you!" And "thank you!"
How much more then are they sweet to the Lord, our God? God is both our "Father," as Jesus teaches us to pray in Matthew 6:9, and also like a "Mother" as Jesus says in Matthew 23:37 that he has longed to gather us "children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings."
Today's verse, "Give praise to the Lord, call on his name" (Isaiah 12:4), is God's call to us to worship the Lord with others at a local church. When we worship with others we are called to remember that God loves to hear us say what every parent loves to hear. "I love you!" And "thank you!"
Less than one month from this day is Thanksgiving Day (November 22). Ironically, many regular worshipers choose not to worship on the Sundays that bracket Thanksgiving Day. However, here's an encouragement for you to go against that trend and worship as much as you can during Thanksgiving week, even if you're out of town. Worship him, and tell God "I love you!" and "thank you!" You might even get some interesting ideas for your home church or even a picture of everlasting heaven.
That's what happened a number of years ago for us. We got an idea and a picture when Cassidy, Caden, and I worshiped with our friends, Matt and Lori Spahn and their three awesome kids at Faith Lutheran Church in Seguin, Texas, just east of San Antonio.
When the last worship song ended, no one left. They all sat back down in the pews. At first, we thought we'd unwittingly wound up in a congregational meeting! Oh, no!!!
But we then saw the ushers move to the front and invite the first pew to stand up and go down the middle aisle to the Pastor, then refreshments, and then the exits. Then the ushers invited the second pew from the front to stand up and so on.
In case, some of you don't know it, unless you were my family growing up, which always sat on the second pew, then Lutherans, in general, tend to fill the back pews first and then the second to last pew and so on from back to front.
In the back, you can't hear God's Word as well, though it's better than not being in church at all. But, even though you can't hear God's Word as well in the back, when worship ends, you get to be the first one out to greet the Pastor, eat the donuts, and get on out the door.
Not at Faith Lutheran in Seguin, Texas! Those who sit in the front and hear God's Word the best, they get to leave first for fellowship, food, and the like. Those who sit in the back are ushered out last. Talk about a cure for sitting in the back of the church!
It's kind of a picture of heaven. Don't ya think? Those who hear the word of God are those who get the two most wonderful joys: 1) a renewed faith in Christ that comes from hearing God's word (see Romans 10:17) and 2) an intentional opportunity to tell God the two things that every parent, earthly and heavenly, loves to hear "I love you!" and "thank you!"
Wherever you are, may your worship of God in a local church be blessed this weekend and always.
"Give praise to the Lord, call on his name" - Isaiah 12:4
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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