Church Directory
“”
Pastor Carl Larson, Faith Lutheran Church, Staples
1Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
2Serve the Lord with gladness; come into His presence with singing.
3Know that the Lord is God. It is He that made us, and we are His;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
4Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever,
and His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100
Psalm 100 is one of the great expressions of thanksgiving in the Bible. It calls us to realize that we belong to God and need to praise Him for His goodness, mercy and truth. It was in the summer of 2008, that I wrote a chapter for a book, Paradigms for Ministry, on Psalm 100, and in that chapter I shared how I was struck by a phrase that speaks of expressing thanks in a tangible, willing way: “Serve the Lord with gladness”. But there have been times in my life that my service to God has been more grudging than gladness. And it’s during those times that I do what I consider my duty, but I’m not always happy about it.
The 20th Century Scottish theologian Oswald Chambers put his finger on that kind of unthankful attitude when he wrote:
“The will of God is the gladdest, brightest, most bountiful thing possible to conceive, and yet some of us talk of the will of God with a terrific sigh - ‘Oh well, I suppose it is the will of God,’ as if His will were the most dreadful thing that could befall us . . . .”
Chambers continued, “We become spiritual whiners and talk pathetically about ‘suffering the will of the Lord. Where is the majestic vitality and might of the Son of God?”
We are now beginning the month of November, a time of year often characterized by multi-colored falling leaves, the final days of a bountiful harvest and a noticeable change in daily temperatures. But, at this time of the year, let us also remember that true thankfulness is more than being grateful for what we possess. Let’s remember that thankfulness is an attitude that permeates our relationship with the Lord, so that we may “Serve the Lord with gladness”.
“Gracious God, we give You thanks for the love we have received from You and from those who love You. We give thanks for those who love and care for us, who give us a place of belonging, value us for who we are. We give thanks for the valued people that surround us here today, and for the many gifts that are shown in our churches, in our schools and in our communities. We give thanks for those who speak and those who do, for those who dream and those who find ways of bringing the dreams to life, for those who make and those who clean up, for those who are always before us and those we all too often forget. We give You thanks that we’re part of this group of people and are able to offer our abilities and insight. Dear God, we ask that You guide and direct us, showing us new ways that we can serve You and Your creation. For the gifts we have received and the opportunity to give in return we thank You. We pray this in the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”
(Prayer from the 2014 Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand)
