Praise, A Natural Response!

                                            Thanksgiving Sunday!

                         Psalm 150:1-6

Intro:

     A.   Next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day.  Some will ask, what do I have to be thankful for?  Many will stop,  count their blessings, and express their thanks to God!

 

     B.   This is something that should take place all year round! People with a grateful heart will naturally express thanks!

 

     C.   Praise in worship is one form of thanks expressed to God and many times people have trouble expressing praise!

 

Trans.

I would like to look at "Praise" today and see

     if we can come to a better understanding of how we can come to the place of Praising God!

 

                            Prayer

 

I.   The Psalmist is very clear that we should praise the Lord!

 

A.   Praise God in his sanctuary!

 

B.   Praise God for what God has done!

 

C.   Praise God with music!

 

D.   "Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

 

E.   But many times, Praise is seen as some mysterious

     thing that we do not know if we want to do are not!

 

II.  First, let's look at some common misconceptions about

praise.

 

A.   The Worship & Praise in a worship service is controlled largely by the worship leader.

1.   In other words, the leader should be able to cause us to worship and praise the Lord by the  way he or she conducts the service.

2.   The leader can possibly cause us to have an interesting service or maybe even raise the enthusiasm a little, but he or she can't cause us to praise the Lord!

3.   The leader might say, "Do I hear an Amen?"  We might respond by saying, "Amen."  That doesn't mean that we mean it!

4.   The leader might get everyone to raise their hands as a praise gesture, but that doesn't mean it is heartfelt!

5.   Worship & Praise comes from the heart, and the Worship leader can't create that in our hearts that causes us to Praise the Lord!

 

B.   The pastor, singers, & worship leader are conducting worship; we are just spectators.

1.   We should all be worshiping; we are all the actors.  The pastor is on the same level as the congregation, when it comes to praise in worship!

2.   God should be the spectator; we are all  worshiping for and to God.

3.   Although, God does become active also in the movement of the Holy Spirit!

 

C.   Praise and worship comes when individuals make a decision that today I am going to Praise the Lord!

1.   While this is a part of it, we do need to make an  effort to prepare ourselves for worship and to be  active in worship.

2.   This isn't the key either; we may decide that we think our worship services are lacking, so we are going to worship today.

a.   So, we decide that we are going to testify today, but we really do not feel the testimony or the victory!

b.   We may decide that our services need more outward expression (saying amen, lifting hands), so we decide to do this, but it isn't heartfelt, and we haven't praised the Lord!

 

III. Then how do we come to the place of Praising the Lord?

 

A.   We have to work on the heart.

1.   Praise is a form of Thankfulness; we may say  Thank You to someone because it is the thing to  do, but if we don't feel gratitude in our hearts  then we aren't Thankful!

2.   We can go through the motions of praise, but if  we don't feel it in our hearts, we haven't worshiped!

 

B.   How do we work on the heart?  If we have trouble worshiping and feeling praise, what do we need to do?  Start with the basics:

1.   Are we in tune with God the rest of the week?

APray without ceasing.@ (I Thess. 5:17)  If we aren't, how can we expect to be in tune on Sunday?

a.   Do we pray?  without ceasing? (prayerful attitude) 

b.   Do we consult God with everyday decisions?

c.   Do we lean on God through the week?

d.   Do we realize the good things God does and Thank God for them regularly?

2.   Do we desire to know more about God?

a.   Do we study and read the Bible regularly?  In it we see reasons to Praise the Lord!

b.   Do we take opportunities to learn from other Christians and be encouraged by other Christians by attending church services?

3.   Do we desire to serve the Lord through the week?

a.   Do we want to be used to tell others about Christ?  Do we take opportunities?

b.   Do we want to show God's love by caring and doing for other people?  Do we take opportunities?

 

IV.  We have too long put too much emphasis on our Sunday   Morning service as a gauge of how our church is doing!

 

A.   Someone asks how our church is doing; they are wanting

to know how many we are running on Sunday morning.

 

B.   They ask us how spiritual our church is; they are

wanting to know if we have any amens, crying, hand

raising, and things like that.

 

C.   But the real gauge of how our church is doing is what

are we doing after encountering Christ Sunday morning?

1.   Are we concerned about growth enough that we are taking part in our own daily Bible Study?

2.   Do we stay in close communication with God through prayer?

3.   Are we busy doing for the Lord through the week?

Helping others?  Involved in some personal ministry?

          4.   Are we supporting the ministries of the church

              through our tithes and offerings?

 

D.   When we aren't doing these things, we can't praise the Lord!

1.   We can't praise God for what God is doing in our lives when we aren't letting God do anything in our lives!

2.   We are too overcome with guilt and defeat!

 

E.   But when we do these things, Praise is a natural response.

1.   Our hearts are full!

2.   We are so excited about how we've seen God move in our lives!

3.   People will naturally express this praise in different ways.

a.   Some may cry!

b.   Some may want to say amen!

c.   Some may want to testify!

d.   Some will sing a little louder!

e.   All will want to participate in worship!

 

F.   But it will all be the natural response of hearts in tune with God, hearts that can see God making a difference in their lives!

 

Conclusion:

 

A.   Are we one of those "hearts in tune" this morning?

 

B.   Or do we find ourselves asking, what do I have to be thankful for?  Thanksgiving has become a drudgery!  Praise has become something we try to work ourselves  up to!  It doesn=t have to be that way!

 

     C.   As we encounter Christ at the table this morning,

          renew your relationship, work on that relationship all

          week, so that you can really celebrate Thanksgiving

          and so you can overflow in praise to God on Sunday?

                                                      Amen!

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion