Good and gracious God, we offer thanks for this day and for the opportunity to be here together as a worshipping community. During this time, may we be able to put aside the concerns of our daily lives, let go of all the demands that crowd upon us, and simply be present here to Your Spirit and Your words.
As we come before You in Jesus’ name, we, Your people, praise You with our innermost being. We praise Your Holy name. We will not forget Your benefits, and we give You praise and thanksgiving, for You have forgiven our sins and You love us unconditionally. We praise You because You have redeemed our lives from the pit and crowned us with compassion. Lord, we praise You and honor You, for You alone work righteousness for the oppressed. You are compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love.
Lord, as we read Psalm 100 earlier this morning, I was struck by its strong and compelling call to us to be a thankful people. It gives us such profound reasons to be thankful. It lifts us up to be truly joyful and earnest, not merely obligatory or routine, in our thanksgiving. And so, Lord, we thank You. Thank You, Lord, for being God alone. Thank You for being our Maker. Thank You for creating us. Thank You for making us Your possession, Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, the people under Your care and guidance and protection. Thank You for Your goodness, Your steadfast love, and Your enduring faithfulness. Thank You for calling us to praise You and thank You and serve You and worship You, not merely externally, not mechanically, not with lip service, not out of unhealthy compulsion, but with gladness, with joy from our heart.
Father, may this psalm increasingly be our own experience, individually and as a community of worshipers. Form this joyful thanksgiving and praise in us ever more deeply. Transform our mistrust of You into confidence; our complaint into praise; our self-centered demandingness into thanksgiving; our apathy into earnestness; our numbness into joy; our ingratitude into gratitude. We lean into the saving work of Jesus Christ our Lord, who perfectly embodied this psalm. We especially thank You for His life, His death, His victorious resurrection and ascension, and the hope of His return.
Lord, as we prepare to hear Your message through Derek this morning, may You bring peace to his heart and readiness to our ears to not only hear but to act on Your behalf. Fill us and use us, Lord. Mold us into Your community of believers, bringing us here time and again to worship and serve You.
As we lift these things to You, O God, we remember the words of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray by saying…
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.
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