church

INI
Jubilate, The Third Sunday After Easter
May 3, 2009
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

THANK GOD IT'S SUNDAY!
Psalm 100:1-5

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Amen. This morning we turn
our attention to the 100th Psalm:

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with
gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is
God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and
the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His
courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is
good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Here
ends our text.

In Christ Jesus, who came to bring joy to the hearts of sorrowing sinners, Dear
Fellow Redeemed,

"Thank God it's Friday!" Every seven days, millions of Americans breathe
those words with a sigh of relief, as their work week draws to a close. Friday
finally gets there, when at last they can look forward to some rest and
relaxation. They've got sixty hours in which to do as they please before they
have to be back to work on Monday morning. TGIF. "Thank God it's Friday!"
they say - whether or not they believe in God. And they leave their work behind
them with smiles on their faces.

- But you never hear anyone say, "Thank God it's Sunday!" Not even the
Christians, who do believe in God, and who have the most reason to thank Him
when the day of worship arrives again. How did you feel when you woke up this
morning and remembered it was Sunday? A little sluggish, perhaps? A little
daunted by the task of getting the family together and getting to church on
time? Did you come here out of habit, simply because attending church a
timeworn part of your Sunday routine? -Well, that's not too bad a reason, I
guess; attending worship services is certainly a good habit to get into. But in our
text for today, the Psalmist describes an enthusiasm toward going to church that
might seem a little hard for us to live up to. He says, Make a joyful shout to the
LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His
presence with singing. Does that sound like you? Not exactly? Then pay
attention. Our Scripture for today gives us several good reasons to -

THANK GOD IT'S SUNDAY!
I. There's joy in WHO we worship.
II. There's joy in HOW we worship.
III. There's joy in WHY we worship.

Have you ever been so happy that you actually shouted out loud for joy? Try
and remember the last time. Maybe it was when your favorite football team won
a last-second victory in an exciting game. Perhaps it was when you heard your
child or grandchild speak its first words, or when you received an unexpected
gift from a loved one. Chances are, though, that you and I didn't feel any
extraordinary happiness about coming to worship service here this morning.
Should we have? -The psalmist says Yes - and more than just happiness: he tells
us to make a joyful shout - literally, to "shout out loud for happiness." We
should be so happy we're here that we break out in glad singing! This 100th
Psalm was written especially for worshippers, and it tells us to thank God it's
Sunday. But it doesn't just tell us to be joyful. It also shows us where to find the
joy.

First of all, there's joy in WHO we worship. Our text says, Know that the
LORD he is God: it is he who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are his
people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Have you ever thought about the millions upon millions of people in this world
who are without faith in the true God? They live in constant darkness, whether
they know it or not. Many of them give their lives in wasted devotion to false
gods named Allah, Buddha or Vishnu. Even here in America - a so-called
"Christian nation" - there is a large majority of people who don't know Christ,
or have chosen not to know Him. And yet, here you are, in God's house,
worshipping Jesus Christ. Among all these masses of people, you have been
given faith to see that Jesus is the only Way of salvation. "Many are called,"
Christ said, "but few are chosen." The Gospel call goes out to everyone, but
very few believe it and are saved. You and I are part of that small number
whose eyes have been opened. Was it something we did, or was it just a lucky
chance?

It was neither - God chose us! He didn't choose us because who we are or what
we've done. He chose us purely out of His own grace, through Jesus Christ.
Paul says that, in His grace, God "...chose us in Christ before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ." --Eph 1:4.

I know a person who is very special. A neighbor of ours stopped by to chat,
and we got on the topic of blood types. Turns out this woman has type AB
blood - the rarest blood type there is. AB is the universal recipient - they can
receive blood transfusions from any other type. Only five people in a hundred
have this rare and special characteristic in their blood.

I wonder if you realize how special you are? For you too have a rare and special
characteristic. It's one which you carry in your heart, not in your bloodstream,
and it certainly places you into a much smaller minority than 5%! You are one
of the chosen elect of the only true God! Remember Who it is you're coming to
worship on Sunday morning: not only the God who created you, but the God
who chose you in particular, and purchased you to be His own beloved child.
Yes, I said "purchased"; because in order to make you His own, the Lord had to
pay a price. Too many people these days think of themselves as free agents -
they say defiantly, "Nobody can tell me what to do with my own body! My life
belongs to me and nobody else!" But we Christians know different. Don't be
foolish! Paul says. "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For
you were bought at a price." -- 1 Cor 6:19-20. That price was the suffering and
death of God's only Son, Jesus Christ. It was a steep price - much more than we
were worth - but God paid it. Jesus' name was written on a cross - so our names
could be written in the book of life!

So here we are, gathered in this building to worship that true God. What a rare
and happy privilege! He's not only our Creator and Redeemer, but also our
Comforter. "We are His people," our text says, "and the sheep of His pasture."
We heard last Sunday how the Lord, like a faithful shepherd, supplies
everything we need in life: from the food on our tables, to the roof over our
heads, to the paycheck that enables us to pay our bills. Even more important,
He leads into us rich spiritual pastures. He feeds us with His Word - especially
at these worship services. He gives us this precious hour on Sunday morning,
when we can come here and know that the saving Gospel will be preached in all
its truth and purity. If we want the joy and eagerness to return to our worship, it
certainly helps to remember WHO we are worshipping. Then we can truly
thank God it's Sunday!

There's also joy in HOW we worship. After all, what does the Lord ask of us
when we come here on Sunday mornings? Does He place heavy burdens on us,
or makes difficult demands? Does He insist that we make huge sacrifices or
bring costly offerings in our hands when we come to worship? No - what God
asks for is simple. Our text says, Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and
into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

What could be easier than that? God asks us for a simple courtesy. It's one
which every child learns almost as soon as he can talk - the courtesy of saying
"thank you." He just wants us to keep in mind the numberless blessings He's
showered on each of us, and return to give Him thanks. There are 168 hours in
your week, each one of which is filled with blessings from the Lord. He only
asks you for one. One hour when you can join your voice with other Christians
in praising His name, and saying thank you. All God asks is that you give Him
the glory. In addition, He makes a promise that, each time you come here for
worship, you will certainly get a whole lot more than you could ever give! If
there ever comes a time when you're tempted to skip church - because of the
guilt of your sin, the confusion in your life, or the need of rest - well, then those
are the times you most need the comfort that's waiting for you here in God's
house. Jesus said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and
my burden is light. --Mt 11:28-30. Thank God for Sundays! It's the only day
when all we have to give is praise and thanks to God, and when what we get in
return is so very precious!

Do you feel a little more like shouting now? Like laughing out loud in delight?
Maybe you're not quite there yet. Then consider the joy in WHY we worship.
What is it, after all, that keeps us coming back here week after week? Why do
we return to church every Sunday as generations of Christians did before us,
and - God willing - as our children and grandchildren will after us? Why? So that
the fruits of our Spirit-worked FAITH may show. So that our service to God
might reflect His service to us. Because a steadfast and continuing service to
our Lord is the only fitting response to His steadfast and continuing love toward
us. "For the Lord is good," says the psalmist, "his mercy is everlasting; and his
truth endureth to all generations."

A hundred years ago, the idea that a man could fly was considered absurd.
Thirty years ago, nobody ever heard of a "personal computer." Just ten years
ago, if you had predicted the complete break-up of the Soviet Union, they'd
have thought you were crazy; yet that's exactly what happened. Does the speed
at which our world is changing make your head spin as much as it does mine?
How nice it is to know that there's one thing that has never changed, and never
will: God's love for us in Jesus Christ. It's been around since before creation,
and it will endure until the last second of the last day of this world's existence.

I think - if we're honest - we have to admit that our love toward God does
change. It goes through warm periods and cool periods. But His love toward us
is constant. They say that you should never go back to the same well too often,
but God's love for us is a bottomless well of love and mercy which we can
return to again and again and again. The Bible says, "Through the Lord's
mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new
every morning; great is Your faithfulness." -- Lam 3:22-23. Every day we fall,
and every day the Lord lifts us back up again. We keep coming back to our
Savior, each time trembling because of our many sins. And instead of the fiery
condemnation we expected, we hear each time the gentle voice of our Good
Shepherd, saying, "Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee!"

Many of us have parents and grandparents who knew this constant love of
God, and that's why they kept going back, week after week, to those old,
lovingly-tended country churches. Not because they had to, but because it was
the greatest source of comfort and happiness in their lives. For centuries, that's
the way that faithful Christians have responded to God's faithful love. It's the
same reason you and I are here today. And, in our text, God promises that His
faithfulness will continue through all the generations that are still to come.
Finally, there will come a Day when all believers in Christ will meet to worship
Him, not in a house made with hands like this one, but in the mansions of
heaven. Isaiah says, "Then the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come
to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads; They shall obtain joy
and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." -- Isa 51:11.

Two workmen were standing outside a big city church one Sunday morning. A
woman who was just heading up the steps happen to overhear one of them say
to the other, "Just look at them! I've seen over two hundred people go into that
church - and not one smile in the bunch!" Are we like that? Can we be like that,
when we're on our way to worship the God who has redeemed us? No! Let's
take the advice of Nehemiah and see Sunday for what it is: the happiest day of
the week. "Then he said to them, 'Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to
our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.'" -- Neh
8:10. In other words - thank God it's Sunday! AMEN.