"Worship: We Bless God"
So…
I’d like to suggest a little challenge this week!
Everyone you meet, everyone you talk to, before you get into the meat of what you need to talk to them about - tell them something about them that you really think is amazing!
And then notice both their reaction.
And if you want an A+ on the project, keep a little notebook of who you’ve talked to each day, what you said, how they responded!
I’ll take a wild guess here, but I am thinking that both you and the person you talked to will feel amazing!
I know from experience that while I have a personal objective to treat everyone I meet fairly and graciously, people who treat me with kind words, are thankful for the stuff I do, and who just are warm and caring get extra care in return.
One friend used to call that, “Going with the go-ers”!
That is, be sure to invest your time and energy, love and attention, in the folks who appreciate you. Bless those who bless you!
Don’t get caught in the weeds of life, but instead get your head up and see the wonders all around you, the blessings, the joys, the possibilities - and especially the people who see you as the wonderful gift you are – the gift that God has made you to be.
Look around you and see the people who care about you. And…
Then look around and see what God has done for you!
See the amazing gifts God has given to you.
See what is happening, just as the Psalmist sees it!
God has blessed you!
And because the Psalmist sees his blessings, the Psalmist here blesses God! He lists all the ways he has seen God provide for him.
Monday night as I went home from our Brass Quintet rehearsal I happened to look up and see this amazingly dark sky.
And in it, little points of light.
On my phone I have an app called Sky Guide. You turn it on and using the compass function you can then point it at any star or planet and it will tell you what its name is.
One night I saw Jupiter, Mars, and Venus, as well as a mess of named stars and constellations.
It was incredible! And I can assure you there was praise on my lips.
Sue and I love to go to zoos and the aquariums if we happen to be in a place where they are. I mean, we have grandchildren!
But more importantly we love those zoos and aquariums because they remind us of how amazing this world really is.
Have you ever been up close to a rhino, a tiger, snow leopard, a condor owl, or an anaconda? What amazing creatures. Scary too sometimes!
On different vacations we have seen armadillos, a mantra (which Sue got to hold) sharks, an octopus and a flock of hundreds of hummingbirds.
Has it ever occurred to you how amazing creation is, and how much we have to give thanks for!
I mean, I’m sure you have - but have you looked recently?
And the Psalmist here wants not only to express his praise and to bless God, but because Psalms were created as songs to be sung by God’s people, it was also an invitation for the faith community to do the same!
To sing and shout, to recite God’s blessings, because in that recitation you can see not only the amazing wonder of who God is and what God has done, but you can also see…
How amazing you are!
You are as amazing as anything in creation, and have been carefully and wondrously made by God, prepared for every blessing God sends your way.
So, never ever sell yourself short. What is that say, “God don’t make no junk!”
You have been created on purpose to fulfill a calling you may not really understand, but one that God has been whispering in your ear.
Know that the creator has you in the palm of his hand!
I know it is hard sometimes to understand what God has in mind.
Just look at mosquitoes. I mean why?
But did you know that purple martins, red-eyed vireos, chirping sparrows, downy woodpeckers, yellow warblers, Eastern bluebirds, Eastern phoebes, Baltimore orioles, geese, terns, ducks and common wrens and nighthawks all feast on mosquitoes.
Everything has its place and purpose, even you and I.
And that ought to lead us to worship with every fiber of our being!
We bless God, because God has blessed us.
And all of it in Jesus’ name!
Amen.