Bless the Lord, O My Soul | A Sermon on Psalm 103:1-5

Introduction
My daughter, Abigail, always says Thanksgiving is here favorite holiday.  The others—especially Christmas, she says—have so much buildup and hype and commercialism.  But then they fail to deliver all they’ve overpromised.  But Thanksgiving is simple:  food, family, and giving thanks.  Abigail has always been wise beyond her years.

As we lead up to Thanksgiving, I want to spend a few weeks considering what it means to give thanks. How can we live a life of gratitude, so that thanks is part of our daily life, not just one day a year?

Gratitude begins when we take time to remember the goodness of God and bless Him for all His benefits. Forgetfulness leads to grumbling; remembrance leads to praise.

Psalm 103:1-5
¹ Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
² Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    may I never forget the good things he does for me.
³ He forgives all my sins
    and heals all my diseases.
⁴ He redeems me from death
    and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
⁵ He fills my life with good things.
    My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

Tuning Your Soul to God
Psalm 103 is attributed to David.  Now David was king of Israel, but it was a long road to get there.  Remember, David started out as the youngest of a set of brothers.  And when the prophet Samuel came to inspect Jesse's sons to see which one of them would be the next king of Israel, David wasn't even invited to the party.  He was left out in the field to watch the sheep.  Even his own family didn't respect him.

And after David defeated the giant, Goliath, and won battles on behalf of King Saul, Saul was jealous.  David ended up unjustly accused of treason and chased all around the land with Saul trying to kill him.  He slept in caves, suffered deprivation, and had his reputation questioned.  But through it all, David reminded his soul to praise the Lord and not forget all the good things.  That's how David lived his whole life and it kept him so in tune with God that the Scripture says David was a man after God's own heart.  

We must tune our souls to God through gratitude.  Do you remember the old radio with the analogue dial tuners?  You would tune it to a station, but you couldn't just go by the number on the dial.  That would get you close, but you had to listen until the static faded and the signal became clear.  

Gratitude is how we tune in our soul to God.  Remind your soul to give thanks to God.

Beware of Spiritual Amnesia
We all suffer from spiritual amnesia.  Forgetfulness is one of humanity’s spiritual diseases.  The Israelites constantly forgot God’s deliverance.  Even after he miraculously parted the Red Sea so they could escape the Egyptian army on dry ground, and God fed them with mana from heaven and quenched their thirst in the desert with water from a rock, the Israelites stilled complained.  They forgot so quickly.

And it wasn't just in the Old Testament.  Even the 12 Disciples who walked with Jesus in the New Testament and saw His miracles, constantly forgot, doubted, worried, and were afraid.

We forget too.  So we have to make ourselves remember what God has done.  Make a habit of remembering and giving thanks. Some practical things you can do to help:

• Keep a gratitude journal - write down things for which you are thankful throughout your day.  Then go back and read it from time to time--especially when you are feeling down or overwhelmed by your problems.
• Share testimonies - tell people about the good things God has done for you.
• Tell your children or grandchildren what God has done for you.  If you don't have children, share it with other young people in your life.  It will encourage them and you.
• Share daily gratitude post on social media.  A lot of people have been doing this during the month of November, leading up to Thanksgiving.  It is a wonderful, useful, uplifting habit.

Throughout Psalm 103, David lists so many of the things God has done.  We read the beginning of His list in verses 3-5 and these are all things for which we can be thankful too. 

We can be thankful God forgives all our sins.
Remember, you do not deserve God’s mercy. You do not deserve good things. You are a sinner.  You turned away from God and rejected His rightful authority over your life.  You didn't care that He made you for a purpose.  You chose to chase after your own desires.  Some may have even done specific things they know they shouldn't do.  But God, through Christ, has mercy and forgives all our sins.  Be thankful. 

He heals all our diseases.
All healing—whether physical, emotional, of spiritual—comes from God.  We often pray for physical healing.  And often it comes.  Do not forget or take for granted every healing that comes from God--even the small moments of healing.  

Sometimes healing does not come in the way we expect.  But we can still be thankful.  Because, if we are in Christ, God is still working to heal us--even if it doesn't come until the next life.  Keep in mind that all physical healing in this life is only temporary.  Even if you are healed from some terrible disease (like cancer) today, your body will still eventually wear out and die.  So our ultimate hope is in the ultimate healing that comes when we rise from death.  Then our bodies will be made completely whole.  And so, we can be thankful...

He redeem us from death.
Ultimate healing comes when we die and are resurrected with Christ.  Through Christ, we have eternal life with God forever.  And there will be no more sin or sickness or suffering or death (Revelation 21).  So no matter what happens to us or those we love, we can be thankful because Jesus conquered death.  We are victorious when we trust in Christ.  Even death can be cause for thanksgiving for Christians who trust in Jesus Christ.

He crowns us with love and tender mercies.
Though we were sinners, rebels, betrayers, failures, God puts a crown on our heads and calls us His royal sons and daughters.  He loves us like He loves His own Son, Jesus.  He rewards us as though we had followed Him faithfully.  What incredible tender mercies! "God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."  (Romans 5:8) Praise be to God!  

He fills our lives with good things.
Each of us have so many good things in our lives to be thankful for.  We often forget, because we focus on our struggles instead of our blessings.  We may say, “Why do so many ‘bad things’ happening to me?”  We ought, instead, to ask, “Why does God allow anything good to happen to me at all? Sinful wretch that I am!”

But God fills our lives with so many good things!  Let us train ourselves to be thankful.  For in doing so, we tune our hearts to the Lord’s.

Psalm 103:1-2
¹ Let all that we are praise the Lord; with our whole hearts, we will praise His holy name.
² Let all that we are praise the Lord; may we never forget the good things He does for us.

Building a Life of Gratitude
As we head toward Thanksgiving, it’s easy to think of gratitude as a moment—just a day on the calendar with turkey and family and a quick prayer before the meal.  But Psalm 103 reminds us that gratitude is not a moment; it’s a lifestyle.

When David said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” he wasn’t waiting for everything in life to be perfect. He was training his heart to remember that, no matter what happens, God is still good.

Gratitude isn’t automatic—it’s a spiritual discipline. It takes practice.
But when we practice gratitude, amazing things happens:

• The things that once weighed us become lighter
• The noise of worry fades
• And the voice of God becomes clear again.

That’s why Thanksgiving shouldn’t just be a holiday—it should be a holy habit.  A life of gratitude is a life that stays tuned to God.

So this week—and in the weeks ahead—let’s do more than count our blessings.  Let’s build our lives around them.  I challenge your to think how you could practice gratitude.  Perhaps you could:

• Begin every day with a simple prayer: “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”
• When you feel overwhelmed, stop and remember one good thing God has done.
• Maybe you want to keep a list or journal of all the things you are thankful for each day.
• Before you fall asleep, whisper a thank-you for His mercy that met you again today.

If we train our hearts to remember—then every day can become a day of thanksgiving.

Closing Prayer
Lord, You have filled our lives with good things—
forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, and mercy.
Teach us to remember.
Teach us to bless Your name not only when life feels full,
but when it feels empty.
Let gratitude shape our words, our homes, and our worship,
so that this Thanksgiving and every day after,
we might live as people whose souls continually say:
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Amen.

 

A Graduation Sermon

Introduction
            It’s amazing how fast the years go by.  One minute you're a kid excited to be starting preschool or kindergarten and it seems like it will be an eternity before you graduate high school.  But the years go by so fast and before you know it you've gone through elementary school, middle school, and high school and your graduating.  Then maybe you've finished college and gotten your first job or you're getting married or having kids and then your own kids are graduating high school!  The older I get, the faster it seems the years go by!
            This is the time of year high school students graduate and begin a new phase of life as young adults.  They are excited and maybe a little apprehensive about what lies ahead.  Parents are proud, but also full of bitter sweet emotions--seeing their babies grow up, happy and excited for them, but also maybe a little worried and sad to let them spread their wings and leave the nest.
            Today, I want to share something for parents and graduates to comfort and encourage you in this transition.  However, it's not just for graduates and parents.  It's for everyone who if we has ears
to hear.

Psalm 16:7-11
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  8 I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.  11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Praise God!
            Can we just take a moment and, as the Psalm suggests in verse 7a, just praise the Lord for all He has done?  Parents, you've survived changing dirty diapers and crying babies, the terrible twos (when your precious angel baby turned into a diabolical demon child)!  Somehow, you managed to keep food on the table and the bills paid when there never seemed to be enough money to make ends meet!  You taught them to drive and they didn't crash a die in burning ball of flames!  You survived boyfriends and girlfriends and arguments over prom dresses and makeup.  And, through it all, you had the joy and pleasure of holding this precious life in your hands and nurturing them and learning from them and being challenged by them because they are so much like you and yet so distinct from you!
            Graduates, you managed to grow from a baby who had to learn to use the toilet to learning the ABC and how to write and math and algebra and geometry and maybe calculus!  And you survived history and English literature and writing essays and countless pop quizzes and finals and SATs.  And you managed to deal with parents who love you so much but just don’t really fully understand your life and the new times we live in!
            Can we all just pause for a moment, just to praise God for being with all of us every step of the way!  Just close your eyes (or keep them open and look up to the heavens) and shout "Thank You God!  You have been so good to me!"

You Know What to Do
            And if you’ve been walking with the Lord, if you’ve let Him be with you through it all, He's now incorporated into your heart—into everything you are, the way you think, the way you act.  You don’t even have to think about it, any more than you have to think about breathing or making your heart beat.  Have you ever noticed that when you go to sleep, you don't have to remember to breathe?  It's just keeps happening.  And you heart keeps right on beating.  And the Psalmist says, “Even at night while I sleep, my heart instructs me.”  If you've let Jesus into your heart, his Holy Spirit instructs you every step of the way, and you don't even have to think about it.
            Graduates, as you go off to your next adventure, you take with you all you have learned from school, from your parents and teachers and friends and your church.  It’s part of who you are now.  You need not worry about the unknown that may await you.  You’ve prepared.  Our thoughts and prayers go with you, but not only that.  A part of all that has loved you and nurtured you and cared for you goes with you. It is now part of who you are.
            Parents and family, friends and loved ones, church, you have invested in your young ones so faithfully.  Your wisdom and experience goes with them, as does the Lord.  So take heart and have faith.  Do not worry or be anxious (it wouldn’t do any good anyway).  But in everything give thanks and praise to God for what He has done and give your cares and concerns to the Lord in prayer.
            We can all go forth with confidence, thanking the Lord for all we have shared with one another, trusting that each graduate has the wisdom and character to make the right choices in the days to come. 

Verse 8-9 – Keep your eyes on the Lord. 
            Keep your eyes on the Lord.  Remember what you have learned.  Remember the Lord and His ways and what He has done for you.  For you!  And so walk with Him.  You will grow and mature.  Your faith may change as you gain more knowledge and wisdom, but faith need not be shaken.  Only let your childish ideas grow up and change if needs be, but never lose your childlike faith and trust in Jesus.

Verse 10 – For God will never abandon you. 
            God will never leave you or forsake you.  Never.  “For God loved you so much, He sent His one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.  God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but to save it.”  And Jesus went so far to save you as to lay down his life for you on the cross.  And so, Jesus will never leave you or forsake you.  He goes with you!
            This is a promise that gives hope and assurances to graduates and parents and to all who truly trust in the Lord!  For nothing—not even death—can separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus our Lord.  So take courage and rejoice!  All of you!  For if God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Verse 11 – “You make known to me the path of life…”
            We had five high school students from my church graduate this year.  I’ve known each of them for many years.  I met Rachel Ward when she was only 10-years-old (one year younger than my youngest daughter is now).  She has worked in the church nursery for several years, loving kids and serving the Church.  I'm so proud of the caring and thoughtful young woman she's become. 
            JC McDonald was also about ten when I first met her.  I will always remember how she invited me to come to her elementary school to for a special program to show pastors what they were learning.  She is also a fine young lady. 
            Twins, Meredith and Ward Barber, started coming to my church when they were in middle school.  They wanted to join the church along with their mother and older sister.  So we had a crash course in what it means to be a Christian and they made their professions of faith and joined and then came back a few months later to go through our formal confirmation classes.  I was a chaplain for Ward's middle school football team.  I was at many of the Beta Club and Honor Society meetings with Meredith because two of my children were also in those programs.  I'm so proud she is now graduating as valedictorian of her high school. 
            I had the privilege to help sponsor Will Maddox to attend a Chrysalis weekend spiritual retreat.  Two years ago, Will's family lost their home to a fire in the middle of the night.  Will's sister had to leap to safety from the second story window.  She survived, but with a broken pelvis.  And Will was such a caring big brother to her while she was in the hospital and as she recovered through physical therapy. 
            I have been a small part of each graduates' life, and part of their family, to some degree for many years.  Everything I’ve taught in my sermons and in our conversations and what our church has offered them was founded on God’s Word, the Bible, and intended to steer them safely down the path of life.  (Not just this life, but True Life, Eternal Life.) 
            These graduates' parents, who brought them to church each Sunday, wanted the same for them as I have--that they would know the love of God and trust Jesus and have eternal life.   I hope they have listened to us and taken to heart what we’ve offered.  If so, it is part of who they are and will steer them down the path of life, if they obey.
            The Word of God, the Bible, is readily available to each graduate and to us all.  Most people have many copies of the Bible (if you need a Bible contact me and I will give you one).  The Bible it is readily available on the internet at biblegateway.com, on your smart phones, you can even listen to the Bible on an app while you are driving in your car. 
            And these words of Scripture are the Living Word of God—the Word of Life.  They are a conversation with your Creator.  They can continue to steer you down the path of life if you will listen to them.  But will you?
            I started reading my Bible every day when I was a senior in high school.  Each night, before I went to bed, I would read one chapter.  However, when I went to college, I faced a dilemma.  My first year in the college, I lived in a dorm with a room mate.  And my first night there, I found my self laying in the bed thinking, "Am I gonna pick up my Bible and start reading?  My roommate's gonna think I'm some sort of Bible-thumping, religious fanatic."  And then I saw my roommate reach over and grab his Bible and start reading!  So my dilemma was solved and I continue my habit of reading a chapter of scripture from the Bible every night until I read through the entire thing.

Challenge
            Graduating from school is a momentous transition.  It is a great time for graduates to start a new and healthy spiritual habit.  It's also a great time for their parents to do the same.  Actually, anytime is a great time to start a new and helpful spiritual practice.  So I would like to issue a challenge--to parents, to graduates, to everyone--why not start reading a chapter from your Bible each night.  And cut yourself some slack.  You're probably not going to understand everything you read and that's OK.  Reading the Bible is not about getting and understanding more information.  It's about spending time with your Creator--the one who designed you and breathed life into you and Who loves you and desires more than anything to spend time with you and be loved by you.  When you pick up your Bible and read, you are in the presence of God and His words pour into your heart and become part of who you are without you even knowing it.  Then, no matter where you go or what you do, as the Psalmist says, God will counsel you in your heart, make known the path of life, and fill you with the joy of His presence and the eternal pleasures of His right hand.
             Will you take the challenge to read one chapter of your Bible each night before you go to bed?

Pastor Chris' Paraphrase - Thanksgiving Edition

Psalm 100 - A Psalm of Thanksgiving

1 All the earth shout praises to the Lord!
2 Serve Jehovah with a cheerful heart and sing a song of joy when you come to meet Him face to face.
3 Come knowing in the core of your being that Jehovah is Supreme, THE God, God of ALL. He made us and we belong to Him.  We are His tribe, the sheep in His pasture.
4 Give thanks as you enter the gates of His city and sing praises as you gather around His house. Praise Him with your hands lifted as high as you can raise them. Cry, "Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!" as you multiply the honor and glory of His fame.
5 Here's why:  Jehovah is the very definition of good.  His mercy never runs out and He is faithful to every generation.