Bursting With Thanks from the Inside Out (3)

Psalm 138:1-3

Psalm 138:1–3 NRSV

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything. On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.

Gratitude Amidst Adversity: A Journey of Praise

Bible Passage: Psalm 138:1–3

Summary: In Psalm 138, the psalmist declares gratitude not only for God's past works but also in the face of challenges. The psalm illustrates how genuine praise can uplift the soul and transform one’s perspective, allowing believers to recognize God's sovereignty and mercy even during tough times.

Application: This sermon seeks to help Christians recognize and express gratitude in adversity, teaching them how thankfulness is a powerful tool for healing and resilience that cultivates hope and restores joy amidst struggles.

Teaching: This sermon will teach the importance of practicing gratitude as a spiritual discipline that can shift focus from problems to God's provision, encouraging perseverance and fostering deeper trust in God's plans.

How this passage could point to Christ: In the context of the Bible, Christ embodies the ultimate expression of gratitude for God’s redemptive plan, reassuring believers that even in suffering, we can find hope and strength through Him as we faithfully look toward eternal promises.

Big Idea: Gratitude during trials reflects faith in God’s plans, guiding us to a deeper reliance on His faithfulness.

Recommended Study: As you prepare for this sermon, consider delving into the historical context of Psalm 138, focusing on its placement in the Psalter and its implications for worship during hardship. Leverage your Logos library to examine commentaries that explore the interplay of praise and lament in the psalms. Additionally, investigate cross-references in the New Testament that discuss faith in trials, examining how early Christians expressed gratitude amidst persecution.

1. Wholehearted Worship Begins Here

Psalm 138:1

You could begin by highlighting how the psalmist offers wholehearted praise to God, suggesting that gratitude starts with an intentional act of worship. Emphasize that choosing to praise God in every circumstance reflects an understanding of His sovereignty. This helps believers shift their focus from current struggles to divine truths, fostering a heart of gratitude as seen through the prism of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice and gratitude.

2. Acknowledge Past Promises Faithfully

Psalm 138:2

Perhaps, explore how the psalmist acknowledges God’s name and word, underlining the importance of remembering God's faithfulness. Suggest that recalling God’s past faithfulness strengthens trust in the present and future, fostering gratitude. Relate this to Jesus as the Word made flesh, who perfectly proclaimed God’s truth and faithfulness. Gratitude transforms our view of circumstances when it's rooted in the acknowledgment of God’s character and promises.

3. Prayers Propel Praise

Psalm 138:3

You could illustrate the power of ongoing praise by discussing how the psalmist finds strength and encouragement through prayer. Show how calling out to God dynamically changes perspective, bolstering courage amid adversity. Draw parallels to how Jesus modeled continuous communion with the Father, demonstrating that gratitude sustains and empowers believers. Encourage listeners to see how gratitude in prayer fosters resilience and restoration through Christ.

4. Gratitude Grows Resilient Faith

Psalm 138:3

Maybe, delve into the transformative effects of experiencing God’s response as the psalmist does, highlighting reassurance in divine timing. Connect this with the ultimate hope offered through Christ's resurrection, where believers find enduring strength. Suggest that when gratitude is fully embraced during trials, it becomes a testament of unwavering faith and trust in God’s provision, guiding believers towards a reliance on His faithfulness.

BELOVEDS, WE GATHER TODAY, IN AN ODD AGE OF ABSURDITIES SWIRLING ROUND ABOUT US......A PIECE OF FEDERAL LEGISLATION CALLED BIG AND BEAUTIFUL WHOSE LONG TERM IMPLICATIONS ARE REALLY NEITHER.......A DIFFICULT WEEK THAT POSED FOR THIS LOVING COMMUNITY A CAUSE FOR DEEP SADNESS FOR THE SUDDEN LOSS OF ______________ WITHIN THE SPAN OF ONE SUNDAY TO THE NEXT.....THANK YOU REV. JACKIE FOR YOUR PRAYERS THIS MORNING FOR THE ___________________ FAMILY.....AND AS THIS COMMUNITY FAITHFULLY PRAYED FOR KAREN DIAMOND, THE 82 YEAR OLD WOMAN WHO WAS EXERCISING HER RIGHT TO FREELY ASSEMBLE AND TO PROTEST THE TERRIBLE ATROCITIES TAKING PLACE IN GAZA —- THE TERRIBLE SIEGE OF HUNGER FAMILIES ARE FACING RIGHT NOW, THE HOSTAGES THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN, THE DESTRUCTION AND PAIN THAT HAS BEEN WROGHT IN THE WAR THERE....TODAY I WANT YOU TO KNOW MY HEART IS WITH YOU COMMUNITY UCC, AS THE

NEWS REPORTED KAREN DIAMOND’S DEATH FROM THE INJURIES SHE SUSTAINED AT PEARL STREET MALL.....I MOURN WITH YOU THIS TERRIBLE WAY THAT SUCH A KEY PLACE FOR BOULDER GATHERINGS HAS LOST SENSE OF SAFETY, A CERTAIN SENSE THAT IT CAN BE A PLACE TO GO TO EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS TO FREE SPEECH AND ASSEMBLY, AND A PLACE FOR GOD’S PEOPLE OF EVERY GENERATION TO GO AND SIMPLY ENJOY THE OUTDOORS, THE SHOPS, THE PLACES TO EAT AND THE VIBE.......

WHEN PASTOR NICOLE REACHED OUT TO ME TO BE YOUR PREACHER OVER A MONTH AGO THE THEME OF THANKS AND THANKSGIVING BEFORE THE DIVINE ONE FELT TIMELESS AND APPROPRIATE FOR A SUMMER SUNDAY WITH THE BIRDS SINGING AND THE SUN SHINING......AND YET, THESE INTERVENING WEEKS HAVE POINTED THE WAY BACK TO OUR NOVELIST FRIEND IN THE SPIRIT ANNE LAMOTT WHO REMINDS US IN HER WONDERFUL TEXT, “HELP, THANKS, WOW: THE 3 ESSENTIAL PRAYERS”:

DOMESTIC PAIN CAN BE SEARING AND IT IS USUALLY WHAT DOES US IN. ITS ALMOST INDIGESTIBLE.....GOOD LUCK WITH FIGURING IT OUT. IT UNFOLDS, AND YOU EXPERIENCE IT, AND IT IS SO HORRIBLE AND ENDLESS YOU COULD ALMOST GIVE UP A DOZEN TIMES. BUT GRACE CAN BE THE EXPERIENCE OF A SECOND WIND, WHEN EVEN THOUGH WHAT YOU WANT IS CLARITY AND RESOULTION, WHAT YOU GET IS STAMINA AND POIGNANCY AND THE STENGTH TO HOLD ON...........

SO TODAY FIRSTLY, WE TURN TO THE PSALMIST IN PSALM 138 AS A WAY OF GETTING OUR SECOND WIND....AS A WAY OF OFFERING THANKS HERE IN WORSHIP WITH HEARTS FULL OF GRACE AS WE SEEK THE WAY FORWARD.........

ONE COMMENTATOR ON THE TEXT HELPS US UNDERSTAND THE PLACE OF THIS SONG IN ISRAELITE WORSHIP AND IT WILL COME AS LITTLE SURPRISE THAT THIS IS:

A PSALM IN WHICH A SINGLE VOICE PRAISES GOD FOR GOODNESS TO OR ON BEHALF OF THAT INDIVIDUAL, USUALLY FOR DELIVERANCE FROM SOME TRYING SITUATION.......

Psalm 138:1–3 NRSV

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything. On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.

PSALM 138 CELEBRATES THE NAME, THE STEADFAST LOVE, THE FAITHFULNESS, AND THE INTIMATE CARE OF GOD IN THE MYRIAD PLACES IN WHICH WE FIND OURSELVES IN LIFE—

OUR SANCTUARIES OF SAFETY, OUR CHAOTIC SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND ECONOMIC WORLD; OUR DAILY TRIALS AND TROUBLES........

OH BELOVEDS, THIS IS A SONG FOR TODAY......SECONDLY, WE RECOGNIZE THAT TO STUDY OR RUMINATE ON GOD’S STEADFAST LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WAYS GOD HAS FULFILLED PROMISES, SEEN YOU THROUGH WHEN YOU MAY HAVE FELT ALL ELSE WAS HOPELESS OR THE SYSTEMS THAT OTHERWISE WOULD SUSTAIN US HAVE LET US DOWN.....

WHEN WE SPEAK OF THE PROMISES OF GOD IN OUR UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST STATEMENT OF FAITH....WE REMEMBER AND REGALE GOD’S PROMISES IN THE STANZA THAT SAYS:

YOU (O GOD) PROMISE TO ALL WHO TRUST YOU FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND FULLNESS OF GRACE, COURAGE IN THE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE, YOUR PRESENCE IN TRIAL AND REJOICING, AND ETERNAL LIFE IN YOUR REALM WHICH HAS NO END....

THE VERY STANZA ITSELF IS A CAUSE FOR JOY AND THANKFULNESS....

AND YET, MY UCC COLLEAGUE, THE REV. JOHN ZERHING TOLD THIS POWERFUL STORY:

AFTER A THANKSGIVING SERMON, DOTTY, AN OLDER MEMBER GREETED ME AT THE DOOR AND TOLD ME, “I KNOW I SHOULD BE MORE GRATEFUL. I’M WORKING ON MY GRATITUDE.” DOTTY WAS ONE THE KINDEST, GENTLEST AND MOST THANKFUL PEOPLE I HAD EVER MET. SHE RADIATED A LIFE OF BEING THANKFUL. SHE SAID THANK YOU TO EVERYONE. I CONSIDERED DOTTY A MODEL OF GRATITUDE. AND YET, SHE SAID SHE WAS STILL WORKING ON IT. HER COMMENT SHAPED MY ATTITUDE ON GRATITUDE FOR DECADES TO COME. GRATITUDE IS NOT INFUSED INTO OUR DNA. IT IS NOT AS THOUGH A PERSON IS EITHER GRATEFUL OR UNGRATEFUL, BORN WITH IT OR NOT, HAS IT OR DOESN’T. HER COMMENT HAS HAUNTED ME AS I WRESTLE WITH THE QUESTION, “HOW CAN I BE MORE GRATEFUL?”

GRATEFUL PEOPLE, HE CONCLUDED GROW TO BE CONTENT. WE JOURNEY TOWARDS CONTENTMENT EACH TIME WE SAY THANK YOU. RATHER THAN BEGINNING YOUR PRAYERS WITH PETITIONS OR ASKING, BEGIN BY THANKING. WITHOUT GRATITUDE, PRAYER AND FAITH BECOME HOLLOW, BUT WITH THANKFULNESS, OUR ENCOUNTER WITH THE DIVINE IS MADE WHOLE, AND OUR VISION BECOMES SHAPED BY SEEING THROUGH THE LENSES OF ABUNDANCE RATHER THAN ALWAYS LOOKING THROUGH LENSES OF SCARCITY.

GRATITUDE HAS SUSTAINED ME, BELOVEDS, IN MY MINISTRY OF WORKING DIRECTLY WITH DONORS TO OUR BELOVED UCC...MY MOTHER WAS RARELY SHY ABOUT SHOWING HER THANKS AND GRATEFULNESS......HER LOVE LANGUAGE WAS COMMUNICATING THANKS WITH HANDWRITTEN NOTES AND CARDS.....SHE COULD SPEND HOURS AT THE HALLMARK DISPLAY IN WALGREENS OR OTHER GIFT STORES......AND THOUGH SHE WENT HOME TO GLORY FEB 9th 2016, EVEN NOW, I FEEL HER PRESENCE WITH ME AS I SLOW DOWN TO FIND JUST THE RIGHT CARD OR THE FITTING WAY TO SAY THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS AND TO ALL MY BELOVEDS.......

THIS HAS BEEN MY JOURNEY TO ANSWERING ZERHING’S QUESTION, “HOW CAN I BE MORE GRATEFUL?”

THIRDLY AND FINALLY, GRATEFUL THANKS BEFORE GOD CAN BECOME MORE THAN JUST AN OUTWARD EXPRESSION WHEN WE FIND OUR WAY TO LISTENING DEEPLY TO THE ANCESTORS AND THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE US......I HAD THE BLESSING OF MEETING THE OUTSTANDING INTELLECTUAL AND NICARAGUAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY ACTIVIST JUANA BORDAS, THE FOUNDER OF MI CASA RESOURCE CENTER......SHE SIGNED MY COPY OF HER BEAUTIFUL BOOK: SALSA, SOUL AND SPIRIT: LEADERSHIP FOR A MULTI-CULTURAL AGE.....

AND I AM CONVINCED, BELOVEDS, WE CAN BE BURSTING WITH THANKS FROM THE INSIDE OUT WHEN WE HAVE A CLEAR FOUNDATION FROM WHICH WE CAN BE TRANSFORMED BY OUR EXPRESSIONS OF THANKS.....

DR. BORDAS EXPLAINS IN SALSA, SOUL AND SPIRIT:

GRATITUDE WAS DEEPLY INGRAINED IN EARLY ‘WE’ CULTURES, IN WHICH JUST SURVIVING WAS A BLESSING INDEED. MOST INDIGENOUS CULTURES HAD CELEBRATIONS TO GIVE THANKS FOR THE CYCLES OF NATURE, SUCH AS THE CHANGE IN SEASONS, THE GLORIOUS FULL MOON, AND THE RAIN THAT QUENCHED THE EARTH. GRATITUDE IS A TRANSFORMING FORCE THAT ENGENDERS HOPE AND GENEROSITY EVEN WHEN ONE HAS LITTLE TO SHARE OR TIMES ARE DIFFICULT. GRACIAS, BEING GRATEFUL, IS A KEY QUALITY THAT CULTIVATES HOPE BECAUSE PEOPLE CONCENTRATE ON WHAT THEY HAVE, NOT WHAT THEY LACK. “GRACIAS A LA VIDA” OR THANKS TO LIFE, A TREASURED SONG BY CHILEAN ARTIST VIOLETA PARRA, IS STEEPED IN THIS PERVASIVE SPIRIT OF THANKFULNESS. THE SONG THANKS LIFE FOR GIVING US OUR ABILITY TO SEE AND TO HEAR, AND FEET TO WALK WITH. YES, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR CITIES, PUDDLE, BEACHES, DESERTS, MOUNTAINS, PLAINS, THE STARS IN THE HEAVENS, FOR THE ALPHABET AND WORDS SO WE CAN COMMUNICATE, ANF FOR OUR MOTHERS, FRIENDS, BROTHER AND LOVERS. PARRA ENDS HER SONG BY SAYING THAT IT IS YOUR SONG AND EVERYONE’S SONG. THANKS TO LIFE, THAT HAS GIVEN ME SO MUCH.

SO, THANK YOU, COMMUNITY UCC FOR YOUR FAITHFUL MINISTRIES.....YOU ARE A BEACON OF HOPE NOT JUST IN BOULDER BUT THROUGHOUT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CONFERENCE, THE METRO DENVER ASSOCIATION AND THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST.....

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMUNITY COMPASSION CORPS SERVING FOLKS CONNECTED WITH FLATIRONS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, SEED PLANTING WITH BOULDER COUNTY OPEN SPACE AND SO MUCH MORE....THROUGH THESE MINISTRIES YOU ARE GIVING LIFE NOT JUST TO YOUR VOLUNTEERS BUT ALSO TO SO MANY OTHERS.........

THANK YOU FOR TRANSFORMING THE TERRIBLE KING SOOPERS TRAGEDY INTO YOUR GUNS TO GARDENS MOVEMENT....EVERY GUN REMOVED FROM SOCIETY, I’M CONVINCED, IS DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO SAVING A LIFE OR A MAIMING OR A GUN ACCIDENT WITH TRAGIC RESULTS.....

THANK YOU FOR BREATHING SPACE....AND THE RESTORATION OF LIFE IT PROVIDES AND SO MUCH MORE....FOR THE WORSHIP OF GOD AND THE CARE OF SOULS AND THE MULTI GENERATIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING THAT GOES ON HERE THANK YOU....BELOVEDS.....

THANK YOU FOR BEING COMMUNITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST..............LET US PRAY....