Sermon Tone Analysis

*Date:*      17th February 2008                                                                (Sunday PM)                                                                        *Ref:* A0366

*Place:     Kambah P.S.*

*Title: Bless His Holy Name*

*Text:        *& Ps 103:1-3

 

*Illust:     *Went to the CSO concert in the Grounds of the Governor Generals house a week ago.

– Very pleasant afternoon.

– One of the things that you notice with an orchestra when you arrive is that they all tune their instruments.

– The music is all in harmony, there are no discordant notes because all of the instruments have been tuned.

– Over time they get out of tune – Need to be tuned.

– Once tuned the powerful emotions and force of an orchestral piece can be realised.

– Now Maybe you don’t struggle with this, if not just sit back & I’ll preach it to myself, because I certainly do.

- I come to pray, to worship God & I just don’t feel like it, I know that if I can connect with heaven it can be powerful, but I just struggle.

I am out of tune with heavenly things.

- If we are going to worship God, we need to tune ourselves.

!

I.                   First Call

!! A.               Bless the Lord

i.

What does it mean to bless somebody?

It means to give them something or do something for them that is seen as a blessing, a benefit a help.

ii.               & vs1 ~~ Think about what it means to bless God? – God already is the highest self sufficient being in existence.

Acts 17:28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, (NKJV)

     He is the source of all blessing – so how do we bless God, what does it mean to bless God?

iii.

Simply, that we praise Him, worship Him – Give Him the honour that is His due.

!! B.               O’ My Soul

i.

Here is the Psalmist in a way commanding His soul, His innermost self to praise the Lord.

To worship God.

– We need to do this, to praise & worship God.

But how often do you really feel like praising God, be honest.

You wake up in the morning; is your 1st thought, Praise the Lord it’s morning!!

Or is your first thought a curse for the alarm clock.

You come to pray in the morning or before the service – Just can’t seem to connect, get into it; weariness, distraction, a million thoughts of other things crowd your mind, Just not into it.

Why prayer before service is so important, have a halfway chance of getting to the worship service in some semblance of a spirit of worship.

– Maybe you struggle in the same way in the worship service – It’s not a worship service it’s just a few songs before the preaching.

One author puts it this way: The well is seldom so full that water will at first pumping flow forth; neither is the heart commonly so spiritual, after our best care in our worldly converse (much less when we somewhat overdo therein) as to pour itself into God's bosom freely, without something to raise and elevate it; yea, often, the springs of grace lie so low, that pumping only will not fetch the heart up to a praying frame, but arguments must be poured into the soul before the affections rise.

ii.