Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Most of us have heard the story of the Pilgrims, those settlers who first arrived in the new land that we now call the USA.

They landed at Plymouth Bay on December 21, 1620, travelling on the Mayflower.

It took 66 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the voyage was perilous, bringing them to the New World in the bleak New England winter.

Though half of the 102 courageous passengers died during that winter, the survivors were fully committed to stay in spite of the hardships they endured.

How many of us recall the travellers that came to our shores before the Pilgrims?

I want for you to hear how much thankfulness is in this account.

1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (The Founders)

The Founders

On December 20, 1606, three bold boats sailed down the Thames in London, embarking on a voyage to search for a safe port along the shores of Virginia.

Susan Constant, flagship of Sir Christopher Newport’s fleet, 110 feet, 7 inches long, was by far the largest vessel.

Though she had only nineteen bunks, she carried fifty-four passengers and a crew of seventeen.

She was a sturdy ship with the crudest of accommodations.

No one had any privacy except the captain.

There was no galley.

When weather permitted, food was cooked in sand pots on deck.

The second largest ship in this history-making voyage was the Godspeed.

It was 69 feet, 2 inches overall, and had cramped sleeping quarters for twelve, yet she listed thirty-nine passengers and a crew of thirteen.

Quite appropriately, one of the boats used by the founders was the Discovery.

This small sailing craft displaced about twenty tons of water and measured 50 feet, 2 1/4 inches from stem to stem.

The rough “below” was partitioned for four bunks.

Yet she brought over twelve passengers and a crew of nine.

It required 128 days for the voyage.

The founders arrived at Cape Henry, Virginia, April 26, 1607, at four o’clock in the morning.

On this windswept shore, the grateful settlers raised a “large wooden cross” and thanked God for their safe arrival.

Jamestown was selected as their site on May 14.

These were dark and daring days.

The disease-infested swamps, together with Indian warfare, claimed many.

Food was scarce.

Several hundred colonists came to Virginia in the first six years of her founding, and at one point only sixty persons survived.

On June 7, 1610, it was decided to abandon the settlement.

The colonists sailed down the James River once again to challenge the Atlantic.

Next morning, Sir Thomas Gates, lieutenant governor of the colony, received word that Lord De la Warr had arrived at Point Comfort with settlers and supplies.

Governor Gates returned to the empty fort and, falling on his knees, thanked God the colony had been saved.

We are often reminded of our duty to gratitude during this time of year.

Gratitude is expected as common courtesy among gentle people and is expected of us by God.

In fact, when we focus on the good things that God provides us in life, it is not difficult to extend to Him the courtesy He deserves.

Yet thankfulness is much more than simply courtesy.

Gratitude is a form of worship, when we consider our gratefulness before God.

Giving thanks to God is an expression of our faith: faith in past, gratitude for our present condition and expectation of future blessings that come from God.

Beyond faith, gratitude is a form of love.

Love does not take for granted the gifts we receive.

The Psalms are the best place to turn to for a look at thanksgiving.

As I said, we can find great examples of Thanksgiving throughout the Bible, but the Psalms are an absolute treasure trove when it comes to giving thanks to God.

Let’s turn our attention to the text for today, Psalm 100:

[pray]

This passage is appropriately called a Thanksgiving Psalm.

It was composed to celebrate God, Yahweh, the King of Israel.

This psalm was likely sung as the congregation entered into the tabernacle to worship God.

These thanksgiving psalms affirm what we know about God from scripture and serve to remind us to prepare our hearts for worship.

I. Shout Joyfully to the Lord

In the original Hebrew, this word “shout” could mean a battle cry of expectant victory or triumphant joy due to the victory achieved.

This kind of jubilant shout seems to be strange to our current church culture.

I’m trying to think when was the last time I shouted in church.

Probably the best place to experience this kind of jubilant shout is to watch a football game.

The roar of victory is just something that God built into our makeup as human beings.

But this psalm the joy is not for a football team or a rock star.

This shout goes to God, the Father, the Great I AM, who was, is and is to come!

Moreover, this cry is coming to God from all the earth, from all the earth and territories of the earth, it is the collective voice of humanity that cries out to God.

As a pastor and during my time as a chaplain in the hospital, I have often been reminded that some of us do not have a happy song in our hearts, but a sad one.

This is often the result of some circumstance in our lives.

It doesn’t take much time in the hospital to remind me that we live in a fallen and broken world.

Some suffer from the consequences of their own poor choices.

Others suffer from the consequences of the poor choices that someone else made.

And yet others are not suffering for choices, but for the disease and discord that runs rampant in this world.

Some people figure out how to trust in the Lord despite this brokenness and suffering that they find in this life.

Paul gives us an example of this in his letter to the Philippians...

When Paul says "I can do everything in Christ, which strengthens me," he is saying that living in Christ can help him to do what God has set out for him to do.

He’s not talking about have everything that he desires.

He’s not talking about worldly success.

He’s talking about success in God’s eyes by accomplishing God’s plans.

And this contentment is something that he expects in the midst of difficult circumstances.

Part of learning that satisfaction can be found by giving praise to God, by thanking God for all that he has done.

That satisfaction can also be found in service.

II.

Serve the Lord with Gladness

This Hebrew word here is עָבַד (abad).

It translated as “serve” but it can also be translated as “worship.”

Worship leads to service ... and worship is our service to God.

This word worship / service has a strong connection to the idea of slavery.

When we choose God, one could literally say that we are enslaved to God.

The Apostle Paul refers to himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ” in many of his letters.

The word in the New Testament Greek is doulos, which we translate in English as “slave” or “servant.”

A servant is one who is bound in the service of his master and is completely available to his master.

In the Bible, a servant can volunteer to serve (as in taking a job), or he may need to pay off a debt, it it may actually take on the fullest meaning of the word slave, to be made the permanent property of another person and is promised to fulfill all his master’s mandates.

In this case, we worship God, our Lord—we serve him—and we fully devote ourselves to serving his purposes.

Ephesians 5 reminds us to “be filled by the Spirit:”

That is to say that when we are Spirit-filled, these praises to God become natural to us.

III.

Sing Joyfully Before the Lord

… come before him with joyful songs.

- Psalm 100:2b

Part of our service to God in worship is singing for him.

The Apostle James taught this as well in his letter to Jewish believers...

Some of you are starting to squirm, thinking that if singing is required that you may be disqualified ...

I believe that the Holy Spirit can interpret the attitude of your heart and bring your sacrifice of praise to God and make it more beautiful and melodious than you can possibly imagine.

If the Spirit can interpret our prayers, why not our songs too?

The hard part is discovering how to sing happily when our lives are falling apart.

But Paul and Silas discovered how to do it when they were in their worst state ...

Surely we can find a way to praise the name of Christ in our difficult circumstances.