Joyful Worship: Celebrating Life's Milestones with Gratitude
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "Today, my question to you is, have you thought about the last time you just let loose and your praises to God and your prayers to God and to your service to God? As we come to the communion table, I'm curious the last time that you came to communion that way too. You know, um, we think about communion so many different ways, but this table is such a joy filled place. Um, it's Pentecost Sunday. For some of you, that doesn't mean anything, but Pentecost Sunday is rooted all the way back to Jewish tradition. And, um, it was, it's a holiday for the Jewish faith and the Christian faith. It's the day that the church, we call it our birthday because it's the day the Holy Spirit came down to all of us. And so, um, if we don't have anything else to be joyful about today, this is the day we remember that after Jesus left us, he sent the spirit down so that we would never be alone. So no matter what's going on in life, we always have God walking with us. Amen." [39:40]
2. "I hope this week as you go about your week you'll think about smiling and think about what big and little things you can be thankful for. We think about worship as what we do in this room but if you spend time in the psalms I try to make a point to read a psalm every day you'll realize more and more as you read them that this is just the smallest piece of worship. Worship is the ins and outs of our relationship with God and when we connect all of that together there's so much more to deepen the ups and the downs of life." [54:23]
3. "Now, I want to explain one thing. Joy and happiness are not the same thing. I can be joyful even when life is not going well. I can be joyful even when I haven't gotten everything I want. I can be joyful even when I am going through the testing and fires of life because joy and happiness don't equal each other. Joy comes from knowing that God is walking through the hardship with me. Joy is knowing that I'm giving God all that I have. And today, all that I have may be a lot or it may be a little, but I can choose to be positive on the little that I have and say, God, take my little. And multiply it because I know you can. Worship is about taking the little and choosing to make it joyful." [37:48]
4. "When we were in Girl Scout season and we were teaching our girls how to sell cookies. Now many people know that, you know, that I'm a Girl Scout leader. And one of the things you may not know is the reason we teach Girl Scouts to sell cookies is we're teaching them how to be future entrepreneurs. How to be successful in life. It's not just about fundraising. We're trying to teach them skills that will help them in life. And so we're trying to explain to the girls you have to smile as you talk to people. Don't just say, do you want cookies? Say, hello, would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookie? And I said, it makes a difference. And then I told them this story about how when I worked for Marriott in college, Marriott trained us to smile on the telephone. It's true. Did you know that it changes your voice? You sound friendlier. And the people on the other end of the phone are happier when you smile when you talk to them." [35:33]
5. "I recommend having fun because there is nothing better for the people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way, we will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun. So, what did God recommend? Y'all can do better than that. What did God recommend? There we go. Now, I want you to just think for a moment. If you were to describe our church and worship, someone who has not ever been to our church, maybe any church, if you were to describe worship to somebody, think in your head, how would you describe worship?" [24:48]
### Quotes for Members
1. "We think about worship as what we do in this room but if you spend time in the psalms I try to make a point to read a psalm every day you'll realize more and more as you read them that this is just the smallest piece of worship. Worship is the ins and outs of our relationship with God and when we connect all of that together there's so much more to deepen the ups and the downs of life." [54:23]
2. "David, on the other hand, he didn't care who was watching him praise God. He didn't care that he was in front of all of his subjects. He just wanted to worship and he worshiped in the joy of his heart. And this is why we get such wonderful psalms out of David because he wrote out of the joy of his heart. We also get his sorrows and all these other things from him in the book of Psalms. But throughout scripture, Paul calls his people to have joyful hearts. But we get the flip side of that. You see, we see things like God calling people to fast and fasts always end with feasts. Anyone like a good feast? I do. love a nice big old party with a table full of food. But the fast never ended without a feast. The seriousness of preparing your heart and your mind and your soul and all of the things of repentance always ended with the celebration. When he calls his people to give to him worship and their tithing and all of their time, he always asked it to be done with a joyful heart. He never wanted things to be done out of obligation or out of manipulation. He wanted everything to be done out of joy." [32:07]
3. "King David wrote most of the book of Psalms. And he speaks a lot about having a joyful heart. Psalm 100. I love this Psalm. It's short and simple, but to me, very, very powerful. And he's talking about worship here when he says this in verse four, enter his gates with thanksgiving, go into his courts with praise, give thanks to him and praise his name. See, when I imagine David writing this Psalm, I imagine him singing and dancing. He was a musician and just being lighthearted. And I imagine him singing and dancing. And he was a as he did things. Well, I get this picture of David because we are told that that's how he worshiped." [28:04]
4. "Today, my question to you is, have you thought about the last time you just let loose and your praises to God and your prayers to God and to your service to God? As we come to the communion table, I'm curious the last time that you came to communion that way too. You know, um, we think about communion so many different ways, but this table is such a joy filled place. Um, it's Pentecost Sunday. For some of you, that doesn't mean anything, but Pentecost Sunday is rooted all the way back to Jewish tradition. And, um, it was, it's a holiday for the Jewish faith and the Christian faith. It's the day that the church, we call it our birthday because it's the day the Holy Spirit came down to all of us. And so, um, if we don't have anything else to be joyful about today, this is the day we remember that after Jesus left us, he sent the spirit down so that we would never be alone. So no matter what's going on in life, we always have God walking with us. Amen." [39:40]
5. "I hope this week as you go about your week you'll think about smiling and think about what big and little things you can be thankful for. We think about worship as what we do in this room but if you spend time in the psalms I try to make a point to read a psalm every day you'll realize more and more as you read them that this is just the smallest piece of worship. Worship is the ins and outs of our relationship with God and when we connect all of that together there's so much more to deepen the ups and the downs of life." [54:23]
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "Today, my question to you is, have you thought about the last time you just let loose and your praises to God and your prayers to God and to your service to God? As we come to the communion table, I'm curious the last time that you came to communion that way too. You know, um, we think about communion so many different ways, but this table is such a joy filled place. Um, it's Pentecost Sunday. For some of you, that doesn't mean anything, but Pentecost Sunday is rooted all the way back to Jewish tradition. And, um, it was, it's a holiday for the Jewish faith and the Christian faith. It's the day that the church, we call it our birthday because it's the day the Holy Spirit came down to all of us. And so, um, if we don't have anything else to be joyful about today, this is the day we remember that after Jesus left us, he sent the spirit down so that we would never be alone. So no matter what's going on in life, we always have God walking with us. Amen." [39:40]
2. "I hope this week as you go about your week you'll think about smiling and think about what big and little things you can be thankful for. We think about worship as what we do in this room but if you spend time in the psalms I try to make a point to read a psalm every day you'll realize more and more as you read them that this is just the smallest piece of worship. Worship is the ins and outs of our relationship with God and when we connect all of that together there's so much more to deepen the ups and the downs of life." [54:23]
3. "Now, I want to explain one thing. Joy and happiness are not the same thing. I can be joyful even when life is not going well. I can be joyful even when I haven't gotten everything I want. I can be joyful even when I am going through the testing and fires of life because joy and happiness don't equal each other. Joy comes from knowing that God is walking through the hardship with me. Joy is knowing that I'm giving God all that I have. And today, all that I have may be a lot or it may be a little, but I can choose to be positive on the little that I have and say, God, take my little. And multiply it because I know you can. Worship is about taking the little and choosing to make it joyful." [37:48]
4. "When we were in Girl Scout season and we were teaching our girls how to sell cookies. Now many people know that, you know, that I'm a Girl Scout leader. And one of the things you may not know is the reason we teach Girl Scouts to sell cookies is we're teaching them how to be future entrepreneurs. How to be successful in life. It's not just about fundraising. We're trying to teach them skills that will help them in life. And so we're trying to explain to the girls you have to smile as you talk to people. Don't just say, do you want cookies? Say, hello, would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookie? And I said, it makes a difference. And then I told them this story about how when I worked for Marriott in college, Marriott trained us to smile on the telephone. It's true. Did you know that it changes your voice? You sound friendlier. And the people on the other end of the phone are happier when you smile when you talk to them." [35:33]
5. "I recommend having fun because there is nothing better for the people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way, we will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun. So, what did God recommend? Y'all can do better than that. What did God recommend? There we go. Now, I want you to just think for a moment. If you were to describe our church and worship, someone who has not ever been to our church, maybe any church, if you were to describe worship to somebody, think in your head, how would you describe worship?" [24:48]
### Quotes for Members
1. "We think about worship as what we do in this room but if you spend time in the psalms I try to make a point to read a psalm every day you'll realize more and more as you read them that this is just the smallest piece of worship. Worship is the ins and outs of our relationship with God and when we connect all of that together there's so much more to deepen the ups and the downs of life." [54:23]
2. "David, on the other hand, he didn't care who was watching him praise God. He didn't care that he was in front of all of his subjects. He just wanted to worship and he worshiped in the joy of his heart. And this is why we get such wonderful psalms out of David because he wrote out of the joy of his heart. We also get his sorrows and all these other things from him in the book of Psalms. But throughout scripture, Paul calls his people to have joyful hearts. But we get the flip side of that. You see, we see things like God calling people to fast and fasts always end with feasts. Anyone like a good feast? I do. love a nice big old party with a table full of food. But the fast never ended without a feast. The seriousness of preparing your heart and your mind and your soul and all of the things of repentance always ended with the celebration. When he calls his people to give to him worship and their tithing and all of their time, he always asked it to be done with a joyful heart. He never wanted things to be done out of obligation or out of manipulation. He wanted everything to be done out of joy." [32:07]
3. "King David wrote most of the book of Psalms. And he speaks a lot about having a joyful heart. Psalm 100. I love this Psalm. It's short and simple, but to me, very, very powerful. And he's talking about worship here when he says this in verse four, enter his gates with thanksgiving, go into his courts with praise, give thanks to him and praise his name. See, when I imagine David writing this Psalm, I imagine him singing and dancing. He was a musician and just being lighthearted. And I imagine him singing and dancing. And he was a as he did things. Well, I get this picture of David because we are told that that's how he worshiped." [28:04]
4. "Today, my question to you is, have you thought about the last time you just let loose and your praises to God and your prayers to God and to your service to God? As we come to the communion table, I'm curious the last time that you came to communion that way too. You know, um, we think about communion so many different ways, but this table is such a joy filled place. Um, it's Pentecost Sunday. For some of you, that doesn't mean anything, but Pentecost Sunday is rooted all the way back to Jewish tradition. And, um, it was, it's a holiday for the Jewish faith and the Christian faith. It's the day that the church, we call it our birthday because it's the day the Holy Spirit came down to all of us. And so, um, if we don't have anything else to be joyful about today, this is the day we remember that after Jesus left us, he sent the spirit down so that we would never be alone. So no matter what's going on in life, we always have God walking with us. Amen." [39:40]
5. "I hope this week as you go about your week you'll think about smiling and think about what big and little things you can be thankful for. We think about worship as what we do in this room but if you spend time in the psalms I try to make a point to read a psalm every day you'll realize more and more as you read them that this is just the smallest piece of worship. Worship is the ins and outs of our relationship with God and when we connect all of that together there's so much more to deepen the ups and the downs of life." [54:23]
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