Psalm 96

John Chamberlain   -  

December 18, 2022

Heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

It is right that we come before you this morning and sing praises to you! You are worthy of all of the glory and honor we can give you. It is not hard to see how excited the psalmist is to offer up praise to you. Your majesty and power are on display when we look to the heavens. He looked up into the same heavens we do. Knowing you are the one that was responsible for creating all of it, made him marvel at how great you are.  I wonder Lord, how frustrated you must get when we don’t take a minute to appreciate all of the beauty set before us.

Father, we are instructed to proclaim your salvation day after day and declare your marvelous deeds among the nations.  Help us to take advantage of conversations we will have in the next week by explaining to people Jesus Christ is what Christmas is all about.  May these conversations open doors to future discussions about the reason Jesus came and humbled himself to enter our world as a human.   Jesus, we are so thankful you were willing to do that for us, when you knew completely what sacrifice would be required at the end of your earthly life.  We can enthusiastically join in with the psalmist when he declares that all glory, splendor, honor and majesty are due to you and you alone!

Heavenly Father we are grateful to have B, T, B, and G here with us today. Maybe not quite as excited as D and K, but pretty close!  Thank you for the encouraging update they were able to share.  We look forward to finding out more about their ministry after the service when we will enjoy some extended time with them.

We are thankful that B and T’s heart is right in line with the psalmist when their desire is to see your salvation proclaimed to the people they have an opportunity to work with. Please continue to bless their efforts.  We also pray that you would help B and T to model well what a family focused on you can look like.  May this be an encouragement to the other believers they are working with, so together they may all be strengthened as a community of believers.  Finally Father we ask that you will continue to bless the time B, T, B and G are able to spend with family and friends.  Help them to get the necessary refreshment and recharging they need before returning to the country where they serve.

For it’s in the name of the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we pray these things.

And all God’s people said………Amen