Giving Thanks - Singing Praise (Pandemic Preaching)
Sing Praises to the Lord
"I will praise you, Lord,
with all my heart
and tell about the wonders
you have worked.
God Most High, I will rejoice;
I will celebrate and sing
because of you."
Psalm 9:1-2
(A psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune “The Death of the Son.”)
2020 Vision
2020 was the year that allowed humankind to see clearly.
For the first time, everyone in this big ship we are all travelling in (as we go around the sun once every 365.25 days), most if not all of us onboard got affected, many of us got sick, some of us died, many are still suffering and our daily routines changed, whether we like it or not. And all due to a little virus.
Titanic
And whether we believe it or not, or whether this pandemic virus is deadly only among the more vulnerable among us, all of us in this ship we call earth, are all in this together -- literally, like those who were aboard the Diamond Princess, that cruiseship with close to 4,000 people who thought they will be having a great relaxation time until a single passenger brought the pandemic virus onboard with him as they all sailed away.
This planet isn't the Titanic (at least not yet), but like those onboard that cruiseship, we all are onboard this giant ship and like those in the Titanic, when it went down, everyone onboard went down with it, unless they could find a lifeboat or a wooden door and were rescued on time*.
Flood
In the great flood, the whole earth was submerged with only those aboard the ark being saved. I know, it sounds too farfetch to be true. But there are far more unbelievable things that we do believe in and we swore to, even though we have no way of knowing if they are true or not.
Seeing With 2020 Vision
With this Thanksgiving (and Pandemic Preaching) Series, we want to be able to see the "big picture". We want to be able to look beyond things and those that we do routinely, mechanically and those we take for granted.
We want to be able to see things that wasn't so apparent before. And we want to open our eyes to the "what ifs" or the possibilities that are out there and those beyond our understanding or even those we just don't want to believe.
Praise
Scriptures tell us to pray without ceasing. That is actually hard to do.
Titanic
And whether we believe it or not, or whether this pandemic virus is deadly only among the more vulnerable among us, all of us in this ship we call earth, are all in this together -- literally, like those who were aboard the Diamond Princess, that cruiseship with close to 4,000 people who thought they will be having a great relaxation time until a single passenger brought the pandemic virus onboard with him as they all sailed away.
This planet isn't the Titanic (at least not yet), but like those onboard that cruiseship, we all are onboard this giant ship and like those in the Titanic, when it went down, everyone onboard went down with it, unless they could find a lifeboat or a wooden door and were rescued on time*.
Flood
In the great flood, the whole earth was submerged with only those aboard the ark being saved. I know, it sounds too farfetch to be true. But there are far more unbelievable things that we do believe in and we swore to, even though we have no way of knowing if they are true or not.
Seeing With 2020 Vision
With this Thanksgiving (and Pandemic Preaching) Series, we want to be able to see the "big picture". We want to be able to look beyond things and those that we do routinely, mechanically and those we take for granted.
We want to be able to see things that wasn't so apparent before. And we want to open our eyes to the "what ifs" or the possibilities that are out there and those beyond our understanding or even those we just don't want to believe.
Praise
Scriptures tell us to pray without ceasing. That is actually hard to do.
But praise without ceasing, we can actually do so. Have you ever woke up with your soul already gently singing within you? Have you ever fell asleep singing a song of praise and when you woke up you hear your inner self still singing the same song or some other song you might have already forgotten about? Do you ever had a tune stuck in your head that you can't get away from?
The bible tells us that we were created to praise. And these gives us a glimpse of that. Those heavenly beings we call as angels, also continually sing praises to our Lord.
Giving Thanks
And give thanks without ceasing? We can do that as well. When we are in an attitude of praise, we will almost at the same time be in an attitude of thanksgiving -- for anything and everything. And thanksgiving to our God, our Maker, our Father in heaven, to whom we will be reunited once again*.
As David in the passage above as well as many other psalms he has written and sang to the Lord, we can also say:
"God Most High, I will rejoice;
I will celebrate and sing
because of you."
Even after the death of his infant son. Upon learning about it, David immediately stopped praying and fasting and went to the temple to worship God. (Read 2 Samuel 12:18-24).
To our Father in heaven, we too can say, in every season, we praise you and we honor you and we praise your Holy Name.
After David praised God upon the death of his son, he and his wife bore a son -- Solomon, who became the wisest, richest, most prosperous, powerful and productive king to rule over Israel.
The bible tells us that we were created to praise. And these gives us a glimpse of that. Those heavenly beings we call as angels, also continually sing praises to our Lord.
Giving Thanks
And give thanks without ceasing? We can do that as well. When we are in an attitude of praise, we will almost at the same time be in an attitude of thanksgiving -- for anything and everything. And thanksgiving to our God, our Maker, our Father in heaven, to whom we will be reunited once again*.
As David in the passage above as well as many other psalms he has written and sang to the Lord, we can also say:
"God Most High, I will rejoice;
I will celebrate and sing
because of you."
Even after the death of his infant son. Upon learning about it, David immediately stopped praying and fasting and went to the temple to worship God. (Read 2 Samuel 12:18-24).
To our Father in heaven, we too can say, in every season, we praise you and we honor you and we praise your Holy Name.
After David praised God upon the death of his son, he and his wife bore a son -- Solomon, who became the wisest, richest, most prosperous, powerful and productive king to rule over Israel.
*this planet we are all in, along with all humankind will one day cease to exist. But the God of creation has an ark for us (a life boat/a door) to get into so we can be safe and carry us back to our heavenly Father. The ark is His Son, Jesus of Nazareth.
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