Thanksgiving Eve Service

I know work I have done. My writer's business I've wanted to fit. I have Savior's cross. We're all sufficient men to know what I could do. In love he condescended, eternal now in time. A life without a blemish, the maker made to die. The law could never save us, our all is blessed at one. Until the pure and spotless, when hath I become. It is done, it is finished, no more day I owe. In the Lord, also patient, living now my home. I lay down my garment, when he ends in the road. Good works now on the road. By the sinful hopes, I trust in my Lord Jesus. The Prince and Lord rewind. No more fear of judgment, His righteousness is mine. It is God, in His name. Thank you. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray.

Let's pray for Jesus, and thank Him for the cross. Yes, I'll thank Him for the cross. He is God, He is endless, the Lord that I own, waiting for all submission. He is God, He is endless, the Lord that I own, waiting for all submission. Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord. Let's pray.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! O Lord Almighty, grace. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! O Lord, my God, Almighty, grace. Even to Jesus, there's no bad as one. Celebrate the choices, one of the best of God. Light the roar of my deceit. Close upon all the church will sing. Alleluia! Alleluia! O Lord, my God, Almighty, grace. Alleluia! Alleluia! O Lord, my God, Almighty, grace.

Christ we will proclaim. All that worlds share that Christ our nation is here. The way you build the enemy, the mighty Father's rising to the King. Alleluia! Alleluia! For the Lord your mighty praise. Alleluia! Alleluia! For the Lord our God your mighty praise. Alleluia! Alleluia! For the Lord your mighty praise. Alleluia! Alleluia! For the Lord our God your mighty praise. Thank you. Thank you.

I am sure we are there every reason to praise the Lord. I am just a need, just for nothing, free for all I need. How are some of these healing? May your requests at His feet. His peace will hold upon us, to turn our hearts to light. In Christ who reigns eternal, shepherd of our life, with His red means to the Lamb. Praise the Lord. In these times we live. We will praise the Lord. We will praise the Lord. In these times, we will praise the Lord. In these times, we will praise the Lord. In these times, we will praise the Lord. In these times, we will praise the Lord. We will praise the Lord. In these times, we will praise the Lord. In these times, we will praise the Lord. We will praise the Lord. In these times, we will praise the Lord.

In these times, we will praise the Lord. Through our every season, I am sure. In every return, we praise the Lord. In every return, we praise the Lord. In every return, we will stand and read the hundredth psalm together by the request of one of our kids, and then we will begin our time of worship. Father, we thank you for the wonderful life, and we thank you for our families and our family, for your loving care that is with us. We thank you for your rest, your time to pray. We thank you even for disappointment. We thank you to God for the example of His life. We thank you for His obedience. We overcame temptation. We thank you for the death, in which we overcame our enemies. We thank you for the resurrection of your life for His kingdom. In all times, it's in Jesus' name. We're going to stand and read together.

We wouldn't read it. We're making a voice to the Lord all the people who serve the Lord with gladness. Come into His presence and singing, "No, come alone, alone is God. It is He who lives His people. And He lives my sin. And He lives my sin. And the sheep of His people. And the sheep of His people. And to His gates, the thanksgiving. And His people. Thanks. I am not my own. I belong to you. I am not mine. I am not mine. I am not mine. I am not mine. I am not the dead in darkness. I know I belong to you. Good evening. It's my pleasure to be here with you this evening. We're going to be singing a few songs. Praise in grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind, but now I see.

Give my heart to fear. Embrace my fears relief. How precious did that grace appear. The hour I first believed. My chains are gone. I've been set free. My Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace. His Word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be. As long as life endures. My chains are gone. I've been set free. My God, my Savior, has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow. The sun forbear to shine. But God is holy. We'll be forever mine. We'll be forever mine. We'll be forever mine. You are forever mine. I've been set free. My God, my Savior, has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns. Before we sing the next song, I'm going to be stealing Brandon's thunder a little bit, because we're going to be doing devotional thought a little bit later about Psalm 33, but I want to read a couple of verses from that song.

I told you in verse 20 and 21, it says, "Our soul waiteth for the Lord; He is our help and our shield; for our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His glory." Amen. Amen. Amen.

I've known you as a father, and I've known you as a friend. I have lived in the goodness of God. In all my life, you have been faithful. In all my life, you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. Sing your goodness is running after me. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. With my life laid down, I'm surrendered now. I give you everything. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. With my life laid down, I'm surrendered now. I give you everything. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. With all my life you have been faith. With all my life you have been so sweet. You make sense of it. I am faith. Remember Jesus, the Lord.

Jesus, the good. Jesus, the good. All my life you have been faithful. And all my life you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing the heavenly goodness of God. I will sing of the goodness of God. We're singing one more together before Brandon comes up and gives us our own message for tonight. So sing out with us. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned unclean. How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. He took my sins and my sorrows and made them His very own. He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. And suffered and died alone. How marvelous, how wonderful and my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me.

And with the ransomed in glory, His face I at last shall see. 'Twill be my joy through the ages to sing of His love for me. How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me.' Can we sing that chorus again? How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me.' You guys can be seated. Let me pray for Brandon before he comes up here. Dear Lord, I thank you so much for all the ways you are worthy of our praise, all the things we've just been singing about, that we're hopefully thinking about. I ask that you be with our brother Brandon this evening as he brings us a message from your word, from Psalm 33, that you will just open up our minds and our ears and our hearts to hear what you want us to hear, what you want to speak to us tonight.

That's my prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. Very thankful for Jason, because I can neither play the guitar nor sing. And as we get started in the 33rd Psalm, I'll have the Scripture up on the screen. We're not going to read through it all, reference it. I told Jason as we were praying right before service that I'm not a very good devotional guy, because I like to go longer than 10 or 15 minutes. So we prayed, and probably only one of you will get this, we just prayed that God would make us fast and accurate. So we're going to jump into the 33rd Psalm here in just a minute. One of the things that I love about kids in general, and our kids specifically, is that they can get excited about just about anything. And so we were decorating, or we began decorating for Christmas with some church folks yesterday.

And one of the things that we needed to do was we were trying to hunt down all the Christmas decorations. And so at one point I gathered the mob of children and said, "Who wants to go into the dark and spooky closet and look for more decorations?" And this invitation to the dark, spooky closet under the stairs became far more popular with the children than I could have imagined. And so I had to set some limits. It's like, "If you don't have shoes, you can't go into the dark, spooky closet." "Have you had a recent petanus shot?" Then you can go into the dark, spooky closet. "What's your stance on venomous spiders?" Then you can go into the dark, spooky closet. And they all were very excited for the creepy closet under the stairs. And I really was not, and it wasn't only because I had to go first to check for the venomous spiders, but it's dark, it's dusty, it smells like mothballs.

It just is an unpleasant place, at least for me to be. And what they found joy and adventure in was me basically just hitting my head on the underside of the stairs. And so most of us, when given that kind of invitation, that the kids responded joyfully to, we would respond with, "I'll do it if I have to, but I'm not super excited about it." And as we see the hurt and the pain and the struggle in this world, I think sometimes we struggle to be thankful and to praise God. And I think it's true when we come to a psalm, like the 33rd Psalm, that begins with such an overwhelming command that we would be joyful. It begins by calling us to shout for joy, to praise God for all that he's done, to give thanks to him, and then it begins to list instruments.

So you're going to play different instruments, and then it ends with this. Verse 3 at the very end sounds a bit like a rowdy concert, right? Play skillfully with loud shouts. And maybe the cynical part of my heart goes, "Why?" I hear all of this, you need to be thankful, you should be thankful, and sometimes in the pain and hurt of the world, it's a little bit like going into that closet under the stairs. I'll do it if I have to, but I don't really want to. So I want to share with you three things from the 33rd Psalm that I think should move our hearts to both thankfulness and praise. First of all, one of the things that this psalm shares with us is that God speaks to us truly. Now the psalmist who is likely David, we're not quite sure, nobody signed this psalm, but most scholars think this is probably David.

And if it is David writing this, he knows God deeply. And what he does is he assumes that God speaks. And the reason that I say that David assumes God speaks is because the praise and thankfulness found in this psalm are not about the fact that God speaks, which is a glorious and wonderful truth all in and of itself, but it's about how he speaks and the nature of his words. In fact, as we begin to look, one of the first things that he says, after commanding us to sing and to play music and to play instruments and to sing loudly, is that God's word is true or it's upright. And upright, the word literally just means straight. So if you've ever gone to Lowe's to buy a 2x4, if you're wise, what you do is you kind of hold it up because a lot of their 2x4's go like this, and some go like this, and some go over here,

and some do both somehow at the same time. They're both twisted and bent. And so when you're looking to build something, you want the materials that you're using to not be bent. And when the psalmist says the word of the Lord is upright or true or straight, what he means is God is not trying to trick you. As kids, we used to play all these word games. For example, you would have somebody, and they were saying something, and so you would start copying them. They would say, "Oh, I'm going to drink of milk." And you go, "Oh, I want to drink of milk." "I'm going to go get mom." "I'm going to go get mom." "Mom! Mom!" And then finally the first person would go, "Well, I'm stupid." And you go, "Well, that's nice of you to admit it," right? You figure out how to manipulate, as kids and as adults,

sometimes with our words. And it doesn't just have to be word games like that, right? We're all familiar with the finicky details of fine print. And what we find is that God doesn't do that. God's word is upright. We also see in this psalm that the word of God is both powerful and dependable. And what that means is God's words aren't just simply things that he says. And we've been both on the giving and receiving end of this in our lives. Well, we'll say something, or we'll plan something, or we'll promise something, and either we won't be able to do it, or the person who planned and promised and said to us isn't able to do it either. And frequently, our promises in our words fail. Not always because bad motives. Not out of a desire to deceive, but because we're

simply not enough. We don't have enough time, enough strength, enough resources. We're just not enough, and God is not like we are. His words transform us and hold us fast. For he spoke, and it came to be. He commanded, and it stood firm. And what this means for us is that there is a reason for joy. All these things in the rest of the psalm that we're going to talk about, God's love and God's power, and that God is greater than all things, and he sees goodness and strength, and he brings forth justice and righteousness by establishing God's word is true and powerful. The psalmist is saying you can trust what God has to say. There's also times where we find ourselves in a really stormy part of life. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is asleep, and they're in a boat, and they're

going across the Sea of Galilee, and the storm comes. And the disciples fight the storm for a while, but it's a losing battle. And they wake Jesus, and he calms the storm. And he gives them a little bit of correction, not to hurt them or embarrass them, but to remind them that in the midst of the storm, he's with them, that they are not alone. But then they say this, "Who is this that even the winds and the waves obey him?" That's what the psalmist is talking about to God's people, that in the midst of your struggle, in the midst of opposition, in the midst of unrighteousness and brokenness, there is one to whom everything falls in obedience, and it is a reason for joy. Next we see that God's love does not waver. Things for us come and they go, right? If you look at old pictures,

you get together with your family tomorrow, pull out the old photo albums and make fun of how everybody looked 20 years ago, or 30 years ago, or in some cases more than that ago, right? All the styles change. People have really unfortunate haircuts. We're used to things that change, not just styles and haircuts. Right? Our cars change. Sometimes our location changes. Sometimes even friends come and go. But notice what the psalmist says. The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. That God's love does not waver. And God's love is a seeing love. It's not just a generic, "Hey, I love these guys." But in verse 13, it talks about this. It says that God looks down from the heavens. The Lord looks down from the heavens, and He sees all the children of man. Our kids are starting to get to the age where they have friends in the neighborhood.

And they want to walk to their friend's house. And so what they do is they'll go walk by themselves. But here's the reality. Our kids are never by themselves, right? Because we've got overwatch off the back porch. And we can see when they go, and we can see when they turn, and we can see when they get there, and we can see when they get back. Now, we're different than God is because it takes us a minute to respond. But God, all-knowing, all-seeing, and in every place, with every good thing, what the psalmist says is that he looks down and he sees you. For God's people, this is safety and hope. You are not alone, and you are not abandoned, and there is a reason to rejoice. God's power is greater. If you think about some of the ways in which we find security, one of the strongest pictures in that day, and even in our day,

was the might of nations and the resources of governments. And we might say, "It's a wonderful thing that I'm American." And it is. But the psalmist says there's something bigger than your national identity. As the psalmist speaks and as he talks, he talks about God's greatness. And he talks about... No, no. So, Psalm 33:10, "The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He frustrates the plans of the people." Think about what happens when life gets difficult. You and I begin to plan. We say, "We'll get this figured out. We'll get that done." I mean, even think about tonight. I tested everything out last night. I checked it today. There was no popping when an hour ago Jason and I were up here making sure everything worked. We have a plan, and we think, "Hey, it's gonna go perfectly." And our plans, sometimes they go

well, sometimes, right, our plans only survive the first contact with the obstacle. But notice what the psalmist says here. It's brilliant. He says he brings the council of nations to nothing. He frustrates the plans of the people. Two things we trust in, but the council of the Lord stands forever, and the plans of his heart to all generations. Everything about God stands in power. Think of the think of your plans. Maybe our response is, "I'll fight for what I want or what I need." And the psalmist anticipates this objection, and he thinks about a king with his army and a warrior who is strong, and then he thinks about what would be the equivalent in the time of David of a tank, a mighty horse with great strength, impeccably trained in battle. And the psalmist says, "It doesn't matter how great you are, how strong your warriors are,

how big your horses are." And once again, there's a wonderful contrast. "Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them from famine." God speaks, and he speaks truly, and his words create and transform, and he holds us fast. He loves us deeply, and his power is greater. And biblically, when we think, biblically, when we think about Thanksgiving, we're thinking about more than just a day, or a few moments, or a few minutes. But there are some similarities between our Thanksgivings and the Thanksgiving in the Bible. Just like at our Thanksgiving, things don't always go the way we want. The turkey isn't cooked right or isn't cooked soon enough. The people around you are annoying. The travel can be difficult.

The same thing can happen as we seek to thank God for our blessings, right? This didn't work out how I planned. These people are just difficult, right? I've done this, and I've gone here, and everything is a struggle, and everything is a fight. It's easy to become discouraged, or desperate, or busy. And so hear the words of the psalmist. Our soul waits for the Lord. He says, "Take a breath and a pause. Remember that God is your help and your shield. And because of that, we can rejoice and be thankful, because in the midst of all of the brokenness, our help and our shield is God, because we trust in His holy name." And then he ends with this prayer. "Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you." Father, that is our prayer this evening.

That your steadfast love would be upon us. That we would hope in you that you would be our strength and our shield. That you would watch over us and care for us, and that you would move our hearts to thanksgiving. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Let's go ahead and stand up as we sing one more song of praise. And this is a praise song that I thought would be fitting to end with tonight. Talking about how our hope is in the Lord. He is the one who saves us, not anything on earth. Praise is rising. Eyes are turning to you. We turn to you. Hope is stirring. Hearts are yearning for you. We long for you. 'Cause when we see you, we find strength to face the day. And in your presence, all our fears are washed away. Washed away. Hosanna! Hosanna! You are the God who saves us. Worthy of all our praises. Hosanna! Hosanna! Come have your way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. Hear the sound of heart. We're turning to you. We turn to you. 'Cause in your kingdom, broken lives are made new. You make us strong.

You're made new. You make us new. 'Cause when we see you, we find strength to face the day. And in your presence, all our fears are washed away. Washed away. Hosanna. Hosanna. You are the God who saves us. You're worthy of all our praises. Hosanna. Hosanna. Come have your way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. Amen. We're thankful that you're here with us this evening for our, I guess this was our first Thanksgiving Eve service. And so I'll just dismiss you with the last Last words from Psalm 33. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. We're thankful that you are here. You're dismissed. Pick a kid up, take with you as you lead. Thank you. Thank you.