Creekside Church Sermon of October 7, 2001 "Let's Just Praise the Lord Anyway" Psalm 100	Rev. David Bibbee
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During the last three weeks we have been immersed in fear, grief, anger everywhere we turn. How much can we withstand? Today it is my belief that we need some anti-terrorism that comes from another source. It comes from the source of peace that passes understanding.

There was an adolescent young man who was just reaching the age where he was conscious of how his parents looked in comparison to how the parents of his friends looked. He was bothered by the fact that his mother had scares on her left arm and hand. It bothered him for a long time before he got up the courage to say anything about it. But one day he said, "Mother, why do you have such an ugly hand."

She answered, "When you were a two years old our house caught on fire. There was very little time to get our most valued possessions out. I immediately reached for the most prized possession I had which was you. I wrapped you in a blanket and hurried out the door. I carried you down the stairs to safety. On the way down the stairs the blanket caught on fire and that is what burned my hand and arm."He looked into her eyes and then put his arms around her neck and said, "Mother, you have the most beautiful hands in the world."

At a time when the truth about when the child's life was in peril made her hand and arm the most beautiful hands in the world.

You may ask why I am talking about praise when many things around us are so ugly. The answer is we follow a king whose hands are ugly. When we realize that those hands are scared because of his sacrifice for the atonement of our sins, His hands become beautiful. My reason is that God loves us and saves us and for that He is worthy of our praise.

The purpose of today's worship service is threefold. Firstly I want to share with you what I think you ought to know. Secondly, I want to suggest some feelings and encourage you to feel that way. Finally I want to tell you what you should do.

Now that I have told you what I want you to know, let me tell you what to feel.

There is a difference between praise and thanksgiving. I must admit there is an overlap. But there is a difference. Thanksgiving is expressing gratitude for the things God has given us. Praise is the acknowledgement of an absolute God that is all loving, powerful and ever-present. For praise, we do not have to have in mind a specific thing that God has done for us, or something he has given us. It is to stand in the glow of his presence.

I would illustrate that with a personal testimony. My father was a big and awesome man. He had huge muscles and was a highly respected person. There were times that I would just be in his presence and be amazed at all of his good qualities.

Of course I was also thankful for the protection he provided and for the things he gave me. However, there were times when I was pleased to be around him when he did not have to do anything. Thankfulness was a small part of the feeling but the over whelming feeling was admiration of another human being that contributed greatly to what I am. He did not have to do anything. He did not have to promise anything. I loved him for just being.

When we praise God we can just stand in awe and let God be God and tell him in our heart that we love him.

As I read salvation history as recorded in the Judeo-Christian tradition, it appears to me that is what God wants from us more than anything else. God has created us and made us so that we can love him back. There are many ways we can show our love for God, through service, through witness, through righteous living, but that is not the same as loving God just for being.

If you want to do something special for your child or spouse or best friend, tell them that you love them for just being who they are. If you want to really please God, tell him you love him. That is what we are doing today.

As we sing and pray and worship God today that is the attitude by which we come to God. Let us stand in His presence and feel the overwhelming warmth of his love.

When we pray for things or blessings sometimes we do not know exactly how to pray. The good news is that we do not have to know the right words. It is an emotion that flows to God. Another part of the good news is that God's love and the blessing of his presence comes back to us without the need of language.

Finally, I want to tell you what to do.

Live in God's presence each minute of every hour of every day.

On Sunday afternoon, September 16, there was a worship service for the people of New York. There were all kinds of religious traditions represented. The people were united in worship. The Manhattan children's choir sang the song made popular during the 60's, "We shall overcome." The words we used 40 years ago were "We shall overcome someday." They sang it slightly differently. They sang the words, "We shall overcome today" and "We won't live in fear today," and "We will live in peace today." Those words bring to my mind the concept of it already happened but it is not yet complete.

God's kingdom has already come today, but it is not complete. We can live in peace today, but peace is not complete. The best we can do is to live in the presence of the kingdom of God knowing that it is not yet complete. By living this way, we hasten the day when God Kingdom will come in all of its glory and every knee shall bow and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord.

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