Sermon Notes – All Good Gifts

Psalm 100
All Lands Summoned to Praise God
A Psalm of thanksgiving.
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he that made us, and we are his;[a]
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Can you believe that it is almost Thanksgiving? This is that time of year when we recognize those things that we are thankful for. On Sunday we will sing songs and hymns of praise. We will also hear and see a dance of “All Good Gifts” from the Broadway Show, Godspell. Did you ever see the show or the movie from 1973? I loved seeing this show a couple of times. The parables from the book of Matthew are presented in a fun and exciting way. Some people ended up being offended that Jesus and the disciples are seen as hippies and even have some clown make up on. From everything I can find about the show, it always says that it was done so Jesus would be seen with a joyful spirit. In the song, All Good Gifts, we hear and see this group of people with joyful spirits singing praise to God.
It’s been a tough couple of years, but may we remember we have a lot to be thankful for. With joyful spirits may we enter worship this Sunday. May we make a joyful noise and be thankful to be the sheep of his pasture. May we follow to the places that the shepherd leads us. Join us this Sunday as we dig deeper into Psalm 100 and some great parallels, we see in Godspell.

Lyrics for "All Good Gifts" from Godspell
We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land..
But it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand..
He sends us snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain...
The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain...
All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above
So thank the Lord, oh thank the Lord for all his love...
We thank thee then, O Father, for all things bright and good,
The seedtime and the harvest, our life our health our food,
No gifts have we to offer for all thy love imparts
But that which thou desirest, our humble thankful hearts!
All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above..
So thank the Lord, oh thank the Lord for all his love..
I really wanna thank you Lord