Announcements
SYMPATHY: to the friends and family of Lula Mae Knisley who passed away on Saturday, November 12. The funeral was held on Thursday, November 17, in Westminster.
THANK YOU: to our church family for the prayers, cards, and phone calls during Harold’s illness. The Lord has been faithful, as He promised, answering the prayers for healing. Love, Harold & Janet Switzer
GOOD SHEPHERD CLASS: will be having their annual Christmas Dinner on Sunday, December 4. They are in need of 4 cooked, sliced, and deboned turkeys for the occasion. They should be delivered to the Great Room Kitchen by 9:30 am that morning in a disposable pan with broth in a separate disposable container. They also need 3 homemade pumpkin pies and dinner rolls. Please sign up at the Welcome Desk if you can help. Thank you!
ANNUAL BUSSINESS MEETING: The Church’s annual business meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 7, following the service.
From My Heart
We are now about to enter my favorite time of the year: Thanksgiving and Christmas! In Psalm 92:1, David said, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O most High.” In the heading for this Psalm, it says, “A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath Day.” In other words, David said this 92nd Psalm was an instruction for us when we go to Church! When we gather at the House of God, we should sing and praise the LORD for who He is and for His wonderful blessings.
In verse 3, David said we should play upon the instruments, like the piano, the organ, and the other instruments that we have, and let our praises be known to the Lord. The hymns we sing should lift His name and ring throughout the building with praises unto Him. It thrills my heart when our building is full and our church family is singing loudly, and when I can look out into your faces and see the intensity with which you are praising the LORD!
King David’s point is simply that there is only One who is worthy of such praise! The LORD deserves our praise because (v. 4) He is the One who blesses us and blesses the efforts we put forth while serving Him! The LORD deserves our praise because of the works of His hands (v. 4). There have been many cold and crisp nights recently when I have stood outside and looked up into the sky to watch the stars. After a few minutes, when your eyes adjust, you stand in awe of God’s creation! You soon realize just how small we are and how mighty and powerful the LORD of creation is
Then in v. 10, David says that coming to the House of God and praising the LORD does something special in your heart! He says in the last phrase of v. 10, “I shall be anointed with fresh oil!” Church fires us up and recharges our batteries. This is the reason it is so important to stay in church and to participate when we are here! We need to realize we should not be coming to church for us, but we should be coming to praise the LORD! We don’t come for entertainment or amusement - but we come to be thankful to the LORD for all He has done for us! Having that perspective would certainly change how we look at church! We do not come to church to GET, we come to church to GIVE. And what we give is thanks and praise to the LORD!
Have a great day and may the Lord bless you richly as you praise Him today for who He is and what He has done!
Pastor Norris