Praise the Lord! We finish off the book of Psalms this morning. What better way than with Psalms that call for praise. Be blessed as you read, pray and praise.
Psalms 148: Praise the Name of the LORD
1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!
3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!
9 Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together, old men and children!
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the LORD!
Psalms 149: Sing to the LORD a New Song
1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment written! This is honour for all his godly ones. Praise the LORD!
Psalms 150: Let Everything Praise the LORD
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Things to think about…
1. Hallelujah, or ‘Praise the Lord’ in Hebrew. Look at what ‘doesn’t praise the Lord’ from Psalm 148…that’s right, nothing. Everything and everyone shall praise the Lord. Every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Consider especially verse 12. This is what the church should look like. The church should not be segregated or separated into different people groups, sexes or age groups. While we minister to and target different age groups with the gospel with different programs the church is a place of young and old, male and female, Jew and Gentile. The church should reflect the surrounding community where the Lord has placed it to minister. Praise the Lord for the age spread and diversity we have in the church.
2. When was the last time you danced before the Lord, Ps 149:3? David did it and was shamed by Michal his wife, 2 Sam 6:14-22. I know we are culturally limited in some areas, but this does not mean that we should tolerate being stunted in our spiritual or religious expression. If God’s word says it is appropriate, then we should stop being disobedient. Remember it is about what the Lord is worthy of, and not about our opinion or feelings on the matter. Question for you. If we apply this Psalm literally, does this mean that we should praise God with two-edged swords in our hands, vs 6 with which we then go and execute God’s vengeance, vs 7? I don’t think so. Does this then mean that we are let off the hook with respect to the dancing? How should we discern and know the difference with respect to our worship practices? Hint to help, those of you who are married, what did you do at your wedding and why? What does this symbolise and represent? I don’t think we will be motionless in heaven, do you? The most powerful sword we have of course is the Word of God with its sin slaying power. It should be wielded every time we praise! It has all ability and power to fulfill what we read in Ps 149:8, 9 to “execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written”. Use it!
3. Look at the different styles of worship expressed in Psalm 150. Some are loud, e.g. clashing cymbals, vs 5, trumpets, vs 3, tambourines, vs 4. But then again some are reflective and contemplative eg lute, harp, vs 3 and strings and pipe, vs 4. It is a bit like the different styles of worship today – we have both contemporary music or traditional hymns and a host of instruments. A church that has a biblical understanding of worship has a blend and mixture of both. My prayer is that we would see many more musicians raised up, not just guitarists, keyboardists and drummers, but also those who play brass, wind instruments, other stringed instruments and yes even dance! Hallelujah! Let everyone and everything, praise the Lord!
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer points
1. Pray for Graham the gospel and this week’s message - ‘The Mighty One of Jacob’ – Ps 132.
2. Pray for our Kids at Church ministry and the teachers
3. Pray for our Easter services.
4. Pray for Iran and the latest ceasefire agreement.
May the Iranian people see the prophesy of Jer 49:34-39 fulfilled over the coming weeks and months.
5. Pray for the Sacred Minds podcast – starting to come online.
6. Pray for One for Israel and their witness in this time of challenge and conflict.
7. Pray for the church in Australia that it focuses on Christ, His Word and holiness.
8. Pray for our leaders in Australia that they press in closer to Christ.
9. Pray the influence of Russia and China is minimised militarily.
10. The Royal Commission that the Jewish people will feel safe in Australia.
11. Conflict zones- Israel, Iran and Ukraine
12. Pray for new people to step into ministries at CBC – eg worship, café, sound/technical, giving, podcast.
13. Reform and Revival over our city and country.
14. Finances to cover our needs
15. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for the Lord’s blessing over our service on Sunday
2. Praise God for ministries – Life Groups, Prayer meetings, Kids@Church
3. Café team every week. Thankyou to all those who serve and bring food. Especially Fiona, Maddie and Suzy and those who supply it every week Eg Ros - Milk.
4. Worship, Admin and Technical teams – Peter, Nita, Brendon, AJ, Suzy, Maddie, Mathys, Doug.
5. Kids Church teachers – Jacqueline, Maddie, Elise, Anastacia and Fiona
6. The Lord’s faithfulness this year to CBC and all who have served in ministries
7. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Easter services – Easter Friday 3rd Apr – 9:00qm. Easter Sunday 5th Apr – 9:30am – Kids activities while the message is on.
2. Passion Play at Moogerah Dam – 28th March and Easter Weekend. Ladies and families welcome. Camping available.
3. Prayer meeting Wed 5:30pm at church. Life group begins at 6:30pm. Going through the book of Romans.
4. All Life Groups - Wednesdays.
5. Kids@Church especially our Easter program.
6. Mothers Day High tea celebration – Saturday morning, May 9th at Church.
7. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
8. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for March...
Q. 6. How could the Son of God suffer? A. Christ, the Son of God, became man that he might obey and suffer in our nature.
