Sunday's Message - Offering Our Gift of Praise

During the season of Advent, we talked about how we might unwrap some of the gifts given to us by God through Jesus Christ. Well, now that Christmas is over, we're going to shift gears and consider the gifts we might offer God. Beginning on Sunday, December 28, we'll consider the following:

• December 28 - Offering Our Gift of Praise
• January 4 - Offering Our Gift of Attention
• January 11 - Offering Our Gift of Time
• January 18 - Offering Our Gift of Talents
• January 25 - Offering Our Gift of Treasures
• February 1 - Offering Our Gift of Energy
• February 8 - Offering Our Gift of Enthusiasm
• February 15 - Offering Our Gift of Love

On Sunday, we began this series by looking at how we can offer our gift of praise. Below is a presentation and the text of the sermon. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

Now, I hope everybody had an outstanding Christmas. I know mine was pretty uneventful: no yelling, no screaming, no crying. We simply got up, opened presents, ate about a quarter of a stuffed turkey, and then Maggie drove back to Pittsburgh. But even her leaving wasn’t dramatic; she didn’t want to run into the bad weather they were calling for on Friday. And now, with Debbie in Indianapolis visiting her family, it’s just Coco Chanel and me. And I’ve got to tell you, we’re just about as uneventful as you can get. 

And you know, because Christmas 2025 is now in the books, so is the sermon series that carried us through the very end of November and most of December. You see, during Advent we focused on four “gifts” God has given us, namely hope, peace, joy, and love. And during the Christmas Eve service, we sort of brought it all together by focusing on Jesus Christ, the greatest gift of all. In other words, for the last month or so, we’ve been receivers.

But now that Christmas is over, we’re going to shift gears just a little bit and talk about how we might be givers, you know what are some gifts we can offer God. You see, in the time between right now and the beginning of Lent, we’re going to look at eight gifts that we can offer God, and I’m talking about things like praise and attention, time and talents, treasures and energy, enthusiasm and love. Now, in my opinion, these are all gifts that we have the ability to offer. And as we discuss each one, we’ll focus on these two questions: Why should we offer this to God and How might the offer be made. 

And like I just said, we’re going to start with the gift of praise. And you know, given what we’ve just gone through, that really makes sense. I mean, we’ve been talking about some of those wonderful things that God has given us. And for me, it just makes sense that the first thing we can offer back to him is simple appreciation for everything that he’s given and simple thanks for his willingness to give it. I’ll tell you, it’s not all that different from sending out “thank you” cards after Christmas. You see, that’s what I have in mind when I talk about offering praise to God. And as we explore this gift for the next fifteen minutes or so, we’ll be answering the questions I mentioned just a minute ago. You see, first, we’ll consider this, why should we offer God our gift of praise? And then, second, we’ll discuss the question, how might we offer God this very special gift? And hopefully, by the end of our time together, we’ll have a much firmer grasp on what this praise business is all about.

And like I said, for me, it all starts with the first question: Why should we offer God our gift of praise? In other words, what can motivate us to show our appreciation and to express our thanks to God? In fact, why is it important to offer God praise at all, a question that makes a lot of sense if we’ve bought into the idea that God really hasn’t given us anything that we haven’t already earned: and I’m talking about earned by our ability to find him and to accept him as Lord and to make him our Savior and then to give him our lives and our hearts and our minds? I mean, when we have a job, the boss doesn’t give us a gift at the end of the month, and we’re sure not obligated to offer him praise and thanks for paying us for work done. But of course, that’s not the way it is with God. He’s not an employer paying wages. Instead, he’s more like a benevolent lord or a loving father offering his children gifts, something that I believe the Psalmist understood when he wrote this:

Shout praises to the Lord,
    everyone on this earth.
Be joyful and sing
as you come in
    to worship the Lord!

You know the Lord is God!

He created us,

    and we belong to him;
we are his people,
    the sheep in his pasture.

Be thankful and praise the Lord
    as you enter his temple.
The Lord is good!
His love and faithfulness
    will last forever. [Psalm 100:1-5, CEV]

Now, that’s what the psalmist wrote; therefore, the Lord isn’t like this heavenly Ebenezer Scrooge who pays Bob Cratchit 15 shillings a week, and I’m talking about the one whom we all know doesn’t deserve a toast much less appreciation. Instead, I think we have two excellent reasons for offering God our gift of praise. 

I mean, for one, we can certainly praise God for who he is, and I’m talking about the qualities that he possesses that makes appreciation and thanks seem natural and right. You see, within himself, God has both perfect freedom and absolute love. Let me tell you what I mean. With respect to freedom, God is free from all those things that limit us. For example, with respect to power, he’s omnipotent. And with respect to time, he’s eternal. And with respect to knowledge, there’s absolutely nothing he doesn’t know. No wonder the prophet Jeremiah said, “Lord God, you stretched out your mighty arm and made the sky and the earth. You can do anything.” [Jeremiah 32:17, CEV] I’m telling you, while we’re limited in everything, God’s freedom is perfect. And as to his love, man, it’s absolute. His mercy is unquestionable. And his compassion is unconditional. And his grace is unchanging. And you know, I think that’s why Paul could tell the Romans that “nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” [Romans 8:39b, CEV] In fact, it’s like the psalmist said, 

I will praise you,
my God and King,
    and always honor your name.
I will praise you each day
    and always honor your name.
You are wonderful, Lord,
    and you deserve all praise,
because you are much greater
    than anyone can understand.

You are merciful, Lord!
You are kind and patient
    and always loving.
You are good to everyone,
and you take care
    of all your creation.

I will praise you, Lord,
and everyone will respect
    your holy name forever. [Psalm 145:1-3, 8-9, 21, CEV]

You see, for one, we can certainly praise God for who he is. 

And two, we can also praise and thank him for what he does. I mean, just think about what he’s done for us. When we felt discouraged and afraid, he offered us hope by reminding us that our destiny is in his hands. And when we felt frustrated and angry, he offered us peace by reminding us that he was in control. And when we felt sad and overwhelmed, he offered us joy by reminding us that we are never alone. And when we felt ignored and neglected, he offered us love by reminding us that we are his children by his choice, not ours. You see, for that and for so many other things, we can be thankful, something that, again, the psalmist expressed when he said this:

Some of you were lost
in the scorching desert,
    far from a town.
You were hungry and thirsty
    and about to give up.
You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
At once he brought you
    to a town.
You should praise the Lord
    for his love
and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us.
To everyone who is thirsty,
    he gives something to drink;
to everyone who is hungry,
    he gives good things to eat. [Psalm 107:4-9,CEV]

You see, along with who he is, we can certainly thank God for what he does. And I’ll tell you, I believe that’s why we should offer God our gift of praise, the answer to our first question. 

Which leaves us with question number two: How might we offer God our gift of praise? I mean, how can we express to God just how much we appreciate who he is and just how thankful we are for everything that he’s done? In other words, how can we put into words and actions the sort of feeling expressed, again, by the psalmist, when he wrote this:

Shout praises to the Lord!
    Praise God in his temple.
Praise him in heaven,
    his mighty fortress.
Praise our God!
His deeds are wonderful,
    too marvelous to describe.

Praise God with trumpets
    and all kinds of harps.
Praise him with tambourines
    and dancing,
with stringed instruments
    and woodwinds.
Praise God with cymbals,
    with clashing cymbals.
Let every living creature
praise the Lord.
    Shout praises to the Lord!  [Psalm 150:1-6, CEV]

Now that’s what the psalmist said. And even though what he’s describing is really one form of worship, I don’t think that’s the only way we can express our praise to God.

I mean, on one hand, if we’re serious about offering God our gift of praise, we can certainly do it together. I mean, as described by the psalmist, we can praise God through instruments played and songs sung and prayers prayed. And even though it’s probably not a very Presbyterian thing to do, we can even express our appreciation and thanks for who God is and what he’s done by doing some radical stuff like raising our hands and dancing in the aisles and saying “Amen.” Of course, since we are Presbyterians, we’ll need to do it decently and in order, after referring it to the Worship Team so that it might be considered by the Session and maybe approved by Presbytery. And that should take no more than six or seven months.  There’s a reason we’re often called “God’s frozen people.” But be that as it may, worship right here and right now in this space and at this time surrounded by our brothers and sisters is certainly a place we can praise God. And I’ll tell you, I think the writer of the Letter to Hebrews would agree, because, based on what he said, he was concerned about a trend in saw in the ancient church, and see if this sounds familiar:  

So let’s come near God with pure hearts and a confidence that comes from having faith. Let’s keep our hearts pure, our consciences free from evil, and our bodies washed with clean water. We must hold tightly to the hope we say is ours. After all, we can trust the one who made the agreement with us. We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. Some people have given up the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer. [Hebrews 10:22-25, CEV]

You see, on one hand, we can praise God together. 

But you know, that’s not the only way, because, on the other hand, we can also praise the Lord all by ourselves. You see, through personal prayer, I can express just how much I appreciate God loving me before he laid the foundations of the universe. And through personal devotions, I can connect with God in a way that’s free from distractions and noise. And through personal acts of kindness and generosity, I can show the one who’s already given me far more than I could have earned on my own, in fact, far more than I deserve, I can show him that I understand that what I have is to be used, used to express love for God and used to demonstrate love for my neighbor. You see, although worshiping together is really important, we’re trying to fly with only one wing if we neglect the private and personal. And that’s probably why Jesus said this to his disciples:

When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private and will reward you.

When you pray, don’t talk on and on as people do who don’t know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need even before you ask. [Matthew 6:5-8, CEV]

You see, along with joining together in worship, we can also express our appreciation and thanks in the privacy of our own rooms and our own hearts. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s how we can offer God our gift of praise, the answer to question number two.

Of course, in future weeks, we’ll be discussing all kinds of other gifts we can offer God. For example, next week we’ll talk about how we can offer God our attention, something that I think is pretty difficult to do with all the distractions we face on a daily basis. But you know, for as important as the other seven gifts are, I’ll tell you, in my opinion, it all starts right here, with praise. And of course, this is something we can certainly do. I mean, when we’re willing to appreciate God for who he is and to thank him for what he’s done, then I think we’re going to be anxious to worship him together as well as all by ourselves. And when we do, I believe we’ll be offering to God our gift of praise.