Praise the Lord

Date: 6/26/22

Sermon Title: Praise the Lord

Context: Thanksgiving and Praise (Isaiah 12:1-6)

1. Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, Lord; For although You were angry with me, your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.

2. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.”

3. Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.

4. And on that day you will say, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted.”

5. Praise the Lord in song, for He has done glorious things; Let this be known throughout the earth.

6. Rejoice and shout for joy, you inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Preaching Note

1. Last month, there was a shot at an elementary school in Chicago. 19 students and two teachers died. Here is the interview of Riley, a student at the scene of the incident. "We heard one, two gunshots. We looked at each other, it took so long for us to process. Then we heard three or four more gunshots," Riley said, adding that she fled before she realized what was happening. "I heard a bullet hit the wall right next to where we were standing... we ran as fast as we could. There were hundreds of us just running as far away as possible," she said. They were helpless in the face of the violence, and the surviving children have to see the empty seats of their deceased friends in the classroom. Families who have lost children have to live with pain every day. Violence takes life. Ironically, in the world, people created by God, use violence through their power and take life from each other.

Q. Why does violence occur in God's world? How should Christians think and use their power?

2. Religion mentions that people should manage their power. Jesus also tried to tame his power every day through prayer. Think about the Lord’s prayer. The Lord's Prayer is the prayer Jesus taught to the people. At the end of the Lord’s prayer, there is a sentence, “For thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever, Amen.” The reason Jesus prayed this prayer is that many people did not seek God but sought the power of Jesus. The power of Jesus was the miracle. He healed the sick, turned water into wine, and raised the dead. He always emphasized that the power comes from God, but people did not understand what he was saying. Because of this, even Jesus prayed to tame his power every day.

Q. How can you control your power every day?

3. Isaiah 12 is thankful praise for the salvation of the Hebrews who were taken captive. The earnest salvation for them is the restoration of God's image from captivity. Life is respected. In verse 1, Isaiah says that when that day comes for life to be respected, I will praise God. In this verse, that day means freedom from oppression. In Hebrew, the phrase ‘I will praise’ is yadah. The origin of this word means to throw and cast. Praise means to throw all power to God. The Lord, who has received all the power from people through praise, reaps God`s wrath and comforts us.

In verse 4, Isaiah tells us that when that day comes, we will praise God. Call his name let all people know what he has done and proclaim his high name. It is a day when people turn all their power to God. That day there is no violence. That day there is no gunshot. That day there is no sorrow. The power that exists in that day is the day to be used only by God`s will.

Q. When that day comes, how will you praise God for?