A Thanksgiving Devotional

A Worship Team Devotional for Thanksgiving

The Target, Thankfulness, and Timelessness of Worship

A Fall of Thanksgiving

I love this time of year as fall begins to emerge, the leaves turn brilliant colors, and chilled mornings and evenings bring a refreshing vibrance to every day. It’s an invigorating time where many of us connect with family, friends, and loved ones as we celebrate Thanksgiving! It is a season filled with love, joy, fellowship, thanksgiving, and surprises. It’s like one big celebration! I don’t know about you, but I could celebrate like this all year long.

Similar to these euphoric feelings and mountaintop experiences, we see corresponding sentiments in a celebratory passage of Scripture. In Psalm 100 we witness joy, gratefulness, thanksgiving, love and fellowship with God. Today we are going to look as worshipers at this familiar passage of Scripture through a variety of lenses that are both encouraging to our hearts while challenging us to dig deeper into His Word. In Psalm 100 it reads,

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; 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.

Psalm 100 is known as the final bookend of the royal psalms, which also includes Psalms 93 and 95-99. With exclamation points throughout, these verses include both emphatic commands and passionate pleas for all mankind to praise and give thanks for who God is and what He has done for us. These verses are addressed to Christians throughout the whole earth, and are a strong invitation for all Christ followers to make a joyful noise to the Lord.

Many scholars note that Psalm 100 is likely prophetic in worshiping the coming Savior, Jesus Christ. Scholars also note that the title of this Psalm is, “A Psalm of Praise” which is unlike any other Psalm in this specific way. We see this praise of God being manifested through thanksgiving to Him in these verses.

…Delve deeper into His rich Word and glean life-giving spiritual nourishment…

On the outset, these verses are fairly straightforward and easy to understand. They contain a peaceful beauty while maintaining a calm sublimity. But once we begin peeling back the spiritual onion of this text, more in-depth understanding is revealed to us. It is as if God wants us to delve deeper into His rich Word and glean life-giving spiritual nourishment as we view this passage utilizing various lenses.

There are at least three unique lenses in which we should view these verses. First, we see there is a constant theme that the target of our worship is consistently on One object alone – our Lord Jesus Christ. Second, thankfulness is peppered throughout the entire chapter, demonstrating the heartfelt notion we are to portray as Christians. Finally, we witness there should be no end to our eternal thankfulness and praise toward our Lord, beginning on earth as His child and culminating in heaven forever.

The Target of Our Worship

First, as we peruse through these brief five verses, there is a consistent target of worship for us as God’s people: The Lord. It is constant throughout every verse and never waivers or deviates. The Lord is the exclusive and central focus here. The attention is not on mankind but rather on acknowledging King Jesus our Lord. Let’s take a deeper dive into each of these verses regarding this…

In verse one we hear the author saying, “Make a joyful noise…” but to whom? The answer is, The Lord. In verse two, it speaks of serving whom and coming into whose presence? The Lord. Verse three calls out, who is God, who made us, and whose people do we belong to? The Lord. Verse four states we are to enter whose gates with thanksgiving and whose courts with praise? And who are we to give thanks to and bless? The Lord. Finally, in verse five who is good, whose love lasts forever, and who is faithful throughout all generations? The Lord.

Do you see the dominant pattern here? As worshipers, our attention, affection, and adoration should culminate in One place, or more accurately, One Person – Jesus Christ our Lord. There is a consistent target of worship throughout this entire chapter, and the target of our worship should be the Lord alone. When we lead worship, our exclusive target of worship should always be the Lord.

The Thankfulness through Our Worship

Second, when we examine these verses through a different lens, we witness an attitude of thankfulness and gratefulness to God. We are not to worship Him out of obligation or coercion, but rather out of hearts full of gratitude and thanksgiving. It originates in the acknowledgement of our great sin and need for a perfect Savior. How does thanksgiving permeate throughout these verses?

In verse one, the author calls out to all the world to worship the Lord with a joyful noise. This demonstrates a heart and attitude of thanksgiving. In verse two, we witness the command of serving with gladness and coming into His presence with singing unto Him – again, thankfulness of heart. Verse three helps us understand who He is, who we are, and who we belong to – The Lord. Verse four speaks directly to entering into His presence giving thanks to Him, praising Him in His courts, and blessing His name. Again, thanksgiving being at the crux of everything. Finally, in verse five, it speaks of the Lord being good, His eternal love which He has bestowed upon us, and the unmatched faithfulness that He has shown to all generations. Thankfulness is the attitude we should always enter with, as a worship team and church, when we come to worship our Lord.

The Timelessness of Our Worship

The third lens we should utilize in viewing Psalm 100 is the timelessness of our worship. We see eternity written both for us as God’s children as well as His faithfulness toward us. Our worship as a worship team extends from now and never ends! Let’s view the timelessness of worship in these verses…

Since we will worship our Lord forever, giving thanks to God is timeless.

In verse one it speaks of all the earth praising the Lord. From the moment He created the world, all Creation has been groaning for Him with praise, and we will continue to do so throughout eternity. Verse two speaks of the perpetual worship of His people serving Him with thankfulness in their hearts. Again, this is from the beginning of Creation and proceeding for eternity. Verse three shows that all mankind throughout history points to our Creator and Sustainer, and the One we belong to. Verse four speaks of the thanks we should continually give Him, as we are consistently approaching Him (through Jesus Christ) in His courts, giving thanks and blessing His name. Finally, verse five clearly presents to us the timelessness of the Lord’s goodness, that His love endures forever, and His faithfulness remains from the past and throughout eternity. Since we will worship our Lord forever, giving thanks to God is timeless.

A Challenge of Thankful Worship

As we reflect once more on this powerful passage, let’s view it from a personal perspective. As you read these verses slowly and reflect on your own worship of the Lord, does your heart, mind, soul, and strength resonate with these words? Place yourself within these verses for a moment. Can you honestly say:

“I” make a joyful noise to the Lord?

“I” serve the Lord with gladness! “I” come into His presence with singing!

“I” know that the Lord, He is “my” God! It is He who made “me” and “I” am His; “I” am (one of) his people and a sheep of His pasture?

“I” enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! “I” give thanks to Him; and “I” bless His name!

For the Lord is good to me; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.

As a worshiper, are you able to honestly echo these words? Would the Lord say He feels your words here are true and sincere toward Him? Are any of these phrases not as authentic as they should be? As you reflect on your own life through the various lenses of these verses, where is God convicting you to assess and make changes in your life so these verses ring more true for you?

A Heart of Thanksgiving

As we enter into this special time of year approaching Thanksgiving, examine your heart and mind to confirm if you are truly thankful to God. Does He know you are grateful for Him? The Lord loves to hear His children tell Him “Thank you, Father”. When was the last time you told the Lord how thankful you are to Him? Has it been awhile? As a worship team member, we are to be examples for our congregation in worshiping with thankful hearts. Take time right now and let God know how much you love Him, that you are forever grateful for His Son, Jesus, and thank Him for all He has done for you.