Gratitude: The Ultimate Priority

Main Text
Psalms 149:1-9

Watchword
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:17 NKJV

Worship is not something that we do just one day a week, on a Sunday, or on those occasions throughout the week when we come to church. Our whole life, every aspect of our life, should be an act of worship. (1 Peter 2:5). Everything we do is an act of worship to God. We are to honour God with the way we live and all our behaviours, all our relationships, all our responses should aim to be an act of worship to God. When we are at work, we offer our work as an act of worship to God. When we are cooking dinner, we offer our cooking as an act of worship to God. When we are looking after the kids, we offer our love and care as an act of worship to God.

This text is a concise summary of Christian living. Thankful worship engages the will in submission to Christ. “The name of the Lord Jesus” refers primarily to His supreme authority. (Philippians 2:9-11). To do
something in the name of the Lord Jesus is to do it under His sovereign authority. Implicit in a life of thankful worship is that we do everything in submission to His rightful lordship. It applies across the board to every thought, word, and deed. It means living thankfully under the Lordship of Christ while you are at work or playing with your kids or cleaning the house or fixing dinner.

Thankful worship extends to all aspect of life. “Whatever you do in word or deed…” This extends thankful worship beyond Sunday to every day of the week. There is no sacred-secular division for Christians. All of life is to be a sacred experience of living gratefully under the lordship of Jesus Christ. That is not to say that we do not need to gather on the Lord’s day for worship and teaching. But it is to say that in every aspect of life we can reflect the joy of salvation as we speak and act in the name of Christ. This means having the word of Christ percolating through your mind and having songs and hymns of praise bubbling to the surface as you go about your day. (Psalms 19:14).

Confession
Oh Lord, I thank you that you gently remind me that the things are not about me, that my life and what happens is more about You, Your will, and Your Kingdom.

Prayer
Oh Lord, may I honor you in all I say and do and be more like the Lord Jesus in all my dealings with others. Amen.

Additional Reading
1 Thessalonians 4:1-2
Romans 14:6.