"We Give Thanks to Thee for Thy Great Glory!"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1-3)

Giving thanks is something you hear spoken of quite a bit around this time of year. Every year, people come up with new gimmicks for spending the month of November being thankful. One of the primary social skills we teach children is to say “please” and “thank you” whenever appropriate. And all of that certainly is good. But often what we hear, especially in the mainstream media, fails to answer two fundamental questions about giving thanks.

First, to what or to whom should you be giving thanks? Proper thanksgiving only occurs if and when you are thankful to some source. It is not enough simply to meditate on “Gee, it sure is nice that I have this neat thing.” That is not thanksgiving. Gratitude has an object, a reference point, a focus. The Psalmist demonstrates this in the opening verses of Psalm 136. To whom must you give thanks? To the Lord, the God of Gods, the Lord of Lords. He is the object of your gratitude, the focus of your thanksgiving. Direct your thanks to Him.

"We Worship Thee"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“The woman said to [Jesus], 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.'” The Samaritan woman at the well was astute enough to realize that Jesus was a prophet. What this meant to her is another story, but she could not but confess that the man talking to her was the messenger of the Lord sent to her. Being that Jesus had already spoken to her of her thirst and the gift of living waters, it was no surprise that she took Him to be a prophet. But her question is meant to uncover more than a mere prophet.

Something about her acknowledgment of Jesus is a little off, at least to certain ears. We cannot know her true intent, but it almost seems as though she is out to test Jesus with a “tough question”. It is like when you meet someone, and he finds out you are a Christian, so he asks you the most ridiculous, most potentially offensive question he can come up with. “Why do you hate gay people?” or “Why do you believe in a Bible so full of contradictions?” This woman's question is akin to asking, “Why should I go to your church every week?”

"We Praise Thee; We Bless Thee!"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:1-2)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3)

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. (Luke 1:68)

Thus begin each of our lessons this evening, with ascriptions of blessing and praise to the Lord God. But what does it mean to bless, and how and why do we bless God?

First, consider who is blessed. The Holy Scriptures declare that God alone is truly blessed, just as He alone is truly good, truly holy, and truly righteous. He alone is blessed, and He remains so without respect to you or to anything in all creation. Just as God's Name is certainly holy in itself, so also is He blessed in Himself. He does not rely on your favor or your blessing to be so, for this is who God is.

The Lord God alone, being the eternally Blessed One, is the one and only source of all blessing. For He is the Lord of Hosts, the creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. He is the king of the universe. Without Him was nothing made, and in Him all things live and move and have their being. To Him do you cry out, and He alone answers.

Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” Thus sang the multitude of the heavenly host who appeared to the shepherds on the occasion of our Lord's birth. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Thus said John the Baptist when our Lord came to him at the Jordan River. These exclamations are indeed fitting for the glory and splendor of the Lord of Hosts, who comes in glory.

God is indeed seated in glory upon the throne of heaven, encircled by the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. It is He who is and who was and who is to come, the First and the Last. He is worthy of our praise, worship, glory, and thanksgiving, for He has done marvelous things. After all, it is the Lord of Hosts who created heaven and earth and all that is in them. It is He who created you and me, and every living thing. It is He who keeps the heavenly bodies in their proper motions, and keeps the earth spinning aright.