New Year's Day Service 2025

A very warm welcome to you all to our service today as we begin a new year. I wish you all

a very happy new year and may we know the Lord's blessing and his peace and his help in the days

! His faithfulness has been towards us and we give thanks for that and we thank him for his faithfulness

and his mercies that are new each day and so may we know that loving grace he shows towards us continually.

After the service this morning there's tea and coffee served in the hall so everybody's very

welcome to come through for that if you're able to and then we have the no other notes it's just

never just the usual services at the weekend as well there'll be the Gaelic prayer meeting tomorrow

evening there's no prayer meeting this evening but there will be the Gaelic prayer meeting tomorrow

evening. Well we're going to worship by singing to God's praise we're going to sing in Psalm 100

the first version of the psalm the tune is old 100 page 362 of the psalm books Psalm 100 the Scottish

Psalter version the theme of our worship today is indeed worship set in the Lord before us at the

beginning of a new year and this psalm speaks about the nations of the world declaring the glory of God

coming to worship him all people that on earth do dwell sing to the Lord with cheerful voice

himself with mirth his praise forth tell come ye before him and rejoice we'll sing the whole of the

psalm to God's praise

all people that on earth do dwell sing to the Lord with cheerful voice

praise him and rejoice we'll sing the whole of the psalm to God's praise and the Lord with

the Lord with cheerful voice we'll sing the whole of the psalm to God's praise and the Lord with

singing the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of the singing of singing of the singing of singing of singing of singing the singing of singing of singing of singing of singing the singing of singing of singing of singing singing of singing of singing singing of singing singing of singing singing of singing singing of singing singing of singing singing of singing singing of singing singing of singing singing singing of singing singing of singing singing singing singing of singing singing singing singing singing singing singing singing

For like the Lord our God is good

His mercy is forever sure

His truth at all times firmly stood

And shall come each truly to endure

Let's unite our hearts in prayer. Let us pray.

Our Father in heaven we gather in your name today at the beginning of a new year

thankful for these words that we have sung

they remind us that we are not alone in this world

but that we join in with a chorus of your people

that nations of the world as a new year has begun

although many have begun in celebrations that seem to have no thought of you

we thank you that you have your people to all ends of the earth

who have brought in a new year

with a sense of adoration of who you are

a sense of praise and worship towards you

setting a new year that is before us Lord into your hands

and that you would be the one who we begin looking to

and the one who goes before us in it

the one who knows the beginning and the end

as we have been reminded of your word recently

you are the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end of all things

and we do praise your name oh Lord and thankful that we can come to you

and sing to you with a cheerful voice and serve you with all our hearts

the psalmist asks the question why

why should we praise you in all of these ways

and the psalm says the Lord our God is good

his mercy is forever sure

whose truth at all times firmly stood

and shall from age to age endure

and as we oh Lord see all that's ahead of us

with so much uncertainty

we thank you Lord that your truth is with us

that you are with us

that you are the one who has endured through all generations

and the one whose truth endures to us today

and going forward as well

and we thank you that your truth is light to us

that it sheds light on our paths

and shows us the ways to go

that you direct us by your word and by your spirit

and we do pray to know that oh Lord

as we go into all that lies ahead of us

that we would know your light with us

that we would know your mercy with us day by day

and we do just praise you this day Lord

that you are one who hears us

that one who is with us

one who hears our cries

who hears our prayers

who hears our groans

who hears all that comes to our lips

and even into our hearts

and yet you remember us Lord in mercy

and so we do praise your name this day

help us that our hearts will be filled with worship

and praise of you

not just for this day but in all the days ahead

Lord we know that even as we begin a new year

we are so often reminded that there are these highs and lows

in our experience that are prepared by you

and known unto you even at this point

there's nothing hidden from you

and Lord as we do seek good upon us

we do seek it for all around us

for all the people of this world

here in our own community Lord

we do pray that as we look back and reflect over a year gone by

as we do so Lord

with much to give thanks for

and much thanks for your grace in every circumstance

we do look ahead as well Lord

asking that your blessing

your peace would be over us as a people

and we see so much going on around us

that seeks to take away from you and your cause

we think of our Lord's day

and how we treat it

and how it's treated by others

we do pray that you will guard it in our communities

and help us to honour you

on that day and every day

that all that we would do would be

for your glory and for your good

teach us Lord that we need you

in every way

teach us Lord that whatever we do

whether we eat or drink

it is to be to your glory

and we thank you that you have given so much

that we should give thanks for

even the simple things in life

even the air that we breathe

and the food that we enjoy

the fellowship that we have with one another

the family and friends that we have around us

the work opportunities

the homes

our communities as a whole Lord

there are so many things that we do take for granted

and we just thank you Lord

for every day we have to enjoy these things

and so may our weeks be filled

with praise and delight in you

may our weeks and our months

that lie before us Lord

be times when we see

in the midst of the changing seasons

of nature as we go through winter

as we see the darkness

the gales

the anxieties that they bring

may we see the spring that reminds us

of a new growth

a newness of life

reminding us Lord that you are the one

who is able to take from darkness into light

and that you are the one

who is able to give life

even in the midst of

such difficult times

and we thank you that your gospel

is what gives life

and we pray that

all the seed that has been sown

of the gospel over many years

here and throughout our lands

that it would bear much fruit in our midst

we do pray Lord

that we would see

great summer seasons of harvest

that we would see times of

great growth and delighting in you

and that we would see a great harvest coming

of people coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ

we thank you that the world in which we live

reminds us of the changing seasons

in nature but also

the seasons that we experience in our lives

and even in our church experience too

but yet we thank you that you are the one

who is building his church

and may you oh Lord build

throughout our communities

and throughout our land

throughout the world

may your kingdom come in power

Lord we do remember so many

with different needs today

we know that

there are those who rejoice in you

and those who are sorrowing in you as well

we know a new year Lord brings times of reflection

times of remembrance

times of thanksgiving

and times of mourning

and we do pray Lord

for even those who are coming into the new year

in the midst of loss and grief

in their own experience

and do pray comfort and help

and strength towards them

pray for those who are unwell

and those who have family members

who they are concerned for

Lord we just commit each one to you

thankful for the services

that are provided to us

in our health care

in our homes

even with family around us Lord

to support us in times of need

we do pray Lord

blessing and peace

towards those in these times of need

we do pray Lord

for today's of rejoicing as well

that we would be glad in you

and give thanks to you

as we have so often in the past

when we've seen

even as we think of our own congregation here

new members

and even this past year

as we think of

seeing people coming to church

and coming under your word

in different ways

whether it's in services here

or on the Friday at the Free

the 55 plus

the work among our young people

we thank you for every opportunity

we have to serve you

and we just pray blessing

upon all of these things

that we would see

a stirring up in the gospel

a telling of

your goodness and mercy

to those who we come into contact with

that the nations and peoples

would hear

of the wonder of God

of the wonder of salvation

in Christ Jesus as Lord

and we pray that you will help us

as a people

as a congregation here

to be salt and light for you

to be a people

who worship you

first and foremost

but also then

a reminder of the mission

of the church

to reach out

to those who are

in darkness

we would bring that gospel hope

into the midst of

all our people

and to all ends of the earth

we do remember

oh Lord

your people

far and wide today

your church

near and far

asking that your blessing

and the light of the gospel

would shine brightly

in the midst of our world

Lord we do commit

ourselves

into your hands

now that you would be with us

in our worship

in the singing of your praise

in the reading of your word

and in all that we do

this day

and in all our days

may it be to your glory

hear our prayers

Lord

and go before us now

pardoning us

in all our sin

that's all we ask

we ask in Jesus name

Amen

so again

sing to God's praise

we're going to sing

in Psalm 145

and sing Psalm's version

page 189

Psalm 145

we're going to sing

from verse 1

to verse 9

the tune is

even tied

I will exalt you

O my God and King

forever I will praise

your holy name

I will extol your name

forevermore

day after day

your praise

I will proclaim

we sing from verse 1

to verse 9

to God's praise

we stand to sing

Amen

I will exalt you

O my God and King

forever I will

praise your holy name

I will extol your name

forevermore

day after day

your praise

I will proclaim

great is the Lord

most worthy of all praise

great is the Lord

great is the Lord

his greatest love

can search or comprehend

the Lord

and the Lord

each generation

will recapture

your deeds

and to the next

your mighty

ask

Amen

praise the splendor

of your majesty

the power of the works

that you have done

I too

I too

will meditate

upon

your deeds

and

your majestic

acts

I will

ignore

the Lord

will

make known

they will

rejoice

Savior

may

obey

and

your

abundant

grace

will celebrate

the

righteousness

that

will

be

the

the

righteousness

that

you have

shown

to them

in

grace

and

for

some

they

will

release

the

Lord

is

gracious

and

compassionate

he

his

soul

to

anger

rich

in

steadfast

love

the

Lord

is

good

to

all

that

he

has

made

and

merciful

to

all

on

earth

that

you

we're going

to turn to read the word of God together now we're reading in the book of Psalms

!

Psalm 96

Psalm

Psalm 96

you'll find it around page 599 of the church Bibles

Psalm 96

we can sing the whole

of

not sing

read the whole of this psalm

Oh sing to the Lord a new song sing to the Lord all the earth sing to the Lord bless his name tell of his salvation from day to day declare his glory among the nations his marvelous works among all the peoples for great is the

Lord and greatly to be praised

he is to be feared above all gods for all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols but the Lord made the heavens splendor and majesty are before him strength and beauty are in his sanctuary ascribe to the Lord oh families of the peoples ascribe to the Lord glory and strength ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name bring an offering and come into his name bring an offering and come into his name so

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.

Bring an offering and come into his courts.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

Tremble before him all the earth.

Say among the nations, the Lord reigns.

Yes, the world is established.

It shall never be moved.

He will judge the peoples with equity.

Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice.

Let the sea roar and all that fills it.

Let the field exult and everything in it.

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Before the Lord, for he comes.

For he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness.

And the peoples in his faithfulness.

Amen.

And may the Lord add his blessing to that reading of his word.

Before we come back to look at this psalm together, we're going to sing another psalm.

Psalm 98.

The Scottish Psalter version.

Page 360 of the psalm books.

Psalm 98.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 4.

The tune is Argyle.

O sing a new song to the Lord for wonders he hath done.

His right hand and his holy arm him victory have won.

The Lord God, his salvation has caused to be known.

His justice in the heathen sight he openly hath shown.

We'll sing from verse 1 to 4.

We stand to sing to God's praise.

Amen.

O sing a new song to the Lord, our wonders he hath done.

His right and land, his holy ark, in victory he hath won.

The Lord God, his salvation hath caused it to be done.

His justice in the heaven's sight, he openly hath shown.

He bind for all his grace and truth to Israel's touch hath been.

And the salvation of our God, all ends of the earth have seen.

Let all the earth come to the Lord, send forth the joyful noise.

Lift up your voice, bow out to him, sing praises and rejoice.

We can turn back to our reading in Psalm 96.

I'm just going to look at this psalm for a short time together this afternoon as we come with the theme of worshiping God.

We read at the beginning of the psalm,

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, bless his name.

Tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations.

Then down at verse 10, verse 9 says,

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

Tremble before him all the earth.

Say among the nations, the Lord reigns.

There's so much in this psalm that just gives us a focus as we begin a new year.

Because as we begin a new year, we often have that sense of examining our lives,

looking around us, looking within us, and just asking certain questions about what is our main goal even for this coming year.

What's your main goal for 2025?

Is it to please yourself?

Is it to find things in life that bring you joy and happiness that you find in yourself or in things around you?

Or is your main goal in 2025, as we begin a new year,

to have the Lord set before you and to be looking to him and to please him?

Our chief end, as we so often read in the Shorter Catechism, the first question,

our chief end is to glorify God, to give glory to him and to enjoy him forever.

And we find that when that is our chief end, when that is our chief goal in life,

that everything else seems to fall into place, everything else seems to come together.

And so it's good for us as we begin a new year to begin it with that focus of worship and of praise to God.

Worship is key.

William Temple was once Archbishop of Canterbury,

and he gave a definition of worship as this,

as the quickening the conscience by the holiness of God,

feeding the mind with the truth of God,

purging the imagination by the beauty of God,

opening the heart to the love of God,

and devoting the will to the purpose of God.

It's all-encompassing when it comes to worship.

It's not just a little part of our lives.

It's not just a part of our lives for a certain day of the week or a time of year.

Worship is all-encompassing.

Everything that we do should have that aim of being worship to God.

And part of our worship is, of course, coming to him in praise,

coming to him in song.

And the psalms that we've been singing together already today,

they are psalms with that focus of a song of praise being offered up to God.

And the psalm often gives us reasons to worship God.

And that's going to be our focus together just now as we think of worship.

We hear the call of worship in this psalm,

and we see the cause of worship in this psalm.

And to bring these two things together to help us to have that goal,

that focus for the year ahead,

to have that call to always be a people who worship God,

and to have the cause that we see the reason to worship God.

And what that reason brings to us then is a desire for others

to know the wonders of God.

Bringing in a new year so often is a place where song and music takes part of it.

I'm sure many of you, maybe yesterday or even today,

have listened to certain songs or have heard songs being sung,

whether it's in Gaelic or in English.

Which so often the new year is brought in in that way,

with song to the forefront.

And there's a sense of it being uplifting,

and a sense of joy in the midst of it.

But it doesn't always have to be a happy song.

Sometimes, whether it's in Gaelic or English,

we hear many songs that are full of emotion,

that are sadness and sorrows.

Experiences that people have gone through,

and stories that are told through song

that sometimes bring tears to our eyes.

Other times, it's more uplifting songs,

songs that fill us with a sense of joy.

But isn't it good for us to bring in a new year,

not just focused on the songs of this world,

but the songs of God,

and the praise of God.

And every worship service we have,

every time we come to worship God,

there is song in our hearts.

We come to praise God.

We come to worship God in that sense of song and joy to the Lord.

Because if anyone has reason for praise,

if anyone has reason to sing,

it is the Christian.

It is the songs of rejoicing in the goodness of God to us.

And as we look at the Psalms,

not just the one before us,

but as you go through the book of Psalms,

you find that the Psalms themselves reflect the experience

that we go through in life.

They are not just songs that are filled with joy and laughter.

There is that in them.

There are times of great delight in the Lord,

and we thank Him for that.

But there are songs, too,

that have the reality of life,

the struggles in life.

We have songs of lament,

as they're called in the Psalms,

the Psalms of lament,

that give us a focus when times are difficult,

and yet we can still sing to the Lord.

But there are times when we just sing

of the wonder, the steadfast love of God,

the mercies of God,

the wonders of God.

We've sung in each of the Psalms that we've had today,

we've sung of that,

and we see it in this Psalm before us as well,

Psalm 96.

It is a Psalm that just brings us to see the wonder of God.

But the context of Psalm 96

isn't just standing alone in that sense of

it's just about joy in the Lord.

It's closely connected to the Psalm that comes before it,

Psalm 95.

They're like two Psalms that just come together.

And if you read through Psalm 95,

you see that it's the focus there in this outset

is song as well.

O come, let us sing to the Lord.

Let us make a joyful noise

to the rock of our salvation.

So there is song in that one,

but it's in a slightly different setting.

Psalm 94 shows almost a time of singing

in the rejection of God

in the midst of looking back

in the experience of God's people.

You go to the end of the Psalm,

you see that speaking about the wilderness years,

the wandering through the wilderness for 40 years,

the rejection of God.

And so you see that there is rejection in that Psalm.

And 96 then is almost like a missional Psalm,

where it's calling people back to God.

And in both these experiences, there's song.

There's a reminder to come to the Lord in song in Psalm 95,

when we're drifting away from him,

because it gives us that focus.

And perhaps at the end of 2024,

maybe for some people,

it was a sense of drifting away from God

or difficult experiences,

and yet we're called to come to God in song.

And then coming into a new year,

it may still be difficult.

There may still be many trials that we have,

but we can set the Lord before us

with that sense of a mission focus

and a worship focus.

What's more important for us in 2025?

Mission or worship?

It's not a trick question.

It's maybe a question,

is there a right answer?

Do they not both go together?

But there has to be an order of these things.

Is mission or worship that's more important for us

going into 2025?

Well, John Piper, the American preacher,

he said this,

missions is not the ultimate goal of the church.

Worship is.

Missions exist because worship doesn't.

The goal of missions

is the gladness of the peoples

in the greatness of God.

Mission exists because worship doesn't.

And so therefore,

we begin with worship.

We worship the Lord.

And then from that worship comes that sense of mission

because we realize that the world in which we live,

not all people,

not all nations worship God.

And so then their mission is

to make known the wonders of God to others.

So we are to be worshipers first and foremost.

People who acknowledge our dependence on God

and who seek his favor,

seek his blessings upon us

and come to rejoice in him.

And then we say to others,

come and behold the wonders of our God.

And so let's begin 2025 with a focus on this psalm.

And we're going to look at it just under these two headings,

the call to worship and the cause of worship.

And so the first thing we see here

is the call to worship.

It's no surprise to us

when Psalm 96,

among many other psalms,

begin with these words,

O sing to the Lord a new song.

O sing to the Lord.

The psalms were songs that were to be sung.

They are songs that are to be sung.

Songs of praise to God.

As we mentioned before,

there are many experiences in this world.

We see it at New Year

when people begin a new year with song,

singing.

There are certain songs that are always sung

at this time.

O lang syne is one.

And you hear it just comes part of New Year.

And people will begin a new year

singing these certain songs.

But what a difference it is

is to sing a song to the Lord.

To sing of the goodness and mercy of God.

To begin a year looking to Him.

Whether the difference is,

the focus is not on ourselves

or on our circumstances at all times,

but on the Lord.

To worship the Lord first and foremost.

And the opening of this psalm,

Psalm 96,

has that focus for us.

Sing to the Lord.

And you see,

sing to the Lord is mentioned

three times in verse 1 and 2.

Sing to the Lord is there before us.

And there's nothing stale,

there's nothing lilteless in this thing.

It's a sense of lifting up our voices to God,

recognizing who He is.

That we can praise Him.

And it's the first thing that we see here

is sing to the Lord a new song.

It doesn't necessarily mean

a newly composed song.

But just a reminder to us

of the new song that the Lord gives to us.

The way He changes our tune, as it were.

The way He gives us something to sing

in sense of praise to Him.

That His newness is there for us each day.

His marshes are new each day.

You know, as we begin a new year just now,

it's not just singing a song

that we've sung a hundred, a thousand,

a million times in the past.

It doesn't matter how many times you've sung it,

there's still a sense of newness to it.

Sing to the Lord a new song

because our circumstances are new.

Our day is new.

Our year is new.

There is a newness in this song

that it doesn't lose its appetite.

It doesn't lose its sense of joy and wonder.

But when we're singing to the Lord,

there's that sense that it's new every time.

Because we thank Him for each new day.

We thank Him for each new year.

We thank Him for each moment of grace

that He gives to us.

Similar to Psalm 40

that speaks of how He puts a new song

in our mouth,

a song of praise to God.

It is the Lord

that gives us that reason to sing,

that new song

that we are able to sing to Him.

And so today,

it's not an old song we're going back to.

It's one that's fresh

and one that's new for us today

because we sing it anew.

We sing it together.

And maybe for some,

it's singing with a new sense of delight,

a new sense of joy,

a new sense of thanksgiving,

that the Lord opens our eyes

to see how precious He is.

Sing to the Lord a new song.

Remember when the Lord was working

in my own life,

how the singing of His praise

started to have a new voice to me,

something that was new in it.

And it was a strange place

maybe to experience it,

but it was standing outside

the meeting house in Tolstachilish.

It was at a wake

on a summer's night.

And there were so many

in attendance at the wake.

It's not a big meeting house

that some were standing outside.

And I was one of those

who was standing outside.

The Lord was maybe starting

to stir in my heart,

but I had no interest going there

that I was there to praise God

or to listen to His praise,

standing outside just talking to others.

But when the worship started,

when the singing started,

and it was coming out of the building,

the door was open,

and it was a glorious,

still summer's evening,

and the wonder of that praise

just spoke.

That there was something

in these words,

something in this singing

that wasn't natural.

There was a power behind it.

There was a newness in it.

And that's the new song

that the Lord so often brings to us.

When He starts to open our ears

to hear the wonder of who He is,

the new song that He is able to give us.

And wouldn't it be wonderful

if for all of us,

in a sense,

that new beginning this year

would be with a new song,

the Lord speaking to us

in that powerful way.

The second thing we see here,

the second singing is,

sing to the Lord all the earth.

That there is a song for everyone.

There is a song that leaves nobody out.

It's a song here of the praise of God

that is for the whole of the world.

There is no one who is not worthy

to praise God.

There is no one who is unworthy

of coming to sing praise to God.

There is no circumstance

that we find ourselves in

where God cannot be praised.

to sing all the earth

is for everyone

and in every experience.

We sing a new song

because of the song

that Christ gives to us

in our hearts.

When we recognize

who our Savior is,

when we realize

what has been done for us

through Jesus Christ,

for the whole world.

For God so loved the world

that he gave his only Son.

There is an opportunity

for all to praise God.

That while we have this day,

while we have this moment,

as you go back to Psalm 95

and the end of verse 7,

today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts

as at Meribah.

Do not harden your hearts

as those who did in the past,

but today, hear his voice.

Today, sing to the Lord

all the earth.

There is a song here

for everyone.

Like I say,

in every circumstance.

One of my favorite psalms

is Psalm 73.

It's a psalm you can go to

because you see there

the honesty of the psalmist.

When there is trouble

all around him,

he's not afraid

to come to God

with that trouble,

and yet he sees himself

as a beast, as it were,

before the Lord.

He's angry almost

towards him,

and yet there's this

turning point in the psalm

in verse 23,

Psalm 73,

Psalms 73:23

verse 23,

where he says,

Nevertheless,

I am continually

with you.

You hold me

by my right hand.

You guide me.

And then you see

the longing

in the psalms,

Whom have I in the heavens?

But you, O Lord,

alone.

So there is this wonder

of a song

for everyone.

Everyone of us,

whether we're sitting in here,

whether we're tuning in online,

the Lord is there

to be praised

and to be sung about

all the earth.

Then you see

there's the third,

Sing to the Lord,

in verse 2 there.

Sing to the Lord,

bless his name,

tell of his salvation

from day to day.

There is so much

to sing about.

And this is not just

for one day,

it's every day.

Sing of his salvation

from day to day.

We can begin

every new day

rejoicing in the salvation

that God gives.

As we have that focus,

we have that call

to worship,

we see we are a people

who are to praise.

When we come

into the presence of God,

when we come

to worship him,

we see

all that we have

through God.

His salvation

is there

before us all.

Even today,

as we begin

a new year,

just with that sense

of focus,

not on ourselves,

but on the Lord.

The Lord

and the salvation

that he has given

for his people.

The salvation

that there is

in Christ

alone.

so we can begin

by praising

him.

We have

a call

to worship.

Psalm 96,

in some ways

you could call it

a golden oldie.

It's one we can

go to again

and again.

But still today,

it's a new song.

It's a new song

for us

to come

and praise him.

It's a call

for us

to worship him

as we begin

a new year.

As we set

the year ahead

before us,

we begin

with a call

to worship.

The second thing

we see here

in this psalm

is the cause

of worship.

The natural

question

that comes

from

a call

to worship

as we are

asked to come

and worship

God

is

why?

Why

should we

worship God?

Psalm 73

gave us

part of that

answer.

Nevertheless,

continually,

O Lord,

I am with thee.

You're the one

who holds me

by my right hand.

And there

is a reason,

a cause

for worship.

And so,

so often

in the psalms

you find

not just

a call

to worship,

but the psalms

they give us

the cause

of worship.

You see that

in the psalms

that we've sung

already today.

There's that sense

of coming

before the Lord

with great joy

and worship

and praise

to him.

But you see it

in Psalm 95

there,

verse 3.

there's a call

to come

and worship

God.

But then

verse 3 is

for the Lord

is a great

God

and a great

king

above

all gods.

There is

cause

to worship.

And we see

the same

here in

Psalm 96

as well.

Declare his

glory among

the nations,

his marvelous

works among

all the peoples.

For great

is the Lord

and greatly

to be praised.

He is to be

feared

above

all gods.

Splendor

and majesty

are before him.

Strength

and beauty

are in his

sanctuary.

There is

cause

to worship

God.

And so

if we ask

the question

come

and worship

God

and the people

ask why

even as they

did in the

day of the

psalmist

even as they

do in our

own day

why

should we

worship

God?

Well here

we have a

response

for great

is the

Lord

and greatly

to be

praised.

You see

the people

here

as the

psalmist

is speaking

of they

had a

problem

and it's

not a

new

problem

it's not

a problem

that's

gone

away.

What

was their

problem

what's

the problem

for so

many of

us

today?

Well we

see it

in verse

5.

For all

the gods

of the

peoples

are

worthless

idols.

The

people

have

other

things

they

put

in

place

of

God.

So

many

begin

the

year

with

no

thought

of

God

but

worshipping

the idols

of this

world

self-made

idols.

they

are

worthless.

That's

what the

psalmist

says.

They

feared

their

gods.

It

wasn't a

new

thing.

You

see it

running

throughout

the

scriptures

where

people

have

their

own

gods

and

they

would

seek

to

satisfy

their

gods

offer

sacrifices

to

their

gods

in

the

hope

of

harvests

of

health

of

victories

and

battles

of

all

kinds

of

things

who

would

come

and

worship

their

gods

in

the

hope

that

they

would

cause

things

to

go

well

for

them.

But

it

wasn't

the

case

and

it

will

not

be

the

case

for

us

as

well.

We

are not

to

look

to

the

worthless

idols

of

this

world.

Where

does

our

help

come

from

as

we

go

into

a

new

year?

James

in the

New

Testament

speaks

of it

in this

way.

He

reminds us

where our

help

comes

from.

Every

good

gift,

every

perfect

gift,

it

comes

from

above,

coming

down

from

the

Father

of

light

with

whom

there

is

no

variation

of

shadow

due

to

change,

the

one

who

doesn't

change.

The

psalmist

here is

pointing us

towards

the

true

God.

God

but

the

Lord,

he

says,

he

made

the

heavens.

He

created

all

things.

He

made

all

things

for

his

glory.

He

has

made

us

with

that

purpose,

with

that

cause

in

our

hearts

as well

to be

a

people

who

worship

him.

And

it's

because

splendor

and

majesty,

all

of

these

things,

strength

and

beauty,

they

all

belong

to

him.

And

you

see it

there

in

verse

three

as well.

Declare

his

glory

among

the

nations.

His

marvelous

works

among

all

the

peoples.

His

marvelous

works.

Reasons

cause

to

worship.

His

marvelous

works.

Have

you

seen

his

marvelous

works?

You

have.

We

all

have.

We've

seen

it

in

so

many

different

ways.

You

see it

in so

many

different

situations.

Even

the

little

things.

Little

things that

make you

just look

and wonder

at the

amazing

wonders.

But do

you recognize

it's of

God?

You

think of

a

spider's

web.

And you

see it

with just

a little

mist

on it.

And the

sun

starting to

shine

through.

And you

see the

intricacy

of it.

The

wonder

of it.

The

wonder

of God's

creation.

You

think of

a

snowflake.

How

everyone

is

different.

And if

you look

at it

closely,

even if

you go

under a

microscope

and look

at it,

you see

the

details

in it.

You

think of

the

flowers.

You

think of

the

wonder

of the

sky.

The

sky at

night

with the

moon

and the

stars.

The

enormity

of it.

The

wonder

of God's

creation.

You

look at

yourself.

ourselves.

We

look at

ourselves

and we

see the

intricacies

of our

bodies.

How

fearfully

and

wonderfully

we

are

made.

And

these

are

the

wonders

of

God.

And

then you

look at

the

God

who made

the heavens

and the

earth,

the one

who is

behind

all of

these

things and

the power

that he

has.

and the

wonder

that he

would

remember

us.

The

wonder

that he

would

promise

to be

with us.

The

promise

that he

will never

leave us

or forsake

us.

And the

wonder

of his

grace

and his

mercy.

The

wonder

of his

salvation

for sinners.

The

wonder

of the

cross.

The

wonder

of what

he has

done

for us

there.

As his

son,

our

Lord,

gave his

life

for us.

The

wonder

of God.

The

wonders

that he

has done.

Are they

not cause

for worship?

Are they

not cause

to come

and sing

with praise

to him

the wonders

that he

has done?

And if

we see

the wonders

that he

has done

for us,

the cause

that we

have to

worship

in that,

does it

not then

lead our

hearts

to the

cause

of telling

others?

You see

that run

through this

psalm

as well.

There in

verse 3

it says

to us

declare

his glory

among the

nations,

his marvelous

work,

the wonders

that he

has done.

In

verse

10 it

says the

same thing,

say among

the nations,

the Lord

reigns.

He is

king.

He is

king over

all.

The wonders

that God

has done

for us,

they are

the cause

of our

worship,

and they

are the

cause

to our

mission

as well

to tell

others.

Missions

exist

because

worship

doesn't.

And while

there is

no worship

in the

lives of

those around

us,

it is our

mission

to make

known

the wonders

of the

Lord.

And what

greater way

to make

it known

than to

worship

the Lord,

to sing

to the

Lord.

Somebody

once said

you cannot

worship

God as

you ought

until you

know him

as he

is.

And you

cannot know

the true

God

until you

know him

in his

benefits.

And you

do not

know him

in his

benefits

until you

know him

in the

sacrifice

of his

son,

Jesus

Christ,

who died

in our

place,

that we

might become

the

righteousness

of God

in him.

Our

mission

begins

with

worship

and

worshiping

the

Lord

in the

splendor

of

holiness

and

recognizing

what he

has done

for us.

He has

given us

a new

day.

He has

given us

a new

year,

a time

and a

place

and a

people,

to be

a people

of worship

to him.

So what

is our

goal as

we go

into

2025?

To

please

ourselves

or to

please

him.

May it

be that

we please

him

and do

so by

worshiping

him

in the

right way,

by giving

all praise

and glory

to him.

We have

a call

to this

and we

have a

cause

for this.

It is

the

Lord.

I'll leave

you with

these words

as we

think of

what we

do for

ourselves

or what

we do

for the

Lord.

Dear

Master,

for this

coming

year,

just one

request

I bring.

I do

not pray

for happiness

or any

earthly

thing.

I do

not ask

to understand

the way

thou leadest

me,

but this

I ask,

teach me

to do

the thing

that pleaseth

thee.

I want

to know

thy guiding

voice,

to walk

with thee

each day.

Dear

Master,

make me

swift

to hear

and ready

to obey.

And thus

the year

I now

begin,

a happy

year will

be,

if I am

seeking

just to

do

the thing

that

pleaseth

thee.

What

pleases

the Lord

more than

worshipping

him and

setting him

before us

in all

things and

above

all things?

The Lord

is worthy

of praise.

Let us

sing a

new song

to him.

Let us

pray.

Lord,

our

gracious

God,

we rejoice

in the

hope that

we have

in you,

the hope

and the

wonders that

you have

shown towards

us,

and above

all the

wonders of

your salvation,

that you are

one who has

remembered us,

one who has

done us

good,

and one

who has

promised to

go before

us.

And so,

Lord,

we do

pray that

you will

be a

God who

leads us,

thankful for

the salvation

that we

have in

Christ Jesus,

and thankful

for the

mission that

we have,

to be a

people of

worship and

to be a

people of

showing forth

your praise

to others.

Lord,

may this