Let us worship!

Thank you! Everything in me says “Thank you!”
    Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
    and say it again: “Thank you!”
Thank you for your love,
    thank you for your faithfulness;
Most holy is your name,
    most holy is your Word.
The moment I called out, you stepped in;
    you made my life large with strength.

When they hear what you have to say, God,
    all earth’s kings will say “Thank you.”
They’ll sing of what you’ve done:
    “How great the glory of God!”
And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below;
    no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.

When I walk into the thick of trouble,
    keep me alive in the angry turmoil.
With one hand
    strike my foes,
With your other hand
    save me.
Finish what you started in me, God.
    Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now.

—Psalm 138 (The Message)

A prayer to center you

Holy God, don’t quit on us now.

We stumble and we fail.

We lean into our own desires and ways.

We turn from you too often and fall short of your glory every day.

But do not quit on us now.

Draw near to us.

Lift us up, pull us closer to you, set our feet again on your path.

You are faithful and just, loving and kind.

Do not quit on us.

Even when we quit on you.

Your faithfulness endures forever and we give you thanks;

Thanks that you stand beside us, despite all that we are and all that we do,

Thanks that you lift us up when we are broken,

and thanks that your love never ends.

With thankful hearts, we come now to worship you.

Speak to us through your word and guide us with your light.

Amen

Holy Scripture

Matthew Chapter 6, VERSEs 26 through 34

26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Reflection:

This weeks Scriptures may not really corelate in head. The Psalm that called us into worship a song of thanksgiving and praise to God. The Gospel reading a plea to let go and trust in God. While at first the two may not meld completely, they do relate to one another.

The author of Matthew is calling us to pause and look around us. They bid us to pause and see all the glory that God has place around us. Look at the birds of the air, they do not worry. God cares for them and provides all that they need. Look at the flowers in the field. They do nothing and yet each year they display their beauty for all to see. They are calling us to look away from our worries and to see that glory that God provides around us. For if God will provide for the birds of the air and for the lilies in the field, will God not provide for us?

This is a good reminder this week of Thanksgiving. God will provide! We sometimes forget, I know I do. I am a worrier by nature, especially once I became a mother. The unknown future can overwhelm me pretty easily. Throughout my forty odd years, I have learned to play it cool and not let the anxiety appear outwardly, but I really do worry—A LOT. The past few years have put my worry to the test for sure. Never knowing what is coming. Never having a clue what the days, weeks, or months ahead will look like. I like the control and that need for control often comes across as worry. Somehow I think if I worry enough, if I plan enough, if I put enough thought and control into something it will be okay.

This Scripture from Matthew reminds me that no matter how much a worry and stress, most things come out to God’s glory.

My husband is an engineer. For those of you who know about engineers they really like to plan and research and study…for any and everything. So if we are going on a trip as a family he will spend hours and hours researching, studying and planning to make the perfect trip. That is what he likes to do. However, some of the best trips we have taken have been last minute trips with little planning, few advanced reservation, and very little research. When we are able to let go of trying to make things perfect, sometimes it can be more enjoyable. Sometimes, when we let go of our need for control we step more fully into an experience, more fully emerge ourselves in what is happening around us, and find new and unexpected joys. And we can give thanks to God for that.

We can give thanks to God that God has prepared a future for us, that God walks beside us through all that we face, and that we are never completely in control. Praise God.

God loves us even more than the birds of the air and the lilies of the valley. God loves us so deeply that God never leaves us. God loves us and provides. We have to let go and let God work. We have to lean into letting go and in so doing we display our trust in God and allow ourselves to more fully step into the world around us, more fully emerge ourselves in our own life, and find new and unexpected joys as we do.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, let us give thanks for all that God has provided in God’s gracious love for us. Let us enter this week, looking around us at the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and give thanks for warm homes, the food on our tables and the family that surrounds us (even if they drive us nuts). The world is not perfect. Our lives are not perfect. But has given to us abundantly, let us give thanks!

Thinking it through…

What are you thankful for?

What do you worry too much about?

How can you turn that worry over to God?

Word in action…

Make a chain of Thanks.

Cut strips of colored paper.

On each strip, write something that you are thankful for.

Connect the ends of the paper together (with a staple, glue, or paper clip)

See your blessings before you and give thanks!

HYMN: God Will

Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.

Refrain:
God will take care of you,
Through every day, o’er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.
Through days of toil when heart doth fail,
God will take care of you;
When dangers fierce your path assail,
God will take care of you.
All you may need He will provide,
God will take care of you;
Nothing you ask will be denied,
God will take care of you.
No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast,
God will take care of you.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6

Prayer of sending

Let us go out into the world with deep thanksgiving to you, most Holy God.

Your love for us is deep.

Your gifts of abundance and care are all around us.

Open our eyes and our hearts to all that you have provided.

Move us toward gratitude and hope

Now and always

Amen

Going out.

Go out into the world, renewed and revived by the word of God.

and in all that you do, may the love of Christ Jesus uphold you,

the peace of God sustain you and may the Holy Spirit guide you each step of the way

Let all God’s people say: AMEN

Worship November 20, 2021