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Pastor's PageJuly 2009 Evangelism and Praise
That was part of David's song when God delivered him from his enemies. The shortest psalm (in fact, the shortest chapter of the Bible) has only two verses:
Both David and psalmist take their praise to the nations. David will sing "among the nations"; the Psalmist calls the nations to join him in praise. We speak a lot in the church about our need to tell others about God. This is our God-given mission, given to us directly from the lips of our parting Lord as He ascended into heaven. We tell others about God for their sake, so that they might know His blessing and His salvation, so that they might be spared eternal death and enter into that joyous life which Christ has won for them, at the price of His blood, at the cross. But that's not the only reason to talk about God in our day-to-day lives. This is also our "sacrifice of praise," which we offer to God as the fruit of our own lips (Hebrews 13:15). Yes, we offer our praise to God as we sing in the congregation - but how about singing through the course of your day, singing which others might even overhear? In his simple order of morning prayers, Dr. Martin Luther concludes with the suggestion that we go off to work singing a song. And, yes, we acclaim God in His sanctuary, but how about acclaiming Him in our day-to-day lives where we see His hand behind the blessings unfolding all around us? "Praise God, what a beautiful day it is!" "Thank the Lord for your good recovery!" "What a blessing from God that you escaped that accident unscathed!" Such words are not hard to say. And while others might think they were just lucky, we can direct them to the Giver who gets the true credit for all the good that comes our way. Of course, the highest praise to offer God is to tell of His salvation. It is His greatest act of love for us. Let it be known! Let it be shouted from the rooftops! Jesus has died for the forgiveness of all the sins in the world! Jesus lives so that all who trust in Him will never die! This praise particularly delights our Father - when we tell aloud the salvation won by Jesus Christ. If we turn our attention from "evangelism" to "the public praise of God," we get this advantage: we don't focus on how others are responding to us, we can delight that our praise has accomplished its goal as soon as it has been spoken. God has been praised among the nations. How good it is to honor His Name, because, indeed, great is His love for us. Nowhere do we see that more than in the face of Jesus Christ. Update on activities: Community suggestions about helpful programs Pastor Schulz has conducted three of interviews with community leaders and a number of interesting ideas have emerged as possibilities:
Here's a typical description for a local program in Saline: "Heritage offers before-school care starting at 6:30 a.m., after-school care until 6 p.m. Mornings $5/day, afternoons $12.50/day. Adult-child ratio 1:10. .... For all programs, there is a $50 registration fee (first child, $35 for each additional child); students enrolled in the latchkey program may be eligible for a 50% discount on Community Education recreation and enrichment classes coinciding with their latchkey schedule." This program would make the most sense at the Pleasant Lake School site, because of its accessibility to parents and its location "on the way" to the schools. The children's enrichment program generated the most interest. Other possibilities include:
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