The Gospel According to Luke 1:1-4 [NLTse]
1 Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.[a] 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.
Our opening Responsive Reading was a couple of verses from Psalm 148. Let’s open our Bibles there… [Give the page # after some time.] Here’s the entire psalm:
“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise Him from the skies! Praise Him, all His angels! Praise Him, all the armies of Heaven! Praise Him, sun and moon! Praise Him, all you twinkling stars! Praise Him, skies above! Praise Him, vapors high above the clouds! Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for He issued His command, and they came into being. He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked.
“Praise the Lord from the Earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey Him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, kings of the Earth and all people, rulers and judges of the Earth, young men and young women, old men and children.
“Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For His name is very great; His glory towers over the Earth and Heaven! He has made His people strong, honoring His faithful ones—the people of Israel who are close to Him.
“Praise the Lord!”
But not everyone wants the Lord praised…
Turn in your Bibles to Luke 19… Luke 19:36… [Give the page # after some time.] It’s Luke’s account of the Lord Jesus’ triumphal parade into Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday. Luke writes: “As [the Lord] rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of Him. When He reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of His followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.
“‘Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in Heaven, and glory in highest heaven!’
“But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your followers for saying things like that!’
“He replied, ‘If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!’”
No, not everyone wants the Lord to be praised…
Turn in your Bibles to Acts 5… Acts 5:28… [Give the page # after some time.] The Lord Jesus has been crucified and raised from the dead. The apostles have been preaching and teaching about Him. And they’ve gotten arrested and been commanded by the Jewish leaders to stop preaching and teaching about Him, and then been released. Well, here in Acts 5:28 they’ve been arrested again. And the High Priest is threatening them: “‘Didn’t we tell you never again to teach in this Man’s name?’ he demanded. ‘Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about Him, and you want to make us responsible for His death!’
“But Peter and the apostles replied, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed Him by hanging Him on a cross. Then God put Him in the place of honor at His right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, Who is given by God to those who obey Him.’”
At which point the Jewish leaders beat the apostles mercilessly, but released them again. No, not everyone wants the Lord to be praised…
Watch the screen with me for a moment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq8tydBo5RI
Did you notice anything missing? [Let someone from the congregation say.] On national TV! NBC: One of the “big 3”! Yeah, not everyone wants the Lord to be praised…
At Houston National Cemetery run by the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs it is illegal to mention God at the funerals of veterans, and all prayers must be submitted to the VA for approval. Volunteers have been directed to remove “God bless” from condolence cards. And the Cemetery Chapel has been closed and is used for storage.
Not everyone wants the Lord to be praised…
And as we just read in Acts, praising the Lord when the powers that be don’t want the Lord praised can be costly, and painful… Would you praise the Lord even if you knew you would be beaten or imprisoned for it? Would you praise the Lord even if you knew you would lose your job because of it? …
Now the Lord will be praised! The Lord Jesus tells us that if the kings of the Earth and all people, rulers and judges of the Earth, young men and young women, old men and children won’t praise the Lord then the creation will, “The stones along the road would burst into cheers!” Jesus said.
Not everyone want the Lord to be praised, but He’s so very worthy of praise. Amen? And I don’t think we should leave all the fun to the stones, do you? If your love for God stirs you in any way to be upset by the actions being taken around us to keep Him from being talked about, worshiped, and praised, the only thing to do to stop being silenced is to not be silent.
When the Jewish authorities told the apostles to be silent, Peter answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority,” and then quickly shared the gospel with them! Can we do anything less? Has the Lord saved us less than He saved them? Did the apostles have better news to share than we have? No. No. No! First Presbyterian Church: Praise the Lord! There are close to 200 of us who are a part of this congregation. If we looked for opportunities to speak about God, if we tried to mention Jesus’ name more often, if we gave the Lord credit when others praised us, and thanked Him when good things happened (and even when bad things happened – now that’d give Him glory, when people heard us praising the Lord even when bad things happen!) – if all 200 of us sought to praise Him throughout each day – if we worked at it, because it would take work – Milford would be a community that praised the Lord.
In our reading today from the opening verses of The Gospel According To Luke, Dr. Luke writes: “Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us … I also have decided to write a careful account … so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.” Let us, likewise, write, speak, share, no matter the cost. When those first apostles did, they performed many miraculous signs and wonders, there were no needy people among them, angels released them from prison, the sick were healed, and more and more people believed the good news,
Let’s not tempt the stones!
First Presbyterian Church of Milford: Praise the Lord!
Traditional Worship: [Elder leading the Nicene Creed]
Contemporary Worship: [Elder leading the Nicene Creed]