Homecoming Sermon/*A day for Celebration!*
*Homecoming SermonI
A day for Celebration!
Good morning, it is good to see everyone here in Gods house this morning, I know what some of you are thinking,” Ok this is the last thing I haft to sit through before we eat.” Well I know your hungry and I will try to speed through this. We have heard some great worship music, and now I’m in the mood to preach. In a way this is like a home coming for me and Robby over here, See we went to school together, and if you knew us back then you would never believe what we are doing today. Robby stayed in trouble and always would get me in trouble with him. Our teachers would try to seat me next to Robby as a good influence but he would always get me in trouble. But now look at us, semi grown up, married with children (scary) and God is using both of us for His ministry.
When I was asked to preach at this Homecoming, I was honored because this is a time when you look back at all the fellowship that has happened in this church all the happy times and all the sad times, all the people that have passed through the doors of this church and all those that have passed through the Gates of the Kingdom of Heaven. Beaver Creek is not just a building It is a place of refuge, a place of fellowship, and for some a place to find Jesus Christ. You have all gathered here today to remember old times and to see people that you have not saw in a while, but most importantly, you are in Gods house. A house where you should always feel welcome a place you should be able to be yourself, a place where you can meet God for the very 1st time or find your way back after a long journey away from Him. See Homecoming is a special time for all of us to feel the peace we had when we 1st were saved, it’s a time to rekindle a fire, or a time to re-energize your batteries. My prayer today is that someone today that dose not know the love, joy and peace of the Lord that so many of us in years back have enjoyed,
Finds their way home, that someone receives the gift of the Spirit, that someone starts their own memory at Beaver Creek Baptist Church. This is a celebration and a time to rejoice the love, grace and mercy we have found in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Today is a day to celebrate, so what does celebration mean:
cel•e•bra•tion \ˌse-lə-ˈbrā-shən\ n: 1 : to observe a holiday, perform a religious ceremony, or take part in a festival 2 : to observe a notable occasion with festivities-- to honor (as a holiday) esp. by solemn ceremonies or by refraining from ordinary business : to mark (as an anniversary) by festivities or other deviation from routine
*Today we celebrate the fact that God has brought us together to worship and fellowship with Him in His house. So turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Psalm 95:1-7
Psalm 95:1–7
1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 Forthe Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice:
Let us pray
Clearly this is a call to celebrate, a call to worship: In the Hebrew text sing and Joy translates SHOUT FOR JOY!!! When you are really happy and filled with joy what do you do? You shout!!! You let other know about it. The author starts off by telling us that it is a celebration. V1- let us shout aloud to the rock: translates “our protector and savior”; “our keeper, our Savior”; “our strong helper.” A rock is solid, immovable. God is our rock because He will not turn to sinking sand beneath our feet. When we turn to Him, we stand on solid ground and we know He will never leave us or forsake us and that is something to celebrate.
V2 Come into his presence in verse 2 means to enter the Temple, Gods house, where God is worshiped. Here at Beaver Creek, let me ask you, did you come to be in the presence of God or did you just come to eat?
Matthew 18:20
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Look around we are in the presence of God!!! Again the author is calling us to celebrate, to shout Joyfully.
Yahweh’s greatness is acclaimed in verse 3; he is a great God, superior to all gods, He is the Creator God who a rule over all that he has made. The expression King above all gods or “over all the gods,” He is the only the one and only God. And if you believe there are others, He is over them too. That is something to celebrate
In verse 4a in his hand indicates not only possession but sovereignty. The depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are picturesque phrases used to indicate the whole earth.
Some texts use “depths” in verse 4a (a word which occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament), one Hebrew manuscript and the Septuagint have “the far places,” but depths better describes heights in the next line. It takes the depths of the earth to mean Sheol or hell. The “mountain heights” were thought of by many as the places where the gods dwelt,
In verse 5 Yahweh’s power over both the sea and the dry land (“the continents”) is asserted, for he created both. The verb in verse 5b, formed, represents God as fashioning, molding, making the dry land with his own hands.
In these verses Yahweh or God is praised as Creator and Lord of his people. Once again the people are called to worship him. The first verb in verse 6, Come, is not the same as the first one in verse 1; it means “enter,” and some see here not just a synonym but a progression. Here the worshipers are called upon to enter the Temple; other translations have “Enter in”; Dahood “Come in”. The other two verbs in verse 6 are used together, worship and bow down, and they are followed by the verb kneel in verse. Here the author uses a noun phrase our Maker, “which describes, He is the one who created us” or “… the one who has given us life.”
In verse 7 “the people he cares for” translates the phrase the people of his pasture, which is followed in the next line by the sheep of his hand. Israel is the flock, we are His flock. Yahweh is their shepherd. God is our shepherd. One Hebrew manuscript has a slightly different text: “We are his people and the flock of his pasture”, others say. “the people of his pasture, anyway you read it, it identifies God as the shepherd and the people as his flock. The meaning may be expressed by “we are the flock of which you are the shepherd.” His hand is a figure or symbol for protection and provision; the shepherd protects his sheep and provides for their needs. He even gives us guidance: “the flock which He leads.” The expression He is our God does not mean that we “posses” Him, but just the opposite, that he possesses us. “He is the God we worship.” Of His pasture and by His hand may be kept. For example, “we are his people whom He cares for as a shepherd cares for His sheep” or “we are his people and He cares for us as He cares for sheep.” And that is something to celebrate!!!!!!!1
So to sum up Psalm 95:1-7
1. The terms used to express the highest kind of joy.
Rock—a firm or solid foundation, giving certainty of salvation (Ps 62:7).
2. Come … presence—literally, “approach,” or, meet Him (Ps 17:13).
3. Above … gods—esteemed such by men, matched by none, the one and only (Je 5:7; 10:10–15).
4, 5. The terms used describe the world in its whole extent, subject to God.
6. Come—or, “enter,” with solemn forms, as with open hearts.
7. This relation illustrates our entire dependence on the creator our Lord and Savior.
As I close,
I want to know, what memories do you have here at Beaver Creek in Gods House?
Are you wanting to start you own memories right here, right now?
Did you come for the food and realize that what you really need is Jesus Christ in your heart and in your life?
Are you ready to change the rest of your life, and live a life of celebration and joy?
We are a family here at Beaver Creek Baptist Church and we want to celebrate with you “Jesus says in:
Luke 12:8
8 “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.
If the Lord id speaking to your heart right now, you come up front right now and we will pray for you to receive Christ, As we stand and as we sing if your looking for a church home, we welcome you into our family, and we will love and care for you always. If you just need prayer and would like to pray with me you come. We are in the presence of God “Let the celebration begin.”
Prayer Bless the food and the church.
Psalm 42:4
These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving, among the festive throng.*