May 28th Reflection by Bill Lynch

Psalm 96:1-9
1 O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts. 9 Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth.

Reflection
We are all called to praise God. All of us are called to sing to the Lord and bless his name. It seems when we sing there is a deeper connection. We not only connect with the song in the words but our hearts connect with the song in the tune. And in a congregation we connect with one another in spirit through the words and the tune. We connect with each other and in this Psalm we hear that we connect with God as well.

Once we connect with God, we see how great and majestic God is. All other things that try to take priority in our lives fall way way below God's priority in all things and in all places. God is and becomes the center of our reason for being.

Finally we connect and hear the call to all people to offer praise, prayer and come into full discipleship with our God, Creator, Redeemer, Spirit. We bring the offering of our lives to God and give ourselves and all our ways to God.

Connections... to God and to one another. We are all called to praise God. "Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth."

Prayer
Lord, thank you for including everyone on this connection with you, but thank you for coming to me and offering me your gracious hand. I'm undeserving of you, yet you come to me anyway and call me. Hear my song of joy and thanksgiving as I stand in awe of your glorious love... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen