Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by Matt Slick
"Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with
joyful singing. 3Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we
ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His
loving kindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations."
Alright, for those of you who are you into sports? Who is your favorite team? Is it a basketball
team, or a football team, baseball, or maybe hockey? Do you absolutely love to see a great
play? Do you get excited and shout when you see a touch down, a home run, a goal, or a slam
dunk? Do you enjoy entering the gates of a ball park, a hockey rink, or a stadium? Do you love
the excitement? Then again, do you like going in and sitting down in front of the tube and
getting all psyched up for the "big event"? The rose bowl? The World Series? Or the
playoffs? Do you know all the names of the players on your favorite team along with their hits,
errors, or fouls? Do you know the batting averages of 5 or more players? Do you vicariously
bask in the glory of your team's victory? Do you praise the wonders of your pitcher, your goalie,
your quarterback? Do you love talking about them?
There are different things that get us excited, that cause us to shout for joy. For me its a new
computer program or a good book. For others it could be new clothes, a new car, going to a
party, buying a new music C.D., or maybe seeing a great movie. Let me ask you, are you excited
about God? Do you love Him? Do you know all about Him? Do you enjoy entering His gates
with praise? Do you shout for joy and praise His name with joyful songs? I hope so.
It isn't wrong to shout for a team, to support them, to talk about how great they are. But the
question is, "Do you know that you are called to give the same, if not more, devotion and
dedication to the Lord as you do to your favorite team?"
You are called to Worship the Lord, to spend the same kinds of energy on Him. In fact, did you
know that you are called to Worship the Lord and that the Lord even tells you how to do it?
Turn with me to Psalm 100.