Many people in many parts of the world care deeply about many things. Some of them become extremists in their views. How ought we, as Christians, to deal with such folks? Upon this question we shall focus this morning. We thank God for everyone, however much we may be at odds with them, and we pray for God to inspire all of us to live in growing harmony with one another, regardless of our strong differences of opinion. With that in mind, let us, with confidence, worship God.

Every congregation everywhere is a conglomeration of older and younger people, wise and not so wise, relatively- and not-so-relatively-finished products. Whoever each of us is, when we gather for worship, we do so in the hope that worship will not only inspire but also transform us, and that it shall help us become the person God means us to be. With that aspiration in our hearts and minds, let us therefore, with Christian confidence, worship God.

Every congregation everywhere is a conglomeration of older and younger people, wise and not so wise, relatively- and not-so-relatively-finished products. Whoever each of us is, when we gather for worship, we do so in the hope that worship will not only inspire but also transform us, and that it shall help us become the person God means us to be. With that aspiration in our hearts and minds, let us therefore, with Christian confidence, worship God.

Each of us is a child of God, and collectively all of us are communally children of God who live in communities and nations with many other people. Individually and corporately we are responsible for all our decisions and actions, and thus we do well or not so well or very poorly. But through it all God works with us, moving us to strive to do better and to live more fully within His commandments. Therefore let us turn again in confidence to worship the God who bids us always and in all things to be His own.

Our God is a God of peace. People try to turn Him into a God of war, but it is both His nature and His desire that peace should prevail in the earth. God makes us His agents of peace, and by His spirit working within us we are always to seek to live in harmony with all those around us as well as those who are far from us. God has sent one among us whom we call the Prince of Peace. Therefore let us, with renewed confidence, worship the God who commands peace among all His daughters and sons.

When any Christians anywhere gather for worship, they do so as people of faith. Jesus calls us to faith; the Bible beckons us to faith; God invites us into the community of faith. But is our faith sufficient? Is it of the right quantity or quality? Is it pleasing to God, and efficacious to us? Upon such questions and such issues we shall focus this morning. But through it all the God in whom we place our faith shall be guiding and directing and leading us. Let us therefore, with faithful confidence, worship God.

Faith in God is a short and easy leap for some, and a wide and fearful chasm for others. However it is for any of us, God is at the other side, joyfully waiting for our arrival. Even in the midst of our greatest agonies and our most disastrous decisions, He beckons us into His presence and His peace. Our journey may be perilous, like Job’s, but God is always there – to guide us, to sustain us, and to redeem us. Therefore let us, with confidence, worship the God of the circuitous journey.

Life is filled with mysteries. We have many questions for which there are no adequate answers. But we are not alone in the midst of our mysteries. God is always with us, upholding us, guiding us, comforting us, and above all loving us. Worship is God’s gift to us whereby we may approach Him in all our needs and desires. By praising Him we find new strength and hope for ourselves. Therefore let us, with renewed confidence, worship God.

Life is filled with mysteries. We have many questions for which there are no adequate answers. But we are not alone in the midst of our mysteries. God is always with us, upholding us, guiding us, comforting us, and above all loving us. Worship is God’s gift to us whereby we may approach Him in all our needs and desires. By praising Him we find new strength and hope for ourselves. Therefore let us, with renewed confidence, worship God.

A famous poet wrote, “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” Things do fall apart, and misfortune strikes everyone. Often we ask in such situations, “Where is God?” That question prompts deep, probing, and sometimes painful self-examination, as well as an examination of the nature of life and reality. Through it all God walks beside us, providing as much support and encouragement as we will allow Him to give us. Therefore let us, with continuing confidence, worship God.

“The Lord is risen!” we proclaimed last Sunday, as another Easter grasped us with its joyous message. But today is another Sunday, and other issues emerge. What are we to do we do when Easter seems a lifetime away, a world away? Today we enter the world of a fictional person who supposedly lived three and a half millennia ago, whose story is as current as the headlines or the lead stories which confront us every day. Looking through the telescope of time, let us, with sober confidence, worship God.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Easter is by far the most important Sunday in the year. On that day the priest always begins the service by saying, “The Lord is risen!” Then the people say in response, “He is risen indeed!” Three times the Easter proclamation is made, and three times the congregation responds, repeating the same glorious exclamation. Let us, with our sisters and brothers in the Orthodox Church, join into the joyous news.

Palm Sunday was the most glorious day in Jesus’ life. When he entered Jerusalem with his disciples, a large crowd followed him, waving palm branches and singing “Hosanna: Salvation Now!” But as triumphant as that day was, it also was short-lived. Within a couple days Jesus was in serious trouble, by Thursday evening he was arrested, and on Friday he died by crucifixion. All the disciples, and we as well, are shocked beyond description. But that is not the last word. Let us now worship the God who always has the last word.

The time grows shorter for Jesus to live. Events and trends and people seem to conspire against him, and soon he will be entirely alone, nailed to a cross. What does it mean? Who is responsible? What, if anything, can we do in response to his crucifixion? The Lenten drama continues, and we contemplate yet another of the principal characters in the passion of the one we call the Messiah. In the midst of it all, with us God watches and waits and wonders. Therefore let us turn to worship the God who leads us to Golgatha.

Some people are greatly blessed by when and where they were born, and others find their lives inevitably much harder because of when and where they were born. Today we are thinking about what it means to have been born as Americans in the twentieth century, when our nation became the most powerful state in the history of humanity. God is with everyone born anywhere at any time, but How can we best be with him in our place and time? With that goal in mind, we gather to worship the God of all peoples and nations.

Christianity has evolved through twenty centuries and through the leading of millions of many different kinds of Christians. Today we continue to examine the thinking of the apostle Paul, who, more perhaps than anyone else, laid the foundation for what Christianity was to become. He wrote about the freedom which Jesus Christ made possible for us, and we extol God for that freedom. Therefore let us, with confidence, worship the God who ultimately sets all of His children free.

In Psalm 24 David wrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” On a beautiful sunny day, when it appears as though spring may actually spring once again, we are reminded of how good the earth is, and how everything in it, including us, belongs to God. We join together in praise of a God who gives us life in abundance, and who makes it possible for everyone to share in that abundance, if we will but agree politically and economically on how to make that happen. Therefore let us, with confidence, worship the God of wondrous plenty.

On this day which falls five days before the day on which traditionally a particular kind of love is celebrated and exalted, we gather in praise of a God who loves all of us with a love which never fails, and who engenders many kinds of love in us for one another. We gather in the hope that love will truly make the world go round, and that we may be made partners in that great and noble endeavor. Now let us, with loving confidence, worship God.

The old hymn declares, “How beautiful the march of days, as seasons come and go.” Living in southern South Carolina, we normally don’t see much winter. But this winter seems like winter again. Whatever comes our way, God is with us every step of the way. We gather to praise Him for His constancy, His grace, and His love. He is the God of never-failing goodness. Therefore with joyful hearts we unite with confidence to worship the God who goes with us throughout the beautiful march of days.