What Are You Excited About?

Psalm 100:1-5

“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with  gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

February 15, 2022

This past Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday.  Were you excited about it?  Did you take time to watch it? I have never been inclined to watch athletic events on television. (I know I am not a normal guy, but hey, what’s new? Most of you know that already.) I heard it was an exciting game.  Stacy, my wife, was periodically looking at the score online to see who was winning, but she did not really have a favorite team in the game either.  For us, we weren’t that excited about the game.

However, if you did watch the Super Bowl, or for that matter, have ever been to an athletic event period, did you find yourself cheering for your favorite team? Was there ever a point of shouting out in excitement or disappointment? It is certainly a common response. If you have ever come to an Upwards game here at Beech Church on Friday or Saturday, you could see a lot of excitement. I have been moved multiple times to excitement watching some of the games, especially when one of the kids who scores a lot passes the ball to a team member who doesn’t and that kid then makes the basket and scores.

Taking all of that excitement in context of battle and triumph, I have to wonder how often we bring that excitement into our worship. I am not just saying on a Sunday morning, I am also thinking about our daily worship. I am not advocating for unbridled excitement creating a lack of decorum in the sanctuary or even in the marketplace. Yet, I wonder if we have tamed down our excitement so much that when we talk about God’s triumph over sin and death, our audience is lulled to sleep. While at the same time, we talk about our favorite team, game or various other activities in life with such excitement that it drives others to want to join into the activity.

The verses above offer that we should be excited about God: who He is, what He has done in creating us, His goodness and love, and His faithfulness. I wonder what our lives might look like if we were to exhibit this kind of exuberant joy over knowing the King of kings? When you think about our faith, is it “ho hum” or do you have periodic shouts of joy emanating from your heart, causing your lips, voice and body to exclaim your excitement? I know in my preaching I can sometimes be boisterous, but in my own life I need to learn more from the psalmist.  How about you? What are you excited about?