God Is Awesome
Stories
Object:
Contents
"God is Awesome" by Keith Wagner
"Blessed for Action" by Keith Wagner
* * * * * * *
God is Awesome
by Keith Wagner
Psalm 47
Psalm 47, like so many others, speaks to the awesome power of God. God is a great King, One to be worshipped, the One we “sing praises to.” God is “highly exalted?King over all the earth.” So, “Clap your hands, shout your songs of joy!” God deserves our very best!
One time my wife and I were visiting Columbus, Indiana. The city is known for its unique styles of architecture. While there we visited a new church that had just been constructed. The congregation had spent millions of dollars on the sanctuary which was simply beautiful. I truly felt the presence of God in that place. It was just awesome.
Since we were there alone at the time I wandered up to the chancel to see what the view was like from the front of the sanctuary. When I stepped into the pulpit I gazed around, wondering what it would be like to preach in such a magnificent structure. As I stood there in the pulpit I was overwhelmed. Everything smelled brand new. The colors in the stained glass were crystal clear. I thought to myself, “What a privilege to be in such an elegant church.”
I stood there for a few moments, totally captivated by the beauty of the place. Then something caught my eye. There was a piece of paper lying on the shelf under the pulpit. I noticed some notes, scribbled in pencil and my curiosity got the best of me. What I found was the minister’s sermon from the previous Sunday. It appeared to have been quickly thrown together. It wasn’t organized and it was obvious that very little thought had gone into it. I was surprised that a preacher who had the opportunity to preach in a multimillion dollar sanctuary had put such little effort into the Sunday message. It seemed like a half-hearted effort.
I wonder how many activities, hobbies, or organizations we belong to that we only give half an effort. When a person of faith truly loves the Lord, they give their whole heart. God wants our whole-hearted devotion. God has given us everything and God expects us to reciprocate.
Greg Anderson, in Living Life on Purpose, tells a story about a man whose wife had left him. He was completely depressed. He had lost faith in himself, in other people, and in God. Therefore he found no joy in living. One rainy morning he went to a small neighborhood restaurant for breakfast. Although several people were at the diner, no one was speaking to anyone else. The man hunched over the counter, stirring his coffee with a spoon.
In one of the small booths along the window was a young mother with a little girl. They had just been served their food when the little girl broke the sad silence by almost shouting, "Momma, why don't we say our prayers here?" The waitress who had just served their breakfast turned around and said, "Sure, honey, we pray here. Will you say the prayer for us?" And she turned and looked at the rest of the people in the restaurant and said, "Bow your heads." Surprisingly, one by one, the heads went down. The little girl then bowed her head, folded her hands, and said, "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food. Amen."
That prayer changed the entire atmosphere. People began to talk with one another. The waitress said, "We should do that every morning."
"All of a sudden," said the man, "my whole frame of mind started to improve. From that little girl's example, I started to thank God for all that I did have and stopped thinking about all that I didn't have. I started to be grateful."
Blessed for Action
by Keith Wagner
Luke 24:44-53
Whether it’s the Grammy’s, the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the Country Music Awards, the People’s Choice Awards, or the wall of fame in our special corner where we put up a poster of our favorite singer/songwriter, there’s no getting around the fact that someone has to write the songs we love!
In the old days they used to talk about Tin Pan Alley, a place where lyricists and composers sat together in little rooms and wrote the songs the whole world sings. Burt Bacharach and Hal David were one such songwriting pair, writing hit after hit after hit. Neil Diamond was one of those, before he became famous in his own right. The same was true for Carole King, who released a CD a few years ago of her demos back when she used to write hits for others.
Think of the last time you heard a song that really got under your skin. Perhaps you didn’t even notice it at first, but suddenly, you couldn’t stop humming it. Soon, everyone you know is singing along. Then, before you know it, it’s been replaced by another new song. Soon we’re all singing that one.
Well, somewhere out there is a songwriter whose name none of us knows. We probably couldn’t pronounce it even if we knew. This songwriter has written one hit after another, songs that the boys sing to attract the girls. These songs start off in a distant corner of the globe, but it’s not long before they’re singing these songs everywhere, in places we can’t even dream of.
Because of course, it’s not just people that sing. Birds sing. Beagles howl. And you probably know that whales sing too! Humpback whales sing as they swim through the ocean, and many of them sing the exact same song all around the world. Scientists have studied whale songs and recently recorded eleven different songs. That’s enough for a CD!
And they’ve learned that new songs are first introduced by whales who swim Down Under. That’s right, the waters off Australia is where new whale songs are written by some talented underwater equivalent of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
It’s thought perhaps that when whales migrate, they take new songs with them. These songs then begin to drift east, as whales repeat them and teach each other the new music.
Now for some reason only the male humpback whale sings. Why do they sing? Probably for the same reasons that all guys sing -- it’s romantic, females are attracted to the songs, and probably because they’re just fun to sing.
Anyway who knows? Maybe there’s a whale like Barry Manilow, who sings to himself, “I write the songs that make the whole world sing,” although in truth that prolific songwriter did not actually write that particular song -- that one was written by Bruce Johnston.
The Psalmist calls upon us to sing joyfully, but also to sing a new song! Churches can be slow to start singing new songs. After all, there are many old favorites that have been sung for decades that are really popular and speak to our hearts, but there are also always new songs being written. They may start with one church or one soloist, and though of them may not spread very far, plenty of others get heard, are taken up elsewhere, and soon are sung in churches across the country, and even around the world.
A great new song can spread like a whale song in the ocean, from church to church, person to person, until certain new songs are as well known as some of the oldies but goodies.
It is important to sing the old songs of the church, but it can also be important to learn new songs so we can praise God with new words and new hearts! They provide us with an opportunity to praise in new ways the God who made us, and whales, and every other creature under the heavens!
(Use a search engine if you like to download some of songs the humpback whale sings. You can play these during or after this story is shared.)
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He has served churches in Southwest Ohio for over three decades. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and has an M.Div. from Methodist Theological School, Delaware, Ohio, and a D.Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has also been an adjunct professor at Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 14, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"God is Awesome" by Keith Wagner
"Blessed for Action" by Keith Wagner
* * * * * * *
God is Awesome
by Keith Wagner
Psalm 47
Psalm 47, like so many others, speaks to the awesome power of God. God is a great King, One to be worshipped, the One we “sing praises to.” God is “highly exalted?King over all the earth.” So, “Clap your hands, shout your songs of joy!” God deserves our very best!
One time my wife and I were visiting Columbus, Indiana. The city is known for its unique styles of architecture. While there we visited a new church that had just been constructed. The congregation had spent millions of dollars on the sanctuary which was simply beautiful. I truly felt the presence of God in that place. It was just awesome.
Since we were there alone at the time I wandered up to the chancel to see what the view was like from the front of the sanctuary. When I stepped into the pulpit I gazed around, wondering what it would be like to preach in such a magnificent structure. As I stood there in the pulpit I was overwhelmed. Everything smelled brand new. The colors in the stained glass were crystal clear. I thought to myself, “What a privilege to be in such an elegant church.”
I stood there for a few moments, totally captivated by the beauty of the place. Then something caught my eye. There was a piece of paper lying on the shelf under the pulpit. I noticed some notes, scribbled in pencil and my curiosity got the best of me. What I found was the minister’s sermon from the previous Sunday. It appeared to have been quickly thrown together. It wasn’t organized and it was obvious that very little thought had gone into it. I was surprised that a preacher who had the opportunity to preach in a multimillion dollar sanctuary had put such little effort into the Sunday message. It seemed like a half-hearted effort.
I wonder how many activities, hobbies, or organizations we belong to that we only give half an effort. When a person of faith truly loves the Lord, they give their whole heart. God wants our whole-hearted devotion. God has given us everything and God expects us to reciprocate.
Greg Anderson, in Living Life on Purpose, tells a story about a man whose wife had left him. He was completely depressed. He had lost faith in himself, in other people, and in God. Therefore he found no joy in living. One rainy morning he went to a small neighborhood restaurant for breakfast. Although several people were at the diner, no one was speaking to anyone else. The man hunched over the counter, stirring his coffee with a spoon.
In one of the small booths along the window was a young mother with a little girl. They had just been served their food when the little girl broke the sad silence by almost shouting, "Momma, why don't we say our prayers here?" The waitress who had just served their breakfast turned around and said, "Sure, honey, we pray here. Will you say the prayer for us?" And she turned and looked at the rest of the people in the restaurant and said, "Bow your heads." Surprisingly, one by one, the heads went down. The little girl then bowed her head, folded her hands, and said, "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food. Amen."
That prayer changed the entire atmosphere. People began to talk with one another. The waitress said, "We should do that every morning."
"All of a sudden," said the man, "my whole frame of mind started to improve. From that little girl's example, I started to thank God for all that I did have and stopped thinking about all that I didn't have. I started to be grateful."
Blessed for Action
by Keith Wagner
Luke 24:44-53
Whether it’s the Grammy’s, the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the Country Music Awards, the People’s Choice Awards, or the wall of fame in our special corner where we put up a poster of our favorite singer/songwriter, there’s no getting around the fact that someone has to write the songs we love!
In the old days they used to talk about Tin Pan Alley, a place where lyricists and composers sat together in little rooms and wrote the songs the whole world sings. Burt Bacharach and Hal David were one such songwriting pair, writing hit after hit after hit. Neil Diamond was one of those, before he became famous in his own right. The same was true for Carole King, who released a CD a few years ago of her demos back when she used to write hits for others.
Think of the last time you heard a song that really got under your skin. Perhaps you didn’t even notice it at first, but suddenly, you couldn’t stop humming it. Soon, everyone you know is singing along. Then, before you know it, it’s been replaced by another new song. Soon we’re all singing that one.
Well, somewhere out there is a songwriter whose name none of us knows. We probably couldn’t pronounce it even if we knew. This songwriter has written one hit after another, songs that the boys sing to attract the girls. These songs start off in a distant corner of the globe, but it’s not long before they’re singing these songs everywhere, in places we can’t even dream of.
Because of course, it’s not just people that sing. Birds sing. Beagles howl. And you probably know that whales sing too! Humpback whales sing as they swim through the ocean, and many of them sing the exact same song all around the world. Scientists have studied whale songs and recently recorded eleven different songs. That’s enough for a CD!
And they’ve learned that new songs are first introduced by whales who swim Down Under. That’s right, the waters off Australia is where new whale songs are written by some talented underwater equivalent of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
It’s thought perhaps that when whales migrate, they take new songs with them. These songs then begin to drift east, as whales repeat them and teach each other the new music.
Now for some reason only the male humpback whale sings. Why do they sing? Probably for the same reasons that all guys sing -- it’s romantic, females are attracted to the songs, and probably because they’re just fun to sing.
Anyway who knows? Maybe there’s a whale like Barry Manilow, who sings to himself, “I write the songs that make the whole world sing,” although in truth that prolific songwriter did not actually write that particular song -- that one was written by Bruce Johnston.
The Psalmist calls upon us to sing joyfully, but also to sing a new song! Churches can be slow to start singing new songs. After all, there are many old favorites that have been sung for decades that are really popular and speak to our hearts, but there are also always new songs being written. They may start with one church or one soloist, and though of them may not spread very far, plenty of others get heard, are taken up elsewhere, and soon are sung in churches across the country, and even around the world.
A great new song can spread like a whale song in the ocean, from church to church, person to person, until certain new songs are as well known as some of the oldies but goodies.
It is important to sing the old songs of the church, but it can also be important to learn new songs so we can praise God with new words and new hearts! They provide us with an opportunity to praise in new ways the God who made us, and whales, and every other creature under the heavens!
(Use a search engine if you like to download some of songs the humpback whale sings. You can play these during or after this story is shared.)
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He has served churches in Southwest Ohio for over three decades. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and has an M.Div. from Methodist Theological School, Delaware, Ohio, and a D.Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has also been an adjunct professor at Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 14, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
