Give The Lord the Glory Due
I shared the letter that Pine Valley United Methodist Church’s Pastor Tim received from Rev. Belton Joyner, the founding minister of PVUMC. Rev. Joyner shared the bulletin from the groundbreaking on June 11, 1961. I loved the call to worship they used that day. “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; bring an offering and come into His courts.” This comes from Psalm 96:8, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.” His name is glorious and excellent because He is perfect. Because of His great works. Because of all of the blessings He has poured on us. He is due and it is our duty to give Him glory. This is a call to tell the nations about God’s glory and His great gift of salvation. The nations should worship God because of His glory and strength!
I was taught that when someone invites you into their home you do not go empty-handed. The same is true, but more important, when you go to God’s House. We should always bring a contribution. It is all His anyway! Everything we have we owe to God! Everything we are and everything we ever hope to be comes from Him. To ascribe to the Lord means to declare how great He is. Declare the goodness He has done. Declare His strength and glory so that nations see. We owe Him for creating the world, creating us, creating our loved ones, for being our Provider, for sustaining the whole universe. He sent His one and only Son to save us. We are to praise His name!
That day Pastor Tim asked the staff how we would describe PVUMC to someone. What does PVUMC promise? Here were some of the answers. Roots are grown deeper so they can grow out to reach others. Relationship over religion. Facilitate, guide and serve. Deliver the Good News and invite the Holy Spirit. Purpose-driven - to spread God’s Word. Provides so many opportunities in ministry. Loving community of believers pointing people to Jesus. Shelter the brokenhearted. United about being the church. Safe place to land. Evangelical revivalistic-minded church. We seek the Holy Spirit in all decisions we make. A place to go be renewed and refreshed. Holy Spirit-filled and Holy Spirit-led body of believers. Ministers from cradle to grave. And I think our favorite, People of Worship!
I thought of the many visitors and friends I talk to after their first visit. One thing the majority tell me is, “You can feel the power of the Holy Spirit in that room!” John 4:23, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.“ Jesus said the Father is seeking those who worship in spirit and in truth. He is worthy to be praised. In our hearts, we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior and lift up His holy name in praise and adoration. Worship is giving God our best acknowledging that He gives us the best! As Pastor Barry says, “Not because we got to but because we get to!”
Psalm 118:1, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Beaten and thrown into a cold, dark dungeon for preaching the gospel, Paul and Silas began singing praises to God. They worshiped the Lord. As they sang, an earthquake came, and the entire prison fell apart. Worship can turn our circumstances around. Our circumstances may not change like they did suddenly for Paul and Silas but they won’t seem as bad. We will remember and acknowledge that God is in charge and that we trust Him. Our faith will bring us above our circumstances. When we worship, thinking about God’s glory, His power, His love, and His splendor, it puts everything into perspective. We need that in this life! I am so thankful for that spiritual encouragement every Sunday. Our life’s purpose is to give God glory. Revelation 4:11, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” While we are giving the Lord the glory due, He is renewing and refreshing us. I love the way Gabby Douglas said it, “I give all the glory to God. The glory goes up to Him, and the blessings fall down on me.”
I believe PVUMC are people of worship. I believe that is who God wants us to be. I believe PVUMC is connecting hearts to Christ and one another. During the breaking of the ground in 1961, the minister said, “That a church may rise here in which the Gospel of her Lord shall be proclaimed.” I believe PVUMC is a church in which the Gospel of the Lord is proclaimed, 59 years later!