We are called on this last Sunday and last day of this year to think back and praise the living God. Tomorrow, when we wake up, we will be in a new year, and we will have had an opportunity to think about how richly we were blessed, how God challenged us to stretch and grow, how we were lifted up when we were down, and how "in the time of trouble, God hid us" (Psalm 27.5). And we can reflect mostly about our gratitude to God for being with us through 2006, and for continuing to love and care for us.

These past months have stretched us as we talked and prayed and thought about what God is calling us to do here. We made some hard decisions and by the grace of God, we are yet here. Thanks be to God.

I am convinced that we are still here because God has yet more work for us to do, the last word has not yet been written for us. There is more outreach and nurture, more education and evangelism, more stewardship of our resources and of this magnificent building, there is more of our story to tell. We are here because throughout these months, we have never ceased worshiping God. Every Sunday, on special days, such as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and as recently as last Sunday night in our Christmas Eve service, we have worshiped and praised God.

How is it that we worship God? First, we worship the God of all creation. From the heights of heaven to the depths of the ocean, from magnificent mountains and gorgeous valleys, from every creature on this earth; from people in power and from those who have no power in this world, God is praised. We sang about this all inclusive creation when we sang, "Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth receive her king. Let every heart, prepare him room, let heaven and nature sing" (Chalice Hymnal, #143. Christian Board of Publication, St. Louis. 1985).

Worship is one of the ways we show our gratitude to God for all that God has done to bless us. God is worthy of our praise, has "worth-ship"; that is what worship is. It is not always easy, but, worship is always necessary because it connects us with God. Throughout Advent, I shared portions from our "Partners in Prayer" meditation booklet. As we have entered into the Christmas season, I want to share one more. Last Wednesday’s reading focused on today’s first reading and it says:

"Even on those days when we do not start out feeling especially grateful, there is something therapeutic in finding words of thankfulness. There is something centering and grounding in voicing our love for God, our awe of God’s astounding creation. There is something about mouthing words of gratitude that begins to soften the edges of our hearts and make room for true thanksgiving to take root. Be grateful. Praise the Lord!" (Sharon Watkins and Richard Lowery. Partners and Prayer. Advent, 2006).

QUESTION #1
FOR WHAT DO YOU THANK GOD TODAY?

We worship God in thanksgiving, and we also worship God and seek God’s presence in this new year by dressing the part. Tonight people will put on their party clothes and go out and have a great time ringing in 2007. Some will put on their best party clothes, some in this room are likely to be among them, and I wish us all a good and safe time. But, we are called by God to worship in the correct attire, and in this place, what we wear is less about what clothes our bodies and more about what clothes our hearts and minds; it is more about an attitude. In the verses that immediately precede our second reading, Paul writes to the Colossians to take off, to remove and throw away forever all that impedes a healthy relationship with God and with each other.

In that same way that we need to clean our our closets from time to time, to replace clothes that no longer fit, or have worn out, or are out of fashion; before we can make room for new clothes we need to clean out what is there and in the way. We take some things off, and we put some other things on.

Listen to what he says to the church then, and listen for his word to the church now.

"Since, then you have been raised with Christ, set your minds on things above, not on earthly things…but you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator" (Colossians 3.1, 8-10).

Uncontrolled anger and rage hurt us more than the object of our hostility. Ill thoughts and bad acts, language intended to humiliate has a way of coming back to hurt us and when spoken in the church, injures the church of Jesus Christ. A church filled with resentment, bitterness, and negativity is neither a hospitable nor a hopeful place. Dress in a way that says you are ready to worship God. In other words, there are some ways members of the body of Christ are to clothe and carry themselves. We do not wear clothes unbecoming for our worship of a God who in this year has clothed us with grace, perseverance, and faithfulness.

QUESTION #2
WHAT DO YOU PRAY TO LET GO OF, OR TAKE OFF IN 2007?

By all means, speak your piece, but do so in a way that is peaceable and productive. As you do, remember that this advise about Christian wear was written by Paul to the church. He was addressing people who were baptized, who gathered as we do each Lord’s day, who visited the sick and cared for the poor, who told the story of Jesus and built up the church. We are their legacy and his words to them are words to us too.

We worship God as we clothe ourselves as Jesus taught us. We worship God by living with an attitude that celebrates and practices compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. We live in a world that says take care of yourself, and never mind everyone else; rudeness is just another way of being honest, a humble person has no self-esteem, gentleness is weakness, and patience is for people who have nothing else to do. We know better. We know that compassion is about standing with people in their times of difficulty; that kindness and humility is about understanding that we are in this world by ourselves or for ourselves. We practice gentleness and patience because we know that velvet feels a lot better against our skin than sandpaper, sometimes it is better to wait out the rough times, and know that in the end it is all well worth the waiting. It is better to wait so that smooth times will feel better, and we know that "those who wait on the Lord, will renew their strength" (Isaiah 40. 31).

We worship God properly clothed and we worship God because we have been given the gift and the ability to forgive one another as God has forgiven us, and to love one another as God has loved us. "Forgiveness is an ongoing mark of Christians that involves not a single occasion of offense and pardon, but a life of forgiving, rooted in the once-and-for-all act of divine forgiveness. And love is given a primary place, it is what we are called to do, "above all". It is love that makes it all possible, and it will be the one thing that holds the church together. It is what helps to set off all of our spiritual wear, it completes our holy outfits, it pulls and holds everything together.

This is a time for gratitude. There is a prayer that comes from a New Year’s Eve service written by John Wesley that says why we are grateful to God as we stand at the end of this year: "you have been gracious to us through all the years of our lives. We thank you for your loving care, which has filled our days and brought us to this time and place…you have given us life and reason, and set us in a world filled with your glory. You have comforted us with family and friends, and ministered to us through the hands of our sisters and brothers. You have filled our hearts with a hunger after you, and given us your peace. You have redeemed us, and called us to a high calling in Christ Jesus. You have given us a place in the fellowship of your spirit and the witness of your church. You have been our light in darkness and a rock of strength in adversity and temptation. You have been the very Spirit of joy in our joys and the all sufficient reward in all our labors. You remembered us when we forgot you. You followed us even when we tried to flee from you. You met us with forgiveness when we returned to you. For all your patience and overflowing grace. We give you thanks." (www.homiliesbyemail.com/special/New_Year/covenant).

QUESTION #3
OUT OF YOUR LOVE FOR GOD, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO "PUT ON" IN 2007?

My prayer for us is that we will continue to bring the best that we have as we enter 2007, ready to teach, caution each other and worship together. I pray that our singing and our study and our fellowship and our outreach will reflect the love of God we have in our hearts. May we be able to do all that we do in the name of Jesus Christ. However you usher in 2007, remember to worship God in gratitude and praise.

Thanks be to God. Amen.