They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: “For He is good; His faithful love to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid. Ezra 4:11 HCSB
There have been times in my life when I have really felt the presence of the Lord during worship and wanted to shout, but I have kept my excitement to myself. In our culture we are not accustomed to shouting in church. In most worship services we have a few songs and preaching, but seldom will we find someone shouting praises to the Lord. Some churches tend to have more subdued worship services while other denominations seem to have more excitement and freedom. One way of worship is not necessarily right or wrong, for there are many different ways to express praise and thanksgiving to God.
The people of Israel were excited about the foundation of the temple being completed and they naturally offered praise and thanksgiving to God. They did this through songs and a great shout. The words of the songs reminded them of the love and faithfulness of God. Today, we offer songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. Too often people do not participate in the singing because they do not know the words or they just don’t like the music, but we are to make a joyful noise before the Lord. God deserves our praise and thanksgiving. Maybe we need more shouting in our worship services.
Challenge: Participate in singing the songs at your worship service, even if you do not know the words or don’t like the music. God deserves and wants to hear your praise and thanksgiving. Praise Him for His everlasting love and faithfulness. Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. How about giving a big shout of praise for Jesus!