Sermon:
November 23, 2003
Sunday Night Alive!  

Scripture:
Psalm 100:1

The sermon began with a video clip from the movie Finding Nemo. In this clip, Marlin, a clown fish who is looking for Nemo, finds himself riding the East Australian Current (ECA). The current carries all of the creatures of the sea from one place to another. While on the current, Marlin makes friends with Crush, a “surfer-dude” sea turtle who tells him that when it comes to riding the ECA, you have to “Hang on, dude!”

“So what brings you on this fine day to the CLC?” Do you know why I have identified this moment with the journeys of that little clown fish? Because preparing for this moment has been one wild ride. We have all been caught up in the energy and momentum of this entire project. It is the next wave God is calling us to ride.  

Without a doubt, the opening of the Christian Life Center will unleash waves of excitement and passion for this entire congregation. It represents an opportunity to reach out in the community, to grow both in number and commitment. So when it comes to understanding where the Spirit is moving today—at our first Sunday Night Alive service in the CLC—we would all do well to listen to our friend the sea turtle. Now turn to somebody and say, “You’re riding it, dude! Check it out!”  

Crush, the surfing sea turtle from Finding Nemo, gets it right. When it comes to riding waves—be they waves of water or waves of change—the best thing you can do is grab on, go with the flow, and then let folks know you are enjoying the ride. That’s exactly what I think we need to do this night and every night that we gather here as a worshipping community. We need to get ready to ride this wave of grace and excitement. We need to wax down our spiritual surfboards, grab onto the Spirit of God that is moving through us, go with the flow of Christ’s love and mercy that surrounds us, then let somebody know this faithful living is the ride of lifetime. If there is one thing we should do on a night like this, it is “make a joyful noise to the Lord.”  

So that’s our text for tonight, the reading that frames this historic moment. Verse one of Psalm 100 states: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord…” Psalm 100 is an oldie, but a goodie. So let’s break it open and let it speak to us. Let’s look at it closely, consider its message, and try to live out its meaning. 

In order to do this, we must begin at the beginning, with the very first word. It’s a small word that could easily be overlooked or passed over, but the first word of our psalm is an important one: make. That little word, make, is so important, because it points us to what is being asked, it tells us something of those who are being asked and, most importantly, it gives witness to the One doing the asking. That little word, make, puts it all in perspective. It reminds us of the task at hand, of our capacity to undertake it, and from where the resources to accomplish it will come.  So we begin at the beginning. We begin with that little word, make. 

You see, the old adage is true: “You cannot make something out of nothing.” Don’t believe me; try it sometime. Try to make something out of nothing. The truth of the matter is, you need something in order to make anything. Think about it. You can’t make music out of nothing. Not even Doris Hall or Don Stromberg can do that. If they didn’t have something within them, if they didn’t do something with that which is in them, then they couldn’t make music. You need voices and instruments and people who are willing to sing or play in order to make music.  

Seven years of marriage have taught me that you can’t make love out of nothing, either. I have learned that when it comes to making love—real love, long-lasting true love—it doesn’t just happen. Love is made out of trust and respect, out of commitment and loyalty. Love is made out of laughter and tears, out of giving and receiving, out of forgiveness and grace. 

And tonight, as we celebrate the opening of the Christian Life Center, we are indeed reminded of all it has taken to make this building. It took more than just bricks and mortar, more than just electricians and plumbers. It took vision and collaboration, creativity and dedication to make this building. 

But it is not just a building that was made in these past months, was it? A people were being made, as well. Sometime in the last couple of days, I took a step back to remember the bigger picture. And in that moment, I realized that we weren’t only making something here. We weren’t just making the CLC. We weren’t just making the programming. We weren’t just making worship services to go in it. In that moment, I realized that this whole building project was also helping to make us. This past year has made us a people of vision. It has made us a people more willing to share our resources. It has made us a people more united in our love of God and our commitment to sharing the Gospel.  

It is true that you can’t make something out of nothing. You need “stuff” to make songs, make love, make buildings, make people who make buildings, make people who transform buildings. All of the stuff to make any of this possible came from somewhere. And when you have the eyes of faith, you know from whence it has come. So when the psalmist tells us to make a joyful noise, we know that these praises we sing tonight don’t just come out of thin air. We can trust that the songs and prayers we make tonight are springing forth from the deep love and passion that God has placed in each one of us. So tonight, find that place within where God has touched and transformed your life, find that place of great thanksgiving where God dwells within you, and unleash it in the art of making—in making a joyful noise to the Lord our God. 

The next word from our verse of scripture is equally important, and is perhaps one of the sweetest words known to the human ear. That word is joy. Joy—it is referred to throughout the scriptures, almost from cover to cover. “Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth,” declares the Psalmist. “They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads,” Isaiah announces. It was the angel who proclaimed to the shepherds that first Christmas Eve that he was bringing “…good news of great joy,” a joy that would be for all people. And it was Jesus himself who, in the Gospel of John, reminds his disciples, both past and present, that he has revealed himself to us so that his joy may be in us and our joy may be complete.  

Joy. It is what living the faith brings to us. It is a simple word, but its meaning is deep. Joy is so much more than just a simple emotion. Joy is a state of being, a way of living. Joy is hard to explain and hard to describe, but we know it when we are living it. Maybe it comes early in the morning while the coffee is hot and everyone else is asleep. Maybe you’ve known it late at night as you kiss your six-year-old’s sleepy eyes. Or perhaps you find it on a lake when memories of a life well lived are vivid, or in the companionship of your well-worn, dog-eared, perhaps even tear-stained Bible. I am sure that this Thursday there will come a moment for many of us—as the turkey is carved and potatoes are passed and you sit with those who love and appreciate—when joy will fill your heart. 

You see, joy is that instantaneous moment when you suddenly find yourself at peace and can see the fullness of life more clearly. Joy is that moment when deadlines are forgotten and strivings have ceased. Joy comes to us when what we have overshadows what we want. Joy is that moment when we realize that a lifetime of breadwinning and ladder climbing can’t give us what the grace of God already has:  joy for a life full of possibilities and fresh starts. 

Joy is so much more than just being happy. Our happiness so often depends on what is happening. So depending on what is happening, happiness can be fleeting. It can be here one minute and gone the next, whereas joy is within us and not dependant on what is happening around us. Joy can sustain, assure and comfort us no matter what is happening. This is important, because there is no doubt about it that the CLC is going to be a happening place. All of the activities and programs will surely generate a ton of happiness. But I am sure that our deeper prayer is that people who will enter these doors, who will shoot hoops in these baskets, who will walk laps on this track or sing songs in the service, will be moved from the happiness of the moment to the joy of eternity. So we don’t just sing tonight because we are happy. We sing because we are filled with the joy that comes from our relationship with Christ and the fellowship of this community of faith. 

Our psalm gives us one more directive before we can get out of here—and it’s the fun one. It says that in moments like this, we “gotta make some noise.” We have to “raise the roof.” We have to let folk know that there is something going on in our lives that is too good not to share. I have no doubt that the CLC is going to be a place for making some noise. It will be filled with noise made by the shouts and laughter of youth who have a safe place to hang out. It will be filled with the noise of basketballs bouncing and step aerobic-ers stepping in a place that seeks to build up both the body and the soul. And every Sunday night in this place, you can rest assured that it will be filled with noise—the noise of singing, clapping, praying and preaching. And all of this noise we will be making—no matter what form it comes in—will be offered up to our Lord for his glory and his Kingdom. 

We want to be serious noisemakers about what God is doing in this place. So I know that I am not alone in my hope that we will not only generate a lot of noise within these walls, but that we will generate noise on the streets of our community. We want to generate some buzz and give people something to talk about. We want people to be talking about what’s going on here. We want there to be noise on the street. The CLC becomes our opportunity to invite people to come and see—to come and see what this is all about, to come and see what we are all about, to come and see what church is all about, to come and see what the life of faith is all about. The noise we make in here must be carried out into the community so that more people will come and join us in making joyful noises to the Lord! 

So tonight, let us fill this space by making a joyful noise to our Lord. One of my favorite writers, Anne Lamont, says that there are really only two prayers that we need to pray. The first is “Help me, help me, help me.” The second is “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” No doubt the “help me” prayers have carried us through these past 15 months, so tonight it’s all about the thank yous. And that’s where you come in. Help me make a little joyful noise. I will close our time with petitions of praise. Please respond to each with a resounding “Thank you!” 

For the gift of life you have given each of us, we say: Thank You! 

For the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink, we say: Thank You! 

For the love we share with family and friends, we say: Thank You! 

For a church that calls us into mission, we say: Thank You! 

For this new Christian Life Center, we say: Thank You! 

For all of the new opportunities to do ministry that will happen because of this space, we say: Thank You! 

For the lives of those who will be touched and transformed by your grace through these ministries, we say: Thank You! 

For the gift of your Son Jesus Christ, we say: Thank you! 

For sending us the Holy Spirit to guide us along the way, we say: Thank you! 

For everything that you have done for us yesterday, for everything you are doing today, and for everything you will do tomorrow, we say: Thank you!

We say thank you…thank you…thank you!