Embedded Files
Amid the Thronging Worshipers
1 Amid the thronging worshipers
the Lord, our God, I bless;
before his people gathered here
his name will I confess.
Come, praise him, all who fear the Lord,
the children of his grace;
with reverence sound his glories forth
and bow before his face.
2 The burden of the sorrowful
the Lord will not despise;
he has not turned from those who mourn,
he listens to their cries.
His goodness makes me join the throng
where saints his praise proclaim,
and there will I fulfill my vows
with those who fear his name.
3 He feeds with good the humble soul
and satisfies the meek,
and they shall live and praise the Lord
who for his mercy seek.
The ends of all the earth will hear,
the nations seek the Lord;
they worship him, the King of kings,
in earth and heaven adored.
Ancient of Days
Verse 1
Verse 1
Though the nations rage
Kingdoms rise and fall
There is still one King
Reigning over all
So I will not fear
For this truth remains
That my God is the Ancient of Days
Chorus
Chorus
None above Him none before Him
All of time in His hands
For His throne it shall remain and ever stand
All the power all the glory
I will trust in His name
For my God is the Ancient of days
Verse 2
Verse 2
Though the dread of night
Overwhelms my soul
He is here with me
I am not alone
O His love is sure
And He knows my name
For my God is the Ancient of Days
Chorus
Chorus
None above Him none before Him
All of time in His hands
For His throne it shall remain and ever stand
All the power all the glory
I will trust in His name
For my God is the Ancient of days
Verse 3
Verse 3
Though I may not see
What the future brings
I will watch and wait
For the Saviour king
Then my joy complete
Standing face to face
In the presence of the Ancient of Days
Chorus
Chorus
None above Him none before Him
All of time in His hands
For His throne it shall remain and ever stand
All the power all the glory
I will trust in His name
For my God is the Ancient of days
Behold the Lamb
Verse 1
Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away
Slain for us and we remember
The promise made that all who come in faith
Find forgiveness at the cross
So we share in this Bread of Life
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of peace
Around the table of the King
Verse 2
The body of our Saviour Jesus Christ
Torn for you eat and remember
The wounds that heal the death that brings us life
Paid the price to make us one
So we share in this Bread of Life
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of love
Around the table of the King
Verse 3
The blood that cleanses every stain of sin
Shed for you drink and remember
He drained death's cup that all may enter in
To receive the life of God
So we share in this Bread of Life
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of grace
Around the table of the King
Verse 4
And so with thankfulness and faith we rise
To respond and to remember
Our call to follow in the steps of Christ
As His body here on earth
As we share in His suffering
We proclaim Christ will come again
And we'll join in the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King
King of Me
My God's the king of the giants
My God's the king of the lions
My God's the king of the creatures of the deep
My God's the king of me
Have you heard the story about my friend King Dave?
Wouldn't let the giant stand in his way
He said, "Hand me my sling 'cause he's not that tall"
"My God is bigger, and I'll watch him fall"
My God's the king of the giants
My God's the king of the lions
My God's the king of the creatures of the deep
My God's the king of me
Have you heard the one about this guy called Dan?
Yes, he was a mighty holy praying man
They said, "Throw him to the den of the scary beasts"
But God saved our hero from the lion's teeth
My God's the king of the giants
My God's the king of the lions
My God's the king of the creatures of the deep
My God's the king of me
This is more than history
He will do the same for me
Like Jonah and the whale at sea
When I'm lost and afraid, all alone in the dark
You're with me
Oh, You're with me
My God's the king of the giants
My God's the king of the lions
My God's the king of the creatures of the deep
My God's the king of me
My God's the king of the giants
My God's the king of the lions
My God's the king of the creatures of the deep
My God's the king of me
My God's the king of me
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Benediction
May the peace of God our heavenly Father
And the grace of Christ the risen Son
And the fellowship of God the Spirit
Keep our hearts and minds within His love
And to Him be praise for His glorious reign
From the depths of earth to the heights of heaven
We declare the name of the Lamb once slain
Christ eternal, the King of kings
May this peace which passes understanding
And this grace which makes us what we are
And this fellowship of His communion
Make us one in spirit and in heart
And to Him be praise for His glorious reign
From the depths of earth to the heights of heaven
We declare the name of the Lamb once slain
Christ eternal, the King of kings
And to Him be praise for His glorious reign
From the depths of earth to the heights of heaven
We declare the name of the Lamb once slain
Christ eternal, the King of kings
Christ eternal, the King of kings
Adam Veenstra
Ebenezer CRC
Thanksgiving 2026
SCRIPTURE READING
SERMON INTRO SLIDE For our message this morning we’re going to be reading from Psalm 139, which you can find on page 974 if you’d like to follow along.
And in keeping with the Thanksgiving holiday and our celebration of communion, we’re going to reflect on the message of this psalm with the idea of place settings.
Because there is something special about having a place intentionally set for you.
Like at a wedding, when you actually have a placecard - and you’re praying it’s beside someone you like!
Psalm 139 reminds us that we’re a part of things - we belong.
So I invite you to join me on page 974, starting at verse 1:
1 O Lord you have searched me, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 5 You hem me in - behind and before; and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
MESSAGE
This entire psalm is a prayer of King David’s for God to know him - to know his wants and his needs, and his heart.
And it’s written in the assurance of God’s sovereignty and power over all things.
So it’s also written with the assurance that God does indeed know us, and that he is intimately familiar with us, and so includes us.
That we belong to him, so we belong with him.
He sets a place for us, and we are not alone.
That’s a recurring theme of the Gospel message.
Psalm 139 could have been written by countless others whose lives God reached in to.
Countless others who felt lost, alone unwelcome, or overlooked.
Who felt like they didn’t belong.
Like the Samaritan woman at the well.
A woman caught in adultery and used as a trap.
A man born blind.
Men with leprosy.
Tax collectors.
A thief on a cross.
Or any one of us sitting here today!
But in his encounters with all of these individuals, Jesus lifts their face up towards his, and assures them that they belong to the Lord.
He has a place set for them.
Psalm 139 says that all their days have already been written for them in his book; Revelation also makes mention of this metaphorical “book of life”, in which are written the names of those who love and believe in the Lord, who seek to follow his will, and so will be with him forever.
It’s almost like God has a guest list…and you’re on it!
There is a place set for you at the table.
A tradition that a lot of people will probably take part in today is going around the Thanksgiving dinner table and sharing what they are thankful for.
Imagine that at the Lord’s supper table.
Because I don’t know if God himself feels thankful, per se, because thankfulness is directed to a giver or provider.
But I do think that in his way, he is thankful for you.
I think he counts you among his blessings.
He who knew you from time immemorial - who knit you together in your mother’s womb, who knows your very thoughts - counts you among his treasured creation.
You have never been hidden from him.
He has a place for you.
He didn’t have to make you!
We have more than enough people on the planet, more than enough beauty and majesty in creation.
But after forming the mountaintops and filling the seas and painting the treetops with blazing colour…he decided that you were going to be next. That this world needed one of you, too.
He wove you together with fear and wonder because he wants you as one of his wonderful works.
He wants you with him at his table.
Take a listen to these statements:
“You can come along if you want”
“I want you to come along.”
Can you sense the difference?
God wants you along.
He’s not a father who loves you because he has to - he’s like a Dad who wants to spend all the time he can with you!
Who is desperate to have Thanksgiving with you!
If Jesus were still here on earth you can bet he’d be at your house for dinner today.
He’d go with you to walk your dog, or run errands, or crash on the couch and binge your favourite TV show.
He wants that!
He’s asking for that!
He pursues you!
Even if we were to try and avoid him, like all kids might avoid their parents at some point, we cannot flee from his presence.
There is no distance we could travel and no darkness that could hide us.
His hand will always guide us, always demonstrate his love for us.
Not out of duty, but out of desire.
He would not make something he doesn’t love!
One of the best affirmations I’ve received was at a holiday meal I’d been invited to.
I’d tried to turn it down, because I’d already had one with my family.
But they said I wasn’t their good deed, I was their friend: I wasn’t there because it felt like their Christian duty, but because they (apparently) genuinely wanted me there.
The invitation was for me, personally.
Jesus’ invitation is for you personally.
Not out of duty, but out of desire.
If a complete stranger showed up at your Thanksgiving dinner, whether out of duty or desire, it might be a bit awkward at first.
Your Dad invites a random friend of his, or there’s someone’s new boyfriend or girlfriend sitting across from you.
It would be weird if you didn’t get to know them, right?
Especially if they keep coming to the table again and again.
You’d at least say hi and introduce yourself.
So it’s kind of weird when we come to the Lord’s table, again and again, and we don’t get to know each other. Or at least say hi and introduce ourselves.
Even if it is just out of duty at first.
This fall we’re all getting a new picture directory, which is a fantastic tool to help us do that.
In fact, Shary, Jacqueline, Willy, and Anthony have been working on it because YOU asked for it!
You wanted this tool, and said over and over again how you don’t know everybody.
So I would like to challenge our church family.
(If you’re a guest or you just starting attending in let’s say the last month or two, you’re exempt! You can scroll on your phones for this part).
When this directory gets to you, I would like you to look through it.
I want you to make note of all the people who you don’t know, or haven’t met yet.
Then, I want you to meet them. Even just say hi and introduce yourself.
Because it’s kind of weird that there are members of your family that you don’t know.
It’s kind of weird that you come to the supper table again and again without knowing each other.
So, can you do that by the next time we come to the table together?
You can do that by the next time we come to the table together.
I get how that can sound difficult - I’m shy! I’m really shy.
My job description gives me a kind of armour that lets me be “the pastor” so I can make introductions and small talk, but it is not my natural gift.
I get it.
So maybe you’re shy too.
Maybe meeting new people isn’t your gift.
But I’m sorry: it is your responsibility! It is your duty. And hopefully also your desire.
I hope it’s your desire to demonstrate to someone else what Christ has done for you: set a place at the table.
You wouldn’t sit at a Thanksgiving table year after year with your new sister-in-law or stepdad and not introduce yourself or make a little bit of conversation!
So let’s not do that with this table.
If it’s something that makes you REALLY uncomfortable, then solicit someone you know to help you.
Sam will do it! Or Brenda! They’re stellar at it. They make me feel welcome here and I work here!
And there’s lots more who are good at it too.
I am not asking you to be best friends with everyone in this church family.
But I am asking you to be church family.
And yes this is all stuff we’ve said before. But it’s part of the backbone of who we’re called to be.
And because where it is already happening, it’s awesome. It’s the best thing.
And I’m so proud to be a part of it!
I just want everyone to feel a part of it.
Because you are all worth knowing! Because God himself has set a place for you all here but sometimes some of us need some help to remember that.
It’s a missed opportunity to come and share this precious meal from God, and not know each other.
Because that is what makes the meal all the more special: when you realize you belong, and belong together.
If you’re a guest here you can put your phone away and tune back in.
And if you’re a guest here you should know that when I make pop culture references in my sermons, they don’t always land.
Well, this morning’s is an even deeper cut.
There’s this old kids show that aired on TVO back in the 80s that they used to show in elementary school on blurry VHS for a decade afterwards.
It’s all about teaching kids safety skills.
And in the opening, in the main character says to all the kids watching: “You’ve got to stay safe, because your special…to someone.”
And that “to someone” sends me.
“You’re not special to me, and I can’t think of anyone specific, but I’m sure you’re special to someone!”
I think there’s actually a lot of people who actually think of themselves like that.
So as a church family, we have work to do.
The holidays can definitely highlight a loneliness that is like an unseen epidemic of people feeling like you don’t have a place at the table.
You might have nowhere to go this weekend, and so you feel like you have nowhere to belong.
But Scripture says you do. Scripture says that actually, yes, you are special to someone! The most important someone!
We say this almost every holiday service, but I’ll keep saying it until I know we all believe it.
Scripture says your place is with actually with the almighty God of the universe. And he has set it for YOU.
You are special to him, and you will feast together!
Our directory says you belong. This communion meal says you belong.
Because God himself says you belong.
That’s what I want you to leave here today knowing, and celebrating.
That’s what I want you to leave here today ready to share with others.
I’d finished a draft of this sermon that I was pretty happy with the other day, and then late that night one of you sent me a clip of an interview with this Dad, talking this psalm and the presence of God.
He said it reminds him of a moment when he went into his toddler’s room to kiss her goodbye before he left for work, and he was just hit with gratitude, and thankfulness, over getting to be her Dad. He was just starting at her, loving her.
And he sensed the Lord saying “Do you know I do this every morning over your bed?”
Just think of that. God so incredibly in love with you, with this wonderful work he made in you, that he can’t help but stare at you. Always.
“You are there.” He is there.
And so even though it doesn’t fit with our closing song for today, I want to offer you this familiar blessing as we close. Will you please rise, in body or in spirit, to receive it.
People of God - Ebenezer family - “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord your God, your Heavenly Father who fearfully and wonderfully made you, keep his face turned towards you - staring at you even as you sleep - and give you his peace.” Amen.
Adam Veenstra
Ebenezer CRC
October 18, 2026
SCRIPTURE READING (ROB)
SERMON INTRO SLIDE I invite you to turn to page 934 of the Bibles in front of you. For today’s message on reaching up, we’re going to be reflecting on Psalm 96, which demonstrates the immediacy and expansiveness of our worship.
Let’s begin at verse 1:
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
MESSAGE
Part One
SLIDE 1 In this psalm we’re given a powerful example of reaching up, of how worship is meant to be immediate, and so maybe more expansive than we sometimes remember.
Psalm 96 is an invitation to come and worship, now. It’s written in an imperative present tense, calling people in whatever context they are reading or hearing it in, to sing, to declare, to ascribe, to say, to rejoice, and to be jubilant.
Simply by being here this morning we have responded to that invitation.
And we’ve been doing that week after week, as we gather together in love as a church family for over 75 years in this place, and for millennia as the church in all places.
To reach up to our God, to do all the things Psalm 96 calls us to, and for all the reasons that it explains.
SLIDE 2 We know that he has done marvelous deeds; we know that he made the heavens and established our world.
SLIDE 3 We know that the very existence of creation brings glory to him.
So all of creation responds to the invitation.
And then worship is meant to be immediate: we know these things, they inspire feelings in us, and so we act.
SLIDE 4 A few times over the last month we’ve read from Revelation, about people of every tribe and tongue and nation and language gathered around the throne praising God.
They’re doing everything we read about in Psalm 96.
It’s something that the writer of Revelation has been shown, and perhaps foreseen.
SLIDE 5 In a few months we’ll be talking about Christmas and the multitude of the heavenly host breaking through to earth, praising God and bringing glory to him.
They do everything we read about in Psalm 96.
And they don’t wait.
God’s people have these feelings about him, and there’s no point in bottling them up.
SLIDE 6 They have to be let out! They can’t help but reach up.
And take part in the mission of bearing witness of the glory of the God to the world around us!
God’s people don’t sing for attention, but we do sing for exclamation, and explanation.
To show the world that the glory of God is worth singing about, and explain what that glory is and what it does in the world, and what it can mean for their lives.
God’s people want, and need, to worship. The world needs God’s people to worship.
They’re not all going to read Psalm 96 for themselves. That’s where we come in.
SLIDE 7 Author and pastor John Mark Comer writes in one of his books that “worship isn’t [just] a religious thing, it’s a human thing.”
Every society since the dawn of time has looked beyond themselves, and reached up for help and hope and understanding, and fulfillment.
So yes, he notes that followers of Jesus worship. But so do Muslims, and Jewish people, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Druids and Wiccans and Hindus and Mormons and even secular atheists…
As he puts it: “When you’re in need or in trouble or in a rough spot, where do you go for an escape? Where do you look for meaning and significance?”
That’s worship.
SLIDE 8 Humanity will always, always reach up beyond themselves. Like a baby who instinctively reaches up when they need something. Or when they see someone they love.
Psalm 96 is the reminder of what we are reaching for, who we are reaching to.
The one who loves us.
In Scripture there is story after story about the immediacy of worship, and how that worship is an instinctive reaction to what God’s people go through.
SLIDE 9 In Exodus, when God has safely led his people across the Red Sea and out of slavery in Egypt, they reach up, bursting into celebration and singing all about the incredible things he has done.
Their words are very similar to Psalm 96, and it seems like a natural opportunity for worship.
But it’s actually also only step two or three of a long, long journey. They’ve had a victory, and an incredible one, but there is a lot of hardship ahead.
Still, they stop and reach up.
Not later, once the ink is dry on the pages of their story. Now.
SLIDE 10 Later, in 1 Samuel 7, Samuel lays down a stone sets up a monument as a reminder of God’s provision for his people. That monument is called “ebenezer”, a stone of help, and building it is an act of worship.
This is long before any final victory or resolution. There is a lot of hardship ahead.
Still, he stops and reaches up.
Not later, once the ink is dry on the pages of his story. Now.
SLIDE 11 I would imagine that none of this Ebenezer’s stories are nicely wrapped up and resolved by 10am on a Sunday morning. We have ongoing hardships, and more hardships ahead.
Still, we come here and we reach up.
SLIDE 12 Brian Doerksen is one of the most well-known modern worship writers.
So you may know the story of how in the late 90s he was experiencing some financial difficulties, and then his son was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder.
SLIDE 13 He and his family were struggling, and he was out walking on a busy city street, reflecting on everything going on, when he heard someone shouting, “Come, now is the time to worship.”
Which of course became the basis for one of his most famous songs.
For him, and for so many who sang it year after year in church, it’s a reminder that now is always the time to reach up - that should be our instinct, no matter our circumstances, and no matter what hardships might still be ahead.
Not later, once the ink is dry on the pages of our stories. Now.
Bridge
SLIDE 14 There are innumerable times in Scripture that the Living God, whether the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, extends this invitation to people.
And they don’t always just respond with singing.
If now is the time to worship, then in some cases what they’re doing now is the act of worship.
If worship is immediate, then every word, every decision, every action, has the potential to reach up and bring glory to God.
Worship is not confined to this time and place!
The mandate for this morning is not just that we come and reach up here in this hour, but that we are also equipped to reach up the rest of the week.
Because worship is so immediate, it is also expansive.
Part Two
SLIDE 15 In 1 Corinthians 10:31, we’re told that whatever we do, do it all for the glory of God.
This verse is part of a specific conversation in chapters 8-10, about eating and drinking.
But the wording itself describes this as an all-inclusive principle for life, which includes even eating and drinking. Every aspect of our lives is meant to bring glory to God.
So every aspect of our lives should be an opportunity for worship.
SLIDE 16 This a central tenant of the Reformed tradition.
That God himself gave the world colour and beauty and variety; he gave it work and play, worship and service, love and laughter. He worked, and he rested.
What God creates is out of love for the world, and it all has the potential to bring glory to him.
Every part of the world has the potential for worship.
Because every part of the world was created by God, and belongs to God.
SLIDE 17 Worship is the acknowledgement of something beyond ourselves.
It is reaching up in praise and thanksgiving, or in reverence and awe, or in need and helplessness.
Several years ago we did an Advent series on worship, reflecting on how we can worship with confidence or when we’re unsure, when we feel voiceless, or even when we’re in anguish…we reach up in every possible circumstance, with all that we are.
SLIDE 18 In fact, from the beginnings of Scripture we’re called to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength.
Worship is the demonstration of every aspect of that love.
SLIDE 19 I’m sure that at some point we’ve all heard someone say something about how going for a bike ride or a hike somewhere, spending time in the woods or at the beach, or even serving in the community, has felt like a time of worship.
Even if it looks completely different from how we traditionally think about it.
Obviously the tradition is important: the Bible asks us to meet together, and there is power in community.
Which is why we’re here - another one of those Advent sermons was worshipping together!
And a vital part of our mission statement doing these things together in love.
But that feeling that you get when you’re out in creation, or whatever that looks like for you, is part of the expansiveness of worship.
It’s a response to the fact that our whole beings belong to God, and our every action should be devoted to him and his glory.
What we have here on Sunday is a unique and important kind of worship, and a great opportunity for musical worship, but it’s not meant to be our only time of worship.
It’s also meant to equip us for a daily lifestyle of reaching up, together.
So that every thought, word, and deed - every moment - is worship to the glory of our God, and the love of his people.
That’s what we’ll be talking about next week as we continue our campaign and sermon series.
In the meantime, I encourage all of you to be reflecting on what these three parts of our mission statement mean in your individual lives, and the life of our church family.
SLIDE 20 If you have a few moments, share those reflections through the survey you can find in your mailboxes and online, and then come to the luncheon on November 1 to share those reflections together. All ages are welcome - we want all of your input!
And so in between, members of the visioning team will also be meeting with some of our groups who may not be able to make it that day, or aren’t able to complete one of the surveys.
God has been doing incredible things with this mission here at Ebenezer and in our community, and we are excited to see how that continues.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse