Praise Every Day

I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
       I will glorify your name forever. Psalm 86:12

Props: reward stickers, pom-poms, trophy, certificate of award, etc.

            How many of you have ever thought, “I’d like to praise the Lord, but I don’t know how”?  Praise is not as hard as it sounds.  In fact, you do it almost every day.  You may not think of some things as praise, but they are.  For example, if you are at your school’s talent show and someone sings a great song, what do you do when they are finished?  (Lead the children in an applause).  That’s right, you clap.  And when you go to a sports game, like the one we saw on the video, what do you do when someone makes a great play?  (Pick up the pom-poms and begin to cheer).  You cheer.  When you are good at school, your teacher may give you a sticker like one of these.  (Have the helpers distribute stickers to the children).  People who do great things may earn trophies or certificates or awards of many kinds.  These are all ways to show praise.  There is nothing wrong with showing people praise, as long as you don’t worship those people.  But if we give people praise, then how much more should we praise God?  God is the One who created the heavens and the earth, the mountains and the oceans, the animals, the birds and all the people that we sometimes praise for their good works.

            Praising God is not hard at all; we have so much to praise Him for.  If you can cheer for people, you can cheer for God.  If you can clap for people, you can do the same for God.  You can say, “Good job, Lord,” when you look at His beautiful creation.  You can also tell Him how wonderful He is for working in your life.  All of these things—clapping, cheering, saying, “Good job”—are examples of praise.  God is awesome and deserves our best praise.  We worship God for Who He is and we praise Him for all He has done.   Start praising Him today!