Psalm 100

            {Prayer}

            The front door … every family has one.

            On holidays like the one we celebrated yesterday … the front door seems to swing open all day long. Cars pull into the driveway. Children and grandchildren are running in and out, back and forth between mom and dad and other relatives. Someone is carrying a tray of deviled eggs, potato salad, or a veggie tray. Someone else has lawn chairs. Someone else has a cooler. Someone else has fireworks. With the arrival of each person, the door opens and the house grows louder and louder.

            No one approaching that house will walk up to the front door and wonder, “I hope they let me in.” They don’t stand on the porch waiting for permission. They don’t ring the bell and wait to introduce themselves. Family will skip the doorbell, the door knocker, and just walk right in and say, “We’re here!” Why? … Because they’re family.

            The welcome mat to God’s house also says to come on in! “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).

            As we gather this morning in the shadow of our nation’s 250^th birthday celebration, we have every reason to give thanks to God for the blessings of our nation. Psalm 100 invites us to remember an even greater home and an even greater family. Before we are citizens of any earthly nation … we are members of God’s household through Jesus Christ.

            Psalm 100 begins, “Shout for joy” or “make a joyful noise” in some other translations. Notice the mood here. It isn’t one of obligation or reluctance like, “ugh, I have to do this.” The mood is one of joy.

            God gathers His people together so that they can rejoice in the gifts He so freely gives. God gives us the Third Commandment of “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy” not because He needs our praise. We gather together so that we may be strengthened, nourished, and forgiven by His Word and His gifts.

            Think of it this way. God wanting us to gather together is like a loving father calling everyone home for a holiday meal. The invitation itself is an act of love.

            Imagine Grandma standing there in the front door saying, “Come on in!” No one is going to hear her saying that as “You rotten scoundrel! You better get in here or else!” No! Family members are going to hear this as love. God’s invitation to you to shout for joy is even greater than Grandmas invite!

            The reason family members can walk through the front door isn’t because they’ve earned the right. It’s because they belong there.

 “Know that the LORD is God, it is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3). That’s family language. Not bloodline, biological family, but a covenant family. God is the One who made you! God loves you! You are His!

When entering a house, everything changes when you know the owner. You don’t walk into a stranger’s home. You come home to your Father’s house. 

But here’s the question … How did we become family?

            We weren’t born into God’s family. We certainly didn’t earn our way into it. We didn’t simply decide one day that we’d like to be a part of God’s household.

            Listen to how Paul says it in Ephesians 2: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (2:19).

            Paul puts two things together. First, we’re fellow citizens. On a weekend when we’ve been celebrating our nation’s birthday, that’s an important reminder. We are thankful citizens of this country, but through Christ … we’ve been given an even greater citizenship. One that can never be shaken.

            But then Paul goes deeper. We’re not just citizens of a kingdom … we’re members of a household. We’re family. Think about that. A citizen has rights and responsibilities. A family member has a seat at the table.

            Through Jesus, God hasn’t simply given you a passport into His kingdom. He has welcomed you into His home.

            On the sign out front of the church it says, “A Place Where Friends Become Family.” This is not a simple slogan. This is the gospel, the good news. Here in this place, Jesus welcomes strangers. Jesus forgives sinners. Jesus adopts spiritual rebels. Jesus creates His family through His means of grace. He brought you into that family through your baptism. There He gave you His Holy Spirit and made you one of His own.

            You aren’t born into God’s family. You were adopted into it. Adopted through Christ. That adoption wasn’t free. The Son of God, Jesus, became the outcast so that we could become sons and daughters. Jesus was rejected outside the gates of Jerusalem so that the gates of God’s kingdom could stand open for us.

            Think again about that family gathering we talked about earlier. The front door keeps opening and closing all afternoon. Every time someone walks through it they’re greeted with smiles, hugs, laughter, and maybe Grandma saying, “Come on in!” No one stands out on the porch thinking, “I wonder if I’ve done enough to deserve going inside today.” They don’t wait until they feel thankful enough. They walk right in because they already know they belong. They’re family.

            Psalm 100 paints that very picture for us. As members of God’s family, we “Enter His gates with thanksgiving” (Psalm 100:4). Notice the psalm doesn’t say once you’ve gotten inside, then start giving thanks Now, the thanksgiving begins as you cross the threshold. Why?

Not because your life has been perfect. Not because America is perfect. Not because we’re perfect. We enter with thanksgiving because we know who is inside. We’re coming home to our Father’s house.

            Christian thanksgiving isn’t pretending that everything is wonderful. … Christian thanksgiving is trusting the goodness of the One who welcomes us.

            Jumping to the gospel reading. Jesus healed ten lepers. They didn’t do anything to deserve healing. They simply cried out, “Jesus, have pity on us” (Luke 17:13). Jesus told them to show themselves to the priest and along the way they were healed. How many of the ten returned to thank Him? One.

            Why did he return? Because he realized who healed him. He came back because gratitude always returns to the Giver. The other nine received healing. One received healing and came home. His gratitude carried him right back to Jesus.

            Why do we keep coming back? Why do we keep coming back to God’s house? Because “the LORD is good and His love endures forever” (Psalm 100:5). Everything rests here. God’s goodness. His steadfast, enduring love. His faithfulness.

            Notice, these are not changing circumstances. God’s goodness, love, and faithfulness endure forever.

            Because they last forever, because God’s characteristics never change … this is why we as Christians can rejoice in every season of life. Our thanksgiving isn’t built on elections. Economics. Health or comfort. Our thanksgiving rests on God’s character revealed to us in Christ.

            Every family gathering eventually gathers around a table. That’s where stories are told. That’s where forgiveness is spoken. That’s where laughter happens. That’s where family is reminded, they belong. … God’s family also gathers around a table.

            Jesus feeds His family. Not because we’ve earned a seat … but because He has given us one. The Father’s house has a table and every baptized child is invited to it in repentance and faith.

            In the last two weddings I’ve conducted, I’ve commented how the couples came in with their families as individuals and they left as a new family. The same thing happens every Sunday. A while ago, you walked through the doors as individuals, as sinners needing forgiveness.

            Having received that forgiveness through God’s Word and in a little bit by this holy meal, you will walk out of here not as visitors, not as sinners. You’re leaving as a family.

            Family who have heard the Father’s voice. Family who have been fed at His table. Family who have been reminded who we are. Cherished adopted children of God.

            In just a few moments … these doors will open again. You’ll walk back into the parking lot, go back to your neighborhoods, your jobs, farms, doctor appointments, summer vacations. You’ll walk back into life. But don’t forget what happened when you walked through these doors today.

            Remember where your true home is. And remember what happened here today. The Father’s door still stands open. His Word welcomed you in. His table fed you. His family welcomed you.

Go into this week rejoicing, because in Christ you are no longer strangers and aliens, but members of the household of God.  That is what makes this a place where friends become family. Because strangers become children of God. Amen.

The peace of God that surpasses all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.