2010 Advent Devotional
St. Stephen United Methodist Church
Wednesday, December 15

Psalm 96
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 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.

Beauty
In this passage, I think the main idea is beauty. People are praising God for the beautiful things He has created. Say you are taking a summer evening jog after a very stressful day. You reach the top of the hill, and what do you see? How about a sunset? Not just an average sunset, a beautiful sunset that lights up the sky with an array of yellows, oranges, reds, and blues. What would your response be? Would you just keep jogging? Or take a minute to process the wonderful sight? A beautiful sunset could turn your day around in a heartbeat. In my opinion that is definitely worth praising God for. In this passage, many people are praising God for whatever reason they have.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the wonderful life you have given us, with never ending beauty. Please help us to realize that beauty. Amen.

Andrew Fairman
8th grade