THANKSGIVING WEEK -- SERMON SYNOPSIS
THANK-YOU. Two simple words expressing all manner of appreciation LARGE and small. Powerful are these words to the ear of those who seldom hear such laudatory expressions. Disappointment when the expression --Thank-you-- is expected but fails to arrive. THANK-YOU.....it rolls off the tongue so easily but for some, so difficult to speak. Why?
In a single word---PRIDE!
OPENING PRAYER
O' Mighty Creator, Author of our very lives, we formally devote a single day each year, 24-hours, One Three Hundred Sixty Fifth of an entire year to the corporate celebration and contemplation of giving THANKS. Lord, we approach Your throne duly shamed over the supposed lack of appreciation and slowness of confessing with our mouths a thankful posture for the magnitude of Your demonstrated Love for us, creations of Your very hands. We the created owe a huge debt to Him who created us and to this very moment, continues to pour Grace upon Grace to a contemptuous lot of sin laden creatures. Might we O God, move with our hearts to change that dynamic on this Lord's Day, as we study scripture and loosen stiff necks and soften calloused hearts -- joining together in true Love lifting up our unionized THANKSGIVING that You might continue to hold us all dear. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, So May it Be, AMEN.
SERMON
There is not one of us. NOT ONE who would not benefit from refining and strengthening our THANKSGIVING MUSCLES. Oh we use those muscles when it is convenient, but most seem to think that someone has to do a good deed for us before we muster up a THANKS! We will thank folks for opening doors for us. For taking away the dinner plate from the dining table. For filling up our sweet-tea glass. Living here in the South, we enjoy a whole bushel basket full of daily thank-you's, unlike our Northern neighbors who are a tad bit stingy in loosing those words. There are times here in the greater Pensacola Area where a Thank-You is actually an admonition. If a TRUE SOUTHERN LADY looks you straight in the eye, with her head slightly cocked one way or the other, and with a big smile says" WELL, I'LL BE.....BLESS YOUR LITTLE PEA-PICKIN HEART....
She is likely telling you POLIITELY that you are full of beans and ya"all need to move along.....
We thank people many times of every day. When was the last time you told GOD how thankful you are that when the SUN rose this morning, so did you!
Holy Scripture has THANKSGIVING weaved into the very fabric of our walk with the Lord:
Deu 8:10 "When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.
1Ch 16:8 Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.
Psa 50:23 "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God."
Psa 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
Psa 107:22 Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing.
Col 1:12 Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
Col 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
1Th 5:18 In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Jesus used the example of the TEN LEPERS to make a point about our prideful failure to render Thanksgiving even in the most extraordinary situations:
Luk 17:11-19 While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. (12) As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; (13) and they raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" (14) When He saw them, He said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they were going, they were cleansed. (15) Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, (16) and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. (17) Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? (18) "Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" (19) And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."
The Apostle Paul speaks in Corinth of the merit of Cheerful Giving, not just of money or possessions, but in SEWING the very WORD of GOD with others. We call it sharing our Testimony. Paul calls it OBEDIENCE and THANKSGIVING
2Co 9:12-15 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. (13) Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, (14) while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. (15) Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
SUMMARY
The obligation to this duty arises
(1)from the relation we stand-in before God; (2)the divine command; (3)the promises God has made; (4)the example of all good men; (5)our unworthiness of the blessings we receive; (6)the prospect of eternal glory.
Whoever possesses any good without giving thanks for it deprives him who bestows that good of his glory, sets a bad example before others, and prepares a recollection severely painful for himself when he comes in his turn to experience ingratitude. [ Chalmers, Hall, &Dwight, in the Theology Cyclopedia.]
Our God, HE who made us. HE who loves us. HE who pours out HIS grace over and over again, showing us mercy, affection, promise and eternity. HE above all others deserves our frequent and deeply sincere utterances of THANKSGIVING. Thanksgiving using the very BREATH HE gave us.
CLOSING PRAYER
Lord Jesus, Holy Father, Holy Spirit, Our thanksgiving is not just for the life we have in our earthen bodies. We give thanks that You would find it pleasing to share with us glimpses of Your Majesty, of the effects of the moving of Your strong arms and gentle hands. By opening the door to the hearts of others, YOU Lord allow us to be a part of something so much greater than any of us can muster, guiding us to bring Your precious LIGHT into the lives of others who might remain in darkness absent this important favor you grant.
Granting us the privilege of sharing the TRUTH of YOUR GOSPEL by our behavior, our manner, our voice, our touch, our patience and empathy, all direct GIFTS to us by and from YOU, we are permitted to be participants in the greatest miracles ever to occur in this temporary life and journey. From deep in our hearts, O Father, THANK-YOU for finding favor in Your Children, Your Servants, to preach Eternity in a perishing world, thereby blessing us! AMEN and AMEN.
BENEDICTION AND CLOSE
Rev 19:5 And a voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great."
SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE
1 Chr 16:8, Dan 2:23, Lk 17:11-19, Ac 28:15, Deu 8:10, Ps 50:23, 100:4, 107:22, Col 1:12, 3;15, 1Th 5:18, 2 Cor 9:12-15, Rev 19:5
HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?
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