Sermon Tone Analysis

What are you thankful for?

Each household has its own traditions and patterns for the holidays.

At our home in Southwest Missouri, we usually went around the table at the Thanksgiving meal and stated what we were particularly grateful for.

Some of those things mentioned were family, food, jobs, friends, and Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we need to change up the traditions and try something new.

One dear lady was not a cook , but the family decided that after many years, they should eat at home for Thanksgiving.

She said:

“I’ve cooked this turkey for the first time and I’m gonna bring it to the table.

If it’s not good, don’t say a word.

If its’ not good there will be no negative comments, we’ll just go to a restaurant and have a meal.”

So, she went to the kitchen to get the turkey, only to come into the dining room to see her husband and son at the table with hat and coat on.

But remembering that for which we are grateful should be more than just one day per year.

Unfortunately, it is human nature to forget how we are blessed.

It is good for the soul to “…count our many blessings, name them one by one; then it will surprise us to see what God has done.”

Today, I’d like to encourage you with Paul’s words from 1 Thessalonians 5.

This instruction comes amidst various exhortations at the end of the letter.

The Apostle has gone into detail about the events pertaining to the second coming of Jesus, and how we can be prepared for it.

In this final section, he is rounding out the letter.

These are things which constitute the attitude of the Christian, three things that influence outlook.

He says:

“Rejoice always;

pray without ceasing;

in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

“

All three deal with an ongoing attitude, a frame of mind.

Paul mentions here that we are to “rejoice at all times.”

What does it mean “to rejoice?”

This is not to be confused with just thinking positively.

Rather, it is a joy based not on our circumstances, but on God, what He has done and what He is doing.

I must say that I struggle with this just as much as anyone.

It is hard to be full of joy always; but then again, I know it has to do with how I look at this world and how I look at Christ.

Key to joy is the presence of prayer.

That is why Paul instructs us to “Pray without ceasing.”

One commentator states that it is a mental attitude of prayerfulness, continued personal fellowship with God and consciousness of being in God’s presence throughout each day.”

One of the greatest examples of this is a man commonly known as Brother Laurence.

He lived in France in the 17th century.

Working in the kitchen of a monastery, he is known for how he practiced the presence of God.

Common, everyday tasks could be opportunities for worship and thanksgiving.

He wrote:

“Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . .

We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king.

It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God."

He seemed to live out Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

And if we keep a prayerful frame of mind, we will be able to give thanks often.

The English Standard Version states that we should, “give thanks in all circumstances.”

Christians are to be known by gratitude.

Many Scriptures suggest this, such as

Thanksgiving is a counter to sinful speech.

Ephesians 5:4: “…and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”

Gratitude pervades all of life’s blessings and circumstances.

Ephesians 5:20: “…always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;” I have a friend who lives in a skilled nursing unit after farming all of his life.

Instead of being sour or miserable, he is grateful for the staff and his surroundings.

Gratitude is the out flowing of the heart that has been given to Christ.

Colossians 2:7: “…having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”

Colossians 4:2: “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving....”

This reminds me that sometimes we must perform a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

I think it means being thankful, even when it hurts.

There is plenty to be depressed over.

There's an overabundance of stuff to rob our joy.

Quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada said: “Giving thanks is not a matter of feeling thankful, it is a matter of obedience.”Sometimes,

we just need to make a conscious decision by faith that we are going to trust God and be grateful for His blessings, even when the tide of emotions would take us elsewhere.

What I’d like to do in the rest of time is to encourage you to “…give thanks, in all circumstances….”

First of all, let us be thankful, in the midst of disappointment.

In other words, be thankful, even if things are not the best.

Recognize the many needs around you.

Think on these words:

broken families,

homelessness,

disease,

or war or natural disaster.

The people of Ukraine are preparing for a harsh winter.

H.W. Westermeyer said that the pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts.

Nevertheless, they set aside a day for thanksgiving.

Maybe it is a job that you hate.

Charles Spurgeon, the English Baptist Preacher of the late 1800’s said: “Never mind where you work; care more about how you work!" Having steady work is a blessing.

Work is honorable.

I know a man who faced difficulty with his job several years ago.

In an act of faith, he decided to venture out on his own.

Now, he has more work than he can ask for.

God has given us our qualities and gifts.

He also provides our resources as we have need.

Or maybe there’s a relationship that is strained.

Many times we are ungrateful because of comparison with others or our idealism.

We focus on how we want the situation, rather than what God could be doing is we would turn it over to Him.

I have a friend that just lost a brother to cancer.

At the time, he was having trouble with his loved one.

One day, the brother went to emergency room with stomach and back pains.

After a biopsy, the doctors discovered that he had advanced stage of a very aggressive form of cancer.

The doctors gave him 6-8 months, he made it 17 days.

He was 47.

If you are at odds with a person, don’t dwell on the hurt and let it paralyze you.

Maybe it is time to express thanksgiving for and to that person.

Ask how you might offer thanks to God for them, and improve what you can; in His timing and by His grace.

Be thankful, even when you haven’t as much as your neighbor.

Chances are you and I have more than most.

The following comes from a number of reliable sources and asks the question: “Am I Rich?”[1]

· Got $2200?

In this world, you’re rich.

Assets (not cash) of $2200 per adult place a person in the top 50% of the world’s wealthiest.*

· If you made $1500 last year, you’re in the top 20% of the world’s income earners.**

· If you have sufficient food, decent clothes, live in a house or apartment, and have a reasonably reliable means of transportation, you are among the top 15% of the world’s wealthy.