Thankfulness (2)

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Introduction

Believe it or not we are only 2 weeks away from Thanksgiving. its hard to believe that we are already at Thanksgiving. When we start to talk about holidays and Thanksgiving there are a few things that come to mind. One of those things are traditions.

Traditions

What are some traditions that you and your family have?

Traditions: Football, eating, games, gathering together, shopping

Those are just a few of the traditions that we have for the holidays but im sure that there are so many more.

Just like there are traditions for Thanksgiving and different Holidays we also have traditions around the church.

Some of the traditions that the church has is meeting on Sunday, taking Communion, Christmas Eve service, Baptism, and many more.

One of the traditions that we typically take part in is watching the Charlie brown Thanksgiving. If you have never seen it, it starts out like this.

Play Charlie Brown video

Are traditions bad?

Not always, but just like not all traditions are bad, it also means that not all traditions are good either.

Matthew 15:2–3 (NIV)

2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

So here we see the pharisees speaking to Jesus, and the washing their hands that they are referring to is the ceremonial cleansing similar to what they would have done before making sacrifices to God, and not actually what we think of as washing our hands today.

However Jesus replied to them why do you break God’s commands for your tradition.

Which tells us that if we have a tradition we should make sure that it does not cause us to violate any of God’s commands. If we find that they do then we should make sure that we find a way to change that tradition or just stop doing it altogether.

If the tradition does not violate God’s command then feel free to continue with your tradition, because not all traditions are bad.

we do have to make sure that our heart is in the right place regarding these traditions . We should make sure that just like in everything else that even in our traditions we are glorifying God.

Why should we give thanks

So we see that traditions are something that need to be evaluated, but what about Thanksgiving.

Why should we give thanks?

You may be thinking that Todd I dont have anything that I want to be thankful for, because you dont know what is really going on in my life.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 NIV

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Paul tells us that no matter what circumstance we are in that we should find a way to give thanks, because our situation is God’s will for our lives. Which that sounds pretty hard to hear especially if you are going through a tough time, but lets look at what Paul said in Philippians.

Philippians 1:12–14 NIV

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Paul shows us here that because of his chains, because of the difficult things that are in his life, people are more willing to share the Gospel. Paul understands that it is because of his difficulties people are coming to Christ and that even though he is having hardship God still has a plan for his life.

How should we give thanks

So now we see that traditions are not always bad, but neither are they always good either, and we see why we should give thanks, now lets look at how we should give thanks.

Colossians 2:6–7 NIV

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

This passage shows us that one way to give thanks is to actually live your life following Christ. 1 Samuel mentions that Obedience is actually better than sacrifice. If obedience is better than sacrifice we need to make sure that we examine our lives and actually follow what God is telling us to do. God tells us He would rather us obey than for us to give Everything up. so one of the greatest way to give thanks is actually to obey. Not only obey God, but your parents, and teachers as well.

Psalm 107:1–2 NIV

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

Another way that we can give thanks is to tell our story. If you are a follower of Jesus then you have a story to tell. That story is the story of how Jesus came of into your life and saved you. If you have never made that decision please come and talk with us. We would love to help guide you through how to make that decision, so that you can truly live a thankful life.