The Priority of Thanksgiving
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Illustration:
Dustin Crowe, The Grumbler’s Guide to Giving Thanks:
Reclaiming the Gifts of a Lost Spiritual Discipline
I’m no master gardener, but in my small-scale gardening, I’ve learned about companion planting. Some flowers, vegetables, and herbs grow better together. They don’t just tolerate one another; they encourage one another’s health and fruitfulness. But some plants can’t grow together. One steals nutrients, blocks the sun, or entices pests that hinder the growth of other plants.
The same is true in our life. Faith, humility, and thankfulness are companion practices, supporting and sustaining one another. As one increases, so do the others. But unbelief and boasting choke out the tiniest seedlings of thankfulness. Whereas humility and gratitude feed off each other, gratitude and pride cannot coexist in proximity. Either we’ll view ourselves as the source of good things and take the credit, or we’ll acknowledge God behind everything we have and redirect the glory to Him. As our lives center on God, gratitude grows. When self-focus sprouts and spreads, gratefulness withers.
As a believer every day should be Thanksgiving Day!
Worship
Worship
Psalm 100:1–2 (ESV)
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
A. Universal Call to Worship - as we reach people for Christ, the number of worshippers increase.
The joyful noise or shout indicates that our worship should be loud. this is what happened when a King ascended to his throne.
B. Our Service should be one motivated and resulting in gladness.
NOT OUT OF OBLIGATION. (Childrens SS illustration)
C. The connection between joy, thanksgiving, and worship
“We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the psalms, and that the habit of celebrating the greatness and graciousness of God yields an endless flow of thankfulness, joy, and zeal.” –J.I. Packer
JOY IS NOT DEPENDENT UPON CIRCUMSTANCES.
THANK GOD FOR ALL THINGS. 1 THESS. 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
THIS LEADS US TO TRUE WORSHIP WHICH IS FROM A HEART OF GRATITUDE AND JOY!
ARE WE EXCITED ABOUT COMING INTO THE HOUSE OF GOD TO WORSHIP? DOES OUR HEARTS LONG TO WORSHIP GOD?
The last part of this verse indicates a time of formal worship. It is important for believer to participate in a formal worship time.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
The Christian life is meant to be an act of worship. It lays claim to everything we do!
Know = Faith
Know = Faith
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
A. To know him in a personal way - THIS IS FAITH
Unbelief is poison to the believer. The righteous shall live by faith.
What do we know?
Know what God is in himself, and what he is to you.
He is God and He is in control.
He is our creator. He knows use inside and out because he created us. We can trust in His providence for our lives. We need Him. He doesn;t need us.
We belong to Him. We are His. WE GET OUR IDENTITY FROM HIM, NOT WHAT OTHERS MAY THINK OR SAY THAT WE ARE. 1 PET. 2:9
He is the great shepherd who protects us and guides us. We have nothing to fear! John 10:14
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
5. We can place our total dependence upon Him.
What a blessinG it is to be able to know God in a personal way and to place our faith in Him. There is nothing in this world that we can have confidence in and place our total faith in. Everything and everyone will let us down except Him.
Enter into His Presence
Enter into His Presence
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
A. Approach God with gratitude
With praise
With thanks
AUTHENTIC AND WHOLE-HEARTED
B. To worship His great name - in His name alone there is salvation. Acts 4:12
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
To praise His name Psalm 8:3-4
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
WHY ALL PEOPLE SHOULD PRAISE GOD
WHY ALL PEOPLE SHOULD PRAISE GOD
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
A. We thank Him because He is good HE IS THE SOURCE OF EVERY BLESSING.
B. We reflect on his enduring and eternal love
`He is faithful
Application
Application
A. Cultivating a Lifestyle of Thanksgiving
Expressing our gratitude daily and in all circumstances.
Recognizing His goodness in all circumstances.
B. Expressing joyful worship.
Having a heart of joy in worship.
Understanding how gratitude can transform our lives
FOUR THINGS YOU NEED TO DO (JEFF CLARK)
GIVE YOUR LIFE TO CHRIST.
THANK GOD FOR 2 THINGS WITHIN 10 MINUTES OF WAKING UP EACH DAY.
SAY “THANS” TO SOMEONE EVERY DAY.
UNPLUG FROM YOU PHONE FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME AT THE END OF THE WORK DAY UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT WORK DAY.
