Contagious Gratitude

Lead Vocalist (Kelly)

Welcome & Announcements (Mike L)

Good morning family!

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2 announcements:

1) Trunk or Treat

2) Operation Christmas Child

Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (1 Pet 1:3, 2:9 (p 34))

Prayer of Praise (Christine Zalameda)

Already Won

He will Hold Me Fast

Prayer of Confession (Ronnie Evans), Ingratitude

Assurance of Pardon (Hebrews 10:19-22)

There Is One Gospel

Now Why this Fear

Scripture Reading (1 Thess. 1:2-3)

You can find it on page 1172 in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Mike Lindell)

Prayer for PBC—Gratitude

Prayer for kingdom partner—Good News Club

Prayer for US—Against suicide

Prayer for the world—Sweden

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

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Those of you who know me best know that I occasionally suffer from inexplicable discouragement.

Everything in my life and ministry can be going really well, when all of a sudden I get hit with a wave of sadness like a ton of bricks.

Typically I can’t point to the source of those feelings. They’re just there.

I don’t know why I feel that way, I just do.

When it happens it feels as if my ability to see problems is heightened and my ability to see the good things God is doing is severely hampered.

In God’s providence, it was in the middle of one of these waves of discouragement that I began studying for today’s sermon.

In order to see the irony here, you need to open your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 1:2.

About 20 years after Jesus died, resurrected, and ascended into heaven, the Apostle Paul wrote two beautiful letters to a little church in a town called Thessalonica.

When we began our study last week, we learned this church was thriving.

No, they weren’t a perfect church. But things were going really well.

And at the very beginning of the first letter, Paul zooms in on some of the good things God is doing in this little church.

1 Thessalonians 1:2–3—We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now I think it is incredibly ironic, that God ordained that I would need to prepare a sermon about gratitude when I was drowning in discouragement.

But then the Lord used that to help me understand an important lesson.

Churches aren’t grateful because they thrive. They thrive because they’re grateful.

Or to put it another way, Local churches thrive when we talk to God and each other about the good He is doing among us.

That’s the Big Idea I hope to communicate with God’s help this morning.

If PBC is going to be a local church that thrives, if I am going to thrive personally as one of your pastors, we need a culture of contagious gratitude.

We need to discipline ourselves to talk to God and each other about the good He is doing among us.

As we look at God’s Word together, I want you to notice Two Steps Towards Contagious Gratitude:

Step one is Talk to God. We will be contagiously grateful as we thank God for the good things He is doing among us.

Step two is Talk to each other. We will be contagiously grateful as we encourage one another about the good things God is doing among us.

Let’s begin by examining step one...

1) Talk to GOD

1 Thessalonians 1:2–3—We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

In that short sentence, I want you to notice three keys from Paul’s prayer life that can help us to cultivate contagious gratitude.

First, Paul models how we should...

A) Involve other people

Notice our English translations begin with the word “We.”

We give thanks…

That “we” is a reference to Paul, Silas, and Timothy, mentioned in verse 1.

Apparently these three men made time to thank God together for the Thessalonian Christians.

Praying together in a group is a practice repeated throughout the New Testament.

A few hours before His death, Jesus invited His disciples to pray with Him.

In Acts 1, after Jesus ascended, the disciples gathered together and prayed.

In Acts 4, after Peter and John were released from prison, the church gathered together and prayed.

In Acts 13, before sending out Paul and Barnabas, the church in Antioch prayed together.

In Acts 16, when Paul and Silas were arrested and imprisoned in Philippi they prayed together.

There are several benefits to praying with others that you will not find by praying alone:

When you pray together it is often easier to pay attention.

If you’re like me, your mind is easily distracted when you pray alone. But put me in a room with other Christians praying and I’m able to focus.

When you pray together, you learn about each other.

When I hear someone else pray I get to see a side of them I could never see any other way.

When you pray together, you grow to love Jesus more.

When I hear someone else pray, I am reminded of truths about my Savior that I am tempted to forget when I pray on my own.

Praying with others can help you grow in gratitude.

Like I told you, when I was preparing this sermon, I was heavily discouraged. So I reached out to the elders and told them the truth about how I was feeling. I told them I felt like I couldn’t see anything encouraging and I needed them to help me see.

Sometimes when you cannot see the goodness of God, you can reach out to brothers and sisters in your life who love you and ask them to help you see.

Christian: I am not minimizing the importance of private prayer. You need to know how to pray alone. But you also need to know how to pray with others.

A simple way to start is by praying out loud at home with your spouse or children.

Or if you’re a single, by volunteering to pray out loud when the singles gather for your weekly lunch.

If you’re already comfortable praying out loud with others, work to make it a priority to involve other people when you pray.

And make sure you include time to thank God for the good He is doing among us.

It will help us cultivate gratitude if we involve other people when we pray.

Second, it will help if we...

B) Remember God’s sovereignty

Paul begins by saying “we give thanks to God…”

But what is Paul giving thanks to God for?

The answer is in verse 3. Paul and his friends thank God for “your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Does that seem strange to you?

Why would Paul thank God for the Thessalonians’ faith, love, and hope?

Because Paul believes God is sovereign. He believes the reason this little church has faith, love, and hope is because God has sovereignly worked these virtues in them.

In his helpful commentary, Gene Green writes this: “By means of this opening thanksgiving, Paul and his associates show that they are conscious of the fact that the benefits the Thessalonians received and the conversion they experienced were due to God’s action. God, and not the Christian heralds nor the good efforts of the Thessalonians themselves, was the source of their salvation.” [1]

Yes, the Thessalonians really had works of faith, they really labored in love, they really persevered in hope. They did that!

But they did it with the strength God supplied!

It’s kind of like when your little kids buy you a birthday present. Where did they get the money to buy you that present? From you! Where did they get the materials to make that sweet card they wrote for you? From you!

Yes, your children really did something sweet to honor you on your birthday. But they did it with what you supplied.

But here’s where the analogy breaks down. You’re not working in the hearts of your children. You can supply external materials they will use to honor you on your birthday. But you cannot supply the internal desire to honor you on your birthday. You can’t make them want to give you a present or make you a card.

But God does! When a Christian demonstrates faith, love, and hope it is God who worked it inside of us!

Philippians 2:13—…it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Here’s how God’s sovereignty connects to gratitude: You will grow in gratitude if you truly believe God is the source of every good gift in your life.

Show me an ungrateful Christian and I will show you a Christian who is struggling to believe God is in control.

Show me a discouraged Christian and I will show you a Christian who is struggling to believe God is in control.

How are you doing, Christian? Are you reflecting a life of gratitude?

In his commentary on these letters, G.K. Beale writes this: “Without a prayerful contemplation of divine blessings, there can be no attitude of thanksgiving. If refection on these things does not occur continually or unceasingly, our thankful perspective will be inconsistent and intermittent.” [2]

So if you want to grow in gratitude you need to spend time reflecting on the sovereignty of God.

This helps us talk to God about the good He is doing among us.

Third, it will help if we...

C) Cultivate new habits

Look again at the Spirit-inspired words of Paul...

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers…

Sometimes verses like these are discouraging for Christians: “I don’t always pray. I’m not constantly mentioning anybody in my prayers.”

Once again G.K. Beale is helpful here. He writes: “The statement that Paul’s thanksgiving occurs always and that he remembers them continually is not to be taken in woodenly literal terms but as figurative of a habitual activity or attitude.” [3].

Paul is not saying he is praying for the Thessalonians every waking second. He’s just saying he has a habit of regularly thanking God for them.

He probably means something similar a bit later in this letter when he tells the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” in 1 Thess. 5:17.

So what does it mean to always pray? To constantly mention someone in your prayers? Or to pray without ceasing?

It means you pray often. And you don’t give up on prayer, no matter how hard it is.

“But what if I’m too busy to pray!!!”

In his book, A Praying Life, Paul Miller helpfully writes this: “You’ll always be a little too tired, a little too busy. But if, like Jesus, you realize you can’t do life on your own, then no matter how busy, no matter how tired you are, you will find the time to pray. Time in prayer makes you even more dependent on God because you don’t have as much time to get things done. Every minute spent in prayer is one less minute where you can be doing something “productive.” So the act of praying means that you have to rely more on God.” [4]

Christian, if you want to grow more dependent on God, you need to grow in prayer.

Also, don’t forget that what Paul is constantly praying for. It’s the saints at Thessalonica!

If you’re a member at PBC, think on this for a moment:

If Paul is faithfully praying for this church where he’s not a member, don’t you think you and I should be doing at least as much for the church where we are members?!?

Here’s two simple ways you can grow in your faithfulness here:

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As we learn to put all three of these keys together—involving other people, remembering God’s sovereignty, and cultivating new habits—we will grow in gratitude.

Local churches thrive when we talk to God about the good He is doing among us.

But that’s not all. Following Paul’s example, we must also...

2) Talk to EACH OTHER

1 Thessalonians 1:2–3—We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I was studying for this sermon, I was meditating on why the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write these words in Scripture.

It’s one thing to pray a prayer of thanksgiving about your local church.

It’s another thing to record that prayer in the Spirit-inspired pages of Scripture given for God’s people to read and study 2000 years later.

Why are these words here?

It helps to remember the purpose of all Scripture...

2 Timothy 3:16–17—All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Based on this verse, I think we can say this.

God’s people are equipped for every good work when we thank God for the good He's doing among us AND when we share that encouragement with others.

It’s not enough to thank God for the Sunday School lesson that helped you understand God’s Word; or the Fellowship Group that helped you get connected to God’s people; or the childcare worker who taught your child a key truth from Scripture; or the volunteers who made you feel so welcomed when you walked in the door this morning. You need to share with those people how grateful you are for them.

With the rest of our time I want us to notice Paul’s three reasons for gratitude, and consider the ways God is doing the same sorts of things here at PBC.

First, Paul thanks God for the “work of faith” in the Thessalonian church.

This is a...

A) Faith that Functions

What does the Bible tell us about the relationship between faith and works?

Ephesians 2:8–10—For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We are saved by grace through faith, not of works.

Unbeliever: you cannot WORK hard enough or long enough to get yourself to heaven. You can’t possibly be good enough to deserve this. You must receive it by faith.

But faith in what?

You must trust that God exists. That He really made the world and everything in it. That we really are sinners deserving wrath. That He really loved the world so much He sent His Son to rescue us. That Jesus really lived a sinless life and died a sinner’s death in our place. That Jesus really rose from the dead and everyone who trusts in Him will be forgiven.

Will you believe? You can today!

We are saved by faith! And yet the Bible is also clear works play an important role in the Christian life.

We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works.

You see that in Ephesians 2:10. If your faith is genuine, you will do good works.

As the Reformation pastor Martin Luther reportedly said, “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.”

PBC: You are a church filled with good works that demonstrate your faith really functions.

You’ve demonstrated it by going above and beyond your faithful giving that supports this church to help members with Christmas presents, medical bills, diapers and formula, meals, and much more. Or by going above and beyond to support missions and ministries that help the gospel advance.

You demonstrate it by the way you responded to a difficult church discipline issue earlier this year. That was a real test of what we believe. Do we believe God’s Word when it tells us to do hard things? Are we willing to follow Jesus even when it requires us to do things that are incredibly painful and uncomfortable? PBC, you passed the test!

You demonstrate it by the ways you serve that most people never see. Cutting the grass. Folding bulletins. Setting up chairs and tables. Then putting them back. Then setting them up again. Over and over again 1000 times. Washing dishes after a church meal. Working in the nursery. Visiting members in the hospital or shut-in members at home. Writing cards to encourage those who are struggling.

One member pointed out members who have been faithfully serving for 40 years. That’s longer than I’ve been alive!!!

Another member said, “Even our new members have followed suit and jumped in right away serving the body.”

Why do you do these things?!? Because you have a faith that functions.

Second, Paul thanks God for the “labor of love” in the Thessalonian church.

This is a...

B) Love that Labors

Once again Gene Green is helpful here: “The love of the Thessalonian believers expressed itself in hard, strenuous, and exhausting labor. Far from being simply an emotion, love sought the best for the other and labored for the other’s benefit.” [5]

Our culture presents love as a feeling, marked by intense passion and tingling feelings.

But the Bible’s vision of love is far more glorious. It’s relatively easy to love someone when loving them leads to feelings of happiness and pleasure.

But what if loving someone means blood, sweat, and tears? What if it means responding kindly to those who drive you crazy? What if it means doing what’s right regardless of how you feel?

That’s the type of love Jesus showed to us on the cross.

It’s the type of love modeled by the Thessalonian church.

And it’s the type of love I see every week at PBC.

It’s relatively easy to love people when things are going well. But love becomes labor when it costs you something. When you’re loving those who are hurting.

There are couples in this church who have said: “I can see you’re going through a hard time right now. We’re going to take you out to dinner once a week and just check on you to see how you’re doing.”

There are some of you who lean into the especially difficult situations. You care for the physical needs of the sick and dying, not as a way to make money but as a labor of love for those in need.

One of our members, who has gone through an incredibly hard year, gave me permission to share this: “If love has hands and feet then the finger and footprints of PBCs love are all over my apartment. Does PBC know that I didn't pay for a single piece of furniture in my now fully-furnished apartment? If it wasn't given directly, it was paid for by gift cards, random wads of cash pressed into my hand … checks folded into kind and encouraging cards... When my earthly provider abdicated his role, my church lived out the love of my Heavenly Provider.”

Another member said: “We are walking in a dark valley right now. Yet, the love and witness of all at PBC keeps us focused [on] our triune God and His eternal grace.”

I think a love that labors is also evident among those of you laboring to love and serve our children. Tasha told me recently that we now have more PBC Kids volunteers than we’ve had in years. That’s amazing! Kids are work! And they can’t do anything to pay you back for the work that you put into it!

Your love that labors is evident when you keep trying to pursue that disconnected person, when you keep challenging that wayward Christian, when you keep loving the person that hurts you, when you keep asking questions so you can get to know that member who’s hard to love.

Why do you do these things?!? Because you have a love that labors.

Finally, Paul thanks God for the “steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” that characterizes the Thessalonian church.

This is a...

C) Hope that Holds on

One of the things we’ll see as we continue studying this letter is that this little church is enduring considerable persecution.

Despite their suffering, these Christians continued to hope.

Christian hope is not wishful thinking.

It’s not like me hoping that Cleveland wins their game tomorrow and eventually makes it to the World Series.

It’s faith in the future promises of God. It’s a rock-solid assurance Jesus will return and make all things new!

Once again, this type of hope that holds on is regularly on display at PBC.

We saw it in the lives of those who have gone on before us.

You know there is something worse than death, don’t you?

The Christian who falls into great sin that tarnishes their testimony and Christ’s church. That’s a fate worse than death.

But PBC is filled with saints who were faithful unto death. People like Steve Collins, Mary Curlee, Cliff Hall, Patti Hall, Georgia Kleinhenz, Willis Robertson, and many more.

We see it in the faith of those who keep holding onto hope even while they’re hurting.

We see it in the singles who continue to remain pure, even though you long for a godly spouse.

We see it in the faithfulness of married men and women whose spouses don’t know Jesus.

Another member said this: “I look around me and I see how my church family presses on in hope. Hope in the midst of their own losses and uncertainties. They hold on to the truth of the gospel and the knowledge that all this suffering is making them look more like Jesus and then they turn right around and throw the arms of Jesus around me and my hurting family. Seeing that reminds me to look for the ways [my suffering] is refining me too and then look for someone with whom I can share that hope. My hope is not in improved circumstances, it's in increased holiness. I learned that from … my church.

Why do you do these things?!? Because you have a hope that holds on.

Local churches thrive when we talk to God and each other about the good He is doing among us.

Here’s what I want to do as we conclude this morning.

First, I’m going to pray for you. I’m going to thank God for this church, and I want you to listen. I want you to be encouraged to hold onto hope as you think about the good works God is doing in you.

Then we’re going to take communion. And if you’re a baptized follower of Jesus, you’re going to come to one of these tables surrounded by a few members of this faith family. I want you to silently thank God for those people as you gather to pray before you take the bread.

Then as you leave here, I want you to be thinking about how you can follow Paul’s example in these verses. When you gather with your fellowship group or discipleship group this week, I want you to spend time thanking God—and telling each other—about the good God is doing in our midst.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

In just a moment we’re going to sing a song, and then we’re going to take the Lord’s Supper together.

This is a meal for baptized believers.

Jesus regularly ate with sinners. But the Communion meal was reserved for His disciples.

Who are disciples? Disciples are people who have committed themselves to Jesus' lordship. Jesus is their Lord, and they follow His commands. They have repented of their sins, trusted in Jesus, and made that public through baptism. Disciples are not who they are because they are good—they are not good, they are very needy— but because Jesus redeemed them. He shed his blood for them.

If you believe in Christ and made your faith public through baptism, we invite you to receive these signs of Jesus' body and blood.

If you do not believe in Christ (or if you haven’t taken the first step to make your faith public through baptism), let me ask you to consider, why not? He is trustworthy. His sacrifice was more than enough to satisfy God's requirements of you. God accepted the sacrifice of his Son on the cross and raised him from the dead. Put your trust in Christ. He will never fail you.

If you will not be taking communion with us here’s what you can do:

You can come to the table and simply leave your hands by your side when the plate is passed.

You can remain in your seat when people come to the table.

Or you can quietly dismiss yourself when we stand to sing while all the parents are collecting their children from nursery.

If you will be taking communion with us, please begin preparing your heart as we sing.

Almost Home

Prayer over Winchells

Benediction (Colossians 3:17)