Friendsgiving 2

Intro

Students!

Welcome to the second annual friends giving!

We want to give you opportunities to connect with other believers in a real and meaningful way. By making small changes like where we sit and how we approach God’s word can open up new chances for us to connect with one another, and to connect with God!

With all that being said, let's get into what we are going to be talking about tonight. As you know, we are coming off of a small two week series called “Friends” where we learned the difference between good friends and bad friends, and also discovered that it is crucial for us to be selective about who we allow to have influence in our lives.

So what is tonight? Tonight was a chance for us to gather together as friends and share some laughs, some dessert, and a conversation about thankfulness together.

Who here would say that they are good at being thankful?

Listen to what 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We are called to give thanks in all circumstances and for all things

Thankfulness must be the thing that is a top priority for us as Christian believers

We are told that we are to be thankful in all things

David put it this way:

Psalm 100 ESV

A Psalm for giving thanks. 1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3 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. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

We are to be praising God at all times!

Giving thanks at all times

Showing gratitude for the Lord at all times!

But if I’m being honest, we don’t do this

If I’m really being honest, I’m not good at this

I don’t always give thanks to God

I suffer from something that you guys might be able to relate to, I call it “getting distracted really easily syndrome.”

Let me tell you how this has played out in my life:

Wrestling at Gunners house all day

Hot, tired, sweaty

Just wanted a drink of Gaterade — POW right in a mailbox

If we are honest, it doesn’t take a whole lot for us to get distracted. The world that we live in today is filled with so many distractions. Things like -

School

Social media

Tv, movies, music

Popularity

School work

Working

Drama

Relaxation

Distractions cause us to stop being grateful and thankful

When we are distracted we lose sight of what God is calling us to do

We loss sight of the goal

Tonight, my main goal is this: I want to give us a chance to eliminate distractions and be able to have a real conversation about thankfulness. I want us to learn how we can learn to “Thank through distractions in our lives.”

Content

What things distract you from giving thanks?

The first thing that I want to help us pause and discuss is this: “What things distract you?”

What are the things that take your time, your energy, and your thoughts away from being thankful for God?

I believe that when we can identify what is distracting us, it can give us a clear way to move around it so we can keep moving towards our goal.

In this case, if we can identify what things distract us from expressing gratitude and thankfulness in our lives, we might have a shot of making thankfulness a regular habit.

What situations distract you from giving thanks?

The second thing that I want us to pause and talk about is this: “What situations are distracting you?”

Let’s be honest yet again, oftentimes there are situations in our lives that we are facing that either distract us from being grateful for what God has given us, or they make us not want to be grateful for what God has given us.

Sometimes these situations in our lives even blind us from the fact that God has given us abundantly more than we deserve.

Have you faced situations like these?

What are these for you?

How can you practice 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and be grateful in all situations, no matter what?

What are you grateful for?

I believe that once we have conversations like we just had about the various things and situations that distract us - then we can finally open the door to being grateful and thankful for the things that God has placed in our lives.

Now that we have removed some of the barriers to thankfulness, here is what I want you to do: Write down and discuss as many things in your life that you are thankful for. They can be from any of the following categories:

What friendships are you grateful for?

What family are you grateful for?

What opportunities are you grateful for?

What blessings are you grateful for?

What needs are you grateful that are met?

Application

Here is why being thankful is important:

Pausing to identify the things we are thankful for forces us to focus on the many ways that God has stepped up and provided for our lives.

Carving out time in your life to express thankfulness and gratitude towards God will always remind you of his goodness, his provision, his protection, and his love for you.

Being thankful allows us to remember who God is, and what God has done

When I am reminded of those things, I can't help but fall more in love with God for the detailed and intricate ways that he loves me and cares for me.

Let’s pray: