What Are You Thankful For?

Introduction

Here we are just 4 days away from Thanksgiving. Here in the United States, Thanksgiving is an annual holiday that is marked by religious, and family traditions. It was set aside to remember when the Pilgrims and the Native Americans worked together in order to survive!

For me the Thanksgiving holiday is a special holiday! You know, I love the Thanksgiving Holiday for several reasons.

First, it is the one holiday that we work hard to gather together as a family. Deann and I work hard to accommodate as many of the boys as possible in order to get everyone together! That means that it is usually a loud time that is filled with laughter! Lots and lots of laughter!

The second reason I love this holiday is because is signals the beginning of the “Holiday Season!” That’s right Christmas is one month away!

Finally, I love the Thanksgiving Holiday because it is a time set aside to focus on being thankful! It is a time when we should look back on the past year and see ALL that God has done for us, and celebrate with an attitude of gratitude!

Oh! There is one more reason I love Thanksgiving. I LOVE the food! The turkey, green bean casserole, yams (or sweet potatoes), and of course. . .I love the desserts! Lots and lots of sweet desserts!

That reminds me! I want to give you a personal invitation to join our church family, tonight at 6 p.m. for our Annual Church Wide Thanksgiving Celebration! We would love to have you and your family join us tonight!

Well, as I was thinking about Thanksgiving, I was drawn to Psalm 100.

This psalm is often attributed to David, but the truth is we don’t know who the author really was. Nevertheless it is a psalm for giving thanks!

So if you have your Bibles turn with me and let’s take a look at this beautiful psalm together and prepare our hearts to be thankful!

Joyful Service

Psalm 100:1 NIV

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

The entire earth should shout for joy to Yahweh! (v. 1) This represents an excitement that should be shown as we come into the Lord’s presence and we should shout for joy because of all that He has done for us! The term shout for joy in Hebrew could also be used of a exuberant battle cry!

Psalm 100:2 NIV

Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

Next, we are told that we should worship (the Hebrew could be translated serve, work, or minister) the Lord with gladness (v. 2a). Think about that statement! You and I ought to serve the Lord God with great gladness, not out of a sense of duty or begrudgingly.

As we serve the Lord with gladness, we ought to enter into His presence with singing! (v. 2b).

Psalm 100:3 NIV

Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Next we are to know (observe, experience, recognize, realize, learn,understand) that the Lord (Yahweh) is God (Elohim) (v. 3a).

Knowing that He is God there are three things we should realize:

— It is God who made us (v. 3b).

— We are belong to Him (v. 3c).

— We are His people (v. 3d). We are special to Him!

— We are His sheep of His pasture (v. 3e). As sheep, God graciously provides for us (cf. Psalm 23).

Grateful Worship

Psalm 100:4 NIV

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

We are to enter God’s presence with thanksgiving (v. 4a)! Let me ask you a question:

QUESTION: When you come to church, do you come with thanksgiving?

We are to come into God’s courts with praise (v. 4b)! Again, a question:

QUESTION: When you come before God do you come with thanksgiving?

Do you constantly give God thanks? (v. 4c) This is a repeat of the first part of the verse.

Finally, we’re told to bless the name of God (v. 4d). Do we bless His name, or do we curse his name?

David concludes with giving us three reasons why we can give thanks to the Lord, why we can praise the Lord, and why we can bless the Lord (v. 5):

Psalm 100:5 NIV

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Yahweh is good!

His love is steadfast and endures forever!

And He is faithful to ALL generations!

So What?

As we enter the Holiday Season, and start with Thanksgiving I want you to begin thinking about the answers to three questions.

Have you experienced the goodness of God in your life?

Have you experienced God’s love—His enduring, faithful love that never fails?

If you have, then what how are you truly thankful? Or to put it another way, what are you thankful for today?