Power of Daily Thanksgiving

What distinguishes a work of art from mere pigment and canvas? What elevates beauty from happenstance to revelation? The chasm between those who pause at a sunset—breath stolen by majesty—and those who pass as though walking an ordinary street speaks to a fundamental truth: the difference between seeing and beholding, between the eye that merely registers light and the soul that truly perceives.

A Renaissance painting by Filipino Lippi titled, “ The Virgin and Child with Saints Jerome and Dominic” hangs in the National Gallery in London, specifically in Room 60

Critics historically dismissed the painting for its seemingly awkward angles and unnatural composition, noting that the mountains appear ready to tumble from the frame and that the posture of Mary and the saints was odd, with the Virgin looking downward rather than at the saints, and both Jerome and Dominic seemingly out of place in their veneration

Renowned art critic Robert Cumming, while visiting the painting in London’s National Gallery, decided to kneel as one would in prayer before an altarpiece. In that lowly, reverent position—rather than the typical gallery viewing—he realized Lippi’s genius: the composition came together naturally, the figures bowed appropriately, Mary gazed upon her worshippers, with the viewer now drawn into the paintings. The mountains framed and harmonized with the scene. The perspective, Cumming understood, was designed not for the upright museum observer, but for the humble, worshipful Christian kneeling in prayer—a spiritual position reflected in the physical vantage point.

Why do some take breath at such wonders while others walk past unmindful? The answer lies not in the object itself, but in the observer's prepared heart. The soul oriented toward worship receives beauty as an invitation to encounter the divine. The heart turned inward, or worse, deadened to transcendence, walks past glory as though it were merely pavement. It is a matter of posture—spiritual posture—the same posture that the art critic discovered when he knelt before Lippi's masterpiece and suddenly perceived what he had missed while standing.

Perspective in art, as in life, alters with the right perspective.

How do

Colossians 2:6–9 “6 So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, 7 being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. 8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ. 9 For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ,”

Christian Standard Bible Psalm 92

Psalm 92

Bible Passage: Colossians 2:6–9, Psalm 92:1–5

Summary: In Colossians 2:6-9, Paul encourages believers to live in Christ, rooted and built up in Him, overflowing with thankfulness. Psalm 92:1-5 praises God for His faithfulness and the joy found in giving thanks, highlighting the importance of gratitude in our lives.

Application: This sermon illustrates how daily thanksgiving can transform our perspective, helping Christians navigate struggles and weaknesses by focusing on God's goodness rather than our challenges. By cultivating gratitude, we can experience deeper joy and fulfillment in our daily lives.

Teaching: The sermon teaches that thanksgiving is not just a seasonal activity but a daily practice that roots our identity in Christ and enhances our relationship with God. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing God's blessings to foster a heart of gratitude.

How this passage could point to Christ: Throughout the Bible, Christ embodies the ultimate reason for thanksgiving—His sacrifice and love bring redemption and joy. In our gratitude, we acknowledge His presence and provision in our lives, reflecting the heart of the Gospel that calls us to be grateful.

Big Idea: Daily thanksgiving is a powerful tool for spiritual growth and renewal, grounding us in Christ and reminding us of His goodness.

Recommended Study: Consider using your Logos library to explore the theological implications of thanksgiving in Scripture, focusing especially on Colossians and Psalms. Look for commentaries that discuss the historical context of these verses and how they connect with the overarching narrative of gratitude in the Bible. Additionally, examine the original language nuances in both passages to enrich your understanding of thanksgiving's vital role in a believer's life.

1. Rejoice in your Rescue

Colossians 2:6–7 “6 So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, 7 being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.”

The Lord God is worthy of praise simply because He is perfect in wisdom, love, justice and truth. Were He simply to exist and leave us to our own ends still He would be worth of adoration and all honor.

However, we give Him praise and thanks for Who He is and WHAT He has done for us!

Has He ever done anything for thee?

Has He forgiven thy sins?

Has He covered thee with a robe of righteousness?

Has He set thy feet upon a rock?

Has He established thy goings?

Has He prepared heaven for thee?

Has He prepared thee for heaven?

Has He written thy name in His book of life?

Has He given thee countless blessings?

Has He laid up for thee a store of mercies, which eye hath not seen nor ear heard?You could explore how our gratitude is fueled by being rooted in Christ. As believers walk in Christ, strengthened in their faith, they overflow with thankfulness. This point emphasizes that thanksgiving should stem from our firm foundation in Jesus, helping us reframe our everyday struggles through the lens of His enduring presence and support.

2. Root yourself in Truth

Colossians 2:8–9 “8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ. 9 For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ,”

The Deception of Human Philosophies: Why Truth Finds Its Home in God

The human mind, stripped of God’s Word and tethered only to human reason, resembles a wanderer without google maps, convinced of his own navigation.

Throughout the twentieth century, the great ideological experiments of man—purporting to be the final word on human existence and the triumph of scientific rationality—crumbled spectacularly beneath the weight of their own contradictions. These false certainties offer believers a sobering lesson: When humanity constructs its castles upon the sand of its own reason, storms will inevitably come.

The Collapse of Scientific Atheism: An Object Lesson

Consider the phenomenon of Soviet communism and its official philosophy, Scientific Atheism. Here was a comprehensive worldview, backed by state apparatus, enforced through schools and media, adorned with rituals and ceremonies that mimicked the very religious observances it sought to obliterate. The Soviet state mobilized the full resources of the most powerful military apparatus of its age to convince its populations that God did not exist and that materialism held all answers. Yet after seventy years of totalitarian enforcement—with churches shuttered, believers imprisoned, and atheistic doctrine omnipresent—atheism vanquished nothing. When communism collapsed in 1989, an estimated 95 percent of the population either believed in God or abandoned atheism entirely.

There exists a transcendent order that no algorithm, no ideology, and no human scheme can eliminate.wcfia.harvard​

The Simulation Hypothesis Refuted: Reality Points to Design Beyond Chance

Recently, the scientific community has delivered a profound vindication of transcendent truth. In October 2025, physicists led by Dr. Mir Faizal of the University of British Columbia published findings demonstrating mathematically that the universe cannot be a simulation.

Let me put this in simple terms: Science has discovered once again that matter cannot create matter. The Universe began. Something non-material had to cause this existence. Secondly, matter cannot think or design itself. The Universe exists and moves in ways beyond our ability to quantify how and why it moves, so it’s beyond our intelligence to grasp it or predict it in totality. So the logical conclusion would be that there’s an intelligence greater than the sum of the universe and reality that cannot be a program but would likely be an intelligent personality.

This discovery dismantles one of the most seductive modern deceptions: that reality itself might be nothing more than algorithmic computation—sophisticated code running on some posthuman supercomputer.

As Dr. Faizal explains: "Any simulation is inherently algorithmic—it must follow programmed rules. But since the fundamental level of reality is based on non-algorithmic understanding, the universe cannot be, and could never be, a simulation."​

They tried to prove the universe is clockwork. Instead, they discovered the Clock has a Maker

This is the echo of Psalm 19:1: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork."

The modern atheist told God to go away. The Lord said, “on one condition, you create life like I did.” They said, “No problem.” They stooped to grab some dirt. The Lord said, “Ah nah, get your own dirt.”

3. Remain connected in Praise

Psalm 92:1–3 “1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, 2 to declare your faithful love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, 3 with a ten-stringed harp and the music of a lyre.”

Morning and Evening Morning, October 30

To be silent over God’s mercies is to incur the guilt of ingratitude; it is to act as basely as the nine lepers, who after they had been cured of their leprosy, returned not to give thanks unto the healing Lord. To forget to praise God is to refuse to benefit ourselves; for praise, like prayer, is one great means of promoting the growth of the spiritual life. It helps to remove our burdens, to excite our hope, to increase our faith. It is a healthful and invigorating exercise which quickens the pulse of the believer, and nerves him for fresh enterprises in his Master’s service.

Recently the women during a Bible study recounted how the Lord saved them. The astounding work of God’s mercy encouraged all as they shared how He rescued some out of depression, confusion, addiction, and set them on the solid rock. That is the joy of sharing what the Lord has done for you. It not only magnifies Him, it uplifts those who hear it and need to be encouraged!

4. Reflect on His Works

Psalm 92:4–5 “4 For you have made me rejoice, Lord, by what you have done; I will shout for joy because of the works of your hands. 5 How magnificent are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!”

Recently, the Northern Lights could be seen in Parts of the US. We see the finger tips of God drifting through the atmosphere He created. It reminded me of a story I heard:

Steve Hoekstra, missionary and mentor in Colorado's high country, recalls a wagon ride beneath the Rocky Mountain sky. The night blazed with stars—piercing the darkness like the very thoughts of God. The rancher's son gasped, "Awesome."

The father pulled the reins. In the stillness, he looked up at the cathedral of creation, then turned to his boy with a wisdom that cuts like truth: "Son, that's a beautiful creation, but remember—only God is truly awesome."

In one sentence, a correction became a compass. The boy learned to distinguish between the magnificent and the Magnificent—between creation and Creator.

This is what we have forgotten. We trade night skies for screens, the tangible for the virtual, the communal for the digital. We scroll past the Grand Canyon without ever standing before it. We text encouragement to strangers while the person beside us remains unknown.

The call is simple and urgent: Get outside. Look up. Touch another soul. Reflect together on what truly matters.

We need each other for this. Faith is not private. The testimony of creation is meant to be shared—one generation speaking it to the next, one heart reminding another: "Only God is truly awesome."

Come out of the cave of screens. The stars are waiting. There, in presence and wonder, encounter the One who is truly awesome. There, remember what matters.

Join us next week as we explore The Abundance from Thanksgiving!

Consider how reflecting on God’s great works and deep thoughts inspires thanksgiving. By recognizing and celebrating His marvelous deeds, we are encouraged to trust His plan and find joy in His wisdom. This focus deepens our trust in Him, fostering a spirit of thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6–9 “6 So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, 7 being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. 8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ. 9 For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ,”

Illustration, Son, only God is Awesome

Your sermon outline on "The Power of Daily Thanksgiving" is strong and well-structured. Here are enhanced suggestions to make each point more memorable and applicable, connecting the Hebrew concept of tov (good), the gardening/shepherd imagery, and Spurgeon's October 27th reflections.

Strengthening Your Big Idea

Your Big Idea is solid, but consider sharpening it with the tov emphasis: "Daily thanksgiving is tov—functionally good—for your spiritual health, rooting you deeply in Christ and reminding you of His relentless goodness."​

Enhanced Point Structure

Point 1: Rooted for Growth (Not Arrival) Colossians 2:6-7

Memorable Hook: "You're not a finished product—you're a plant in God's garden."

Key Development:

Emphasize that being "rooted" (tov) means we are in process, not perfected. The agricultural metaphor shows believers are continually "being built up"—present continuous tense.​

God the Father is the Gardener (John 15:1), and Jesus is the True Vine. We don't mature ourselves; the Gardener matures us.​

Good soil isn't about our perfection but our receptivity. Even the best believer has "alloy" in their faith, as Spurgeon reminds us in his October 27 evening devotional. We see ourselves as sinners needing Christ's righteousness daily.​​

Application: What are you allowing to pack down your soil (hardness), create shallowness (rockiness), or choke your growth (thorns)? Gratitude softens the soil of your heart, making you receptive to God's Word.​

Illustration Idea: A master gardener doesn't abandon plants that grow slowly—he tends them patiently. God prunes not to punish but to produce more fruit.​

Point 2: Remain in Truth (What You Dwell On Determines What Grows) Colossians 2:8-9

Memorable Hook: "Your mind is soil. What seeds are you letting take root?"

Key Development:

Paul warns against being "taken captive" by empty philosophies. What we think about shapes us (Proverbs 4:23; 23:7).​

Philippians 4:8 provides the filter: dwell on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable. These thoughts don't just make us feel better—they transform our neural pathways and align us with God's will (Romans 12:2).​

Neurologically, gratitude activates reward centers, releases dopamine and serotonin, reduces cortisol (stress hormone), and strengthens positive thinking patterns.​

The "fullness of Deity" dwells in Christ (v. 9)—meaning Christ is sufficient. We don't need worldly philosophies; we need Christ-saturated thoughts.​

Application: Conduct a "thought audit." Are you dwelling on complaints, comparisons, anxieties? Or are you rehearsing God's faithfulness? Thanksgiving guards your mind by redirecting thoughts from anxiety to peace (Philippians 4:6-7).​

Illustration Idea: Weeds grow effortlessly; flowers require cultivation. Negative thoughts are like weeds—they choke out joy unless we actively plant gratitude.​

Point 3: Rise Daily in Praise (Morning and Evening Rhythms) Psalm 92:1-3

Memorable Hook: "Bookend your day with tov—what is functionally good for your soul."

Key Development:

The psalmist declares it is tov—good, functional, fulfilling your created purpose—to thank God morning and evening.​

Tov means something that works as designed, brings wellness, and accomplishes its Divine purpose. Praising God is not just morally right—it's what we were made for.​

Morning gratitude: Declare God's "faithful love" at sunrise—set the trajectory of your day. Evening gratitude: Recall His "faithfulness" at night—anchor your rest in His constancy.​

This daily rhythm trains your brain to notice blessings rather than overlook them. The Israelites grew blind to manna because they lost their gratitude.​

Application: Start tomorrow by naming three specific ways God has shown His faithful love. End tomorrow by recounting three evidences of His faithfulness. This isn't "positive thinking"—it's biblical remembrance.​

Illustration Idea: Billy Sunday never passed the mission where he was saved without pausing to whisper thanks. What if you created daily "gratitude landmarks"?​

Point 4: Reflect and Rejoice in His Works (Spurgeon's Catalog of Grace) Psalm 92:4-5

Memorable Hook: "If you think, you must thank."​

Key Development:

David says, "You have made me rejoice...I will shout for joy because of the works of your hands"[Psalm 92:4]. Gratitude flows from active reflection on God's deeds.​

Spurgeon's October 27 morning devotional lists Paul's "four faithful sayings":​These "faithful sayings" give us a catalog of grace to rehearse.​

Christ came to save sinners (foundation of salvation)​

Godliness profits now and eternally (double blessing)​

We suffer with Him, we reign with Him (ordained purpose)​

Believers maintain good works (active service)​

The Shepherd pursues us with "goodness and mercy" (Psalm 23:6). These aren't abstract ideas—they are God Himself chasing us with His covenant love. We're not just following the Shepherd; His goodness is following us.​

Application: Create a "grace catalog." Write down specific works God has done—salvation, provision, protection, relationships, even trials He's used for growth. Rehearse these when doubt creeps in.​

Illustration Idea: Johann Tauler met a peasant who said, "I thank God I never have a bad day...When it is sunshine—I thank God, when it rains—I thank God...God's will is my will". That's spiritual maturity rooted in constant reflection.​

Connecting the Themes Throughout

The Tov Thread: Repeatedly emphasize that thanksgiving isn't just nice—it's tov, functionally good for spiritual health, mental wellness, and relational flourishing.​

The Gardener/Shepherd Thread: God is both Gardener (tending, pruning, maturing) and Shepherd (leading, protecting, pursuing with goodness). This dual imagery shows He's actively working on our behalf—we're not alone in the process.​

The Maturity Process Thread: We are not mature but being matured. This removes pressure to be perfect and invites humble dependence on God's cultivation.​​

The Mind-Soil Connection: What we dwell on either builds us up or brings us down. Gratitude is the practice that softens, deepens, and purifies the soil of our hearts.​

Final Application Summary

Challenge your congregation:

This week, practice the morning-and-evening rhythm of Psalm 92.​

Conduct a "thought audit" and deliberately replace one anxious thought pattern with Philippians 4:8 truth.​

Create a "grace catalog" listing God's specific works in your life.​

Remember: You're not the finished product—you're the plant God is patiently, lovingly tending.​

Closing Benediction Idea: "May goodness and mercy pursue you all your days, and may you turn around often enough to notice them chasing you with the love of your Good Shepherd."