Thankful Always

THANKSGIVING SERVICE

“Thankful Always”

KEY PASSAGE:1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)

Almighty and Faithful Father, we gather in Your presence today with hearts full of gratitude. In every season, through every circumstance, You have proven Yourself good, sovereign, and near. As we lift our voices in thanksgiving, we ask that You would quiet our distractions and awaken our spirits to the beauty of Your grace. Let Your Word today be a lamp to our feet and a balm to our souls. May our worship rise as a pleasing offering, and may our hearts be aligned with Yours. We trust that You are working all things together for our good and for Your glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and King, we pray. Amen. Please be seated.

TITHE and OFFERING

As we continue in worship, the ushers will receive our tithes and offerings. Let this be a moment of joyful praise, joyful celebration, and faithful giving to the work of Christ’s church.

PRAYER FOR TITHE and OFFERING

Gracious God, bless these gifts for Your glory. Use them to build Your kingdom and bless Your people. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.

Welcome to our Sunday Worship Service

We are glad you are here today. Take a moment to stand and greet those around you. If you are visiting for the first time, we would love to recognize and welcome you to our church.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Wednesday Night Bible Study Connect Join us every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. for an enriching time of fellowship, learning, and spiritual growth as we dive into the Word of God together. We are currently in the Book of First Samuel, and this week we will focus on Chapter 25. Come with an open heart, ready to grow in faith, connect with others, and be encouraged in your walk with Christ Jesus. 📅 Corporate Prayer Meeting: Join us every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. in the fellowship hall as we unite our hearts in prayer. This is a powerful time to seek the Lord together, lifting our voices in one accord. All are welcome, come and be part of what God is doing among us.

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together. Please remain standing as we pray.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Let us pray. God of mercy and majesty, we pause in reverence as we prepare to hear Your Word. In a world filled with noise and distraction, tune our hearts to the sound of Your voice. As we open the Scriptures, open our eyes to see Your truth, our ears to hear Your wisdom, and our spirits to receive Your will. Let gratitude rise within us, not just for what You have done, but for who You are. Speak through this message with clarity, conviction, and compassion. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and eternal hope. Amen. You may be seated.

SERMON INTRODUCTION WITH ILLUSTRATION 

A little boy was once asked to pray over Thanksgiving dinner. With his eyes closed and hands folded, the little boy began thanking God for the turkey, the mashed potatoes, the green beans, and even the cranberry sauce. Then he paused as everyone waited. Slowly, he peeked one eye open, looked at the broccoli on his plate, and said, “Lord, I am not really thankful for the broccoli… but thank You anyway.” That, right there, is the heart of 1 Thessalonians 5:18. “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” Not just for the turkey and the pie, but even for the broccoli moments in life, the things we don’t like, the things that we don’t understand, or didn’t ask for. God says: In everything, not just the good things, not just the easy things, give thanks.

You see, it is easy to be thankful when life is smooth, when our prayers are being answered, when peace fills our homes, and doors are opening. But the real test of faith is whether we can still give thanks when life is hard, uncertain, or painful.

SERMON EXPOSITION 1

Not Just the Good Things: Gratitude is not reserved for the blessings that feel obvious, like promotions at your job, healing, or joyful moments. God calls us to thank Him even when life doesn’t go our way. Why? Because even in seasons of blessing, we can forget the One who blessed us. Another reason is that prosperity often whispers louder than gratitude. Gratitude in all things keeps our hearts aligned with God’s presence and reminds us that every good and perfect gift is from above, even when the gift comes wrapped in hardship.

Not Just the Easy Things: Some of the most transformative seasons in life are the hardest. Trials refine us. Suffering deepens our character. And waiting stretches our faith. But when we give thanks in the midst of hardship, we are not pretending everything is fine; we are proclaiming that God is still good. We are proclaiming that God is still sovereign. We are proclaiming that God is still working behind the scenes. And then, gratitude becomes an act of trust.

A Deeper Kind of Thanksgiving: Giving thanks in everything doesn’t mean we are thankful for the pain itself. It means we trust God through it. It is a declaration that our hope is not anchored in our circumstances, but in the God who holds them. And so today, as we reflect on what it means to be “Thankful Always,” may we learn to thank God not only for the feast, but also for the broccoli. Because in every season, God is worthy of our praise.

This week, tables will overflow with food, and homes will be filled with family, friends, and laughter. People who haven’t prayed all year will bow their heads. Even places that rarely mention God will pause for a moment of silence. Why? Because it is Thanksgiving. But here is the challenge: Thanksgiving is not just a holiday; it is a habit. It is not a once-a-year celebration; it is a way of life. To treat Thanksgiving like a seasonal event is like celebrating your spouse only on your anniversary or remembering the resurrection only on Easter Sunday. Paul writes, “In everything give thanks.” That means in every situation, every season, every success, and every struggle – Paul says, “Give Thanks.” If you are always doing something and always somewhere, you always have a reason to give thanks.

We teach our children to say “thank you” as a way of life. Why? Because gratitude expresses value, it honors the one who has acted in kindness toward us. And when our children consistently show that spirit of thankfulness, we don’t just notice it; we celebrate it. We commend them for it. Because we know that gratitude is not just a response; it is a reflection of the heart. And if that is true in our homes, how much more in the household of faith? How much more in the house of God?

SERMON EXPOSITION 2

And because gratitude is central to the life of God’s people, Paul gives us a clear framework in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Let me share three theological truths from this passage that show why thanksgiving is not optional but essential. First, the Command to Give Thanks: This isn’t a suggestion; it is a divine directive. God expects gratitude. Psalm 92:1 says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” Psalm 100:4 calls us to “enter His gates with thanksgiving.”

Just like we teach our children to say “thank you” even when they don’t feel like it, God is cultivating in us a heart posture that honors Him. One “thank you” doesn’t cover a lifetime of blessings. Gratitude must be continuous. The second truth is the Context of Our Thanks: Paul says, “In everything.” Not for everything, but in everything. There is a difference. We don’t thank God for pain, but we can thank Him in the midst of it. We don’t rejoice in loss, but we can rejoice in the One who walks with us through it. The last truth is the Calling of Gratitude. Paul says this is “God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” If you have ever wondered what God’s will is for your life, here is part of the answer: Be thankful because gratitude aligns your heart with heaven. Gratitude shifts your focus from what is missing to what has already been given.

From beginning to end, Scripture makes it clear that gratitude is not optional for the believer. It is good. It is commanded. And it is fitting for those who know the goodness of God. The Bible makes it clear: [Watch This] of all people, Christians ought to be the most thankful. In the opening verses of Psalm 103, David writes: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits—who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.”

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 1

A pastor was sitting by a computer one day, preparing his message. Suddenly, the printer connected to the computer froze. A piece of paper had jammed inside, and no matter how many buttons were pressed, nothing moved. The pastor leaned in, fiddled with the printer, tugged the paper this way and that, until finally the jammed sheet came free. The printer clicked back into motion, the computer powered back to life, and then, to his surprise, a message appeared on the screen: “Thank you.” Imagine that—a machine expressing gratitude for being freed from what had trapped it. The pastor chuckled, but then he paused. If a printer can be programmed to say thank you when released from a jam, how much more should we (Christians), who have been redeemed, overflow with thanksgiving to God? If a printer can recognize when it has been freed from a jam and respond with “Thank you,” how much more should we, who have been freed from the bondage of sin, lift our voices in gratitude to God?

SERMON EXPOSITION 3

Think about it: that printer was stuck, unable to move forward until someone intervened. In the same way, you and I were stuck, jammed in sin, trapped in death, unable to free ourselves. Just like that sheet of paper caught in the gears of the printer, we were caught in the machinery of our own brokenness. No amount of effort, no pressing of buttons, no human ingenuity could release us. We were bound by guilt, weighed down by shame, and locked in patterns we could not escape. Sin had us wedged so tightly that we could not move forward, and death stood as the inevitable outcome of our condition.

But then God, in His mercy, leaned in. God reached into the mess, tugged and pulled, and with His mighty hand, He freed us from the grip of sin, from the weight of shame, and from the certainty of death. Through Christ’s death on the Cross and resurrection, He removed the jam, set us back on course, and restored us to life. Where we were powerless, God was powerful. Where we were stuck, God made us free. The Psalmist says in Psalm 40:2, “He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud; And He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm.” If a printer can be programmed to say thank you for being released, surely our hearts should overflow with thanksgiving to the One who redeemed us. Paul warns in Romans 1:21 that ingratitude is not just forgetfulness; it is rebellion. To fail to thank God is to act as though we are our own source and strength. But the truth is, every breath we take, every step we walk, every moment we live depends entirely on God. Gratitude is the language of those who have been set free.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 2

Most of you who have raised children know they don’t always say thank you. They expect what is given to them, and if it is not exactly what they want, they may even get upset. I once heard about a child who loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Every single day, that is what the child wanted: peanut butter and jelly. It became such a routine that the child refused to eat anything else. One afternoon, the family ran out of jelly. They tried to give the child a peanut butter sandwich, but the child pushed the plate away and said, “That is not what I want.”

Think about that. The child had food in front of them, something nourishing, something that would fill their stomach, but because it wasn’t exactly what they expected, they rejected it. They took for granted that someone had prepared it, that someone had provided it, and that someone cared enough to make sure they had something to eat. Isn’t that how we often treat God? We get so accustomed to God’s blessings that we start to expect them, even demand them. And when God provides in a way that doesn’t match our preference, we grumble. We complain. We dismiss God’s provision because it doesn’t fit our taste. We overlook God’s goodness because it doesn’t align with our expectations. We take the blessing for granted, and we miss the Blesser.

SERMON EXPOSITION 3

Everything you have has been supplied by a source beyond yourself. The money in your wallet was printed on paper made from trees rooted in soil God owns. The car you drive was shaped from steel and minerals God placed in the earth. The gold on your fingers, the clothes on your back, the food on your table, all of it traces back to the deposits of God’s creation. Every blessing, every provision, every opportunity flows down from the Father of lights. And God desires that we never lose sight of that truth, never forget the Source, and never take God’s goodness for granted.

Now, you might say,  “Isn’t God a little egotistical to want us to remember He is the source?” Not at all. It is no different than a parent looking at their children and saying, “You don’t appreciate anything.” You have invested years, providing food, clothing, shelter, and education, and yet they act as though they raised themselves. As a parent, you expect gratitude. God wants us to acknowledge that we didn’t get here on our own, that every step of the journey has been sustained by His hand.

You didn’t choose the day you were born. You didn’t choose the place where you first opened your eyes. You didn’t choose the family that raised you, perfect or imperfect; it was given. You didn’t orchestrate the opportunities that shaped your path. Every circumstance of your life has been ordered by a hand greater than yours. It is like planting a garden. You may put the seed in the ground, but you cannot make the rain fall, you cannot command the sun to shine, and you cannot control the soil’s nutrients. Growth comes because God supplies what you cannot. In the same way, the life you live, the breath you breathe, the opportunities you enjoy, all of it is a gift from God.

Luke 17 tells the beautiful story of ten lepers who cried out to Jesus for healing. As they went to show themselves to the priest, all ten were healed. But only one, a Samaritan, someone least expected, turned back, fell on his face, and glorified God with a loud voice. He didn’t care who was listening. He bowed before Jesus and said, “Thank you.” And Jesus asked, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” The other nine were enjoying the blessing but forgot the Blesser. Isn’t that us sometimes? We get so caught up in the blessing that we forget the One who gave it to us.

The people of Israel did the very same thing in the wilderness. God sent manna from heaven, bread from above, wafers of grace, every single day, just enough for that day. And on the sixth day, He gave them twice as much so they wouldn’t have to gather on the Sabbath. Yet even in the face of daily provision, they grew tired, weary, and said, “We want meat. We want quail.” [Watch This] They were standing in the middle of a miracle, but they complained because it wasn’t the miracle they wanted. So, God gave them quail, so many quail that they piled up until the quail began to smell. And the very thing they had begged for became the thing they despised. Instead of gratitude, they grumbled.

That is why the old hymn still speaks with power: “Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done.” It is a call to remembrance, a summons to gratitude.  So, let me ask you: as you sit here today, what benefits, what good things do you enjoy in life? Yes, you have problems, welcome to life. But my question is, what good things are there? Because if you start counting, you will discover you have been blessed far more than you have been burdened. And gratitude is the only proper response to God. So much of our time, whether in families, marriages, or friendships, is spent pointing out what is wrong with everybody else that we miss what is right with them. We magnify flaws and minimize the blessings. Yes, if you pause and reflect, you can point to one or two heavy burdens in your life, those challenges that weigh you down and make the days feel long. But how many of those little everyday mercies do you receive from God? The breath you just took. The strength to get out of bed this morning. The roof over your head. The food on your table. The fact that you made it through another year. Those are not small things; they are daily gifts from God.

People often complain, “If there is a God, why are there so many calamities and disasters in the world?” Wrong question. The real question is: Since God is who He is, why are there so few? If justice were left to us, if mercy were withheld, if grace were absent, the calamities would be endless. But because God is merciful, because God is gracious, because God is patient, we are still here.

Think about this past year. Yes, there have been bad days, bad weeks, maybe even bad months. But look closer. Look at the benefits. The fact that you are here today means it wasn’t all bad. If it were truly unbearable, you wouldn’t have made it. The very fact that you are still standing is proof that God has sustained you. And that alone is reason to give thanks, praise, glory, and honor.

That is why Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in everything.” Notice carefully: he does not say “give thanks for everything.” He says give thanks in everything. That is a big difference. If you are sick, you are not thankful for sickness. If you are broke, you are not thankful for poverty. If your house burns down, you are not thankful for the ashes. That would be giving thanks for everything. But Paul says give thanks in everything. In other words, when things go wrong, find a reason to give thanks, not for the thing that went wrong, but in the midst of it.

It is like a storm. You don’t thank God for the thunder, the lightning, or the rain beating against your window. But you can thank God that the roof is still holding. You can thank God that the storm didn’t wash you away. You can thank God that even in the middle of the storm, He is still the anchor of your soul.

That is what Habakkuk understood when he said, “Though the fig tree does not blossom, though there be no fruit on the vine, though the fields yield no food, though the flock be cut off and there be no cattle in the stall, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will exult in the God of my salvation.” (Hab. 3:17–18). He was saying, “Even if this year is the worst year of my life, I will still give thanks.” And that is the heart of thanksgiving: not thanking God for the storm, but thanking Him in the storm and not praising Him for the loss, but praising Him in the loss. Not rejoicing for the trial, but rejoicing in the trial. Because gratitude is not about circumstances, it is about the God who is with you in those circumstances.

SERMON EXPOSITION 4

If you ask Joseph, “How can you give thanks when your brothers sold you into slavery, when you were falsely accused, when you were thrown into prison and forgotten for years?” Joseph would answer, “Because God was doing something. I didn’t see it then, but He was preparing me. Slavery led to prison, prison led to Egypt, Egypt led to Pharaoh’s palace. And when the famine came, I was second in command, able to feed my family. God was working all things together for good, and that is why I could give God thanks.”

If you ask Esther, “Why did God place you in the king’s palace?” She might say, “It wasn’t about winning a beauty contest. It was about saving a nation. God positioned me so that when my people were threatened, I could stand before the king and plead for their lives. My crown wasn’t for me, it was for God’s purpose and for His glory.”

If you ask Jesus, the Son of the living God, standing before five thousand hungry men, plus women and children, “How can you give thanks when all you have are two fish and five loaves?” He would say, “Because you give thanks for what you have, even when it is not enough. You thank God for the little, and you watch Him make it more than enough.” And when Jesus blessed the bread, the multitude was fed, and the disciples learned that gratitude unlocks God’s abundance.

SERMON CONCLUSION  – INVITATION TO FAITH, COMMISSION TO ACTION, AND CALL TO THE ALTAR

Think of it like baking a cake. No one enjoys eating raw flour, a stick of butter, or a spoonful of nutmeg. By themselves, those ingredients don’t make sense. But when they are mixed together, placed in the oven, and given time to bake, they become something sweet. In the same way, God takes the bitter and the sweet, the hard and the easy, the painful and the joyful, and He blends them together in His divine purpose. What doesn’t make sense alone begins to make sense when God stirs it together. That is why Paul says, “Give thanks in everything.”

And here is the truth: God is cooking something in your life. God is blending the ingredients of your story, even the ones you don’t like, into something greater. You may not see it yet, but you will smell the aroma of God’s goodness. You will taste the sweetness of God’s plan. And when you do, you will realize God was working all things together for good. So, somebody ought to say thanks. Somebody ought to give God the glory. Somebody ought to lift their voice and praise Him, not for everything, but in everything. Because gratitude is the language of faith, and thanksgiving is the declaration of reliance on God. God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving.

CLOSING WORDS OF GRACE

Let us stand together and pray. Sovereign and gracious God, we bless Your name and we thank You for meeting us in worship, for speaking through Your Word, and for reminding us that gratitude is not a response to circumstances, but a posture of trust. As we go from this place, may our hearts remain tender, our lips quick to give thanks, and our lives a reflection of Your faithfulness. Teach us to rejoice in every season, to trust You in every trial, and to honor You in every step. We leave with joy, anchored in Your promises and confident in Your purpose. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King, we pray. And all God’s people said: Amen.

You are dismissed. God bless you. We look forward to seeing you next week at 10:30 a.m.