UNITED IN GRATITUDE

SERIES: GRATITUDE

UNITED IN GRATITUDE

Scripture - Acts 2:44-47, Romans 3:20-24

Acts 2:44–47 KJV

And all that believed were together and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Romans 3:20–24 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”

INTRO

There was a cartoon known as THE FAMILY CIRCUS, in one of the scenes the sister explains to her brother, “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if each person would greet each day as a gift from God? Imagine opening the package, wrapped in the colors of the season and tied with the ribbon of Son-shine. What a great opportunity God gives us each day to love Him more dearly, to serve Him more fully, to represent Him more perfectly, and to thank Him more humbly…for the GIFT. 1Chronicles 16:8 Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. 

When we look at our world today there is so much that divides us. News reports, the color of our skin, social media outburst and politics just to name a few. But what if we focused on the things that unite us instead of the things that divide us? One thing that can unite us is gratitude. Being thankful for all that we have and thankful for another day.

UNITED IN GRATITUDE

1. The early church

Division in politics is nothing new. Differences in opinion and beliefs are not uncommon but somewhat expected. Philosophizing over ideology is a defining characteristic of humanity. The ability to reason and expand on our reasoning is, in its very nature, what sets us apart from animals. When we do not view our differences with high stakes, the various thoughts, beliefs, and passions add flavor to life through intrigue and dynamic conversation. However, when we make a cognitive decision to have friends with the same socio-economic and moral beliefs, I would ask us to consider this: Do I choose only to have friends with the same ideology that I do?

The early church was a shabby bunch. They came from all walks of life. Jesus' circle – mostly the social outcasts, the uneducated, the poorest of the poor, sick, and despised – continued to follow him after his resurrection. However, to much of their dismay, their following did not lead to birthing a new political consortium and revolution. Instead, a faith community arose - the early church.

For the first three centuries, the Christian majority was a mixed bag that mostly belonged to society's lower echelons. Scholars were the exception, creating a vast difference between the rich and poor, the educated and uneducated. Believers of various ethnicities - Jewish, Ethiopians, Gentiles, Greeks and Asians – added to this mixture. The early church found itself striving to unify amongst its hefty differences. To add to this, the early church suffered under intense persecution. Early Christians were the religious minority and despised by the unbelieving political and religious majority. They were laughed at, mocked, spit on, falsely accused of crimes, and physically forced to submit to an unbelieving government. Life was hard. If given permission, the heavy stressors of the day could consume the most robust believer and rob him of every ounce of joy. However, the early church was far from a joyless bunch. Unifying the body of Christ was a top priority of its leaders as they sought a faith practice that would surpass the congregational differences. The unifier was the taking of communion which is grounded in gratitude. The early church

2. COMMUNION

In the early church the services were not purposed to call the faithful to repentance or make them aware of their sins' magnitude. Their sole purpose for gathering was to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus through communion. It was a service of remembrance and gratitude for God's grace. Every Sabbath was a communion service. Gratitude was the DNA of the early church worship. Instead of early believers saying on a Sabbath morning, "We are going to church today," they would have instead said, "We are going to fellowship today." Until the Protestant Reformation (the sixteenth century), Christian worship centered around communion, its highest worship act. Their gatherings were happy occasions: Acts 2:46 - 47. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. They were eating together with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people in mind.

Every Sabbath was a resurrection celebration, which began the communion by giving thanks. Before taking communion, believers would offer gratitude to God, recounting at length His acts and testifying to the power of His Holy Spirit. Following the communion meal, believers shared in the second round of gratitude prayers. And after these prayers, they would move into a time of caring for one another's physical needs by taking up an offering and sharing of their resources. [Gonzalez, Justo L., The Story of Christianity, pp. 105-111. Harper Collins Press, 2010]

Read Acts 2:44-47. 

44 And all that believed were together and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.  With all their differences and stresses, what unified the believers in practice, spirit, and mind was Gratitude. COMMUNION

3. Corporate Gratitude

There is no tension like the tension between the pews. As humans living as the body of Christ, we are well aware of the pain and trouble we can intentionally or unintentionally cause one another. Different passions and convictions fuel much of our trouble within the church. We know good and well that when good people with deeply felt passions within the church bump heads, things can go south very quickly. The early church understood (to which I would say that some of our churches today fail to understand) that focusing on God's grace in our life through corporate gratitude is a strong unifier that places us all on a level playing field. Why gratitude? Because it is a position before God that reminds us all of what we do not deserve, Romans 3: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Just look on social media and you will see division. In a fit of hurt, anger, or frustration, we need to check our loving hearts, God-given conscience, and spirit of grace before we start striking the keyboard. Filled with passion, we pound away on our keyboard, blasting our opinion and stating what is "right." All the while, knowing our words cause pain, emotionally cutting and tearing down our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. I may not say it to your face at church, but I will inadvertently blast you through social media. What makes this all too familiar scenario more disheartening is that as the social media "likes" roll in, we become justified in our post, creating a false sense of righteousness. We do not need to apologize, show kindness, patience, or self-control. Forget considering others and extending grace. We feel justified because we have "likes."

"Minor" behaviors such as these drive the wedge of division in the pews and encourage others to do the same. Some behave in such a way because they have chosen to accept rather than reject this unkind behavior. As others in the church respond to and encourage these disgraceful outbursts, unity disintegrates under its divisiveness.

Disagreement left unchecked leads to a poisonous spirit. Where a spirit of grumbling dwells within the church, there is no spirit of gratitude but a spirit of divisiveness. And while the backbiting and arguments continue, the Evil One delights as we pull down each other under the banner of "rightness." The early church understood that the remedy for keeping out this spirit of division was to embrace a spirit of grace. Paul and the early church fathers preached this - a gospel of grace. They knew if we would slow down, choose gratitude, and thank God for one another, we would live like Christ. Ultimately, they knew this was the way to make a difference in the world.

Conclusion

So, what if we expressed gratitude for one another? What if we said words of thanks, wrote words of thanks, and prayed words of thanks? If we make gratitude a habit, our hearts will soften to one another. And eventually, what we have in common will outweigh our differences. The Psalmist understood the power of gratitude, which is why he told us, Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. (Psalm 100).

Let’s pray together. Lord, help us to see and believe the best in one another, help us to be grateful for others, and grateful for the sacrifice Jesus made for us all.