Thanking God for Each Other

Preach for a Year #1 Thank God for You

Thank God for You

Philippians 1:3

I. Introduction

A. Paul’s Tender Relationship with the Christians at Philippi

1. He thanked God every time he thought of them

2. We could use that kind of love today

B. Wrong Relationships Flourish in Many Churches Today

1. People who cannot forgive

2. Little groups gather and grumble

3. The church becomes powerless because of lack of love

C. Lessons from Paul’s Statement of Thanksgiving

II. Body

A. There is a value in Remembering (v. 3)

1. God has made us with the ability to remember

2. Instructions to remember in the Bible

a. “Remember now thy Creator” (Eccl. 12:1)

b. “Remember Lot’s Wife” (Luke 17:32)

c. “This do in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11)

d. “Remember from whence thou art fallen” (Rev. 2:5)

3. Paul remembers Philippi

a. A little group by a river and Lydia’s conversion

b. The Philippian jailor

4. Remember high points in your Christian life

a. The day of your conversion

b. The time you fully surrendered to the Lord

c. Was there ever a better day?

B. There is a value in Remembering Positive Things about others

1. “Every remembrance of you”

2. Was the church at Philippi perfect?

a. No perfect churches

b. No perfect pastors

3. Paul refused to dwell on the negatives about these people

a. Were there gossips there? PROBABLY!

b. Were there troublemakers there? PROBABLY!

c. But Paul did not focus on these negative characteristics

4. Paul thought about those who were faithful

a. Some cared and shared

b. Some gave sacrificially

c. Some witnessed fervently

d. Paul remembered these

5. What do you think about when you think of this church?

6. Are you thankful for some?

C. The Value of Expressing Appreciation to those we Love

1. Paul wasn’t just thankful, he told them so

2. What good is appreciation if it is never expressed?

3. Like love, appreciation must be spoken … expressed!

4. Letters to be written, calls to be made, people to see

III. Conclusion

A. Remembering together

B. For whom are you thankful?

C. Thank God for you!

I. Introduction

A. Remembering the First Thanksgiving

1. The Pilgrims and their new land

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 6595 Dead Letter Office’s Statistic

A postal employee opened and read the mail which came to the Dead Letter Office in Washington addressed to Santa Claus. In the three months before Christmas, there were thousands of letters asking for something. In the months after Christmas, there was only one card addressed to Santa Claus thanking him. How quick we are to ask and receive. How slow we are to speak the magic word—thanks!

—Chicago Daily News

2. The good harvest … and many since

3. But we must also remember the many hardships

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 6595 Dead Letter Office’s Statistic

A postal employee opened and read the mail which came to the Dead Letter Office in Washington addressed to Santa Claus. In the three months before Christmas, there were thousands of letters asking for something. In the months after Christmas, there was only one card addressed to Santa Claus thanking him. How quick we are to ask and receive. How slow we are to speak the magic word—thanks!

—Chicago Daily News

4. In spite of losing half their number they gave thanks

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 6595 Dead Letter Office’s Statistic

A postal employee opened and read the mail which came to the Dead Letter Office in Washington addressed to Santa Claus. In the three months before Christmas, there were thousands of letters asking for something. In the months after Christmas, there was only one card addressed to Santa Claus thanking him. How quick we are to ask and receive. How slow we are to speak the magic word—thanks!

—Chicago Daily News

B. Habbakkuk: A Prophet Who Vowed to Be Thankful in Hard times

1. One who loved God enough to thank Him in distress

Philippians 1:3 NIV

I thank my God every time I remember you.

Do you have a lot of hard work to do now that the Spirit has adopted you into God’s family? Certainly. But not to become a son or a daughter of the heavenly Father. No, you make those changes because you are a son or daughter. And every time you start to revert back to the old addictions to sin, the Holy Spirit will say to you, “No, no. That’s not how we act in this family.” —M. Craig Barnes

2. How can one be thankful when things are difficult?

Philippians 1:3 NIV

I thank my God every time I remember you.

II. Body

—M. Craig Barnes

A. When the Provision of God Changes Be Thankful He Is Unchanged (v.17)

Paul had a tender relationship with the church at Philippi

1. Habbakkuk envisions losing things vital to their economy

a. The fig tree will not blossom

b. No fruit on the vines

c. Olive trees do not produce

Paul had a tender relationship with the church at Philippi

d. Fields yield no harvests

e. Cattle and sheep are lost

Paul had a tender relationship with the church at Philippi

2. This prophet says he will be thankful anyhow

3. Economic conditions change

a. They changed in Egypt (seven poor years)

b. They changed for Job (he lost his wealth)

c. Changed during the Great Depression

d. May change due to loss of health or even bad investments

4. God does not change (; ) … so be thankful

B. When Suffering Be Thankful for His Salvation (v.18)

1. We are never far from problems in this life

a. Everything about us is fragile

b. Life itself is uncertain

2. Salvation provides eternal life

a. Eternal life promised (, ; )

b. We are not limited to these few years of tears

3. Heaven is ahead ()

4. The best is yet to come ()

C. When Passing Through Trials We Can Triumph in Christ (v. 19)

1. The Lord is my strength (; ; )

2. He will make my feet like hinds’ feet (swift and graceful)

3. He will make me to walk on high places … HIGHER GROUND

4. He is always up to the occasion ()

III. Conclusion

He thanked God every time he thought of them.

A. The Pulpit Commentary on This Text: “This passage contains the most beautiful exhibition of the power of true religion found in the Bible. The language is that of a mind weaned from earthly enjoyments, and habituated to find the highest fruition of its desires in God”

B. In Everything Give Thanks ()

Philippians 1:3 NIV

I thank my God every time I remember you.

Philippians 1:3 NIV

I thank my God every time I remember you.

He prayed for them and they brought him joy.

I. Introduction

Philippians 1:4 NIV

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy

Philippians 1:4 NIV

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy

A. Paul’s Tender Relationship with the Christians at Philippi

They brought him joy

We could use that kind of love today.

He thanked God every time he thought of them.

We could use that kind of love today.

B. Wrong Relationships Flourish in Many Churches Today

People who cannot forgive

Little groups gather and grumble.

The church becomes powerless because of lack of love.

C. Lessons from Paul’s Statement of Thanksgiving

II. Body

A. There is a value in Remembering (v. 3)

We are told to remember God

Ecclesiastes 12:1 NIV

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—

Ecclesiastes 12:1 NIV

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—

Ecclesiastes 12:1 NIV

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—

Ecclesiastes 12:2 NIV

before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;

Ecclesiastes 2:12 NIV

Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done?

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“Remember now thy Creator” ()

)

“Remember Lot’s Wife” ()

ecc 12 2

Ecclesiastes 12:2 NIV

before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;

We are told to remember God is just.

“Remember Lot’s Wife”

Luke 17:32 NIV

Remember Lot’s wife!

)

“This do in remembrance of me” ()

We are told to remember Christ’s sacrifice for us.

1 Corinthians 11:24–25 NIV

and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

“Remember from whence thou art fallen” ()

We are told to remember to repent when necessary.

Revelation 2:5 NIV

Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

)

3. Paul remembers Philippi

A little group by a river and Lydia’s conversion

The Philippian jailor

4. Remember high points in your Christian life

The day of your conversion

The time you fully surrendered to the Lord

Was there ever a better day?

B. There is a value in Remembering Positive Things about others

No perfect churches

No perfect pastors

Paul refused to dwell on the negatives about these people

No, I am not.

No, we are not.

Were there gossips there? PROBABLY!

Were there troublemakers there? PROBABLY!

But Paul did not focus on these negative characteristics

4. Paul thought about those who were faithful

Some cared and shared

Some gave sacrificially

Some witnessed fervently

Paul remembered these

5. What do you think about when you think of this church?

Can our church become a place where we're known by our biblical love for one another?

Biblical love = forgiveness, overlooking faults, abiding with one another even through disagreements.

Biblical love= forgiveness, overlooking faults, abiding with one another even through disagreements.

1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching Perception

Toward the close of the Civil War, the Confederate cavalry mounted a desperate charge against Washington. President Lincoln rode out to observe the skirmish, near what is now Walter Reed Army Hospital. At six-feet-four-inches, the Chief Executive was a sizable target. Whereupon a Union Army lieutenant shouted, “Get down, you fool.” The next day Lincoln wrote to thank the officer, future Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.

When we remember and are thankful for the good things about another-we are less judgmental and we are more likely to forgive their hurts and overlook their faults

We asked ourselves last week at the Elders’ meeting.

People/ individuals

Missions emphasis

Healing emphasis

What can you thank God for in or about our church?

C. The Value of Expressing Appreciation to those we Love

Paul wasn’t just thankful, he told them so.

Romans 1:8 NIV

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.

1 Corinthians 1:4 NIV

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:15–16 NIV

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

1 Thessalonians 1:2 NIV

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.

1 Thessalonians 3:9 NIV

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?

2 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.

2 Timothy 1:3 NIV

I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

Philemon 4 NIV

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,

phi

What good is appreciation if it is never expressed?

Like love, appreciation must be spoken … expressed!

Letters to be written, calls to be made, people to see

III. Conclusion

Why do you celebrate Thanksgiving? Out of duty? Fear of rejection by God if you aren’t thankful enough?

We don’t do these things in order to become a son or daughter of the Heavenly Father, we do them because we are a son or daughter of the Heavenly Father. -Pastor M. Craig Barnes

And every time you start to revert back to the old addictions to sin, the Holy Spirit will say to you, “No, no. That’s not how we act in this family.” —M. Craig Barnes

—M. Craig Barnes

And every time you start to revert back to the old addictions to sin, the Holy Spirit will say to you, “No, no. That’s not how we act in this family.” —M. Craig Barnes

How do we act in the family at Flushing Alliance?

Remembering together

emembering together

Remembering together

For whom are you thankful?

Remembering together.

For whom are you thankful?

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 6606 Epigram on Unthankfulness

• The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.

—Reflection

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. -Anonymous

Take a moment today to express to someone how thankful you are for them!

I’m not promoting insincerity here, but there is some truth in that statement

Take a moment today to express to someone how thankful you are for them!

Thank God for you!

Thanking God for Each Other

Paul had a tender relationship with the church at Philippi

Thank God for You

Sadly, wrong relationships flourish in many churches today.

Lessons from Paul’s Statement of Thanksgiving

There is a value in Remembering (v. 3)

God has made us with the ability to remember

God has made us with the ability to remember.

God has made us with the ability to remember

Instructions to remember in the Bible

Paul remembers Philippi.

Paul remembers Philippi

Can you recall some high points in your Christian life?

There is a value in Remembering Positive Things about others”

“Every remembrance of you”

“Every remembrance of you”

Was the church at Philippi perfect?

“Every time I remember you...”

Was the church at Philippi perfect?

Paul refused to dwell on the negatives about these people

Is our church perfect?

Paul refused to dwell on the negatives about these people.

Paul thought about those who were faithful.

What do you think about when you think of our church?

What about Flushing Alliance are you thankful for?

The Value of Expressing Appreciation to those we Love.

Take this with you...

Take this with you...

Thank God for you!