The Apostle Paul, Thanks-giver

Thanksgiving Liturgy:

Lectio inspired: Movement 1

Read

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

2  Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble 3  and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

3  and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; 5  hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 6  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7  He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.

5  hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

6  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

7  He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.

8  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, 11  for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 12  So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.

11  for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12  So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.

13  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 14  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.

14  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.

15  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; 18  they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. 19  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 20  He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

18  they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.

19  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

20  He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

21  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; 24  they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. 25  For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. 26  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; 27  they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end. 28  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

24  they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.

25  For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;

27  they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.

28  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, 34  a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. 35  He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. 36  And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; 37  they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. 38  By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.

34  a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.

35  He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.

36  And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in;

37  they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.

38  By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

In our time of worship, let us consider the steadfast love of the Lord, let us worship with a heart of thankfulness.

Worship in light of

Prayer following Worship

For the wide sky and the blessed sun, For the salt sea and the running water,For the everlasting hills And the never-resting winds, For trees and the common grass underfoot. We thank you for our senses

For the salt sea and the running water,

For the everlasting hills

And the never-resting winds,

For trees and the common grass underfoot.

We thank you for our senses

By which we hear the songs of birds, And see the splendor of the summer fields, And taste of the autumn fruits, And rejoice in the feel of the snow, And smell the breath of the spring. Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;

And see the splendor of the summer fields,

And taste of the autumn fruits,

And rejoice in the feel of the snow,

And smell the breath of the spring.

Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;

And save our souls from being so blind That we pass unseeing When even the common thornbush Is aflame with your glory, O God our creator, Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

That we pass unseeing

When even the common thornbush

Is aflame with your glory,

O God our creator,

Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Prayer for Acts of Giving--

Doxology:

Membership

Beloved in the Lord, you have been baptized into Christ and come now to be received into membership in the Free Methodist Church. We rejoice with you in all God’s mercies that have brought you to this hour; and we join our prayers with yours as you make this sacred undertaking.

1. Do you have the assurance that God has forgiven your sins through faith in Jesus Christ?

Answer: I do.

2. Do you believe the Bible is God’s written Word, uniquely inspired by the Holy Spirit and do you accept its authority for what you must believe and how you must live?

Answer: I do.

3. Do you here resolve, by God’s grace, to be Christlike in heart and life, opening yourself fully to the cleansing and empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit, the guidance of the Scriptures, and the nurture and fellowship of the church?

Answer: By God’s enabling grace, I do resolve.

4.+Do you accept the Articles of Religion, the Membership Covenant, the goals for Christian conduct and the government of the Free Methodist Church, and will you endeavor to live in harmony with them?

Answer: Trusting God’s power to aid me, I do.

5. As a follower of Jesus Christ, will you embrace the mission of the Free Methodist Church within and beyond this congregation and will you join us in giving sacrificially of your time, talents and resources to help us carry out that mission?

Answer: With God’s help, I will.

6. I offer you the right hand of fellowship. I welcome you into The Free Methodist Church. May the experience of membership in this body enrich your life and the life of our church; and may your contribution to its life strengthen both you and all of us.

The pastor shall introduce each candidate by name to the congregation and shall continue as follows:

Martin & Ashten, We rejoice to recognize you as members of the Free Methodist Church and bid you welcome to all its privileges; and in token of our love we give you the right hand of fellowship and pray that you may be numbered with His people here and with His saints in glory everlasting. May the church be a blessing to you, and may you be a blessing to the church.

We rejoice to recognize you as members of the Free Methodist Church and bid you welcome to all its privileges; and in token of our love we give you the right hand of fellowship and pray that you may be numbered with His people here and with His saints in glory everlasting. May the church be a blessing to you, and may you be a blessing to the church.

The pastor shall say to the congregation:

Friends in Christ & Skyline FF, I commend to your love and care these persons whom we this day recognize as members of our church. Do all in your power to strengthen their faith, confirm their hope, and perfect them in love.

Movement 2: Meditating on Thanksgiving

Sermon Intro:

Play Video

Take the piece of paper from your bulletin. Want you to take a few moments to write down 3-5 things that help you to be thankful. These can be songs, stories, memories, people, etc.

I don’t know about you but when I think of this time of year and pondering what I can be thankful for I usually go to a favorite memory or a song.

I WIll Praise the Lord, By Ray Boltz

Come Thou Fount (of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy praise. Stream of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above)

It is well with my soul (written amidst the great tragedy of family loss)

Be Thou Thy Vision (Oh Lord of my heart, naught be all else to me save that thou art!)

As some of you know I have been leading a bible study on spiritual formation. We are working through the spiritual exercises of St. Ignantius. One of the things that I appreciate about the contemplative disciplines is the way that it moves me to unearth the place in my life that I am out of balance or need to be reminded of God’s mercy.

This past year has been a wonderful season of experiencing God’s mercy in the midst of fear and anxiety.

Reflecting on this past year, has not always been easy, I have processed through some deep valleys and painful moments. Yet, I can honestly say that I am thankful—for the good and the difficult.

Which in the life of Paul what this story typifies. And this is a perfect story for this week of thanksgiving.

Read Acts 16:16-34

Acts 16:16–34 ESV

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Motivations for Thankfulness and praise that are evident in this account:

Process here, openly. How could they praise? Where was their hope? They had been obedient and faithful, perhaps Paul shouldn’t have cast out the demon? But what about the families that were saved?

The thing about the scripture attitude of thanksgiving and thankfulness is that the Greek words: eucharisteo and eucharisterios carry with it an expression of giving and proclaiming thanks. Not in simply a general sense, but informed through a relationship. As with the previous 3 weeks discussing the informing values of Paul’s ministry, being a thanks giver is linked directly to the relationship with God. How else can one find reason to praise the Lord in the midst of trials and tribulations? How else can one rest in the goodness and steadfast love of God without an enduring relational connection?

eucharisteo and eucharisterios carry with it an expression of giving and proclaiming thanks. Not in simply a general sense, but informed through a relationship. As with the previous 3 weeks discussing the informing values of Paul’s ministry, being a thanks giver is linked directly to the relationship with God. How else can one find reason to praise the Lord in the midst of trials and tribulations? How else can one rest in the goodness and steadfast love of God without an enduring relational connection?

That is why we often use the word praise.

Thinking about this past week, month, year:

Write down some thing(s) that

brought you joy?

What brought you sorrow?

Movement 3: Prayerfulness in light of thankfulness

Now think of those things in light of and the story of Paul & Silas.

remind people what might have stood out to them

how might the trials of life be an avenue of salvation? how might our response to life be a source of freedom?

if we are always hoping for life to be easy or not challenging, then perhaps we will be limiting the opportunities of God to speak life and freedom into us and into others?

I read about this following story about the song 10000 reasons. (Bless the Lord oh my soul, Oh oh my soul.Worship His holy Name. Sing like never before, oh my soul, worship His holy name.)

The prisoners in question included ‘Bali Nine’ ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who had been on death row for almost a decade for drug trafficking. All but one of the eight had turned to Christ since the start of their incarceration.

‘They had become Christians, full on life-transformed, and they were transforming other people’s lives,’ explains Redman.

Despite protests from across the globe, the authorities decided to uphold the death penalties. But when the day came for them to face the firing squad, something extraordinary happened. The prisoners declined the offer to wear blindfolds and instead stood and faced their executors. According to witnesses, they recited the Lord’s Prayer, embraced one another, and sang two songs, ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘10,000 Reasons’, before their voices were drowned out by gunfire.

‘They sang one song after another, praising God,’

Pr Karina de Vega, who was present at the execution, told Fairfax Media. ‘They sang a few songs together, like in a choir. The non-Christian I believe sang from his heart. It was such an experience.’

Reflecting on the incident, Redman says: ‘I don’t think it gets more profound than that. Firstly, as a worship leader, that’s the most amazing act of worship I’ve ever heard of. Secondly, it tells me that you can face anything in this life and still be found with a song of worship on your lips, even a firing squad. And thirdly, I just thought, “how did that song end up there?” What an amazing thing.

‘These are the things that I love; when things are immeasurable. Sometimes people are looking at charts or the song has sold this many, or this many people showed up at a worship event. Forget all that stuff. What’s the stuff that’s immeasurable, that you can’t really put a figure on? That’s the stuff I love. There’s no way of measuring that. It’s just profound, it’s immense, it’s intense. It’s wonderful, beautiful. That’s the stuff I want to do in ministry.’

I am advocating for us to be able to walk through this season of thanksgiving with an honest assessment of how things have been going this year, this month, this week, today.

Yet, no matter what may have experienced or are experiencing, how can you reach for thankfulness and praise?

Can you look at your piece of paper and perhaps begin articulating a prayer of thankfulness?

How might God be inviting you to respond in a way of gratitude and praise

Movement 4: Take Action. What is something you can do to foster and nurture an attitude of thanks giving this coming week?

Can you move from a prayer into an action? What is God wanting to teach you and nurture within?

As you get closer to the day we celebrate thanksgiving, How might the songs sung, the scripture read, the words spoken, and the reflections made —-help you compile a list of thankfulness and create a posture of thankfulness, not just for the week ahead, but as we wind down 2017 and being a new year?

How might these things help you compile a list and create a posture of thankfulness?

LEt’s Pray