Thanksgiving 2017 (2)

History

All of us have Thanksgiving memories. Most of those memories are memories of humorous food events, or comatose relatives sleeping from a tryptophan overdose. You likely have photos incriminating such relatives. Others remember the Macy's Parade you started watching as you prepared the meal. Most die hard football fans thank the Detroit Lions for starting the Thanksgiving day football games...

Throughout the history of our nation and faith, thanksgiving has caused us to pause the busyness of life to do one thing. Give honor to God for his great benevolence through a variety of means. Historically, the Puritans pursued such humble adoration routinely for their God and Savior. Today, God is lucky to get a high five sometimes in the chaotic existence of our culture.

In autumn of 1621 the first Thanksgiving event was celebrated. The pilgrims of the day had collected enough food for a communal meal. In their benevolence, they invited neighboring Indians to share God's blessing with. Through the next few centuries, days of thanksgiving abounded. It was not until President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 established the last Thursday of November a federal holiday of Thanksgiving. However, there is a written record of Governor William Bradford's Thanksgiving Proclamation:

"Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all the Pilgrims, with your wives and the little ones, do gather at the meeting house, on the hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three and the third year since the Pilgrims landed on the Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to the pastor and render thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings."

--William Bradford

Governor of the Colony, 1623

Of similar fashion we will do so beginning tonight with teaching, and tomorrow having family meals.

Pause...

Will you pause tonight? Turn off the static or commercials running through your mind. Set aside the last minute shopping list. Don't text a friend or family about tomorrow. Let's focus for the next little bit on one thing...Being thankful...

Thanksgiving isn't about football, turkey, family, or shopping. It is about pausing to reflect upon our blessings and thank God for such provision.

Tonight is a family service. All ages will be participating not for some eye-catching, seeker sensitive spiritual service, but for us as a family of God to thank him. Will you pause and focus on thankfulness?

What thanksgiving is not...

(NKJV)

9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

It is not thanking God you are not as bad as others...

It is not thanking God for your own dead works...

It is not thanking God for your vain characteristics...

It is humility...expressed in thankful worship, prayer, and testimony.

But let's look at one psalm that reveals what thanksgiving is...

Scripture

Eric brought up this past weekend. That's where we will be tonight. This will not be an in-depth exegetical study, but a study that illuminates your perspective on the simplicity of thanksgiving. Read whole Psalm.

Worship - Elementary

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

1 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

2 Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

God - Middle School

3 Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

Church/people of God - High School

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 to Him, and bless His name.

Why - Dan

5 For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

From this Psalm, we see three definite acknowledgments of thanksgiving.

1. Worship in verses 1-2

2. God - verse 3

3. The Church/People of God - 3c-4.

One last one I want to cover has to do with verse 5. This is why we should be thankful. Before we head there let's start at the beginning.

Worship

The psalmist writes,

1 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

2 Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

We define worship as anything devoted to the Lord to recognize who he is, what he has done, doing, and will do. How does thanksgiving and worship mix? Well, Psalms are songs and this is a song of thanksgiving. We are commanded three things in these first few verses. Make, serve, come.

Some of us are quite adept at making a joyful shout though we cannot carry a tune in a bucket. Others of us serve with a cheerful heart, ministering to the church and others in need. If we are here, then we are coming before his presence, though some of you may need to get here on time for the singin'.

When you think about it, "Are you thankful for worship?" Does that expression of adoration from a place of humbled reverential awe include thankfulness?

We have some elementary kids that are going to tell us why they are thankful for worship.

Brayden Sieckowski:  1st Grader

Anaya Rhodes:  4th Grader

Ben Ogle:  4th Grader

The ability to worship...The freedom to worship at a church...the instruments, the skilled players, the lyrics...Remember this worship song?

"Here I Am To Worship"

Light of the world, You step down into darkness.

Open my eyes let me see.

Beauty that made this heart adore you

Hope of a life spent with you.

Here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God,

You're altogether lovely,

Altogether worthy,

Altogether wonderful to me, my love.

King of all days,

So highly exalted

Glorious in heaven above.

Humbly you came to the earth you created.

All for love's sake became poor.

So, here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God,

You're altogether lovely,

Altogether worthy,

Altogether wonderful to me.

I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross.

And I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross.

I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross.

I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross.

Here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God.

You're altogether lovely,

Altogether worthy,

Altogether wonderful to me.

So, here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God.

You're altogether lovely,

Altogether worthy,

Altogether wonderful to me.

Are you thankful for worship?

God

Verse 3 talks about God. It says, "

3 Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;"

We are to know that the Lord is God. Do you know that or does it just spill out of your mouth? What does it mean to know?

1. To learn that Yahweh is God according to all he does

2. To be assured, to have no doubt, that Yahweh is God

3. This is a confession of knowledge, that he has made us

The closest we can comprehend "Know" is in our earthly relationships. Wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends or BFFs (Best Friends Forever). But if we truly know that person, it still pales in comparison to how we should know God. He is not some second hand friend, nor a hobby or affinity. He is God and he has made us, we have not made ourselves...Does knowing God cause you to be thankful? What do you think about? How are you thankful for knowing him?

Our middleschoolers are going to share how they are thankful for God.

Grace Beerie

Brianna Hillard

(Alt) Ava Archie

(NKJV)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

To know Jesus is to know the Father. Does your thankfulness emanate from your knowledge of the Father and the Son? Do you really know them? What other scriptures speak of knowing God?

(NKJV)

3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

(NKJV)

15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

(NKJV)

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

(NKJV)

14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

Oh, to know God! Are you thankful to know God? Let's pray for a minute expressing our thanks for knowing God and knowing his Son and the Spirit.

Church/God's Gathered People

We've talked about being thankful for worship and thankful for God. Now in verses 3c - 4 we see another aspect of thankfulness. Us...We the people of God the church. It reads,

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 to Him, and bless His name.

Identification in this world is an important topic. People identify as Bronco fans...Well, maybe not this year. People identify by nationality, history, location, job, family position, and a myriad of other things. Some of these identifications are legitimate while others are deceptive pursuits of sin.

Here we are identified in a few ways.

1. His people

This is a consistent identification of those God has relationship through faith. Peter gives us a great identification passage to be thankful for.

(NKJV)

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

This identification as the people of God doesn't go away. In the book of Revelation the culmination of redemption is to be His People and He is our God.

(NKJV)

3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Are you thankful that you are the people of God? Maybe you aren't thankful or maybe you aren't his people.

The concept of calling the church, people of God, sheep is not new either.

2. The sheep

God speaks of being the Shepherd of the Children of Israel.

(NKJV)

11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

speaks of Jesus being the Shepherd of all who are his.

(NKJV)

14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.

Both God and the Son express the relationship with their people as that of a shepherd. A shepherd that owns, cares for, gives their life for, protects from that which kills spiritually, and is a sustainer of life.

We are the people of God and his sheep. Let's here what some from high school say about being thankful for the people of God or the church.

Ethan White

Joanna Mosley

3. Admission

We are identified by admission. What do you mean. Look at verse 4 again. The command to enter drives this verse, but look at what it is about. We are granted entry into his gates and courts.

, talks about entering through the door of the sheepfold, that door is Jesus. says, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved..."

We enter with thanksgiving and praise. We aren't entering complaining and whining. Oh God you saved me...but Thank you Lord for saving a wretch like me!!!!

4. Thankfulness

Are we thankful that we are God's? Are we thankful for being his people and his sheep? Verse 4 ends with "Be thankful to Him, and bless his name." The rebellious, evil, and selfish man is not thankful to him nor blesses him. We are supposed to though. As his people we are to thank him. We are to bless or proclaim providential benevolence upon Him. We, the people are to thank. Remember what God said about us in 1 Peter?

(NKJV)

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Are you thankful? Are you blessing God?

Why be thankful?

Thankfulness emanates from more than just a requirement as a people of God. It is truly knowing God. This Psalm ends with bedrock of thankfulness, God's character.

Verse 5 says.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

A popular Christian movie came up with a responsive saying about God. Let's see if you remember.

GOD IS GOOD. All the time.

All the time. God is Good.

He is Good. Even Christ confirms this when sough out by the rich young ruler who calls him good teacher.

(NKJV)

19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

Ultimate goodness is God. It is his character. It is his nature. It is who he is. He is Good.

He also possesses mercy without origin. Say what? Go didn't learn mercy. God didn't gain mercy. Mercy was not an attribute that started at a point in time with the first sin. It is everlasting. It is far more than just not getting what we deserve. Hesed is loyal love. God's loyal love for his is everlasting. So far beyond good natured, and not getting what we deserve, he is of estimable value and loyally loves his people.

The last sentence...his truth endures to all generations. His truth, his word, what he has decreed and made known. It lasts.

Knowing these things about God enables us to be thankful in the most dire situations.

Conclusion

Now it is time to consider all these aspects of thankfulness from this Psalm.

Are you thankful to worship God?

Are you thankful for God?

Are you thankful that you are the people of God?

Are you thankful for God's character?

Our jobs change. Our kids grow up and leave. Loved ones pass on. God doesn't change. He doesn't leave. He is faithful and worthy to be worshipped. I leave you with this verse to reflect on being thankful.

(NKJV)

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

If you don't believe, consider what we have said tonight. God loves you. He gave his son to pay for your sin by dying on the cross in your place. He rose again. This we believe as God has said will accept us into his family for eternity. We repent - turn from sinning physically, and turn from following selfishness to following our savior. And we believe. From our nose to our toes, we hold this to be true and unmovable. Believe.

Communion

So now in thankfulness and as people of God we celebrate God's goodness in giving Christ in our stead. We celebrate in thankfulness the cost and means of relationship through faith. We proclaim Jesus' good news of the kingdom through his death.

We are thankful for these crackers representing his body that was broken through torture in our place.

We are thankful for this grape juice representing the blood shed, sealing the new covenant of eternal life through faith in him.

We proclaim with thankfulness his death.

If you do not have faith that Jesus paid for your sins, please do not partake.

For you who do believe, do business with God first. Confess your sins embracing his forgiveness, love, and mercy. Be thankful and Bless him. When you are ready please come. Let us pray.