Called To Be Thankful
Thanksgiving • Sermon • Submitted
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· 8 viewsWhen our hearts belong to Jesus, we will be thankful
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Introduction
Introduction
Governor Bradford of Massachusetts made this first Thanksgiving Proclamation three years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth:
"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 ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the daytime, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings."
William Bradford
Ye Governor of Ye Colony
I thought it would be fun to spend three hours in thanksgiving tonight. But Vanessa said “no.”
So, instead, we will spend a few minutes considering how Jesus brings about a heart of gratitude.
Cultivate Thanksgiving
Cultivate Thanksgiving
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
An attitude of thankfulness doesn’t come naturally, or at least as a primary reaction.
A visitor to America notices that Americans typically begin a conversation with some kind of complaint…traffic, politics, family, job, prices.
As we cultivate our faith in Jesus, allowing it to grow (sanctification) we find ourselves looking for things to be thankful for. We are reminded of all that Jesus has done for us and it turns our eyes to look for things to be thankful for.
“It is always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than to complain about what is not given. One or the other becomes a habit of life.
-Elisabeth Elliot
Certainly, Ms. Elliot, whose first husband was martyred while a missionary in Ecuador, knew a thing about why someone could complain. But, she chose to cultivate thanksgiving in her own life.
But…when you cultivate it, what happens to it? It turns to a response.
Responsive Thanksgiving
Responsive Thanksgiving
Two turkeys were reminiscing about their Thanksgiving holidays. One remarked, “Tell me about your holiday.” The second turkey answered, “I celebrated the day after Thanksgiving.”
Certainly, a thankful turkey! And in that gratitude, he celebrated!
Certain attitudes can’t help but cause action.
Love without some action? Excitement? Anger? These things will escape in expressions of words or actions.
Thanksgiving is similar. You aren’t really being thankful if you are not expressing that gratitude.
Psalm 116:
What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
We remember that all good things come from God!
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
So, we respond in gratitude to God…worship! Thankfulness to Him!!
This response is a powerful thing in our lives!
Powerful Thanksgiving
Powerful Thanksgiving
A grandmother took her three-year-old granddaughter to the annual Thanksgiving service. Each family had been instructed to bring food supplies for distribution to the poor and needy in the community. The little granddaughter listened to the instructions and saw the boxes and cans stacked near the platform. When the choir entered the choir loft, the granddaughter suddenly announced loud enough for almost everyone to hear, “Look, gramma! Here come the poor and needy!”
Maybe not what they wanted to impress upon others, but thanksgiving should impress upon us the power that it has.
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Not just when things are good, and you are blessed to give, but also when things are difficult, and you are the one that needs someone to bless you.
God’s will is something that people often come to me and ask about. How do you know what God’s will is?
Scripture does answer that question! Give thanks!
Let that gratitude move through you in powerful ways!
“There is no lovelier way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark.”
-Helen Keller
May you follow what God has created and called you to be - thankful.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We know a little about the origins of Thanksgiving.
Pilgrims landing in 1620 in Massachusetts. First years were filled with hardship. Harsh weather and difficult to grow food.
Nearly half of their group died that first winter.
Then Squanto, an English-speaking Native American came to their aid, teaching them how to plant and harvest crops in this new climate, which led to a prosperous Fall.
With great thanksgiving, the Pilgrims called for a feast to celebrate their bounty. They invited Squanto and those who had helped them. This turned into a week long celebration of Thanksgiving to God.
God has provided for you. Just the basics of life!
But, most importantly, God provided for you a Savior, His very own Son, Jesus.