Sermon Tone Analysis

Gratitude leads us into the presence of our God

Gratitude: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness

health.harvard.edu

The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context).

In some ways, gratitude encompasses all of these meanings.

Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible.

With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives.

In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves.

As a result, being grateful also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.

In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness.

Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.

Two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done much of the research on gratitude.

In one study, they asked all participants to write a few sentences each week, focusing on particular topics.

One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week.

A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them, and the third wrote about events that had affected them (with no emphasis on them being positive or negative).

After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives.

Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.

Another leading researcher in this field, Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, tested the impact of various positive psychology interventions on 411 people, each compared with a control assignment of writing about early memories.

When their week's assignment was to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for his or her kindness, participants immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores.

This impact was greater than that from any other intervention, with benefits lasting for a month.

Research also shows that those in a marriage relationship that take time to thank their spouse a generally more happy than those who don’t.

At work, employees often respond to a manager or leader who is thankful and will often get more work done by being thanked for their efforts.

This is obvious and it backs up what scripture calls us to.

Gratitude Shows How Big God is

Magnify like a telescope looking at a small dot in the sky.

The telescope magnifies and allows us to see how big the object is that is so far away.

Gratitude to the Lord for who He is and for His people causes us to show the greatness of God and how Big he really is.

Ingratitude causes us to reduce the God who is really big down to being very small.

(complaining has this ability, worry has this ability, bitterness does this)

Rather than seeing that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, we reduce the world down to thinking everything revolves around us.

Simple solution for this is gratitude.

Be thankful for God and what he has done, Be thankful for who God has placed in your life.

Gratitude is God’s Will

Thankful for Jesus saving our soul

Romans 7:24–25 (HCSB)

24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body?

25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!