[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 20th of November, 2016, the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
This Thursday is Thanksgiving, a day originally set aside for giving thanks to God. Sadly, more folks seem to spend most of the day eating or watching parades and football games. Or napping in front of the TV after gorging themselves on turkey and mashed potatoes.
But we know we should do more than that. We know we should give God thanks more than for just a couple minutes, and certainly more often than one day a year. We know how much we owe God, right?
Or do we? Have we somehow lost sight of all that God does for us? If so, then we really need to hear what the Apostle Paul has to tell us. It’s a short message, but it’s wearing combat boots so it can better stomp on our toes. Listen and follow along as I read from Paul’s 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 14 through 18, from The Living Bible…
But we know we should do more than that. We know we should give God thanks more than for just a couple minutes, and certainly more often than one day a year. We know how much we owe God, right?
Or do we? Have we somehow lost sight of all that God does for us? If so, then we really need to hear what the Apostle Paul has to tell us. It’s a short message, but it’s wearing combat boots so it can better stomp on our toes. Listen and follow along as I read from Paul’s 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 14 through 18, from The Living Bible…
14 Dear brothers, warn those who are lazy, comfort those who are frightened, take tender care of those who are weak, and be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to everyone else. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Always keep on praying. 18 No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
--1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 (TLB)
Let us pray… Father God, we come into Your presence this morning to worship You, to give You our thanks, to praise You, and to listen for Your voice, for the message You wish us to hear. Speak to us now, Father, that we might better know Your will for us. In the blessed name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
A woman who was shopping took a break for some coffee and cookies. She sat down in the one unoccupied chair across from a man reading a newspaper. She sipped her coffee and reached for a cookie, only to see the man across from her also taking a cookie. She glared at him; he just smiled at her and she resumed her reading.
Moments later she reached for another cookie, just as the man also took one. Now feeling quite angry, she stared at the one remaining cookie - whereupon the man reached over, broke the cookie in half, and offered her a piece. She grabbed it and stuffed it into her mouth, as the man smiled at her again, rose, and left. The woman was really steaming as she angrily opened her purse, her coffee break now ruined, and put her magazine away. And there she saw her bag of cookies.
All along, she'd unknowingly been helping herself to the cookies belonging to the gracious man whose table she'd shared.
How often do we unknowingly and ungratefully help ourselves to what our gracious Father provides? How often do we get angry when we think we haven't been given anywhere near enough, or when we think someone else is getting more than us? How often do we take for granted all the many blessings we receive each and every day? How often do we pause long enough to say, "Thank You, God… Thank You, Father"?
Look at a few things Paul says in those five short verses. “Warn those who are lazy”. Are we sometimes too lazy to stop and give thanks, or do we just not realize we have something to be thankful for?
“Comfort those who are frightened”. Why might we be frightened? Do we fear we might lose our possessions or our life or that a loved one might suffer for some reason? Wouldn’t that mean that we have possessions to lose, that we have a life, that we have loved ones? Just who do all those come from? Aren’t those very good reasons to give thanks to God? Paul certainly seems to think so, because he illustrates Jesus’ commandment to love one another when he tells us to “always try to do good to each other”.
In addition to that, he tells us we should always be joyful, always be praying, always be thankful – no matter what happens! Always! Why? Because this is what God wants all those who belong to His Son Jesus to do!
Always! Not a few minutes a day, one day a year. Not whenever it happens to dawn on us. Not just when we sit down to eat dinner. Not just when the preacher is praying. Always!
This simple and specific message was very important to Paul, so important that he repeated it often. Now, we need to realize that the letters Paul wrote to the individual churches were actually read at most or often all of the churches in the region around the Mediterranean Sea. His letters to the church in Thessalonica were very likely also read in Philippi and Ephesus and Corinth and the other cities in the region, and quite possibly in Rome and Jerusalem, too. What he told one church family was probably heard by the rest. So when we see a theme repeated in letters to different churches, we know it was important to Paul.
Listen to what he wrote to the Philippians, in chapter 4, verse 4…
A woman who was shopping took a break for some coffee and cookies. She sat down in the one unoccupied chair across from a man reading a newspaper. She sipped her coffee and reached for a cookie, only to see the man across from her also taking a cookie. She glared at him; he just smiled at her and she resumed her reading.
Moments later she reached for another cookie, just as the man also took one. Now feeling quite angry, she stared at the one remaining cookie - whereupon the man reached over, broke the cookie in half, and offered her a piece. She grabbed it and stuffed it into her mouth, as the man smiled at her again, rose, and left. The woman was really steaming as she angrily opened her purse, her coffee break now ruined, and put her magazine away. And there she saw her bag of cookies.
All along, she'd unknowingly been helping herself to the cookies belonging to the gracious man whose table she'd shared.
How often do we unknowingly and ungratefully help ourselves to what our gracious Father provides? How often do we get angry when we think we haven't been given anywhere near enough, or when we think someone else is getting more than us? How often do we take for granted all the many blessings we receive each and every day? How often do we pause long enough to say, "Thank You, God… Thank You, Father"?
Look at a few things Paul says in those five short verses. “Warn those who are lazy”. Are we sometimes too lazy to stop and give thanks, or do we just not realize we have something to be thankful for?
“Comfort those who are frightened”. Why might we be frightened? Do we fear we might lose our possessions or our life or that a loved one might suffer for some reason? Wouldn’t that mean that we have possessions to lose, that we have a life, that we have loved ones? Just who do all those come from? Aren’t those very good reasons to give thanks to God? Paul certainly seems to think so, because he illustrates Jesus’ commandment to love one another when he tells us to “always try to do good to each other”.
In addition to that, he tells us we should always be joyful, always be praying, always be thankful – no matter what happens! Always! Why? Because this is what God wants all those who belong to His Son Jesus to do!
Always! Not a few minutes a day, one day a year. Not whenever it happens to dawn on us. Not just when we sit down to eat dinner. Not just when the preacher is praying. Always!
This simple and specific message was very important to Paul, so important that he repeated it often. Now, we need to realize that the letters Paul wrote to the individual churches were actually read at most or often all of the churches in the region around the Mediterranean Sea. His letters to the church in Thessalonica were very likely also read in Philippi and Ephesus and Corinth and the other cities in the region, and quite possibly in Rome and Jerusalem, too. What he told one church family was probably heard by the rest. So when we see a theme repeated in letters to different churches, we know it was important to Paul.
Listen to what he wrote to the Philippians, in chapter 4, verse 4…
4 Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice!
--Philippians 4:4 (TLB)
And this comes from his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 20…
Always rejoice! Always give thanks for everything!
Give thanks to who? To God! Give thanks for what? Everything! Give thanks how? In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord! Our thanks giving should be to God for everything in the name of His Son Jesus.
One of the things from our message text that Paul told us to do always is to keep on praying. Always be in prayer. A little further in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reaffirms this as well…
Pray all the time, always. Notice that Paul says we can ask God for anything that is in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. God’s Holy Spirit is within us, guiding us in the right direction. We know what is right and good, so we should only ask in prayer for what is right and good.
But we shouldn’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for what we need, and especially when asking for the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul did a lot of both - praying and giving thanks to God. He often opened and closed his letters doing one or the other. And it pretty much always had to do with the church family he was writing to. This is how Paul opened his 2nd letter to the Thessalonians, in chapter 1, verse 3…
I can easily relate to what Paul said there. You’ve heard me say how much I am blessed just being here with you, my Pilgrim family, and how much I thank God for placing me here with you. It is definitely right that I do so, and Paul says it is also my duty, because of all the truly wonderful things God is doing here.
We’re not perfect – no one is; no church is – but we believe in God and in His Son Jesus. We study His word and try our best to understand and follow it. We obey His command to love each other, unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. We go out into the greater community, helping others as best we can.
Because of you, my faith is growing, and I can see it growing in you, too. And for all of that, and so much more, my thanks giving is to God, in the name of His Son and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You pour out Your blessings so abundantly over us that we begin to take them for granted. It isn’t that we don’t appreciate all that You do for us, Father. We just get used to everything You provide, and we forget to stop and give You our thanks. Please forgive us, Father, when we are ungrateful. Forgive us when we get too caught up in life and fail to thank You for Your great generosity.
Hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking directly from our hearts with thanksgiving and praise…
Lord Jesus, You touched Paul and gave him a special insight into God’s kingdom. In turn, Paul left us with the benefits of that incredible insight, providing us with instructions we need to live by to remain in Your good stead. Always be joyful, always be in prayer, and always be thankful truly are words to live by. Lord, please help us to follow Paul’s inspired message and to live as You would have us live.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
20 Always give thanks for everything to our God and Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
--Ephesians 5:20 (TLB)
Give thanks to who? To God! Give thanks for what? Everything! Give thanks how? In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord! Our thanks giving should be to God for everything in the name of His Son Jesus.
One of the things from our message text that Paul told us to do always is to keep on praying. Always be in prayer. A little further in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reaffirms this as well…
18 Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere.
--Ephesians 6:18 (TLB)
But we shouldn’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for what we need, and especially when asking for the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul did a lot of both - praying and giving thanks to God. He often opened and closed his letters doing one or the other. And it pretty much always had to do with the church family he was writing to. This is how Paul opened his 2nd letter to the Thessalonians, in chapter 1, verse 3…
3 Dear brothers, giving thanks to God for you is not only the right thing to do, but it is our duty to God because of the really wonderful way your faith has grown and because of your growing love for each other.
--2 Thessalonians 1:3 (TLB)
We’re not perfect – no one is; no church is – but we believe in God and in His Son Jesus. We study His word and try our best to understand and follow it. We obey His command to love each other, unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. We go out into the greater community, helping others as best we can.
Because of you, my faith is growing, and I can see it growing in you, too. And for all of that, and so much more, my thanks giving is to God, in the name of His Son and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You pour out Your blessings so abundantly over us that we begin to take them for granted. It isn’t that we don’t appreciate all that You do for us, Father. We just get used to everything You provide, and we forget to stop and give You our thanks. Please forgive us, Father, when we are ungrateful. Forgive us when we get too caught up in life and fail to thank You for Your great generosity.
Hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking directly from our hearts with thanksgiving and praise…
Lord Jesus, You touched Paul and gave him a special insight into God’s kingdom. In turn, Paul left us with the benefits of that incredible insight, providing us with instructions we need to live by to remain in Your good stead. Always be joyful, always be in prayer, and always be thankful truly are words to live by. Lord, please help us to follow Paul’s inspired message and to live as You would have us live.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
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