Sunday's Message - Reasons for Thanks

Here's the message I offered during the celebration services in the Presbyterian Church of Hopedale, Ohio on Sunday, November 29, 2020.

Mark 13:24-37 [Contemporary English Version]

In those days, right after that time of suffering,

“The sun will become dark,

    and the moon will no longer shine.

The stars will fall,

    and the powers in the sky will be shaken.”

Then the Son of Man will be seen coming in the clouds with great power and glory. He will send his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the earth.

Learn a lesson from a fig tree. When its branches sprout and start putting out leaves, you know summer is near. So when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time has almost come. You can be sure that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens. The sky and the earth will not last forever, but my words will.

No one knows the day or the time. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know. Only the Father knows. So watch out and be ready! You don’t know when the time will come. It is like what happens when a man goes away for a while and places his servants in charge of everything. He tells each of them what to do, and he orders the guard to keep alert. So be alert! You don’t know when the master of the house will come back. It could be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or in the morning. But if he comes suddenly, don’t let him find you asleep. I tell everyone just what I have told you. Be alert!

Reasons for Thanks

Of course, I don’t think I need to tell y’all that four days ago we observed Thanksgiving, our annual celebration of food, family and of course, football. Man, we all know that. Just like we all know that this year, well, it was different. I mean, I don’t know about y’all, but this was my first Thanksgiving in the middle of a pandemic. And I guess, for that reason, a lot of folks found it a little challenging to be all that thankful. 

But I’ll tell you, I don’t think that’s totally fair. You see, I believe we have some genuine reasons for thanks. For example, the Presidential election is over, and regardless of how you feel about the outcome, I think the country could probably use a breather. I mean, roller coasters may be fun, but you can’t live on one 24/7. Using a term popularized by another Ohioan one hundred years ago, I think we’ll be returning to normalcy, and that’s certainly something for which we can be thankful. And it looks like a there’ll be a vaccine for COVID pretty soon, which means that maybe next year will be, again, a little more normal, and for that, I know I’ll be grateful. And on a more personal level, we all have families and friends. Babies are about to born and daughters are home from college. And this morning, we’re entering what’s called the Season of Advent, which means that Christmas is around the corner but still far enough away that it’s not stressing us out...yet.

And since this today sort of kicks off the season, we’re looking at same kind of passage that always falls on this particular Sunday. You see, as we begin to consider the first advent of Jesus, you know his birth, we always start by looking at his second advent, in other words, his return, his second coming. Of course, I recognize that for a lot of folks, this event seems to have more to do with Halloween than Thanksgiving. My gosh, with all this business about the sun and moon becoming dark and the stars falling from the sky, man, that causes fear, not thanks. And I haven’t even mentioned all those images from Revelation. But I’ll tell you, before we just buy that frightening farm and move on, let’s pause for just a minute, and I’ll tell you why. In spite of all that stuff that may scare the puddin out of us, I believe we can be genuinely thankful about the return of the Son of Man. In fact, that’s going to be our focus this morning. You see, we’re going to look at the passage we just read from Mark and consider three reasons we can be truly thankful as we think about the second advent of Jesus Christ. And I’ll tell you, each of these reasons can have a major impact on what we think and how we feel right now. And like I said, it all comes from these verses.

For example, first, I think this passage reminds us that God is in control of the future, and I’m talking about the future in general but also our future in particular. I mean, just listen to what Jesus said to his disciples:

In those days, right after that time of suffering,

“The sun will become dark,

    and the moon will no longer shine.

The stars will fall,

    and the powers in the sky will be shaken.”

Then the Son of Man will be seen coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 

He will send his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the earth. [Mark 13:24-27, CEV]

Now that’s what he said. And once we get beyond those very symbolic imagines that folks who study the Bible call apocalyptic, I think this is a pretty powerful statement about who’s actually in charge, and brothers and sisters, it’s not presidents or viruses or us. Man, it’s God, isn’t it? I mean, Jesus said that the Son of Man will be seen, not could be seen or may be seen or should be seen; no, he will be seen. And he going to be seen coming with great power and with divine glory. Brothers and sisters, that’s going to happen. And when it does, the Son of Man is going to send out his angels to gather up his chosen ones from all over the world. Now, I think it’s really important that he didn’t talk about gathering some and rejecting others. Instead, he’ll be gathering all those whom he has chosen, all those whom he loves, all those for whom he will die. And it’s sure not up to us to determine the basis for his decision much less to do the choosing ourselves. I’m telling you, without our permission, the Son of Man will come and without our help, the angels will gather his chosen ones. Why; because God is in control of the future. 

And I’ll tell you something, if that doesn’t give us some hope as we move forward, I don’t know what will. You see, even though we might make all kinds of mistakes and even though, when we do, we’ll pay the consequences, the ultimate destiny of creation isn’t in our hands. Instead, it’s in the hands of the one who has power and glory. It’s like Paul said to the Romans, “The Lord told Moses that he has pity and mercy on anyone he wants to. Everything then depends on God’s mercy and not on what people want or do.” [Romans 9:15-16, CEV]. You see, our passage from Mark reminds us that God is in control of the future; therefore, we can move forward with hope. And in my opinion, that’s one very good reason for thanks.

And second, we can also be thankful that God is involved in the world right now. And again this is something we can see in these verses. Remember, Jesus said, “Learn a lesson from a fig tree. When its branches sprout and start putting out leaves, you know summer is near. So when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time has almost come. You can be sure that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens. The sky and the earth will not last forever, but my words will.” [Mark 13:28-31, CEV]

Of course, this is another one of those parables that has to do with plants growing, and a lot of them, well, frankly, they’re kind of confusing. But here, the point seems pretty obvious. When trees start turning green, we don’t need to have minored in biology to know that summer is coming. I mean, dah. And that’s exactly the way it is with the coming of the Son of Man and the gathering of his chosen ones. Man, it’s coming as sure as summer follows spring and Christmas follows Thanksgiving. It’s coming, and it’s closer today than it was yesterday. And I’ll tell you, whether we can see it or not, it is coming and do you know how we can be sure? Because when God makes a promise, man, it’s in concrete. 

And you know, when we accept that, when we accept that God is present and active in the world right now, but more than that, that he’s moving creation toward it’s destiny, I think that can give us a lot of peace as we look around. As a matter of fact, when we decide to trust in God and his promises and when we decide to believe that the day is coming when the Son is going to come back and those whom he’s chosen will be gathered together, man, we’re going start recognizing signs that we may never have noticed before, signs that are frankly all around us. I mean, instead of being surrounded by a world that’s bleak and burdened and dying, man, we’re going to see the branches sprouting and putting out leaves. You see, this passage also reminds us that God is involved in the world right now; therefore, we can look around with peace. And in my opinion, that's another very good reason for thanks.

And third, and this may be the most exciting of all, we can be thankful that God’s given us the opportunity to be involved in his world as well. But that’s only going to happen, when we choose to get up and to do it. And I’ll tell you, I think that was point Jesus was making when he said, “No one knows the day or the time. The angels in heaven don't know, and the Son himself doesn't know. Only the Father knows. So watch out and be ready! You don't know when the time will come. It is like what happens when a man goes away for a while and places his servants in charge of everything. He tells each of them what to do, and he orders the guard to keep alert. So be alert! You don't know when the master of the house will come back. It could be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or in the morning. But if he comes suddenly, don't let him find you asleep. I tell everyone just what I have told you. Be alert!” [Mark 13:32-37, CEV]

Now I think this is really important. I mean, since Jesus said that we can’t know the day or the time when all he described will happen (man, he doesn’t even know), let me ask you: Does it make sense to spend our lives worrying about it? And does it make sense to use our energy trying to interpret the signs? And does it make sense to waste the time we have right now sitting around, waiting for it to come? Does that make sense? Or should we claim the time we’ve been given as a gift? And should we put our talents and abilities to good use? And should we step out beyond ourselves and really live as though we believe that he meant it when “Jesus answered, ‘The most important one says: “People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” The second most important commandment says: “Love others as much as you love yourself.” No other commandment is more important than these.’” [Mark 12:29-31, CEV] Now, you tell me, since we can’t know exactly when it’ll end, how is the best way to use the lives we have?

Well, I think we all know the answer, right? Therefore, like it or not, we’ve got focus as we reach out. In other words, I think we’ve got a pretty good idea about how God wants us to live. And if we find ourselves in situations where the options are a little fuzzy and the right choice isn’t as clear as we’d like it to be, let me suggest a question we might want to ask ourselves before we make a final decision and take genuine action, and here it is: Does this show love for God and/or love for others? And if the answer is, “well, it doesn’t,” then we probably shouldn’t do it. Of course, this only works when we’re sincere in asking the question and honest in giving the answer. You see, in my opinion, this passage reminds us that God’s given us the opportunity to be involved in his world; therefore, we can reach out with focus. And for me, that’s the third reason for thanks found in this passage.

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s something we probably need to remember as we move past Thanksgiving and enter the Season of Advent. And even though this has been a challenging year so far, I believe we can be thankful as we consider the return of the Son of Man. You see, it reminds us that God is in control of the future; therefore, we can experience hope as we move forward. And it reminds us that God is involved in the world right now; therefore, we can know peace as we look around. And finally, it reminds us that God’s given us the opportunity to be involved as well; therefore, we can have focus as we reach out. And that’s going to be true regardless of presidents or viruses or all the other stuff that surrounds us.

Thanksliving - Becoming the Kind of People for Whom Others Are Thankful

As we approach Thanksgiving, it would seem natural for us to think about all the reasons we have to be thankful. Now this is both right and appropriate. I believe it's impossible to be grateful to God if we're not willing to recognize that we've been blessed. But having said that, I don't think we should stop at just listing our blessings. At some point, it's necessary for us to consider how we might express our thanks. In other words, after we offer God our gratitude, how are we going to respond to the blessings that we now have? Put another words, how can we move from thanksgiving to thanksliving? During the month of November, we'll work to answer that question. You see, during the Sundays before Thanksgiving Day, we'll consider four simple ways to express our thanks to God.

During this last message, we considered how we might express our thanks to God by becoming the kind of people for whom others are thankful.

Do you remember how, during the message last Sunday, I said that Thanksgiving was less than two weeks away and that there were thirty-seven days before Christmas? Do you remember when I said that? Well, let me give you an update. In five days, Thanksgiving will be a turkey carcass and in thirty-one days, Christmas 2019 will be in the books. And since this is the latest Thanksgiving can be, expect a wild ride from Black Friday to the halls being as decked as they’re going to be. That’s what I call life in the fast lane.

But I’ll tell you, if I had to choose between those two special days, I actually prefer Thanksgiving to Christmas, and to be completely honest, I always have. Of course, that’s not to say that Christmas isn’t great. I mean, the music alone makes it all worthwhile. But Thanksgiving, well, when you combine all the food mom used to make and all the family who’d come over to gorge themselves and all the football played back when men were still men and the Jets were decent, I’m telling you Thanksgiving was hard to beat.

Of course, since we’re on the threshold of a tryptophan high, that means we ready to stick a fork into what we started three weeks ago, and I’m talking about this series on how we might integrate a little more thanks into our daily living. And during the first three weeks, we’ve talked about how we can direct our thanks to God by returning to him some of the stuff and talents and time he’s given us. And after that, we considered how we can thank him through our worship and our prayer. And then last week, we looked at how we can actually show our gratitude to God when we thank those special folks he’s led into our lives. Now that’s been the kind of stuff we’ve covered so far.

And this morning, we’re going to finish it up with what I think you could call the pumpkin pie of thanksliving, and now I’m talking about how we can show our thanks to God by becoming men and women for whom others are thankful, in other words, how we can become the kind of people we talked about last week. And to do that, we’re going to consider three steps we might want to consider taking: one, accepting that there are folks who need our help; two, acknowledging that we have the power to address their needs; and three, acting to make a difference in their lives.

And this first thing about accepting that there are folks who could use our help, well, I think you’d have to be blind, deaf and/or stupid not to know they’re out there. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you have to look beyond the City of Weirton to see them, if, that is, we choose to open our eyes and ears and hearts. I’m telling you, they are right here. Of course, this kind of thing isn’t new. The reality of human need is all over the place in the Bible. For example, as the Hebrews looked at themselves right before they entered the promised land, they said this, “The Egyptians were cruel and had no pity on us. They mistreated our people and forced us into slavery. We called out for help to you, the Lord God of our ancestors. You heard our cries; you knew we were in trouble and abused. Then you terrified the Egyptians with your mighty miracles and rescued us from Egypt.” [Deuteronomy 26:6-8, CEV] And just listen to Job: “God rescues the needy from the words of the wicked and the fist of the mighty. The poor are filled with hope, and injustice is silenced.” [Job 5:15-16, CEV] And this wasn’t just in the Old Testament. You see, according to Luke, “Jesus looked at his disciples and said: ‘God will bless you people who are poor. His kingdom belongs to you! God will bless you hungry people. You will have plenty to eat! God will bless you people who are crying. You will laugh! God will bless you when others hate you and won’t have anything to do with you. God will bless you when people insult you and say cruel things about you, all because you are a follower of the Son of Man. Long ago your own people did these same things to the prophets. So when this happens to you, be happy and jump for joy! You will have a great reward in heaven.’” [Luke 6:20-23, CEV] Now that’s what it says, and since Jesus said “you people” and not “those people,” I think we can assume that some of his own disciples were poor and hungry, crying and hated. In short, there have always been folks in need. And right now, we’ve just talked about physical needs. If you add those who are sad and lonely right along with those who feel empty and lost, I’m telling you, throw a dart at a crowd. There’s a better than even chance you’re going to hit someone with a whole bunch of needs.

But that’s going to be pretty hard to accept if we don’t open our eyes and ears so that we can see and hear them or if we don’t open our minds and hearts so that we can understand and feel. And I’ll tell you, I think that was the problem in this parable Jesus told. He said, “There was once a rich man who wore expensive clothes and every day ate the best food. But a poor beggar named Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man’s house. He was happy just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. His body was covered with sores, and dogs kept coming up to lick them. The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.” [Luke 16:19-22, CEV] Now I think it’s really important for us to understand that, according to Jesus, the problem with the rich man wasn’t that he was wicked or personally immoral. The problem was that he just didn’t care. I mean, even though Lazarus was at his gate for crying out loud, the rich man did nothing to relieve suffering that was right at his front door. He just didn’t care. And if we have any desire to become the kind of people for whom others are thankful, that can’t be us. We’re got to accept that we’re surrounded by human need; that’s the first thing we need to do.

But I’m sorry, accepting that it exists isn’t enough; we also need to acknowledge that we can do something about it. In other words, we have the ability to address the needs that we can see and feel. And that’s really the second thing we need to do. And I’ll tell you, what we do is going to be based on who we are and what we have. Let me give you a few examples. We saw just a minute ago that taking care of the poor was a pretty big deal in the Old Testament. Just listen to something God told his people they could do in order to relieve hunger. “When you harvest your grain, always leave some of it standing around the edges of your fields and don’t pick up what falls on the ground. Leave it for the poor and for those foreigners who live among you. I am the Lord your God!” [Leviticus 23:22, CEV] And listen to this, also from Leviticus: “If any of your people become poor and unable to support themselves, you must help them, just as you are supposed to help foreigners who live among you. Don’t take advantage of them by charging any kind of interest or selling them food for profit. Instead, honor me by letting them stay where they now live. Remember—I am the Lord your God! I rescued you from Egypt and gave you the land of Canaan, so that I would be your God.” [Leviticus 25:35-38, CEV] You see, even those who don’t have much still have a responsibility to those who have nothing. And for those who have a lot, there’s always the story of Jesus and the rich man. “As Jesus was walking down a road, a man ran up to him. He knelt down, and asked, ‘Good teacher, what can I do to have eternal life?’ Jesus replied, ‘Why do you call me good? Only God is good. You know the commandments. “Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Do not cheat. Respect your father and mother.”’ The man answered, ‘Teacher, I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man.’ Jesus looked closely at the man. He liked him and said, ‘There’s one thing you still need to do. Go sell everything you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come with me.’ When the man heard Jesus say this, he went away gloomy and sad because he was very rich.” [Mark 10:17-22, CEV] Now just like it was with the other rich man we looked at a little while ago, there’s no indication that this guy wasn’t right in what he said much less that he was a bad person. He just had a priority above selling his property, giving his money to the poor and following Jesus. 

And you know, if that applies to me... I mean, as I think about the stuff that I believe that God has given me and as I think about the talents that I believe that God has given me and as I think about the time that I believe God has given me and since I know exactly what Jesus said to a person who also had plenty of stuff, now if I consider all that but still won’t use some, not all but some to help those in need because I might have a little less than I want, if that’s what I’m thinking, then maybe my priorities are a little off as well. Right after accepting that we’re surrounded by human need, we need to acknowledge that we, either by ourselves or better with others, that we can do something about it. And that’s the second step.

But I’ll tell you, if we don’t take the third step, steps one and two ain’t worth a bucket of spit. You see, some time down the line we need to act. We need to roll up our sleeves and get to work. We need to put our money where our faith is. You see, it’s right here where the rubber hits the road. And believe me, it always has been. I mean, this was what the Prophet Amos wrote: “I, the Lord, hate and despise your religious celebrations and your times of worship. I won’t accept your offerings or animal sacrifices—not even your very best. No more of your noisy songs! I won’t listen when you play your harps. But let justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry.” [Amos 5:21-24, CEV] Now that’s what Amos wrote. It’s really about what you do to help others. And in the New Testament, I don’t think there’s a better example of this kind of thing than what we find in James. You see, right after talking about how, at their meetings, Christians shouldn’t give special attention to the rich, James wrote, “My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don’t do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? If you know someone who doesn’t have any clothes or food, you shouldn’t just say, ‘I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.’ What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? Faith that doesn’t lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!” [James 2:14-17, CEV] I’m telling you, if we don’t take some kind of action, although God will still love us because his love isn’t conditioned on what we do, our lack of active concern is going to become a pretty big obstacle to us ever experiencing it. 

But this changes when we decide to act. You see, when we decide to help others, and I’m talking when we decide as individuals and as a faith community and even as a nation, I believe we’ll be moving closer to what Jesus called us to be. Remember he said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.’ Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, ‘When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?’ The king will answer, ‘Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.’” [Matthew 25:31-40, CEV] I ask you, what national goal should be higher than being judged as righteous by the Son of Man? After accepting the needs and acknowledging our ability, some where down the line we need to act, and that’s the third thing we can do.

And I’ll tell you, that’s really what thanksliving is all about. You see, it’s about our willingness to return to God some of the blessings he’s given to us and to thank him when we worship and when we pray. And it’s about intentionally thanking those men and women God has led into our lives and by becoming the people for whom others are thankful. And you know, if we make the decision to work these qualities into our lives, not only will this be a life-changing Thanksgiving, I believe it’ll result in a new and exciting life all year round.

Thanksliving - Thanking People God Has Used in Our Lives

As we approach Thanksgiving, it would seem natural for us to think about all the reasons we have to be thankful. Now this is both right and appropriate. I believe it's impossible to be grateful to God if we're not willing to recognize that we've been blessed. But having said that, I don't think we should stop at just listing our blessings. At some point, it's necessary for us to consider how we might express our thanks. In other words, after we offer God our gratitude, how are we going to respond to the blessings that we now have? Put another words, how can we move from thanksgiving to thanksliving? 

Last year, through the month of November, we worked to answer that question. I'm republishing these messages. During these four days before Thanksgiving Day, we'll consider four simple ways to express our thanks to God.

During this third message, we considered how we might express our thanks to God by thanking those men and women whom God has led into our lives.

Well, here we are. We’ve passed the mid-point in the month November. We’re less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving. And right now, there are thirty-seven days before Christmas. Kind of gives you a warm feeling inside, right?

And since we’re now at Sunday number three in November, this is the third message in our series entitled Thanksliving, you know, how we can live our thanks. Now, we’ve already covered two ways we can do that. And as I hope some of y’all remember, in the first message, we talked about how we can say “thank you” by returning to God some of the blessings he’s already given to us, and we focused on three areas: our stuff and our talents and our time. That was the first message. And then last week, we looked at how we can express our thanks to him through our worship and prayer, two things that really come down to action, making the right decision, and ability, being in the right context, the right place, and attitude, having the right mind-set. Now I think those are two ways to offer thanks to God.

And this morning we’re going to consider another way to get our thanks out, namely by intentionally thanking the people God has led into our lives. Of course, I recognize that there are plenty of folks who aren’t exactly thinking in those terms right now. I mean, I kind of doubt that President Trump is going to be thanking Congresswoman Pelosi any time soon. Nor do I think Mason Rudolph feels all warm and fuzzy about Myles Garrett. And I think I’m very safe in saying that Spider Man isn’t going to invite the Green Goblin over for left-over turkey and stuffing. Man, that’s not going to happen. Still, I think we all know folks who’ve moved in and out of our lives who are special to us in some way, you know, either by what they’ve done or who they’ve been. You see, through the things they did or the values they held, these men and women have changed us for better in some way. And since, as Christians, we believe that God is in control; therefore, we can’t dismiss these situations as the result of chance or luck, it would seem to be important for us to thank God for leading these individuals into our lives. And to do that, well, I think we really need to thank them. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. And to do that, we’re going to focus of three things. First, we’re going to identify who these folks are. And then, second, we’re going to consider why it’s important to thank them. And third, we’ll spend a little bit of time thinking about how we might do it, you know, how we might thank them for what they’ve done and been for us.

And to get that started, first, we need to identify who these folks actually are, you know, the ones who deserve our thanks. And I’ll tell you, the person in the Bible who was really good at doing this was the Apostle Paul. You know, in every one of his letters he took the time to thank God for the people to whom he was writing. For example, just listen to what he wrote to the Thessalonians: “We thank God for you and always mention you in our prayers. Each time we pray, we tell God our Father about your faith and loving work and about your firm hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ...You became an example for all the Lord’s followers in Macedonia and Achaia. And because of you, the Lord’s message has spread everywhere in those regions. Now the news of your faith in God is known all over the world, and we don’t have to say a thing about it. Everyone is talking about how you welcomed us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God. They also tell how you are waiting for his Son Jesus to come from heaven. God raised him from death, and on the day of judgment Jesus will save us from God’s anger.” [1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, 7-10, CEV] And when we wrote to his friend Philemon, he said “Philemon, each time I mention you in my prayers, I thank God. I hear about your faith in our Lord Jesus and about your love for all of God’s people. As you share your faith with others, I pray that they may come to know all the blessings Christ has given us. My friend, your love has made me happy and has greatly encouraged me. It has also cheered the hearts of God’s people.” [Philemon 4-7, CEV] And in his letter to the Philippians, Paul identified a specific person that he particularly appreciated. He wrote, “I want to be encouraged by news about you. So I hope the Lord Jesus will soon let me send Timothy to you. I don’t have anyone else who cares about you as much as he does. The others think only about what interests them and not about what concerns Christ Jesus. But you know what kind of person Timothy is. He has worked with me like a son in spreading the good news. I hope to send him to you, as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me. And I feel sure that the Lord will also let me come soon.” [Philippians 2:19-24, CEV] And those are just three examples. I think you can take this is the bank; Paul definitely knew the people he needed to thank.

And I’ll tell you so can we. Of course, each situation is a little different. I mean, some deserve our thanks for what they’ve done in general and in particular, what they’ve done for us. It’s sort of like what we considered when we talked about returning some of our blessings to God. These folks may have offered some of their stuff or some of their talents or some of the time to us when we needed it. And that’s always been important to me personally. Although I’m not wild about admitting this, I’m kind of mechanically challenged. And because of that, I can’t tell me how much I’ve appreciated someone, anyone will to help me repair something that I broke generally when I tried to fix it. Those are the people I really need to thank. And I think that same sort of thing applies to all of us.You see, we need to thank those who’ve done something for us. Just like we need to thank those who’ve been important to us just by being who they are. These are the ones who, through they’re lives, are examples of faith and hope and love, right along with all those qualities Paul called “fruits of the Spirit.” He wrote, “God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.” [Galatians 5:22-23, CEV] You see, we need to remember those special people for what they’ve done and who they’ve been. They’re the folks we need to thank. That’s one.

And second, I believe there are two excellent reasons to do that. For one, they need to hear to it. You see, they need to hear how they were used by God to help us. I mean, remember those passages we just read from some of Paul’s letters. Wasn’t that what he was doing for his audience? Wasn’t that why he reminded the Romans and the Ephesians, man, even the Corinthians why he was thankful for them? I believe it was. As a matter of fact, by him writing what he wrote, he was doing exactly what he challenged the Thessalonians to do, “God doesn’t intend to punish us, but wants us to be saved by our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died for us, so that we could live with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes. That’s why you must encourage and help each other, just as you are already doing.” [1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, CEV] You see, when we thank someone for what they’ve done or who they’ve been, we’re offering them the kind of encouragement they might need to keep doing and to continue being. They now know that they have value and their lives have meaning. And because of that, they really need to hear our words of thanks. But that’s only one reason for us to do it.

Reason number two actually has to do with us. You see, we really need to say it. In other words, we need to express our thanks. We need to show our appreciation to others. We need to able to recognize that we’re not complete in and of ourselves. Everybody, including the children of God, need a little help from our friends every now-and-then. And when we thank someone else, we acknowledge that truth. As matter of fact, I think it actually moves us toward the kind of attitude about which Peter wrote: “In fact, everyone should be humble toward everyone else. The Scriptures say, ‘God opposes proud people, but he helps everyone who is humble.’ Be humble in the presence of God’s mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes.” [1 Peter 5:5b-6, CEV] You see, when we thank someone else, they need to hear it and we need to say it, and I’ll tell you. that’s why we should do it. And that’s two.

And with that said, we’re left with the third thing we need to consider, and I’m talking about how, how can we show our appreciation to the men and women who’ve helped us? How can we say thank you to all those people God has led into our lives? Well, unfortunately, I really don’t think that’s hard at all. I mean, on one hand, there are a specific things we can do. For example, we can be like Paul and express our thanks through our words, you know, what we say. I mean, give me a break, who doesn’t want someone simply to say “thank you” or something they’ve said or done? And you know, this is something that’s really easy to do. And if we’re a little shy, there’s no reason we can’t send a card or a text or an e-mail. As a matter of fact, sometimes I think they may be the best way to express our thanks. I mean, once said, words are gone, but something written down can be read over and over again. But along with using words, we can also say thank you through actions. I can tell you, back when I was a young, single minister far from home and family, being invited for a meal was the kind of thank you I really appreciated. You see, on one hand, we can express thanks to others by something we say or do.

On the other hand, we can also show that we’re thankful for others by how we choose to live. For example, what better way to show our thanks to a person who radiates love than to be more loving ourselves? And I believe it would mean a lot to those who value service if we became a little more giving in our own lives. As a matter fact, this is like that idea of “pay it forward.” In other words, when we receive help from another, we can show our thanks by helping someone else. You see, we can decide to follow their example. And isn’t that what he challenged all Christians to do when “...Jesus said to his disciples: If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” {Matthew 16:24-25, CEV] But whether it’s through words and actions or values and life-styles, that’s how we can thank those whom God has led into our lives. And that’s number three.

And I’ll tell you, making sure we do this kind of thing, man, that’s another part of what I think you can call thanksliving. You see, we’re surrounded by people who’ve either helped us or given us examples that we can follow, in other words, people who deserve our thanks. And you know, that’s something they really need to hear and that we really need to express. And we can choose to do just that by what we say and do and by how we live. You see, in the ten days or so before Thanksgiving, we can offer thanks to God by intentionally thanking the people God has led into our lives. And next week, we’ll bring this series to a close by looking at how we can do the same kind of thing by becoming the kind of people for whom others are thankful.

Thanksliving - Thanking God through Worship and Prayer

As we approach Thanksgiving, it would seem natural for us to think about all the reasons we have to be thankful. Now this is both right and appropriate. I believe it's impossible to be grateful to God if we're not willing to recognize that we've been blessed. But having said that, I don't think we should stop at just listing our blessings. At some point, it's necessary for us to consider how we might express our thanks. In other words, after we offer God our gratitude, how are we going to respond to the blessings that we now have? Put another words, how can we move from thanksgiving to thanksliving? 

Last year, through the month of November, we worked to answer that question. I'm republishing these messages. During these four days before Thanksgiving Day, we'll consider four simple ways to express our thanks to God.

During this second message, we considered how we might express our thanks to God by returning some of our blessings to him.

Now I have a question for y’all. Have any of y’all noticed that’s it’s gotten much colder over the last few days? Good night nurse, it seems as though when we turned our clocks back last week, God did the same thing with his thermostat. Not that I’m complaining, though. I really like cold weather. But remember, I lived on the border of Montana and North Dakota, a place where we took pride in our ability to survive temperatures colder than a meat locker. In fact, I remember we used to say that it’s the cold that keeps out the riff-raff. And by the way, who else here lived in Montana and/or North Dakota? Interesting. Anyway, it just seems as though things have gotten a lot colder around here lately.

And although I recognize that because of that you might not be feeling it right now, we’re at the second week in our series on how we can live our thanks to God, something that seems appropriate, especially considering that November is all about Thanksgiving. Of course, if the sudden cold has gotten in the way of having a thankful spirit, just remember, you could have been in Morgantown yesterday, watching WVU do whatever it was it did with Texas Tech. Man, it was ugly, especially the first half.

But be-that-as-it-may, this morning we’re going consider another way we can offer God our thanks, something that we might want to do along with returning to God some of his blessings to us, and I’m talking about some of our stuff and our talents and our time. Now that was last week. And today, we’ll look at how we might thank God through our worship and our prayers, probably the most obvious way of integrating a little more thanks into our daily living. And even though worship and prayer kind of go together, you like Martin and Lewis or Rick and Morty or Cain and Abel, there are also some important differences. And I’ll tell you, I think we’ll see them as we talk about how giving thanks through both worship and prayer is all about action and ability and attitude. Now that’s the framework we’re going to use.

And like I said just a second ago, I think all this begins with us taking some kind of action, in other words, us making the right decision. You see, before we’re able to do anything else, we need to decide that we’re going to do it. I mean, dah. For example, we need to make a conscious and intentional decision that we’re going to worship God before worship happens. And I’ll tell you, this was exactly what Joshua, the guy who led the Hebrews into the Promised Land challenged his people to do. Just listen. “Then Joshua told the people: ‘Worship the Lord, obey him, and always be faithful. Get rid of the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. But if you don’t want to worship the Lord, then choose right now! Will you worship the same idols your ancestors did? Or since you’re living on land that once belonged to the Amorites, maybe you’ll worship their gods. I won’t. My family and I are going to worship and obey the Lord!’” [Joshua 24:14-15, CEV] You see, they had to decide intentionally who they were going to worship. And you know, Jesus said the same sort of thing during his encounter with the devil. According to the Evangelist Matthew, “Finally, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms on earth and their power. The devil said to him, ‘I will give all this to you, if you will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus answered, ‘Go away Satan! The Scriptures say: “Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”’ Then the devil left Jesus, and angels came to help him.” [Matthew 4:8-11, CEV] I’m telling you, worship is always a decision.

And I’ll tell you something else, so is our willingness to pray. I mean, prayer doesn’t just happen; we need to decide that we’re going to take the time and do it. And I think that’s why Jesus said this to his disciples, “You should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, help us to honor your name. Come and set up your kingdom, so that everyone on earth will obey you, as you are obeyed in heaven. Give us our food for today. Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others. Keep us from being tempted and protect us from evil.” [Matthew 6:9-13, CEV] And frankly, I’m not sure Paul could have been clearer than when he gave this command to the Thessalonians: “Always be joyful and never stop praying. Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.” [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, CEV] And so, just like it is with worship, we can give thanks to God through prayer. But it’s not going to happen unless we decide to do it. It’s all about the action we choose to take. That’s one.

And second, I think it’s also about our ability to do it, and now I’m talking about us putting ourselves in the right context, you know, the right place to worship and to pray. And although I believe we can do both anywhere, let’s get real, some places are a whole lot better than others. Take worship for example. I’ve known plenty of people who’ll say in a heart beat that they can worship God better on a golf course or in a boat fishing or sitting in front a television set than they can in church. And even though I’ve got to admit, I’ve been to plenty of churches where the atmosphere doesn’t exactly encourage anything close to worship, the Bible is pretty consistent in saying that worship isn’t a solo act. In other words, like so many other things, it really needs to be done with others. I mean, I think that’s why Jesus said, “Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you.” [Matthew 18:20, CEV] And I believe this was what the writer of Hebrews had in mind when he said, “Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.” [Hebrews 10:25, CEV] You see, according to the Bible, worship is a corporate act, and if we’re serious about using it as a way to offer our thanks to God, we probably need to go to a place where people are worshiping. You see, that’s the right context.

But I’ll tell you, that may not be the best place for us to pray. You see, although pray is certainly an important part of our worship, we might find other places where we’re better able to focus our attention on God. For example, just listen to where Jesus went. “About that time Jesus went off to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night there. The next morning he called his disciples together and chose twelve of them to be his apostles.” [Luke 6:12-13, CEV]  And remember, right before his arrest, when he went to Gethsemane to pray, Jesus separated himself from his disciples. And so, for Jesus, solitude was important, even though, at other times, he prayed with his followers. I know for me, I do my best praying when I’m driving in the car, although I’ve learned from painful experience not to bow my head or close my eyes. And so, if we’re serious about offering thanks to God through prayer, the best context may be different from one person to another, just so long as, wherever we are, we’re able to focus on the one we’re thanking. But I also think it’s important for us to remember that, even if we should lose a little focus and our mind should drift a little bit, the message will still get through. It’s like Paul wrote to the Romans, “In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people.” [Romans 8:26-27, CEV] And so, where we are and whom we’re with affects how we worship and pray. And for that reason, we need to be careful about choosing our context, because when you get right down to it, the effectiveness of our worship and prayer is about our ability to do it. And that’s two.

But I’ll tell you, as important as action and ability are, I really believe our attitude is actually most important. In other words, if we’re serious about expressing our thanks to God in worship and prayer, we better approach him with the right mind-set. Let me show you what I mean. I’m going to read two passages from the Old Testament that deal with people using worship to praise and to thank God, and I want you to tell me what they have in common. From the first book of the Chronicles, and this is King David talking: “Everyone on this earth, sing praises to the Lord. Day after day announce, ‘The Lord has saved us!’ Tell every nation on earth, ‘The Lord is wonderful and does marvelous things! The Lord is great and deserves our greatest praise! He is the only God worthy of our worship. Other nations worship idols, but the Lord created the heavens. Give honor and praise to the Lord, whose power and beauty fill his holy temple.’ Tell everyone of every nation, ‘Praise the glorious power of the Lord. He is wonderful! Praise him and bring an offering into his temple. Worship the Lord, majestic and holy. Everyone on earth, now tremble!’ The world stands firm, never to be shaken. Tell the heavens and the earth to be glad and celebrate! And announce to the nations, ‘The Lord is King!’” [1 Chronicles 16:23-31, CEV] That’s one. And then listen to this from the Psalms: “Shout praises to the Lord, everyone on this earth. Be joyful and sing as you come in to worship the Lord! You know the Lord is God! He created us, and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep in his pasture. Be thankful and praise the Lord as you enter his temple. The Lord is good! His love and faithfulness will last forever.” [Psalm 100, CEV] Now, what do they have in common? They both describe people who are exciting to be worshiping God. They both focus on the wonderful things that God has done. In both, you can just feel the delight they have in offering praise and thanks. And even though I know a lot of us, including myself, grew up believing that worship is serious business, we’ve got to be careful that this attitude doesn’t squeeze out the energy and pure joy we see in Old Testament worship. I’ll tell you, that’s the kind of attitude we can carry into our worship.

And when it comes to prayer, it seems to be a little different. I mean, while worship is enthusiastic, prayer seems more focused and humble. For example, this is what Paul wrote to the Philippians: “Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.” [Philippians 4:6-7, CEV] Now that’s focus. And as it relates to humility, listen to what the Lord said to King Solomon right before he dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem: “If my own people will humbly pray and turn back to me and stop sinning, then I will answer them from heaven. I will forgive them and make their land fertile once again. I will hear the prayers made in this temple, because it belongs to me, and this is where I will be worshiped forever. I will never stop watching over it.”  [2 Chronicles 7:14-16, CEV] I’m telling you, if our worship is full of energy and joy and our prayers are focused and humble, I think we’ve got the right mind-set, because thanking God in worship and prayer is also about our attitude and that’s number three.

OK I understand that, with the exception of me and Dar, most of us don’t like the cold weather. Still the fact that it’s getting colder really isn’t a surprise. I mean, that’s what happens as we move through November. And for that reason, it probably shouldn’t interfere with the thanks we feel toward God. And if we’re serious about expressing our thanks through worship and prayer, I think it’s important to remember that it’s all about action, our making the decision to do it, and about ability, putting ourselves in the right context where it might be done, and about attitude, having the right mind-set as we approach the Lord. You see, that’s thanksliving. And next week, we’ll consider another way we can live our thanks, namely to thank the people God has used in our lives.