Sermon Central
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Entering Into Thanksgiving Series
Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Nov 24, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: We must keep a heart of Thanksgiving and not look at what we do not have, but count our blessings for what the Lord has provided and given us.
Enter with Thanksgiving
Introduction-
Good Evening everybody.
Isn’t this a great time of the year, a time to reflect and a time to rejoice as we officially begin to get ready for the Christmas celebration.
I know if you put your attention on the economy, if you put your attention on all the negatives, it would also be a time to be discouraged.
As I read the Psalm, couldn’t you picture a person standing on the town square proclaiming the goodness and greatness of our God.
Can you not sense His presence.
Stand and reread the scripture as a town crier. (Verse 1-5.)
I believe we are a people and a nation who have been truly blessed.
Compared to other parts of the world, this is the greatest place to live.
Of all places, we should be giving Him thanks and believers should be leading the way at praising His wonderful name.
At Christmas we draw up a list of wants
At New year’s we draw up a list of resolutions.
At Thanksgiving, we ought to draw up a list of things that we are thankful for.
Illustration-
Here are some of the things that a housewife was thankful for.
For automatic dishwashers because they make it possible fo us to get out of the kitchen before the family comes back in for their after dinner snacks.
For children who put away their things and clean up after themselves. They’re such a joy you hate to see them go home to their own parents.
For smoke alarms because they let you know when the turkey is done.
Our list may not be the same, but we should have one.
My list would include family, friends, health, and our nation despite the flaws.
It would include my helpmate, my partner and best friend, my wife.
It would include my church family, at the top of the list is Jesus
Jesus gives us so much to be thankful for
Have you ever thought that no American today can be compared to the first small handful of people who came off the Mayflower and started a tradition of being thankful, Thanksgiving as we know it.
53 people:
22 Men
9 married women
9 adolescent boys
5 adolescent women
13 young children at that first thanksgiving.
They had no homes. No government help
They didn’t go to Giant for a free turkey.
No social security, no medicare.
Food came from what they could catch or hunt.
What they did have:
They had boundless faith in God
They had a belief that the God they served was bigger than any problem they had.
They had initiative, courage, willingness to work, a willingness to step outside the box.
If God would be in it, they would be a “one nation under God”
Our hollowed, “Declaration of Independence” proclaims
“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights,.....and it ends with these words “”with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor”
Thanksgiving is a distinctive holiday.
It does not commemorate a battle or anyone’s birthday or anniversary.
It is simply a day set aside to give thanks to our nations God.
That may seem strange today in a time when some are doing everything possible to strip that away from the foundation of this country. It was built upon the conviction that they would be one nation under God.
They did not have to decide what God He was.
My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness.
Illustration-
George Washington in 1789 made a public proclamation.
By the president of the United States of American; “whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor, and whereas; both houses of congress have by their joint committees, requested me to recommend to the people of United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer , to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many favors of Almighty God.. Now there I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious being.
The 100th Psalm was written for the people of Israel.
God was telling them , when you came into the promise land and settle into your warm homes, and you have plenty to eat, don’t forget me.
It doesn’t take long to realize Israel needed a remember , and I am afraid that we do too.
