Sermon Central
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Thanksgiving 2019 - Thank Who?
Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Dec 3, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: Thanksgiving Day has come to mean little more than a day off from work with food and family and football, if you are lucky! But, the word "thanks" that kicks off the name of the holiday implies that there is "Someone" who needs to be thanked!
Thanksgiving 2019 – Thank Who?
Please stand as we read our newest memory Scripture together …
“To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy –
“To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
And our memory refresher verse(s) for today is(are) …
“May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.”
Please open your Bibles to Psalm 104:24-35
Have you ever gotten a really great gift from someone and you have no idea who gave it to you?
I mean, you LOVE the gift and are so thankful for it but there is something you REALLY want to know! What is that?
WHO GAVE THIS TO ME? I WANT TO THANK THEM!!!
I’d like to show you a couple of short Thanksgiving videos.
The first one is of teens in a High School which starts out with the basic supposition of, “Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to hang out with friends and family.” And, then the interviewer asks not, “What are you thankful for?”, but, “What are you going to do over the Thanksgiving break?”
Play: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgHQpQm0QhM)
What were some of the answers?
Family, watch football, friends, food
Hang out with friends and family and forget about everything that is bad
You get to stay home and be happy and to eat
Pumpkin pie with whipped cream
Lots of food and cranberry sauce
Thanksgiving day (football) rivalries, no sleeping in, gotta get there early and claim your spot …
Now, you may say that they are all just kids (except for the last one), but, what about adults. What are they thankful for?
In this next short video the leading question is, “What does Thanksgiving mean to you?”
Play: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgn1r5R4MMk)
Now, these answers were a little more mature and a couple of them even said the word “blessings”.
In almost every one of these responses you could substitute “I am glad I have or I am glad I will be having” in place of “I am thankful for”.
I am glad we will be having good food …
I am glad there will be football to watch …
I am glad we get a day off from school or work …
“I am glad” does not equal “I am thankful for”
Thankfulness implies that a Thank You is due …
Imagine you get a great gift. It is something you have wanted for a long, long time but you wouldn’t buy it for yourself.
On your birthday, the most important person in your life gets you that “whatever” as a present and they hand it to you. You are excited. And when you open the gift you burst out with, “I am so thankful for this!” or, “I’m glad I have this now!” And then when you meet friends and family members you show the great gift to them and you say, “I am so thankful I have this now.”
Wouldn’t that be just plain weird? Wouldn’t you say, “Thank you” to whoever took the time to buy or make a wonderful gift for you?
Is that what it is like to live in a land of such great blessings and to NOT give thanks to the Giver of all good and perfect gifts?
Is that what it is like to be saved by the Grace of God and not to live in a perpetual state of thanksgiving to the Savior?
The Scripture for today is great example of true Thanksgiving
(prayer asking the Lord for help)
Have you ever noticed how the great celebrations of Christianity are gutted by replacing the Lord with something that is not the Lord; either real or imaginary.
The birth of Jesus our Savior has been overshadowed by Santa Claus, Christmas trees, gift giving and parties. It can get so busy at Christmas time that you often need the week between Christmas and New Years just to catch your breath.
What about Good Friday? The sacrificial death of Jesus our Savior on the Cross of Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins is pretty much ignored by the world and is even given just a brief acknowledgement by many who call themselves Christians. Many who call themselves Christians are much more excited about Black Friday than they are about Good Friday …
What about the Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah from the dead? This great day has been popularly renamed Easter which has absolutely no meaning in our vocabulary and it seems that the Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs have risen will above the Resurrection of Jesus our Savior in general popularity.
