Thanksgiving
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Thanksgiving Sermon
“A Lifestyle of Thankfulness”
1 Chronicles 16:1-36
Text Before Sermon
Paraphrase VS 1-7 of 1 Chronicles– Between 2nd and 3rd song
The Israelites brought in the ark of God and placed it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace
offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
He appointed some of the Levites asministers before the ark of the
Lord to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel with
musical instruments, harps, and lyres.
The priests also blew trumpets continually before the ark of the
covenant of God.
Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord.
Main Text
Remind them of context read earlier
· The arc is being brought to Jerusalem
· The arc is where God resides so people could be present with the Lord
· David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord.
1 Chronicles 16:8-12, 23-25, 27, 29, 34
David’s Song of Thanks
8 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
9 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
10 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
11 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
12 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be feared above all gods.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him!
Worship the Lordin the splendor of holiness;
34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Prayer
Introduction
· We celebrate Thanksgiving once a year, every 4th Thursday of November
· But, thanksgiving should be a constant state in our lives, especially for Christians
· We’ve been talking about Godly living in Colossians: All God has done through Christ should translate to living out our faith through Godly Living in every area of our life
· Same goes for thanksgiving: All God has done through Christ should translate to living out our faith through a “lifestyle of thanksgiving and gratitude”
· It’s one of the distinctive marks of a Christian
Exegesis
Bible is full of Scripture regarding being thankful and grateful to God as a way of life
· Probably the most well known are in the Psalms
· Out of the 150 Psalms, 30 of them are Psalms of thanksgiving
The Psalms are well suited to help us in our daily life as Christian
· Now I’m not going to go into great detail regarding everything there is to know about the Psalms
But generally:
· They cover a wide range of experiences and emotions that are expressed to God and are a form of worship
· Most all of these experiences and emotions directly translate to our lives today
· That makes them extremely practical for living out our faith
So because of this, it’s helpful to know the structure of these Psalms of thanksgiving to best interpret them and then and apply them to our life
· Some of them are general
o They tell us ways we can we express our thankfulness to God
o They also tell us the reason for our thankfulness
o Last, they tell us who we should be thanking to
An Example from Text
· Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
o David’s reason of thankfulness: is that God is good and His steadfast love endures forever
o His response: is giving thanks to the Lord
· Some are more specific……Along with the general Psalms:
o They inform us of the negative circumstances and/or the sinful condition of the author and the people as a whole
o They tell us their response to that circumstance/condition
o Tells us God’s response
o And it is in God’s response that leads to thanksgiving
Example: Psalm 107
· Psalm 107
Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
· The circumstance: Their sinful ways and their affliction
· Their response to circumstance: They cried out to the Lord in their trouble
God’s response which includes the reason for
their thankfulness: He healed them
(forgiveness of sin), and delivered them
from their destruction.
· Also, thanks for His steadfast love and His wondrous works
Their response: They thanked the Lordand offered sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy (evangelism)
Well let’s talk about Biblical thanksgiving as a lifestyle
1st, we should probably define thanksgiving and why we should be thankful because
· It gives us a clear understanding and a clear picture of what thanksgiving truly entails to give proper thanks to God
· In the Biblical use, Thanksgiving is our response we offer to God as His chosen people.
· GOD IS THE OBJECT OF OUR THANKSGIVING:
o We thank God for all the material gifts He has giving us
o We shouldn’t be thankful for the things themselves, but thankful to God for providing them
o This is important to know so we don’t idolize earthly things
· Every good and perfect gift is from the Father of Light
Then more importantly, we are thankful to God:
· For His character, His works, His nature, and all His Spiriatual blessings.
· This includes His:
o His guaranteed promises to us in Scripture
o His protection over us
o And most importantly the grace, mercy, and love He has poured into us through Jesus for our redemption and salvation.
o This is the Gospel message of good news
If we are to live a lifestyle of thankfulness to God, we need to know what we should be thankful for.
So how do we learn all we are to be thankful for?
KNOW SCRIPTURE:
· Regular time studying Scripture not only helps us grow and mature in our relationship with God
o Knowing Scripture teaches us all we need to know about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit
o All we need to know for our redemption and salvation
o And to know the reality of our eternal position in Jesus Christ
These are what we are to be eternally thankful for
How do we express our thanksgiving to God?
· WE DO SO THROUGH WORSHIP:
o Important to know that worshiping God is a continual action, worshiping is a verb
o Romans 12:1: Tells us that worshiping God through continuous action is:
To present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship
· Here are ways we can worship God:
o Living a Godly life by walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, worthy of the Gospel through our actions, words, and thinking.
o We worship by submitting our lives to God and to carry out His will.
o We worship by being obedient to Scripture.
o As individuals and as the church, we worship God by praying and singing to the Lord – It’s pleasing to His ears and in His sight
o Also, personally and as the church, we worship Him by representing Kingdom life on earth and to spread the good news of the Gospel to unbelievers
This is what a “Lifestyle of Thanksgiving” looks like
When should we be thankful?
Well since thanksgiving should be a lifestyle, we should ALWAYS be thankful regardless of our circumstance
Let’s look at what Scripture says regarding thankfulness in all circumstances:
Philippians 4:11-13
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
· If we are content in all circumstances we are thankful in all circumstances
James 1:2-4
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
· We can be thankful for the hard times because we know God is using them to help us mature and grow in our faith
Ephesians 5:19-21 – emphasizes the point that we are to ALWAYS be thankful
Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
Application
· Knowing what thanksgiving means, what we are to be thankful for, who we are to be thanking, and how we can express our thankfulness and gratitude:
· Results in a “LIFESTYLE OF THANKSGIVING”
So I want to give you some homework for this Thanksgiving week:
· Do a search for Psalms of thanksgiving on the internet and read them
· And as you do, ask yourself”
o How does this Psalm pertain to my life today?
o What does it teach me about God that leads to thankfulness?
o What does it teach me about the way I can respond in thankfulness through worship?
· Find a time this week and write down all the things you are thankful for in your life
o Bonus points if you write down the negative circumstances you have had or may be going through and give the reasons why you are thankful for them
Quote: John MacArthur
“A thankful heart is one of the primary identifying characteristics of a believer. It stands in stark contrast to pride, selfishness, and worry. And it helps fortify the believer’s trust in the Lord and reliance of His provision, even in the toughest times. No matter how choppy the seas become, a believer’s heart is buoyed by constant praise and gratefulness to God.”