Sermon Tone Analysis

Turn to and read Psalm 136:1.

In an article entitled, “Why Gratitude Isn’t Just for Thanksgiving,” the author states that,

Being thankful is strongly linked with both mental and physical health – and can help to relieve stress, depression and addictions, among other conditions.

http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/22/why-gratitude-isnt-just-for-thanksgiving/

Could this be why we are so “stressed out” as we saw this morning - because we find it difficult to be thankful for mass murders, acts of terrorism, etc.?

Another article states,

Day in and day out, when we turn on the radio, TV, or scan the internet headlines, we’re bombarded with negativity and what’s wrong in the world.

It’s no wonder stress is an ongoing problem for so many—60% to 90% of all doctor visits are stress related.

Chronic stress, caused by ongoing negative emotions, can weaken your body’s immune response and increase the likelihood of illness and disease.

What if there were a magic potion that could reduce stress, improve your mood, and improve your sense of well being?

Turns out, there is.

According to researchers at John Hopkins University, positive emotions, like gratitude, have stress-reducing, health-bolstering effects on your health, even if heart disease runs in your family.

That’s right.

In spite of known risk factors, those with a positive outlook were one-third less likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within 5–25 years than those with a negative outlook.

https://www.farmersalmanac.com/thankful-health-benefits-33352

The word, “thanks,” is used in God’s word in 71 verses.

The word, “thanksgiving,” is used 27 times.

The specific phrase, “O give thanks unto the Lord,” is used 10x in the Bible and all 10x were written by King David.

Four of those instances are recorded for us in Psalm 136.

The Hebrew word that is translated, “O give thanks,” is also, in other verses, translated “praise.”

O Give Thanks

Giving of thanks is an act of worship.

It isn’t simply a psychological or emotional exercise.

Giving of thanks & having a grateful attitude should not be motivated by the benefits which we might derive from it.

Giving of thanks should be spiritually motivated.

Unto the Lord

The object of our thanks & the recipient of our thanks should be none other than the Lord.

Even the world understands that our gratitude has a recipient.

Gratitude is

An emotion of the heart, excited by a favor or benefit received; a sentiment of kindness or good will towards a benefactor; thankfulness.

gratitude is an agreeable emotion, consisting in or accompanied with good will to a benefactor, and a disposition to make a suitable return of benefits or services, or when no return can be made, with a desire to see the benefactor prosperous and happy.

Giving of thanks should not be dependent upon the physical or material even though there are so many “obvious” things that we are thankful for.

If our gratitude is dependent upon “things” then our gratitude will be gone when those material things are gone.

Psalm 136:1 begins with the statement, “O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good…”

Even though we generally give thanks for such things as our possessions, our family, etc. those things are not needed in order to still have a grateful spirit.

One way in which we can cultivate this kind of attitude is to lower our expectations.

This was demonstrated by Paul in the passage from Philippians that we just read.

This is important because one of the many ways in which we lose our gratitude is when our expectations are not met.

Expectations in the workplace.

Expectations in our home.

Expectations in our relationships.

And when our expectations are not met we find ourselves developing a critical and complaining spirit instead of a grateful spirit.

The Apostle Paul states it this way:

Our giving of thanks should be dependent simply upon two things:

For He Is Good.

For His Mercy Endureth For Ever.

David did list “things” that God had done:

Creation

The Exodus from Egypt

Provisions in the Wilderness Wanderings

The Promised Land

However, David’s thanks began with God’s goodness and ended with His mercy.

One of the characteristics of God that so many tend to doubt is His goodness.

Individuals will many times make statements such as, “If God is so good, why did He…?”

Most things that often cause us to doubt God’s goodness should really be attributed to the fact that we live in a world that has been affected by sin.

That is why it is important for us to not only remember the goodness of God, but also His mercy.

Turn to and read Lamentations 3:21-25.

Closing: Dr. Robert Emmons, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and the world's leading scientific expert on gratitude wrote that gratitude...

...can lower blood pressure, improve immune function and facilitate more efficient sleep.

Gratitude reduces lifetime risk for depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders, and is a key resiliency factor in the prevention of suicide.

https://health.ucdavis.edu/medicalcenter/features/2015-2016/11/20151125_gratitude.html

However he told the Wall Street Journal that in order to reap all of its benefits, feeling gratitude must be ingrained into your personality, and you must frequently acknowledge and be thankful for the role other people play in your happiness:

The key is not to leave it on the Thanksgiving table.

In other words, we must develop a year round “attitude of gratitude!”