Give Thanks And Remember Series

INTRO.- ILL.- "Grandpa, I'm really proud of you," said his granddaughter. "What's to be proud of?" asked the old man.

She replied, "I noticed that when you sneeze, you've learned to put your hand in front of your mouth." "Of course," explained Grandpa. "How else can I catch my teeth???"

ILL.- One lady said: My daughter had absentmindedly left her sneakers on our kitchen table. "That’s disgusting," my husband grumbled. "Doesn’t she realize we eat off that table?" Then he went out back to work on the car. I cleaned the table and left to do my grocery shopping. When I came home I couldn’t set my bags down anywhere. Sitting in the middle of the kitchen table was a car muffler.

They are called manners. And all people need to have them.

Whatever happened to the words “Please” and “Thank you”? And “you’re welcome”? And “May I?” “Yes, you may.” And whatever happened to a warm handshake and a “Hi! How are you?” Are you quick to speak to others? Are you quick to greet others warmly or in a friendly manner? Are you quick to express gratitude?

Someone said, “You can’t expect excellent behavior at a restaurant (or anywhere else) if you’re not practicing it at home.”

Some people are downright unmannerly, rude, crude. The worst rudeness and crudeness of all is failing to express our gratitude to God! We owe Him manners, gratitude, worship, and praise!

I Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 34:1 “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”

What a good habit to have! It’s the best! We need to be quick to give thanks to God and remember the good He’s done in our lives. Give thanks and remember. Or remember and give thanks. Either way is good.

PROP.- Give thanks and remember.

1- Give thanks and remember His wonders

2- Give thanks and remember His covenant

2- Give thanks and remember His people

I. GIVE THANKS AND REMEMBER HIS WONDERS

4 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. 5 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.

Look to the Lord and remember what He has done in life and IN people and praise Him!

ILL.- Stan the man Musial passed away on January 19, 2013, at the age of 92. People who knew him said he was a good man. His baseball career of 22 seasons with the Cardinals went from 1941 to 1963. Many recalled Musial as the most selfless of sports heroes. Mitchell Boggs was touched by Musial's enthusiasm. He said, "Everybody knew who Stan Musial was. Everyone knew what a great person he was." "He was one of the best players to ever play the game, and he was very happy for me when I made my first team," Boggs said. "He was extremely kind to me. He was one of a kind."

Whitey Herzog said, "He was always great to me when I was a nobody. He will always be Mr. Baseball. You can go around the world and you'll never find a better human being than Stan Musial."

Wow! What a great man Stan the man must have been for people to have heaped praise on him like they did and still do. He sounds like a man I would like to have known. And if he was as a good as people said he was, guess how he got that way? It was our good God who made him that way! We should therefore praise God most of all!

4 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. 5 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.

We need to remember Him, what He has done and thank Him every chance we get! We marvel at His wonders: His creation, the starry universe which is far beyond what we can see or even imagine. We are amazed at the many facets of His creation: plant and animal life. And many animals which science is just now discovering and are naming. And the greatest miracle of all is when God saves a person and turns him or her into a better person!

ILL.- Testimony of Dwayne Davis. I dread to think where I would be today if God had not saved me. My drug and alcohol abuse started when I was 14. First, I was experimenting with tobacco and Marijuana, and quickly began using harder drugs. It wasn’t long before Satan was in full control, and I was heavily involved in taking and making drugs. This led to extreme violence and robbery. I had been in and out of jail since I was 18. I can not help but weep, when I think of all the men and