Our Attitude Should Be Gratitude Thanksgiving Sermon

Illus: Did you hear about the doctor that was complaining to a car mechanic? He said, "Your fee is several times more per hour than we get paid for medical care."

The mechanic said, "Yeah, but you see, doc, you always have the same model, it hasn't changed since Adam; but we have to keep up to date with new models coming out every year."

Illus: Did you hear about the group of Americans that was touring Ireland? One of the women in the group was a real gripe, constantly complaining.

• The bus seats are uncomfortable

• The food is terrible

• It's too hot -- It's too cold

• The accommodations are awful

The group arrived at the site of the famous Blarney Stone. The guide said, "Good luck will be followin' ya all your days, but unfortunately, today it is being cleaned, so you will not be able to kiss the stone.”

However, the guide said, "It is said that if you kiss someone who has kissed the stone, you'll have the same good fortune."

The old gripe on the bus said, "And I suppose you've kissed the stone and you expect us to kiss you…huh?"

"No, ma'am," the frustrated guide said, "but I've kicked it once, and if you want to you can kiss my foot!"

We all hear a great deal of complaining and see very little gratitude being shown today.

Illus: There was a time:

• When the store clerk would thank you for your patronage

• When you could pull up to a service station and someone with a smile would come out and pump your gas. But today when you pull up to a gas station, the only thing we are greeted by is a sign telling you to pump your own gas.

There have always been ungrateful people around, but never as many as there are today.

Illus: For example, years ago, a newspaper reported of a ship that sank in Lake Michigan. One young man swam from the sinking ship to shore, bringing someone with him over 19 times. He actually saved 19 lives! He later reported that not one of these came to him later to even say, “Thank You!”

Illus: That makes us think of the ten lepers who came to the Lord. They were HOPELESS and HELPLESS, but the Lord healed them, and only one came back to express any gratitude. But the Lord asked, “Where are the nine!”

Where are the grateful people today?

• We live in an age which believes that it is more blessed to receive than give

• People are takers, and no one seems to want to be a giver

Christians ought to be THANKFUL. This portion of scripture encourages us to have an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE.

First lets look at the ...

I. GIFTS FROM GOD

We all like gifts no matter how old we might be.

Humor: That reminds me, you folks only have around five weeks to decide what you are going to get me for Christmas.

But it does not matter what someone might give us, the best gifts we have comes from God.

Look at James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights…”

Notice, James refers to the gifts of God as PERFECT GIFTS. Again, I want to remind you that the best gifts we receive come from God.

Illus: When loved ones buy us gifts, the value can be measured in dollars and cents. But the gifts God gives us are priceless! For example:

• The gift of Salvation can not be bought. No matter how much money you have, you can not buy salvation.

• The gift of our families is priceless. Someone could come up to us and say, “I will give you all the money in the world for your grandchildren”, and every loving grandparent would say, “They are not for sale!”

• The gift of health is priceless. A very affluent Jewish man was talking to a preacher one day. He said, “My wife and I both are in bad health. And if I could, I would give every penny I have to regain our health again.” But rich people like poor people discover that at the appointed time, their money can not buy them another day on this earth.

While we enjoy the BLESSINGS OF LIFE, do not ever forget that the best gifts you will ever have will come FROM GOD.

James says that every good gift in your life has come down from the Father. But while we might recognize that, we need to ask ourselves, “WHY DOES GOD GIVE US THESE BLESSINGS THE WAY HE DOES?”

Many folks seem to think that the reason God blesses them is so that they can embrace these blessings like a spoiled child, and scream, “It’s all mine, don’t touch it!”