LAYERS OF THANKSGIVING 2024: THANKS BE TO GOD!
ROMANS 6:15-19
#layersofthanksgiving
INTRODUCTION / ILLUSTRATION PART 1… food52.com/blog/14637-the-brief-history-of-the-turducken-and-stuffing-food-in-food [adapted]
This sermon is going to be a weird sermon just like a turducken is a weird dish. It is a weird dish because it has many layers. A “turducken” may seem like it is part of a recent trend in creating super over-the-top food creations, but this creation dates back centuries. A turducken is the ultimate Thanksgiving dinner combining turkey, duck, and chicken! As you slice deeper and deeper into the story of this dish (and the meat itself), it only gets more delicious and odder.
Some say the turducken was invented in 1984 by the owners of Hebert's Specialty Meats in Maurice, Louisiana, after a customer requested it. The late Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme (1940-2015) claimed to have invented the turducken (a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken) in the 1970s. He became synonymous with the dish and even trademarked the name in 1986. There are others who also claim to have invented the dish. While the origin of turducken might forever be shrouded in mystery, it is indeed part of a long history of “engastration,” the practice of stuffing and cooking one animal inside another.
Reports of engastration go all the way back to the Middle Ages, if not earlier. It may have started with the Roman Empire which saw a thousand-pound hog stuffed with birds. The heyday wasn’t until the eighteenth and nineteenth-century, where stuffing meat inside of other meats was a way to show off one’s wealth and impress guests in Europe. Oooh lah lah.
If you thought the urge to stuff was solely limited to carnivores, you were wrong. Sweets have found their way into the historical lineage of engastration as well. In 2009, home baker Charles Phoenix created the “cherpumple,” a three-layer cake with pies baked into each layer. Dubbed the “turducken” of cakes, the cherpumple is composed of a cherry pie baked into a white cake, a pumpkin pie baked inside a yellow cake and an apple pie baked inside a spice cake, and then the whole thing is coated with cream cheese frosting. It takes three days to make because each layer must cool before being baked into another.
For the modern tummy, the turducken has emerged as the ultimate in holiday culinary projects probably because John Madden ate a turducken on live TV in 1996 and he’s famous. With all of the deboning and stuffing required—not to mention eight hours or more of cooking, basting, and worrying, it is the closest thing to a culinary marathon that exists in the kitchen.
TRANSITION
This morning we are not going to just talk about the succulent layers of the turducken, but we will focus on giving thanks and offering thanks. It is the first Sunday in November and so for the next couple of weeks, we will focus on giving thanks. A bit like a turducken, there may be layers that are built up and cooked in around us that prevent us from being thankful. We will strip away and cut down to the thankful heart of the matter. Why? Why focus on thanks? Why focus on being thankful? Why cut through and get down to thankfulness?
CONTENT… Giving Thanks Statistics [google search]
* A single act of gratitude can increase happiness by 10% and reduce depressive symptoms by 35%. Gratitude interventions can also lead to better mental health, fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, and greater life satisfaction.
* The phrase “give thanks” is mentioned 73x in the Old Testament and New Testament.
* Regular gratitude journaling can improve sleep quality by 25%.
* In the workplace, 88% of people say that expressing gratitude to colleagues makes them feel happier and more fulfilled. 81% of people would work harder for a grateful boss.
* Jesus often prayed and gave thanks (Matthew 11:25, 15:36, 26:27; Luke 10:21, 22:17; John 11:41). If Jesus did it, we should as well.
* A neuroimaging study found that when someone intentionally helps you, there is increased activity in the VMPFC, a brain area associated with reward. This increased activity correlates with increased gratitude.
* The Apostle Paul was constantly giving thanks in the various letters he wrote to the churches (Romans 1; 1 Corinthians 1, 11; 2 Corinthians 1; Ephesians 1; Philippians 1; Colossians 1; 1 Thessalonians 1, 2; Thessalonians 1, 2; 2 Timothy 1; Philemon).
Having a heart of thankfulness allows us to abide well in Christ and follow after the pattern of proven believers in Jesus. Our world beats up our hearts and is unfair. A heart cutting through the junk and focusing on being thankful honors God, Christ, and His Spirit inside us. Christians ought to be thankful. If any group of people on the planet have a reason to be thankful, it is a believer in Jesus!
There are plenty of commands for us to be thankful, for example in Colossians 3…
READ COLOSSIANS 3:15-16 (ESV)
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
As I was thinking about this, I realized that there might be plenty of layers around the wonderful goodness of thanks that is in our heart that prevent us from emulating Jesus Christ and abiding in Him well when it comes to thankfulness. For the turducken, there are layers of turkey and duck and sausage and all kinds of things layered before getting to the middle of the dish.
What gets in the way for us with thankfulness?
T = Time Constraints: We all have busy schedules that can prevent us from reflecting on for what we're grateful. We get busy and our hearts rush right past the blessings God drops in our turducken lovin’ laps on a regular basis. Business is the enemy of many things including thankfulness.
H = Habits: Over time, we may take positive experiences and people for granted, leading to a lack of appreciation. Much of our lives is run on habits. Our habits often shape the flavor of our lives and how we spend our time. We might get into a rut where our habits lead us away from thankfulness.
A = Attitude: I deal with a lot of negative attitudes in myself and so I personally know that a big obstacle to thankfulness is the attitude with which we see ourselves, others, money, jobs, and even life in general. A negative mindset can be a predictor of negative living. When we focus on what’s lacking or not there or disappointing on a regular basis, any feelings of gratitude get smushed like a duck inside a turkey.
N = Negativity: In the ebb and flow of life, we all experience different emotions and events both positive and negative… but sometimes we tend to only remember the negative experiences. When you and I only look back and see the negative, we are blocking positive reflections. If all we see is negativity, we will miss the places where God has moved, healed, blessed, and made things new. Don’t focus on the fact that there is a gross duck in the turducken, focus on the fact that there is a chicken wrapped in sausage in the middle of the dish.
K = Knowledge Gaps: Lack of awareness about the benefits of gratitude can hinder our hearts. Be reminded that the Bible commands us to be thankful. Remember that Jesus often prayed and was thankful. The Apostle Paul often expressed his thankfulness to others for their faith in Christ and their help in his ministry. Thankfulness is a good practice. Thankfulness is not just a gimmick or something for weak-minded people, but is a disposition of the heart that reflects our faith in God.
S = Stress: In the ebb and flow of life, we all experience different things and many of those people and events and situations bring us stress. Similarly, to time constraints and negativity, high levels of stress can distract us from recognizing and appreciating the good in our lives. Strain can make us focused only on those people or situations that are causing us anxiety and we miss the blessings around us. Stress is the enemy of many things including thankfulness.
INTRODUCTION / ILLUSTRATION PART 2… food52.com/blog/14637-the-brief-history-of-the-turducken-and-stuffing-food-in-food
If you want to learn how to make a turducken for Thanksgiving, listen up! You’ll need a 12-14 lb. turkey, whole duck, chicken, sausage, and stuffing. Turducken recipes are quite long and involved but in short, the process involves deboning a chicken and laying it flat side down on plastic wrap on top of a cutting board. Then, add a tightly rolled sausage link to the center of the chicken and roll the entire chicken up into a tight cylinder.
Next comes part two: debone and butterfly a duck so that the meat can lay flat on a board, skin side down. Spread more sausage meat over the inside of the duck meat. Take the chicken-sausage cylinder and place it inside the center of the flatten duck.
Sounds appetizing, I know! Roll it up into one larger package.
Now comes the fun part. Add the chicken-duck-sausage and place it in the center of a whole butterflied turkey. Wrap the two sizes of the turkey over the chicken-duck roll-up, tie it all up and then roast it.
If you’re embarking on making a turducken, you should know that it will be significantly more expensive than roasting a regular turkey since you need to buy three to four expensive cuts of meat rather than just one. Duh. Also, because a turducken calls for so many different cuts of meat all in one very large bundle for carnivores, plan for it to take significantly longer to cook than a regular turkey. Depending on the size of the bird, a turducken could take anywhere from 7 to 12 hours to cook in a large roasting pan.
Boom! Now you know.
TRANSITION
The passage that I believe will help us focus on thankfulness this morning and perhaps help us forget all the info about turduckens is in Romans 6. This passage, much like a turducken, has layers around it and at the center is the phrase: “Thanks be to God!” It is that phrase in the center that caught my attention.
READ ROMANS 6:15-19 (ESV)
“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.”
Romans 6:15-19 overall speaks about the transformation that believers undergo when we move from being slaves to sin to being slaves to righteousness. The Apostle Paul is very specific that we have much to thank God for because of this transformation. There are several truths pointed out for which we can be thankful!
In verses 15-19, surrounding the center expression of thanks to God, there is much talk about slaves and law and lawlessness. Every single one of us is a slave to something. We all have ties to sin or righteousness or something that masters us… this is human nature. Because of the way the human soul was fashioned, we all hunt, search, and seek after meaning. Because of the way the human spirit was made, we serve. There are options for service… but we all serve. We either serve God or we serve ourselves. We serve God or we serve money, family, sports, success, or any number of efforts that serve the self. This is the nature of life.
In verses 15-19, underneath the layer of slaves and law and lawlessness, is a core of obedience. Paul mentions that obedience to Jesus leads to righteousness for us which leads to life. Abiding in Jesus Christ is living life to the fullest. The beginning of that transformation is surrender to Jesus Christ. We surrender to His will and His way knowing that His will and way is the best. He is life. He is truth. He is healing. He is right. He is good. He is holy. Obedience to Him is the spark of the transformation in us.
At the center of this passage is the truth that we can be thankful to God for grace in Christ and freedom from sin provided by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ has given us the ability to be free from sin and we are called to live in a way that reflects Him. We are free to pursue a relationship with God because of what Jesus Christ has done for us! Grace has given us freedom that we are no longer slaves to sin, shame, or guilt. At the center of this passage is thankfulness to God for all that He has provided to us in Christ Jesus.
READ ROMANS 6:17 (ESV)
“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed”
Let’s not forget that at the very center of this passage is verse 17 which has at its center “obedience.” Obedience is the key. Obedience to Jesus is the way. Surrender of ourselves to God is what is needed. Faith in Jesus Christ means we give up our way of living and we submit to Him. I cannot emphasize this enough! We follow Him. We submit to Him. We obey Him. We seek Him. In doing so, we are transformed from the inside out to be a reflection of God. Because of all of that transformation, we are thankful!
TRANSITION
How can we be thankful? We have to intentionally be thankful. We have to be intentionally thankful to cut through all of the barriers we have to thankfulness. Nothing should get in the way of us being thankful for Jesus and all that He has done for us. The Apostle Paul commands us in 1 Thessalonians…
READ 1 THESSALONIANS 5:18 (ESV)
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
How can we be thankful?
THANKFULNESS
T = Time: May we make time to be thankful for the gift of grace. God’s grace is given to us as a gift and transforms us from the inside out when we surrender to Him. We are no longer slaves to sin, but fully adopted children of God in the Kingdom of Heaven. Make time in prayer to say thank you. Make time with people you love to share your thankfulness for what God has done. Let’s make time to be thankful for God’s grace in our minds and in the words we say to Him and to others.
H = Habits: May we get into the habit of rejoicing in the Lord that we have new life in Christ. Jesus is not just a “get out of hell free card” or a way to avoid sin, but is a whole way of living life. Jesus wants us to act as He acted. He wants is to live as He lived. He wants His habits to be our habits… and I don’t mean the kind nuns wear. Our surrender to Jesus allows us access to grace and transformation from the inside out and this means continual ongoing abiding in Him and being thankful.
A = Attitude: May we baste our hearts with thankfulness showing that we are thankful for freedom from sin and the freedom to pursue Jesus. Attitudes can harden our hearts, but God sent a grace intervention in the form of Jesus Christ for each of us. We are freed from sin because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We have an opportunity for a relationship with God only because of Jesus. Thanks be to God! May that thankfulness baste over our heart over and over in our praise, in our prayers, and in our inner life with the Spirit keeping us tender towards Him.
N = Negativity: May we ask for and receive the ability to see how God is working even in the most difficult of circumstances. In the ebb and flow of life, we all experience negative circumstances and negative people, but it is the thankful person of faith who knows that God is always at work. He is working for our good even when there is no good.
K = Knowledge: May we understand that being thankful for a Christian is not an option, but is a command from our God. Be thankful. And when we are thankful, be even more thankful. That is the sense we get from the Bible. God does much in us and around us and through us that we should have no other place to go but thankfulness to Him. He is great and greatly to be praised! May we understand that thankfulness is part of obedience.
S = Stress: May we ask for and receive the ability to see how God is working even in the most stressful of days. God provides rest, peace, strength, hope, and grace when we are in the midst of the stressiest stress that ever stressed.
SUMMARY
What have we talked about today? We have talked about two very important things. We have talked about turduckens. This is important. We have talked about thankfulness. This is important. While a turducken is not necessary for our physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual health (and in many ways is probably bad for your physical health), giving thanks is actually necessary for physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual health. Make time to be thankful.
CONGREGATION ACTIVITY / CONCLUSION
In fact, we are going to make time to be thankful right now. Starting with the letter “A,” if you have something you are thankful for, shout it out. We are shouting our thankfulness to God. Then “B” and then “C.” [move along the thankfulness by announcing the letters of the alphabet.]
At the end: Lord we are thankful for much! Thanks be to God!
PRAYER
INVITATION
