Sermon: Thanksgiving Meditation: Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart
Scripture: Psalm 100: 1-6 “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.”
Psalm 103:1-5 “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Introduction: Happy Thanksgiving Greetings to you, this is the season to be thankful. This has been a wonderful year of ministry. I served as guest presenters for 75 in-person events and 105 virtual events in several states. I shared ministry with my Friends in Goldsboro District of the Cape Fear Conference and the Fayetteville District of Central NC conference. Bishop W. Darin Moore and Bishop Dwayne Walker led a spirit-filled productive annual Conference at the Simon Temple AME Zion Church, Fayetteville, NC. Then I went to Bridgeport, CT for their annual Revival and presented two evangelism workshops with Pastors Elvin Clayton of Walters Memorial AME Zion Church. Then Barbara and I were invited to participate in the 75th Anniversary celebration of the Foundation for Evangelism, in Charlotte, NC. I had a wonderful leadership celebration with Chief Apostle William T. Ford and the Kingdom Impact Global Ministries headquartered in Fayetteville, NC. God has been moving mightily. We had friends that met us in several of the locations. Thank you all so much.
Today’s message is entitled: Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart
Psalms 100: 1-6 “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
Thanksgiving Day is an annual national holiday in the United States and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. When I was in school, they always seem to teach us that Thanksgiving was modeled after the 1621 harvest feast as the Pilgrims of Plymouth and the Indians shared a common meal. For Christians, Thanksgiving Day is a chance to ask God for forgiveness for our sins, repent for our disobedience, and express gratitude for all He has given us. How we need to Give Thanks to God with a Grateful Heart!Sermon: Thanksgiving Meditation: Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart
After surviving a brutal election season in a divided country, we need to give thanks. Our broken world is filled with anger, distrust, and war, so I choose to pray for peace and work to extend the love of Jesus to others. This year, our evangelistic ministry team is giving thanks for many things this season and wanted to pause to tell you how thankful we are for you.
We are thankful for how you, our partners and listeners serve and share the love of Jesus in diverse communities in the United States and throughout the world. We are thankful to have gathered with you another year online as we have sought to serve our community with a common cause of sharing the love of Jesus with others.
We are thankful to pursue with you the greatest cause on earth establishing the kingdom of God by making disciples for Jesus Christ, who make disciples who build up and plant churches in every nook and cranny of our culture.
The Psalmist, King David of Israel said it this way in Psalms 100 “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.
Psalms 100 is a discourse of thankfulness to God for his goodness, gracious benefits, and abundant blessings. Perhaps It was when they built the temple again 80 years after the King of Babylon destroyed it. The temple was a special house for God in Jerusalem. The temple had a wall all round it and a massive eastern gate. One can only imagine the joy that flooded their heart as the temple reopened to welcome worshipers. Verse 4 tells us that the people gave thanks to God as they “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” David in this psalm amplifies our privilege of having access to God, our duty of thankfulness to God and the many wonderful reasons we must be joyful! During this Thanksgiving season, allow Psalm 100 to remind us to live with joy and gladness, thanksgiving and praise. That kind of living in this kind of world will be a glorious testimony of our faith in God. Our hope is renewed as we think about the privilege of access you have, the duty of thankfulness and the reasons for enjoying both. “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.” God is good despite our disappointment, delays and discouragements, despite our missteps, bad decision and wrong turns. We should all be thankful that His mercies endure forever. Because of God’s great mercy we are not destroyed. Finally, what a joy to know that his truth endures forever. With deception and lies around every corner, scams all around, injustice and abuse, many using their power and position as a criminal enterprise, it is good to know that His truth endures forever. In the light of His truth, lies of this age will crumble. That’s a reason to be thankful! This year, we have provided ministry for 75 in-person events in several states, various denominations, Banquets, Prayer Breakfasts, schools and colleges.
I thank God for every soul that was saved, life that was changed and hope that was restored. A special Thanks to my wife of 56 years who travel and assist with every presentation. The Dimensions of Praise, who helps me with the vocals and music. Team members Mrs. Tonia R. Dewar; Minister Joyce Elaine McIntyre, Minister Oscar T. McMillan, Brother Laconical Esthers, and Pastor Larry Carter of the Household of Faith World Outreach Center all assist with this ministry.
A special thanks to our consistent financial partners in Evangelism: Bishop George N. Matthew and the Rock Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Leo and Gloria Barnwell of Faith Community Church, Lumberton, NC; Timothy and Michelle McMillan of St. Albans, Maine, Rev. Tonya Sims of Mount Hebron AME Zion Church, Mobile, Alabama, Rev. Stephen Vinson of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, St. Paul, NC and a host of others who faithfully pray for us on this journey!
Matthew 10:41-42 “He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”
All of you have demonstrated your support in a wonderful way. During this season, it is a joy to share ministry with you. May God continue to bless you and cause your ministry and endeavors to always be fruitful and give you all a full reward. Expect a prophet’s reward. A prophet’s reward is reward equal to the reward received by the God’s prophet or righteous man. Count on unexpected blessings and divine surprises, divine favor, divine restoration, divine insight and divine recovery. And Jesus said about those who support his servants, “verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” It’s the kind of reward that can never be lost! During this blessed Thanksgiving Season, Let’s Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart for who God is, for what God has done, for what God is doing, and for what God will do!
Prayer of Thanksgiving: Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for inviting us to share Your love with the world by living generously and loving graciously. Show us how we can be generous with what You’ve given us right now. Remind us that it is not about how much we give but about surrendering to Your Spirit so You can work in and through us. Help us to surrender everything to You because everything we have comes from You. May our faith grow as we lean into Your generosity. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
