One of the things that I have increasingly become more and more Thankful for the religious freedom we have in this country. It was religious freedom the pilgrims sought when they left England. It s something that is increasingly threatened in our Politically correct society today, and the Bible tells us that in the future it will get even worse.
Pick up the book, Jesus Freaks. While we are somewhat persecuted, tt is much worse in other countries.
So as I thought about my religious freedom and how thankful I was for it. My thoughts inevitably turned to Jesus the Christ. After seeing the Passion of the Christ, I think every Christian is extremely thankful for the suffering of Jesus on the cross. They are thankful he did it for them.
He suffered, emotional, Physical, and even spiritual trauma on our behalf on the cross. We are Thankful for that.
One of my goals in a sermon is to make it interesting, unique, relevant, and thought provoking. How could I use this sermon to breed new thought in your mind as it relates to thanksgiving? How could you use it to share the Goods news of Christ with your family and friends that are not Christians this thanksgiving.
Most people think of the Feast at thanksgiving. So I have entitled my sermon,
“Feast on the Love of Christ this Thanksgiving.”
What are the typical ingredients of traditional thanksgiving feast besides the turkey and stuffing which we will save til the end?
1. Pumpkin Pie is popular. For Halloween we combined the teens and Children Wednesday night. I got a pumpkin and talked about how God picks us and cleans us up on the out side, then he opens us up and cleans out all the junk on the inside then he puts the light of Jesus in our hearty and gives us a brand new smile. 2 Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2. The Cornucopia- this reminded me of several things. One it shaped like a trumpet. This reminds me that one day Jesus will return to the sound of trumpets and He will call all of us up to live in heaven with him and the father. Revelation 8:2-6
a. The contents of the cornucopia are a myriad of fruits and Vegetables.
i.This reminded me that it takes a variety of people in Gods Kingdom. We are not all made the same, we are unique and God took great care in crafting each of us.
Romans 12:5: So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually member’s one of another.
ii.The Cornucopia itself can be symbolic for the body. The Bible tells us that our body is the temple of the Lord. The church holds the body of Christ just as the Cornucopia holds the myriad of fruits and vegetables;
iii.Our body is the vessel that houses the Spirit of Christ within us and the vessel by which he spreads the good news of the risen savior.
iv.Just as the cornucopia is the vessel by which the fruit and vegetables come to the table in the Thanksgiving feast.
3.The Cranberry sauce. It is red and sweet. This reminds us to be thankful for the sweet blood of Christ that Christ shed on the Cross For us. It can also be symbolic for the sweet spirit of god that can inhabit us as a result of Jesus Sacrifice.
4.The Giblet Gravy- this southern contraption is made of basically the waste of the other thanksgiving foods. I had a grandmother that would pour the grease from the turkey in there to “add flavor” It has eggs. The neck of the turkey, Onions, Carrots. I really think this food was born out of the Great depression. Money was scarce food was scarce. They did not want to waste any part of this great feast. They took nothing for granted. Some times we take the sacrifice of Jesus and the Love of God for granted. Let us not waste anything. God wastes nothing with us. He uses everything in our lives good and bad to help bring about His perfect will for our lives and others around us.
5.The bread-this one is easy. Jesus is the bread of Life. John 6 :27-38
The Bread of Life
27"Don’t waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last."
28To that they said, "Well, what do we do then to get in on God’s works?"
29Jesus said, "Throw your lot in with the One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God’s works."
30They waffled: "Why don’t you give us a clue about who you are, just a hint of what’s going on? When we see what’s up, we’ll commit ourselves. Show us what you can do. 31Moses fed our ancestors with bread in the desert. It says so in the Scriptures: "He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’"
32Jesus responded, "The real significance of that Scripture is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven but that my Father is right now offering you bread from heaven, the real bread. 33The Bread of God came down out of heaven and is giving life to the world."
34They jumped at that: "Master, give us this bread, now and forever!"
35Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. 36I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t really believe me. 37Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go. 38I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me.
6.The stuffing- This is used to fill the turkey after we hollow it outs insides and dump them in the giblet gravy, we fill it with this. This is Symbolic of the Sprit God fills us with when creates us new. Jesus Calls this spirit the comforter. He is there when all hope seems lost. - John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
7.The turkey. This is the main course. This is the meat. This is a symbol of the meat that god gives us to feast on. It is the main course of all Christian doctrine regardless of denomination. It is what sets apart for all other religions. TRUTH. Absolute truth that Jesus the Living God. He is the ONLY way to the father. (John.14:6) "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, NOBODY COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME"
