Reasons To Praise

Reason To Praise

Thanksgiving 2022

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5…

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

And He writes in Colossians 3:17

Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him…

AND – the Psalmist writes…

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

(stand... and when I am done I want us to shout for joy to the Lord, shouting is good, shouting is biblical)

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. – Psalm 100

Prayer

NOW – just a few days ago millions of people across this nation celebrated Thanksgiving…

THEY – boarded planes, piled into mini vans, flew across the country, drove along the highways…

(you know on those fun family road trips)

THEY GATHERED – in (homes and apartments) (condos and restaurants)…

THEY SAT – around tables and in living rooms… with family and with friends…

THEY ATE - and laughed, and ate, and shared, and ate and celebrated... and maybe even watched some football…

YES – we Americans love to celebrate ‘Thanksgiving Day!’

NOW - Thanksgiving was first celebrated in our country when the following proclamation was made by Governor William Bradford in 1623, 3 years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth;

To all ye Pilgrims,

Inasmuch as the great father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, squashes and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams,

and inasmuch as he has … spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

NOW I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, (yeah they love the word ‘ye’)

between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday November ye 29th of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Plymouth rock, there to listen to ye pastor (now, I like that... turn to the R/L)

and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings…. [end Q]

YES – for 399 years Americans have been celebrating Thanksgiving.

BUT UNDERSTAND – thanksgiving is not a concept born in America… INSTEAD - giving thanks is an idea born in the hearts of God’s people from the beginning of time…

I MEAN – it (expressing thanks) is all over the bible from Genesis to Revelation.

NOW – I am calling this mornings conversation…

Reasons To Praise

AND LISTEN – one of the keys to always having a reason to praise and for being about to as God through Paul commands us, is to ‘give thanks’ in all circumstances (circumstances, got any?)

IS TO HAVE – a proper perspective.

A young girl wrote the following letter to her mom and dad from college,

"Dear Mom and Dad: Sorry I haven’t written sooner.

My arm really has been broken. I broke it, and my left leg, when I jumped from he second floor of my dormitory...when we had the fire.

We were lucky. A recently paroled drug dealer saw the blaze and called the Fire Department. They were there in minutes. I was in the hospital for a few days.

Paul, the paroled drug dealer, came to see me every day. And because it was taking so long to get our dormitory livable again, I moved in with him. He has been so nice. I must admit that I am pregnant. Paul and I plan to get married just as soon as he gets off parole.

I hope things are fine at home. I’m doing fine, and will write more when I get the chance. Love,

Your daughter, Emily

P.S. None of the above is true. But I did get a "D" in Sociology and flunked Chemistry. I just wanted you to receive this news in its "Proper Perspective!"

OKAY - let’s do this.

NOW - I want to read a passage from Luke 17, that will serve as the launch point for our conversation this morning.

As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem,

Now this would be His last trip to Jerusalem... and is headed there to be arrested, beaten and nailed to a cross.