Thankful Giving

We have much to be thankful for:

(1) Material wealth

Probably most of us don’t consider ourselves wealthy, but consider this. According to a website called Global Rich List:

• If your annual income is $20,000, you’re in the top 11.6% richest people in the world.

• If your annual income is $40,000, you’re in the top 4.37% richest people in the world.

• If your annual income is $60,000, you’re in the top 0.95% richest people in the world.

(2) Religious freedom

The origin of our Thanksgiving holiday is usually traced back to the Pilgrims. The reason the left Europe was to escape religious persecution. Our nation is far from perfect, but we should be thankful that we enjoy the freedom to practice our faith.

(3) God’s indescribable gift

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15).

1. God’s gift is the SACRIFICE of His SON.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15).

[God] did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all... (Romans 8:32a).

a. The motive for God’s gift: LOVE.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

b. The value of God’s gift: ETERNAL LIFE.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

c. The acceptance of God’s gift: FAITH.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

2. God’s gift is too AMAZING for WORDS.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15).

3. God’s gift is worthy of our utmost GRATITUDE.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15).

God was not obligated to give His Son for us. God’s gift is a gift of grace. It’s undeserved.

COMMUNION

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:23b-25).

Before Jesus broke the bread, he gave thanks. The Lord’s Supper is sometimes called the “Eucharist.” “Eucharist” comes from a Greek word meaning “thanksgiving.” When we eat the bread and drink the juice, symbols of the body and blood of Jesus, we give thanks for the sacrifice that was made for our salvation.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

• The Bread

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24).

May we eat gratefully as we remember the sacrifice of Christ’s body.

• The Cup

First Corinthians 10:16 refers to the cup as “the cup of thanksgiving.”

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7).

May we drink gratefully as we remember the sacrifice of Christ’s blood.

4. God’s gift should inspire us to GIVE.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:9-11).

To love means to GIVE.

Let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions (1 John 3:18 NLT).

“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”

a. We should give our TIME.

Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days (Ephesians 5:16 NLT).

b. We should give our TALENTS.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:9-10).

c. We should give our TREASURE.

In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul writes about the collection he is receiving to help needy Jews in Jerusalem.

I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:8-9).