Thankful

INTRODUCTION

• THANKSGIVING CLIP from Hyper Pixel.

• SLIDE #1

• Signs You’ve Eaten Too Much at Thanksgiving: The Gravy Boat your wife set out is an actual 12’ boat.

• On Friday, you set off three seismographs on your morning jog.

• Pricking your finger for a blood test only yields gravy

• That rash on your stomach turns out to be steering wheel burn

• Representatives from the Butterball Hall of Fame have called twice. (www.sermoncentral.com)

• A mother turkey was disappointed to hear that her teenage son had gotten into trouble and had been locked in jail. She fumed all the way to bail him out. When she finally saw her son, she gave him a terrible lecture. "If your father knew what you had just done, he would roll over in his gravy." (www.sermoncentral.com)

• We are closing in on the Thanksgiving Holiday. I hope you bought your Holiday tree! 

• I would imagine there are times throughout the year where being thankful can be a struggle. Life can sometimes deal us a hand that can make a thankful attitude a difficult one to possess.

• For the Christian, we have PLENTY to be thankful for!

• Sometimes we simply need to get back to the basics to find a thankful attitude.

• There are going to be times where we need to look past the difficulties we face in this world so we can rest in a thankful attitude.

• We have to look past all the material things that we tend to thank God for and look at a deeper level for reasons to be thankful.

• Today I want to direct your attention to a few passages from God’s Word for which contain details for one to simply be thankful!

• In Christ, we can be thankful no matter what the world throws at us!

• I want to share 5 passages I was encouraged to memorize early in my walk with Jesus. These verses are a source of thankfulness and joy to me.

• These verses are a blessing bring joy as well as being able to carry me through the difficult times of life. I memorized them in the NASB translation.

• Let us begin by considering Proverbs 3:5-6

• SLIDE #2

• Proverbs 3:5–6 (HCSB) 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.

• Here is a reason to be thankful!

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

I. God is our guide.

• How many people do you know who life their life with no direction?

• I know people who are my age who are still figuratively wandering the streets seeking direction.

• They possess no direction and guidance for their life.

• Christians can be thankful for God’s guidance in life!

• Proverbs 3:5-6 lays out a promise of direction for those who are willing to adhere to the conditions which are given.

• It begins with TRUST. Our trust is to be placed in the Lord!

• Trust paints the picture of one who is willing to lie helpless face-down on the ground, they are willing to put all their weight on God.

• Trust does not meant to paint a pathetic picture but rather a picture of one who will give total reliance on God.

• If trust does not exist, one will not be able to follow the next step which is to not rely on your own understanding.

• The NASB translates this as do not LEAN on your own understanding. Trust has a flavor of confidence. If one trusts God, they will be able to lean or put their weight on God’s understanding.

• We get ourselves into trouble when we believe we are the smartest person in the room and decide to go it alone.

• Christians can lean on God’s knowledge and wisdom.

• When are we to lean on Him?

• Think about Him in all your ways.

• I like the way HCSB translates this part of the verse, THINK about HIM in ALL your ways!

• Think about God in everything you do BEFORE you do it!

• The NASB translates this as ACKNOWLEDGE Him in all your ways.

 The word THINK catches to flavor of this thought much better, because we can acknowledge someone without thinking about them much.

 Acknowledging tends to be more verbal in nature whereas, what we are to do is much deeper.

 We are consider the impact of what we do not only in our own life, but also concerning the impact our “way” will impact God’s kingdom.

 We think about what God’s would want us to do, we are to seek HIS guidance; we are to consider what is spiritually best for others.