Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Nov. 27, 2005: Sermon Notes: What are We Thankful For?
Note: Post taken from outline notes of the pastor. Video available. Ask Pastor or post in comments for details.
Scripture: Isaiah 9:6
Let's ask the cliched question we ask at this time of year: What are we thankful for? Well, we have full bellies of turkey and dressing and desserts. we have great fellowship. We are thankful for friends and family. We are thankful for our cars, our baseball cards, our toys, our pools...on and on and on. What should we be most thankful for? Tough question on the surface, but easy once you think about it. We are most thankful for the thoughtful divine providence of God.
Let's look at that word--PROVIDENCE--provide is in there. And that is what God does, He provides. yous ee, we can be thankful for all those things listed above, but we must be thankful to God for providing us with them. It is only through Him we get these things. However, the greatest bit of providing He does is providing us with salvation, the path to eternal life, vs. eternal death. God provides us this extreme blessing, this great gift, and the only cost is having faith and believing in Him and following the two great commandments.
God also provides us with challenges, with lessons, successes, failures. All of these things. And, because He is in charge, all things work to the Good for those who believe in God (Rom 8:28). Even in the midst of tragedy, we learn great lessons. Even in the midst of failure, we can find great joy.
God provided the Pilgrims with this great land, but only after they were persecuted everywhere else they went. It took the failures in Europe to push the Pilgrims to their "promised land." There was some suffering, there was some death, but God provided for them, and he taught them many lessons along the way.
We need to be thankful for our failures. I am thankful for my knee getting busted up. What?!? Yes, you heard me. Why? One, it helped me to see the value of walking. Dad and I were talking the other day, and I heard someone gripe about a long walk, and I remarked that you don't appreciate walking until you lose it. God gave me a new perspective, a new understanding, new awareness of the blessings of simply hoofing it. He also helped me to see the value of relying on others, that sometimes we have to give up independence in order to succeed and be made whole (sound familiar, anyone, us giving up ourselves to something or someone else?Hmm...). I am thankful that it helped me to appreciate my family for helping me out, and it gave me a chance to help others. At the rehab center, there was a teenage girl who had the same injury. She was in a funk. With my ribbing of "see, even an old guy can do it," she prodded on and has made tremendous progress. Through my injury, I was used.
Likewise, I am thankful for not having finished my degree at Capital U. If I had, I might be practicing law somewhere far away, or involved in a political campaign in washington dc. If I would have finished up there, I would not be here. It was miserable, giving up that cushy scholarship and leaving my friends, as well as admitting my own failures up there, but it has proven to be a blessing, despite my having gone through much pain to get here. However, without it, I would not be the pastor I am, I would not be the person I am, and I would not be the teacher I am. God used those failures and will continue to as long as I stay fixed upon him.
So, give thanks for successes, failures, joys and sorrows, because all are made for God's purposes through His PROVIDE-nce. And, He will provide for us with food spiritual and physical when he comes again. Amen!
Scripture: Isaiah 9:6
Let's ask the cliched question we ask at this time of year: What are we thankful for? Well, we have full bellies of turkey and dressing and desserts. we have great fellowship. We are thankful for friends and family. We are thankful for our cars, our baseball cards, our toys, our pools...on and on and on. What should we be most thankful for? Tough question on the surface, but easy once you think about it. We are most thankful for the thoughtful divine providence of God.
Let's look at that word--PROVIDENCE--provide is in there. And that is what God does, He provides. yous ee, we can be thankful for all those things listed above, but we must be thankful to God for providing us with them. It is only through Him we get these things. However, the greatest bit of providing He does is providing us with salvation, the path to eternal life, vs. eternal death. God provides us this extreme blessing, this great gift, and the only cost is having faith and believing in Him and following the two great commandments.
God also provides us with challenges, with lessons, successes, failures. All of these things. And, because He is in charge, all things work to the Good for those who believe in God (Rom 8:28). Even in the midst of tragedy, we learn great lessons. Even in the midst of failure, we can find great joy.
God provided the Pilgrims with this great land, but only after they were persecuted everywhere else they went. It took the failures in Europe to push the Pilgrims to their "promised land." There was some suffering, there was some death, but God provided for them, and he taught them many lessons along the way.
We need to be thankful for our failures. I am thankful for my knee getting busted up. What?!? Yes, you heard me. Why? One, it helped me to see the value of walking. Dad and I were talking the other day, and I heard someone gripe about a long walk, and I remarked that you don't appreciate walking until you lose it. God gave me a new perspective, a new understanding, new awareness of the blessings of simply hoofing it. He also helped me to see the value of relying on others, that sometimes we have to give up independence in order to succeed and be made whole (sound familiar, anyone, us giving up ourselves to something or someone else?Hmm...). I am thankful that it helped me to appreciate my family for helping me out, and it gave me a chance to help others. At the rehab center, there was a teenage girl who had the same injury. She was in a funk. With my ribbing of "see, even an old guy can do it," she prodded on and has made tremendous progress. Through my injury, I was used.
Likewise, I am thankful for not having finished my degree at Capital U. If I had, I might be practicing law somewhere far away, or involved in a political campaign in washington dc. If I would have finished up there, I would not be here. It was miserable, giving up that cushy scholarship and leaving my friends, as well as admitting my own failures up there, but it has proven to be a blessing, despite my having gone through much pain to get here. However, without it, I would not be the pastor I am, I would not be the person I am, and I would not be the teacher I am. God used those failures and will continue to as long as I stay fixed upon him.
So, give thanks for successes, failures, joys and sorrows, because all are made for God's purposes through His PROVIDE-nce. And, He will provide for us with food spiritual and physical when he comes again. Amen!
# posted by Mark : 6:11 AM
