We Give Thanks: See What We Mean, 11/23/14

Sermon 11-23-14 we give thanks – witness and wanting things []

1 thess 5:18 ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 tim 6:8 ⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Intro

Series- we give thanks

Sermon was about helping others be thankful – sharing the gift

Now it has some added stuff – gratitude and contentment

Life is a gift

Life is a privilege

are we using it as we should

To teach gratitude

You must teach it to yourself

Practice it

Model it

Speak it into others

It is a great witness –

Grow in it

Get better at it

Witness

An important part of our faith –

prayers presence gifts service and witness

we are not so good at this……we are better at it than we think

The scary way

The amazing way

Preach the gospel, when necessary, use words

Cards to be handed out to friends….

What to say……..we have been talking about being thankfulllll……. Its so joyful…….

Your words are powerful

The power of thank you

Gratitude

Nic trip.  pictures

What we can learn from them………….

We have so much to be thankful for

We should want less

We should give more

We should be grateful

Why gratitude is right

It honors god

Jesus is Lord

It helps us live lives in perspective

By keeping our focus on him off of things

Wanting more robs you of the chance to enjoy and celebrate today

It robs you of the attitude of gratitude

Luke 12:27-31

²⁷ “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

The pagans weren’t evil, they were the normal people, those not seeking real spirituality

Contentment

Results are

Peace.  Happiness

A new monk asked the abbot -How does one attain happiness?

By learning to be content with whatever one gets

Then you shouldn’t want anything?

Yes, one can want, said the abbot, provided that one has the attitude of a nervous father I once met in the delivery ward.  When the nurse said, I know you were hoping to get a boy, but it’s a baby girl, the man replied, oh it doesn’t matter really because I was hoping that if it wasn’t a boy, it would be a girl.

Phil 4:10-13

¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Its not about you accomplishing your life goals.  Although god may want that.  It is about you wanting god, not stuff

Life was never about us getting what we want.  Life was always about us being alive.

Loving god and others…….

Sheryl crow

Every time I turn around - I'm looking up, you're looking down
Maybe something's wrong with you - That makes you act the way you do

Life is not having what you want
It's wanting what you've got

I'm gonna soak up the sun - Gonna tell everyone  To lighten up
I've got no one to blame -For every time I feel lame -I'm gonna soak up the sun

Its not about more stuff

Remember the whos in whoville in the Grinch?

They lost all their presents but they were still singing

You want to be grateful, want god

Conclusion

The artists of life-

I was reading an author who spoke of the greatest artists in the world.  They do not work with paints or clay.  They do not carve stone.  Without brush, hammer, clay or guitar, they have learned to see the good, to see the joy and to embrace it.  Their lives are an art.  Whatever they touch absorbs some of the goodness from their outlook and their soul.  They are the artists of being alive.

The milk bottle – read it on pg 33

A story from "Attitudes of Gratitude" by M.J. Ryan

"Last night I watched my daughter Ana, whom we recently adopted from China, lie on the bed in an ecstatic trance of bottle-sucking. Her eyes closed, her rosebud mouth pulsed, her exquisitely long fingers curled around the plastic bottle, she gave herself over to the experience. She wasn't obsessing on past wounds, although perhaps she had a right to. Neglected for over a year, when we got her she had second-degree burns on her buttocks from lying in urine. Nor was she worrying about where future bottles might come from, although she had a right to do that also. Abandoned on Christmas evening on a cold street until someone heard her newborn cries, she had been fed only watered-down milk and seemed to be starving the first few weeks we fed her.

Rather, she was so focused on appreciating the warm milk as it went down her throat that everything else, past and future, simply disappeared. As I looked at her, I realized that being totally and completely absorbed in the present moment is an experience that is available to us all when we choose to let gratitude wash over us without inhibition.

Dear friends, I am thankful for you.

Let us be the artists of life

Thank you for being on this journey with me