rec0818-112721<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (MSG)<\/strong><\/p>\n 16-18\u00a0<\/sup>Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens<\/em><\/strong>. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.<\/p>\n Seriously, Chad?\u00a0 Do you have any idea of the week that I\u201d\u2122ve had?\u00a0 Please tell me you\u201d\u2122re not going to give me some \u201cfeel good\u201d sermon that\u201d\u2122s not real and waste my Sunday morning.<\/em><\/p>\n I promise\u201d\u00a6what I\u201d\u2122m going to tell you this morning is real.<\/p>\n It won\u201d\u2122t change what you\u201d\u2122re dealing with.\u00a0 It won\u201d\u2122t completely remove the pain, the fear, the uncertainty, etc.<\/p>\n But it WILL change you and how you deal with all that is coming at you right now.<\/p>\n And how you deal with it all matters.<\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n A thankful attitude begins and ends with seeing the goodness of the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n If our hearts are not focused on God\u201d\u2122s goodness, we will not be thankful day in and day out.\u00a0 We will quickly find ourselves ungrateful.<\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n If ingratitude is allowed to become a habit, it will weigh you down with the burdens of life, leading to bitterness, depression, and despair.<\/p>\n Life is full of NOT good things, however.\u00a0 Bad, tragic, horrific circumstances come our way all too frequently.\u00a0 And we naturally get lost in the weeds of these circumstances and thankfulness leaks out of our hearts, slowly but surely.<\/p>\n HOW<\/strong> do we keep the goodness of the Lord in view and, thereby, keep a thankful attitude \u201cno matter what happens\u201d?<\/p>\n There is only ONE way.<\/p>\n We come to this Table.<\/p>\n You may be wondering, \u201cHow in the world does that work?\u201d<\/p>\n We call it Communion or The Lord\u201d\u2122s Supper.\u00a0 Throughout church history, it has most often been called The Eucharist<\/strong>, because Jesus Himself \u201cgave thanks\u201d, which is the Greek word eucharisteo.\u00a0 I don\u201d\u2122t give you many Greek lessons\u201d\u00a6but this is one worth sharing.<\/p>\n Voskamp<\/strong><\/p>\n The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning \u201cgrace\u201d (and yep, that\u201d\u2122s where Robin and I got our youngest daughter\u201d\u2122s name J).\u00a0 Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace<\/em> and gave thanks.\u00a0 He took the bread and knew it to be gift<\/em> and gave thanks.<\/p>\n And so, it is at this Table, through The Eucharist, \u201cThe Thanksgiving\u201d, that we see the Lord\u201d\u2122s goodness and grace and, thereby, keep a thankful heart!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NLT)<\/strong><\/p>\n 23\u00a0<\/sup>For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24\u00a0<\/sup>and gave thanks<\/em><\/strong> to God for it.<\/p>\n Don\u201d\u2122t miss the significance of JESUS\u201d\u2122 gratitude to God here!\u00a0 He was just about to be betrayed into the hands of those who would crucify Him\u201d\u00a6and He knew it.\u00a0 And yet, He thanks God for the gift of bread that represented His own body that would soon be beaten and shredded and crucified as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.\u00a0 Jesus was thankful for the love of God for US!<\/p>\n Then he broke it in pieces and said, \u201cThis is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.\u201d 25\u00a0<\/sup>In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, \u201cThis cup is the new covenant between God and his people\u201d\u201dan agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.\u201d 26\u00a0<\/sup>For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord\u201d\u2122s death until he comes again.<\/p>\n And THAT is something to be thankful for!\u00a0 If Jesus was thankful for God\u201d\u2122s love to us in His own crucifixion and resurrection, how can WE not live every day full of thanks to Him?<\/p>\n When we have nothing we feel thankful for, Jesus\u201d\u2122 death and resurrection for us reboots our gratitude and puts all of life in perspective.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n I invite you this morning to come to the Table.<\/p>\n CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Thankfulness for our salvation in Jesus is the foundation of gratitude in all of life!<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18<\/strong> (NLT)<\/strong><\/p>\n 16\u00a0<\/sup>Always be joyful. 17\u00a0<\/sup>Never stop praying. 18\u00a0<\/sup>Be thankful in all<\/em><\/strong> circumstances, for this is God\u201d\u2122s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n Thankfulness for our salvation in Jesus is the foundation of gratitude in all of life!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n BECAUSE you belong to Christ Jesus, you CAN\u201d\u201dwe MUST\u201d\u201dgive thanks in all circumstances because circumstances can\u201d\u2122t take us out of the Father\u201d\u2122s loving hand!<\/strong><\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n Thankfulness is a decision based in reality\u201d\u00a6We dishonor God with anything less.<\/p>\n Because of the reality we\u201d\u2122ve just experienced\u201d\u201dthe grace and mercy and love of God in Jesus\u201d\u201dthe decision to be thankful no matter what is NOT just \u201cpositive thinking\u201d.\u00a0 It is reality\u201d\u201dfor we have far more to be thankful for in Jesus than we will ever fully know!<\/p>\n Colossians 3:15-17 (NLT)<\/strong><\/p>\n 15\u00a0<\/sup>And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful<\/strong>.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n 16\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts<\/strong>.<\/em> 17\u00a0<\/sup>And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks<\/strong> through him to God the Father.<\/em><\/p>\n And to really understand the backdrop of these commands to be thankful, you need to spend some time reading and meditating on verses 1-14, where Paul unfolds our salvation and how God has changed us and remade us through Jesus!<\/p>\n Thankfulness for our salvation in Jesus is the foundation of gratitude in all of life!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n MacDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n God commands us to be thankful because our gratitude is not based on whether we are enjoying life but on the realities of our lives in God; being filled with gratitude for who God is, for His Son, and for our salvation go deeper than any feelings drawn out of our experiences of pain or joy.<\/p>\n Romans 8:31-39 (NLT)<\/strong><\/p>\n 31\u00a0<\/sup>What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32\u00a0<\/sup>Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won\u201d\u2122t he also give us everything else? 33\u00a0<\/sup>Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one\u201d\u201dfor God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34\u00a0<\/sup>Who then will condemn us? No one\u201d\u201dfor Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God\u201d\u2122s right hand, pleading for us.<\/p>\n 35\u00a0<\/sup>Can anything ever separate us from Christ\u201d\u2122s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36\u00a0<\/sup>(As the Scriptures say, \u201cFor your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.\u201d) 37\u00a0<\/sup>No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.<\/p>\n 38\u00a0<\/sup>And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God\u201d\u2122s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow\u201d\u201dnot even the powers of hell can separate us from God\u201d\u2122s love. 39\u00a0<\/sup>No power in the sky above or in the earth below\u201d\u201dindeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.<\/p>\n We have to make ourselves think about God\u201d\u2122s love and remember it day by day.\u00a0 And then we have to choose to be thankful for such love and grace!\u00a0 We have to embrace with gratitude the hope that is ours in Jesus that can never be taken away by anything or anyone, no matter what!<\/p>\n Thankfulness for our salvation in Jesus is the foundation of gratitude in all of life!<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n And from the foundation of our salvation in Jesus, we\u201d\u2122ll begin to see a multitude of gifts to be thankful for!\u00a0 But it all starts and ends with Jesus!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Message by Chad Kelly rec0818-112721 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (MSG) 16-18\u00a0Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. Seriously, … Continue reading The Foundation for True Gratitude<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
Thankfulness for our salvation in Jesus is the foundation of gratitude in all of life!<\/em><\/h3>\n