https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/With-Gratitude-In-Our-Hearts.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: I Thessalonians 5:12-24<\/p>\n
Suggested song: Count Your Blessings<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. The Ten Lepers – Luke 17:11-19<\/p>\n
A. I’m sure all ten were happy to have been healed.<\/p>\n B. Perhaps in their joy nine rushed off to tell their loved ones, but only one returned\nto say “thank you.”\n C. We get so caught up in our personal miseries that when they are suddenly gone,\nwe forget to simply say “thank you.”\n
II. God wants our appreciation<\/p>\n
A. Continually offer a sacrifice of praise – Hebrews 13:15<\/p>\n
B. Psalms 50:14 – Offer God thanksgiving<\/p>\n
C. Come to Him with thanksgiving <\/p>\n
1. Psalms 95:2 – because God is great<\/p>\n
2. Psalms 100:4 – because God is good and faithful<\/p>\n
D. “The World is Mine!” – Dot Aaron<\/p>\n
Today, upon a bus, I saw a lovely girl with golden hair.<\/p>\n
I envied her, she seemed so gay; I wished I were as fair.<\/p>\n
When suddenly she rose to leave,<\/p>\n
I saw her hobble down the aisle.<\/p>\n
She had one leg, and wore a crutch,<\/p>\n
And as she passed – a smile.<\/p>\n
O God, forgive me when I whine.<\/p>\n
I have two legs, the world is mine!<\/p>\n
\n
And then I stopped to buy some sweets.<\/p>\n
The lad who sold them had such charm<\/p>\n
I talked with him – he seemed so glad – <\/p>\n
If I were late ‘twould do no harm.<\/p>\n
And as I left he said to me:<\/p>\n
“I thank you. You’ve been so kind.<\/p>\n
It’s nice to talk with folks like you.<\/p>\n
You see,” he said, “I’m blind.”<\/p>\n
O God, forgive me when I whine.<\/p>\n
I have two eyes, the world is mine!<\/p>\n
\n
Later, walking down the street,<\/p>\n
I saw a child with eyes of blue.<\/p>\n
He stood and watched the others play<\/p>\n
It seemed he knew not what to do.<\/p>\n
I stopped a moment, then I said,<\/p>\n
“Why don’t you join the others, dear?”<\/p>\n
He looked ahead without a word,<\/p>\n
And then I knew – he could not hear.<\/p>\n
O God, forgive me when I whine.<\/p>\n
I have two ears, the world is mine!<\/p>\n
\n
With legs to take me where I would go – <\/p>\n
With eyes to see the sunset’s glow – <\/p>\n
With ears to hear what I would know – <\/p>\n
O God, forgive me when I whine.<\/p>\n
I’m blest indeed, the world is mine!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
III. God deserves our thanks<\/p>\n
A. Every good gift comes from God – James 1:17<\/p>\n
B. Give thanks for all things – Ephesians 5:20<\/p>\n
C. Psalm 68:19 – God daily bears our burdens (God loads us down with blessings)<\/p>\n
D. Even for His discipline we should be thankful – Psalm 118:18-19<\/p>\n
E. “My Thanks Come Easily at Times” by Bernard J. Patrick<\/p>\n
My thanks come easily<\/p>\n
When my fortunes rise<\/p>\n
And my will is king<\/p>\n
And all the world seems my estate.<\/p>\n
My thanks come easily at such times.<\/p>\n
\n
But, wait …<\/p>\n
Today, let me reflect<\/p>\n
Upon those thanks I owe<\/p>\n
But which I find<\/p>\n
Express themselves less fluently.<\/p>\n
\n
Today, let me remember to give thanks,<\/p>\n
Not only for the sunlight,<\/p>\n
But for those darker hours<\/p>\n
That teach me fortitude.<\/p>\n
Let me profess today, a grateful heart,<\/p>\n
Not merely for successes I may know,<\/p>\n
But as truly for those failures <\/p>\n
That teach humility.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
IV. How we show our thanks<\/p>\n
A. In Prayer <\/p>\n
1. I Thessalonians 5:16-18 – in everything give thanks<\/p>\n
2. I Timothy 2:1 – pray on behalf of all men<\/p>\n
3. Philippians 4:6 – give thanks instead of being anxious<\/p>\n 4. We should not be like ungrateful children who ask for favors, but never\nstop to thank our benefactor for His kindness\n
B. In Song – Psalm 30:1-4<\/p>\n
C. In the Lord’s Supper – I Corinthians 11:23-26<\/p>\n
D. In whatever you do – Colossians 3:17<\/p>\n
1. In obedience serving – Psalm 116:12-15<\/p>\n
V. Remembering to be Thankful<\/p>\n
A. Thankfulness is remembering God<\/p>\n
1. Psalms 103:1-5 – forgetting none of His benefits<\/p>\n
2. The Israelites forgot God – Jeremiah 2:32; 3:21; 13:25<\/p>\n 3. Illustrated by Hezekiah who was healed of a terminal illness – II\nChronicles 32:24-26\n
a. Pride was his downfall<\/p>\n
4. The same thing happened to the Gentiles – Romans 1:21<\/p>\n
5. Remember God all our life, starting from youth – Ecclesiastes 12:1<\/p>\n
B. Thankfulness honors God – Psalm 50:22-23<\/p>\n
C. Be thankful – it will spread to others <\/p>\n
D. Let us join together in thankful praise to God – Psalm 34:1-3<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Thessalonians 5:12-24 Suggested song: Count Your Blessings I. The Ten Lepers – Luke 17:11-19 A. I’m sure all ten were happy to have been healed. B. Perhaps in their joy nine rushed off to tell their loved ones, but only one returned to say “thank you.” C. We get so caught up…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[1087,198,1510,704],"class_list":["post-26882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-gratefulness","tag-honor","tag-prayers","tag-thankfulness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":80714,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thankfulness-and-gratitude\/","url_meta":{"origin":26882,"position":0},"title":"Thankfulness and Gratitude","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel Download Audio","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64415,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thankfulness-and-remembrance\/","url_meta":{"origin":26882,"position":1},"title":"Thankfulness and Remembrance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clint Crosier","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40738,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/people-of-thankfulness\/","url_meta":{"origin":26882,"position":2},"title":"People of Thankfulness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Brett Bowen","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69014,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gratitude-for-the-grace-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":26882,"position":3},"title":"Gratitude for the Grace of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer The grace of God through Jesus Christ is one of the most powerful concepts to consider. We stand in the grace of God as we have peace (reconciliation) with Him (Romans 5:1-5). As great as this is, it is also a concept that can be twisted, perverted,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56078,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/always-grateful\/","url_meta":{"origin":26882,"position":4},"title":"Always Grateful","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer How we think about God and our level of gratitude are connected. If we think about God respectfully and remember what He has done and continues to do, we will be grateful. How can we not be? Paul makes this connection in Romans 1:21-22. In a context\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/grateful-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":70231,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-debt-of-gratitude-biblical\/","url_meta":{"origin":26882,"position":5},"title":"Is a “debt of gratitude” biblical?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Minister, In our country, there has been a recent conversation on social media regarding the concept of \"Utang na Loob\" - translated into English as \"Debt of Gratitude or Goodwill.\" What place does this virtue or moral have in the life of a Christian, or what are its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26882\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}