As we celebrate this week's Thanksgiving, we will examine why we struggle with ingratitude as God's people.
Thessalonians 5:16-18,
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 100:4-5
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.2 Worship the Lord with gladness;come before him with joyful songs.3 Know that the Lord is God.It is he who made us, and we are his;we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;give thanks to him and praise his name.5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Thanksgiving is...
1. Attitude
2. Mark
3. Lifestyle
Thessalonians 5:16-18,
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Reasons for Thanksgiving
1. His Personhood: we give thanks for who He is.
2. His Promise: we give thanks for what He promises
3. His Providence: we give thanks for what He has done, is doing and will do.
Why are we not thankful?
Luke 17:11-19
11Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"14When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
1. Self-centeredness
2. Forgetfulness
3. Faithlessness
How can we stay thankful?
1. God-centeredness
2. Self-awareness
3. Faithfulness