First Sunday of Advent 2010

Sermon Text for the Sunday Before Thanksgiving 2010, November 21st...



There are nearly 100 references in the Old and New Testament regarding giving thanks, and having hearts of thanksgiving toward the Lord our God. Here is a brief sampling of these references:

2 Samuel 22:50 “I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.”

1 Chronicles 16:8 “Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.”

1 Chronicles 16:34 “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.”

Psalm 18:46-49 “The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.”

Psalm 30:4 “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”

Psalm 35:18 “I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among many people.”

Psalm 92:1 “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High.”

Psalm 97:12 “Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”

Psalm 105:1 “O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.”

Psalm 106:1 “Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

Psalm 107:1 “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

Psalm 50:14 “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High."

Psalm 69:30 “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.”

Psalm 95:2 “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.”

Psalm 100:4-5 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

Psalm 147:7 “Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.”

Philippians 4:6 “In every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.”

Colossians 4:2 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.”

Revelation 7:12 “Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”

There are two more passages not in the preceding list regarding giving thanks to the Lord and thanksgiving that deserve to be more closely examined:

Psalm 116:17 “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

These two statements from Scripture beg two questions:

• We know that God honors anything given in sacrifice, but when is giving thanks to the Lord ever a “sacrifice”? Obviously, when things aren’t going as we would like them to; when things sometimes go wrong.

• How can we give thanks to God in “everything” when things sometimes go wrong?

Sometimes things do go wrong, but the Bible has much to say about those times:

James 1:2-8 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

Our will has to be in subjection to God’s will – we have to know our place before God; be humble before Him…

Micah 6:8 “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

When are we not humble before the Lord? When we think we “deserve better,” or are dissatisfied with our station in life. To think such things is to think too highly of ones’ self. To think too highly of ourselves is to be prideful, and God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5) We are to constantly check ourselves to make sure our perspective is in line with God’s will, and God’s Word.

There are many times when we look at the Word of God with the wrong perspective. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, for example, which clearly states “Forgive US as we forgive OTHERS;” how often do we really think about what we are saying? We’re telling God to forgive us in the same way we forgive others. That’s a chilling thought…it’s also a chilling to consider how infrequently we hear true words of thanksgiving toward God in today’s world…and we should all be truly grateful for all He has given us, and all He protects us from.

1 Corinthians 10:13-14 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

The Word promises us that the Lord has only our best interest at heart:

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts (plans) that I think toward (have for) you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace (plans to prosper you), and not of evil (and not to harm you), to give you an expected end (to give you hope, and a future).”

Have we been so blessed that we’ve forgotten how blessed we are?

There was once a plumber who complained of not being able to buy shoes for his 6-year-old daughter. His complaints were silenced by the lady whose daughter couldn’t walk who told him, “I’d give everything I own, and live in a grass hut if I could see my daughter wear your daughters old shoes.” – That story reminds us of the old phrase, “I once complained that my shoes were too tight when I saw a man who had no feet.”

Have we forgotten what Christ did for us on the cross of Calvary? In John 15:13 Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” And this is exactly what Jesus did for all of us – each and every one of us…

Those of us who are Believers – have we forgotten that, had we rejected Christ when we reached the Age of Accountability, we would be headed for the same Hell as those who choose to reject the Savior of the World?

Heaven and Salvation are things that none of us truly deserve. The Bible teaches us that all have sinned and have come short of the Glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Yet those of us who have turned from our sin, and accepted Christ, and asked Him to be our Lord and Savior, will spend Eternity with Jesus. We will get what we don’t deserve…and we will not get what we do deserve…that should be enough to make us truly thankful.

How can we prove to the Lord that we are thankful for his indescribable and unspeakable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15) to us?

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” (John 14:15) And one of his commandments was, “Go ye into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature…” (Mark 16:15)

Let us prove our gratitude and love for Jesus by proclaiming the truth of His word throughout the world, in any and every way we can…and may we be truly thankful throughout the coming holiday season, and in the days to come.

Scriptural Text for Sunday, November 7th, 2010

Luke 19

11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’

18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’

22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

A modern take of the same parable,

as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew: