What comes to your mind when you think of Thanksgiving?

Transcription

1 What comes to your mind when you think of Thanksgiving? Turkey, pumpkin pie, apple pie or some other favorite food. We also enjoy getting together with family. Thanksgiving like many other holidays has lost its true meaning over time. Page 1 What s the True Meaning of Thanksgiving? Question: "What should be the focus of Christians on Thanksgiving?" Let s go back in time and see what brought about this Day of Thanksgiving. Answer: The original thanksgiving celebration was held by the Pilgrim settlers in Massachusetts during their second winter in America in December, The first winter had killed 44 of the original 102 colonists. At one point their daily food ration was down to five kernels of corn apiece, but an unexpected trading vessel arrived, swapping them beaver pelts for corn, providing for their severe need. The next summer s crop brought hope, and Governor William Bradford decreed that December 13, 1621, be set aside as a day of feasting and prayer to show the gratitude of the colonists that they were still alive. These Pilgrims, seeking religious freedom and opportunity in America, gave thanks to God for: His provision for them in helping them find 20 acres of cleared land for the fact that there were no hostile Indians in that area, for their newfound religious freedom, for God s provision of an interpreter to the Indians in Squanto

2 Along with the feasting and games involving the colonists and more than 80 friendly Indians (who added to the feast by bringing wild turkeys and venison), prayers, sermons, and songs of praise were important in the celebration. Three days were spent in feasting and prayer. Page 2 From that time forward, Thanksgiving has been celebrated as a day to give thanks to God for His gracious and sufficient provision. President Abraham Lincoln officially set aside the last Thursday of November, in 1863, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our compassionate Father. In 1941, Congress ruled that after 1941, the fourth Thursday of November be observed as Thanksgiving Day and be a legal holiday. The word 'thanksgiving', meaning giving of thanks, first appears in English in 1533 in Tyndale's book 'The Supper of the Lord The word Thank means to express gratitude, appreciation or acknowledgement to. Thanksgiving is not just a holiday for parades and turkeys. It is a day to stop and take inventory on all the blessings God has provided for you this year. It is a time to get together with your family and your friends, and it is a time to get together with God. Many will remember to say grace over their holiday meal. Many will even list things that they are grateful for. But we must also remember WHO we are thankful to. Don't just say you are "grateful for", say you are "grateful to God for".

3 What can we be thankful for this year? Psalm 95:1-6 NIV 1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Page 3 The Israelites were joyful because of their deliverance by God. We can be thankful for salvation provided for us through Jesus Christ. What is salvation, what does it mean? Salvation is defined as the act of saving or protecting from harm. So, what did God save or protect me from? We are told in 1Timothy 1:15 that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Sinner is a person who sins. Sin is a transgression or violation against the Law of God. Romans 5:12 NIV 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned Sin entered the world through the first man and spread to all his offspring- this happened by Adam sinning.

4 Death is a result of sin. It occurred in two ways. First God told Adam the day you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you will die. Because Adam ate of the tree he was separated from the Lord. This is known as spiritual death. Page 4 Second- He died physically, which was a result of his nature change. Aging and death began on that day. Both were a result from his disobedience in eating the fruit of the tree. We are all born with a built-in death warrant, which is our sin nature, because we have inherited this sin nature from Adam we are born spiritually dead (separated from God) and die physically. Later, God brought the law for us to see our sin measured by his standard. If we are already condemned in our sin, then what need is there for the Law? We are told in Galatians 3:19 NIV 19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. Because of sin, the law was given until Jesus Christ the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world came on the scene. 1 Galatians 3:24 NIV 1 Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (1182). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

5 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. The Law clearly revealed our sin to us and showed us that apart from grace we cannot be forgiven of our sins nor can we be reconciled back to the Father. Page 5 We should be thankful because God sent Jesus Christ to deliver us from the condemnation of spiritual death caused by sin. John 3:16-19 NIV 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. The Psalmist gives us another reason to thank God: Psalm 95:3-7 3 For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. We should praise Him and thank Him for who He is.

6 The God of Israel is the One who created these things, and who holds them even now in the palm of his hand. God s majesty and power prompt us to honor him bowing, kneeling or lying face down in his presence. We belong to him and he cares for us like a shepherd with his sheep. 2 Page 6 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 NIV 4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul thanks God for what He has done in his brothers and sisters in Christ. He thanks God for the knowledge and the ability to speak that He had given them. Paul also thanks God for the spiritual gifts that were given them. We need to thank God for what He is doing in and through our brothers and sisters in Christ. In 1 CORINTHIANS 1:9 we are given another reason to thank God: 2 Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed.) (240). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.

7 9 God is faithful... A Commentator had this to say regarding God s faithfulness: God does not love you less today because of what you did yesterday. IS FAITHFUL to do what He has promised. God loves faithfully. God does not HAVE love, IS LOVE. God defines love. Love does not define God. Natural human love is based on the object of its love. Natural human love is to love you because ---- (you are so cute, you do something for me, I benefit from you, you are the best, you are the most beautiful, or because you are faithful, etc.). Page 7 God s love is based on Himself. He IS love. His love for you has nothing to do with you. He doesn t love you BECAUSE of anything about you. His love is about Him. His reason to love comes from within Himself. He is not acted upon or motivated to love. His love being based on Himself (Who never changes) gives us assurance. His love will never change because He never changes. That means we can depend on His love. He loves us infinitely. He cannot love us more and He Who does not change will never love us less. There is no up and down with His love.

8 So we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. We know that when we confessed our sinfulness, admitting that we all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, He was faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness There was a father and mother in a little church whose young son was killed while serving in the military. One day they came to the pastor and told him the wanted to give a monetary gift as a memory to our son who died in battle. The pastor said, "That's a wonderful gesture on your part. He asked if it was ok to tell the congregation and they said that it was. So, the next Sunday he told the congregation of the gift given in memory of the dead son. On the way home from church, another couple were driving down the highway when the father said to his wife, "Why don't we give a gift because of our son?" And his wife said, "But our son didn't die in any conflict! Our son is still alive!" Her husband replied, "That's exactly my point! That's all the more reason we ought to give in thanks to God." Isn't it interesting that we most often give gifts to God in memorial rather than in appreciation! It ought to be the exact oppose! But it's the same way in our pray lives. Page 8

9 We pray the best and the most when troubles come our way, not when we are Mike Minix being blessed. Page 9 1 Thessalonians 5: Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God s will for you in Christ Jesus. Thanksgiving comes from love of God, not from outward circumstances. Conclusion: Please get your children before you get your food there will be a little time of setting up before food is ready to be served. If you are physically able we ask you to help move chairs to side-they will need to be stacked. Then if you can help set up tables.