Yesterday in preparation for thanksgiving, our Pastor preached on 1st Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." It was an excellent message, and I thought it might be encouraging to share his outline with you.
What should we give thanks to God for?
1. Temporal Mercies- Our life, breath, and all things. Health and strength, food, clothing and shelter. "Every good and perfect gift comes from above."
2. Spiritual Mercies- The gospel and the ministry of it, the ordinances of baptism and communion, faithful gospel ministers, electing grace, redeeming grace, adopting grace, and regenerating grace. To incite thankfulness for grace, think of 1) how unworthy we are as recipients of it, and 2)the access and relationship to God it gives!
3. His indescribable gift, Jesus Christ!!!
4. The Spirit of God- our Helper, Comforter, the Guarantee of our inheritance who indwells us and leads us into all the truth.
5. In Everything!! Every state, circumstance, and condition. Remember that our times are in God's Hands. Even in a furnace of affliction, God's grace will sustain you!
I was quite struck when he opened the message by describing the sin of discontent as "hellish, rebellious and blasphemous." I do not take complaining as seriously as I ought to! Oh, that we would see discontent with the same eyes as God does- to Him it is highly offensive.
There is so much to be thankful for. Those who belong to the living God are truly a blessed people!
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