Thanksgiving 2022

Hamby Baptist, Methodist, and Church of Christ gather yearly for a Thanksgiving celebration. We begin with singing, a short sermon, and then a Thanksgiving meal and fellowship.

Sermon by Barbara Owens

Pray With Thanksgiving & Gratitude

Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.  6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  The Word of the Lord, Amen.

Paul is in prison as he writes these words to the church in Philippi.  If anyone knew something about anxiety, it was Paul. He faced death many times.

According to 2 Corinthians chapter 11, the Jewish leaders gave him 39 lashes five times. He was beaten with a rod three times. Once, he was stoned. Three times he was shipwrecked. 

He worked hard and long and endured many sleepless nights. He knew what it was like to be thirsty and go for long periods without food.

Here he is telling the people to rejoice, even from prison, recognize that God is near, and be anxious for nothing. Pray with thanksgiving. In chapter four, he tells us that he has learned to be content, whatever the circumstances. He experienced the peace of God that passes all understanding.

I’ve read Philippians 4:6 before. I focused on five words, “Be anxious for nothing-pray.” As a result, I strive not to be anxious. What does striving do? It makes me more anxious. I can’t make myself not anxious. 

This week, as I looked for verses that mention the word “thanksgiving,” I noticed verse six says to pray WITH THANKSGIVING. Pray WITH GRATITUDE.

The word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 

God’s word is alive and powerful in our lives when we read it and meditate on it. It is like a mirror that reveals who we really are and the areas God wants to work on. The places in our hearts that God wants to touch and heal. 

I picked out words that I thought would benefit me, “be anxious for nothing-pray,” and tried to make it happen on my own. That’s not the way it works. So much of the time, I don’t recognize God’s grace. He’s not asking me to strive. Just TO BE Thankful.

Our brains cannot respond to anxiety and gratitude at the same time.  Studies have shown that gratitude reduces anxiety. 

So how do we pray with gratitude when we don’t feel grateful? We present our concerns or anxiety to God. We focus on Him and remember what He has done for us. 

We thank Him for delivering us or revealing His word to our hearts, comforting a friend. Remembering His works in our life from days, weeks, and months ago. 

My daughter was born with the cord around her neck twice, her shoulder once, and her leg twice. She was gray and not breathing, and I asked the doctor if she would be okay. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “I don’t know.”  

She had to stay in NICU for a week or two, but she was okay. 

I still feel a deep sense of gratefulness to God from the bottom of my heart every time I think about God answering my prayer and saving her life.

Thank Him for what we have in this moment. We have each other, food, clothing shelter.

Rejoice

"Rejoice in the Lord," Paul says. Always celebrate the Lord. Whether we feel like it or not. Sometimes rejoicing and being thankful is easy; sometimes, it is a matter of surrendering our will to His will.

Hebrews 13:15 says, "Through Jesus then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.". 

Let's count our blessings and be grateful daily, continually.  From the smallest of blessings like a cup of coffee, dinner with a friend walks in the park, work that we love, to the big blessings, a life rescued, a body healed, 2nd chances. And the greatest blessing of all, Jesus, who gave his life for us so that we might be forgiven and saved. 

During times of anxiety and hardship, let us remember who our great and mighty God is and what He has done for us, and pray with thanksgiving, knowing He is near.

Let us pray!

Gracious God,

Thank you for loving us and caring for our needs as You do. You know the plan ahead for us and how to guide our steps to align with that plan. 

It’s not always easy to rejoice and remain hopeful in You when problems and circumstances arise. Remind us of those times you answered our prayer.  

Open our eyes to see your blessings. Open our lips to give thanks to Your name. Let us know you are near.  Reveal your word to our hearts.

You know our needs before we ask them, You know our heartaches before we have them, and You know what will grow us the most to be like Jesus. Help us to trust You and let go of the need to control. In His name. Amen

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 May the peace that passes all understanding guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And may we proclaim your goodness to those who need to hear. Thank you for our time together this evening and the food you have provided for us. Bless our fellowship, In Jesus’s name. Amen