From the Pastor’s Heart…

 (November 21, 2010)

I am in the middle of a short sermon series on thankfulness.  Both the Old and New Testaments call for us to discipline ourselves in thanksgiving.  Not occasionally, but consistently.

The psalmist wrote, “It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord”  (Ps. 107:1) Paul wrote, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”  (I Thess. 5:18)

My wife’s favorite hymn is an old Swedish hymn, TAK O GUD, which means THANKS TO GOD.

It starts, “Thanks to God for my redeemer”.  What an indescribable gift.  Colossians says, “He is the image of the invisible God.  All things were created by Him and for Him.  He is before all things.  He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”  What a wonderful God we serve, who provided us with a Redeemer.

It continues, “Thanks for all that you provide”.  How we must give thanks for everything that God has provided, is providing, and will provide.

Also, it says, “Thanks for roses, thanks too for the thorns”.  Wow…from the fragrant and beautiful times to the troublesome times of all sizes shapes and severities.  God gives us the joy and the strength in both.

The song says, “Thanks for times now but a memory”.  There were many this year who grieved in loss.  Whose lives changed as children left home.  Whose life-changing circumstances caused them to pause.  The psalmist says that the ‘memory of the just is blessed’.  Thank you, Lord, for our memories.

One more phrase goes, “Thanks for Jesus by my side”.  The Lord.  The companion.  The friend.  The Savior.  The Sustainer.

Perhaps this will broaden your list of things to be thankful for.

  It is a joy to be your pastor,