WEBVTT 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:05.305 We are beginning. 00:00:05.305 --> 00:00:10.801 We have finished the messages we were doing on gathering priorities last 00:00:10.833 --> 00:00:12.241 week with our walking together. 00:00:12.241 --> 00:00:13.409 And so this week, 00:00:13.409 --> 00:00:13.761 next week, 00:00:13.761 --> 00:00:19.721 we'll be dealing with the approaching celebration of Thanksgiving. 00:00:19.873 --> 00:00:20.673 All right, 00:00:20.849 --> 00:00:22.297 who's made plans, 00:00:22.361 --> 00:00:23.365 raise your hand. 00:00:24.225 --> 00:00:25.049 All right, 00:00:25.217 --> 00:00:26.449 what kind of plans? 00:00:26.305 --> 00:00:28.605 Is it family get together plans? 00:00:29.295 --> 00:00:31.555 Is it turkey plans? 00:00:32.655 --> 00:00:33.607 Football? No. 00:00:33.671 --> 00:00:34.795 Anyway, all right, 00:00:35.495 --> 00:00:38.031 I want to share these verses with you. 00:00:37.463 --> 00:00:39.167 Just two verses this morning, 00:00:39.231 --> 00:00:40.703 really, and we've covered them, 00:00:40.703 --> 00:00:44.591 but we didn't cover them in a way to take a look at this. 00:00:44.591 --> 00:00:45.567 This comes from Hebrews, 00:00:45.567 --> 00:00:46.515 chapter 12, 00:00:47.295 --> 00:00:49.155 verses 28 and 29. 00:00:49.855 --> 00:00:51.015 Pretty short little passage. 00:00:51.015 --> 00:00:51.519 Here we go. 00:00:51.519 --> 00:00:57.555 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, 00:00:58.265 --> 00:01:01.105 let us be thankful by it. 00:01:01.145 --> 00:01:05.585 We may serve God acceptably with reverence and awe. 00:01:05.745 --> 00:01:07.985 For our God is a consuming fire. 00:01:07.985 --> 00:01:09.825 Alrighty, let's bow in prayer. 00:01:09.905 --> 00:01:13.865 Father, we do thank you again this morning that we get to gather and hang 00:01:13.865 --> 00:01:15.657 out together and worship. 00:01:15.841 --> 00:01:16.321 And God, 00:01:16.321 --> 00:01:18.913 I thank you for the opportunity we have to sing, 00:01:18.913 --> 00:01:25.121 God, that you give us an opportunity with the angels to sing praises and 00:01:25.153 --> 00:01:28.039 to proclaim your glory and majesty. 00:01:28.087 --> 00:01:28.623 And so God, 00:01:28.623 --> 00:01:31.487 I thank you for those who lead us in worship. 00:01:31.487 --> 00:01:31.983 I thank you, 00:01:31.983 --> 00:01:33.303 God for your word. 00:01:33.311 --> 00:01:36.903 God, just two little verses this morning that have a great deal of weight 00:01:36.903 --> 00:01:40.695 and purpose for us as we consider these next two weeks and the 00:01:40.695 --> 00:01:45.191 opportunities that we have to be thankful. 00:01:45.383 --> 00:01:50.823 God, we thank you for all those that have shown their love for people 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:53.687 around the world that we don't even know through the Operation Christmas 00:01:53.687 --> 00:01:57.781 Child and these hundreds of boxes that we've collected and that will be 00:01:57.781 --> 00:02:02.293 dropped off tomorrow at the next level and next stage of their process to 00:02:02.293 --> 00:02:03.245 going around the world. 00:02:03.245 --> 00:02:03.965 And I just pray, 00:02:03.965 --> 00:02:07.693 God that as these boxes go to some child, 00:02:07.789 --> 00:02:08.565 some family, 00:02:08.645 --> 00:02:09.333 some community, 00:02:09.429 --> 00:02:13.181 God, that their hearts would be prepared to hear the gospel and to hear 00:02:13.181 --> 00:02:14.171 of your love. 00:02:14.093 --> 00:02:16.733 God, thank you for allowing us to participate. 00:02:16.749 --> 00:02:21.765 We pray God that your kingdom is proclaimed all over the world in these 00:02:21.805 --> 00:02:22.795 next few months. 00:02:22.869 --> 00:02:24.635 God, thank you again for today. 00:02:24.635 --> 00:02:26.035 Today is a blessing. 00:02:26.195 --> 00:02:26.651 And God, 00:02:26.651 --> 00:02:28.667 your mercies are new every morning. 00:02:28.811 --> 00:02:29.451 And so God, 00:02:29.451 --> 00:02:32.227 we thank you this morning for mercy and we pray it in Jesus name. 00:02:32.227 --> 00:02:35.067 Amen. Alrighty, 00:02:35.171 --> 00:02:38.547 so two things in the announcement video. 00:02:38.691 --> 00:02:41.915 I really have to move this for a knock it somewhere. 00:02:41.915 --> 00:02:42.459 All right. 00:02:42.331 --> 00:02:45.227 In the announcement video you heard about the annual family gathering. 00:02:45.227 --> 00:02:49.131 And so on December 4th we're going to be meeting for a meal at 6:00, 00:02:49.131 --> 00:02:52.493 coming over here to do some appreciation things. 00:02:52.549 --> 00:02:56.333 But also there are two pieces of business that we always deal with in our 00:02:56.333 --> 00:02:57.509 annual family gathering. 00:02:57.557 --> 00:03:04.645 One is the selection and affirmation of leadership as well as our 00:03:04.685 --> 00:03:06.013 proposed budget for the new year. 00:03:06.013 --> 00:03:09.053 There are copies of this little document up front here if you're 00:03:09.053 --> 00:03:11.033 interested in that sort of thing. 00:03:10.965 --> 00:03:14.269 Just making you aware that the meeting's coming and if you want to be a 00:03:14.269 --> 00:03:14.701 part of it, 00:03:14.701 --> 00:03:15.485 come hang out with us. 00:03:15.485 --> 00:03:15.917 If not. 00:03:15.917 --> 00:03:17.857 Okay. Alrighty. 00:03:17.961 --> 00:03:21.913 So I took a little journey this week because in dealing with Hebrews, 00:03:21.913 --> 00:03:22.449 chapter 12, 00:03:22.497 --> 00:03:26.617 we just finished the book of Hebrews and yet we can't get out of it, 00:03:26.617 --> 00:03:27.937 because the truth is, 00:03:27.993 --> 00:03:32.169 in spending nine and a half months or nine months in the book of Hebrews, 00:03:32.169 --> 00:03:37.265 it really focused for me the fact that Hebrews kind of summarizes what 00:03:37.305 --> 00:03:38.473 God has done. 00:03:38.609 --> 00:03:42.945 It takes us back to creation and brings us all the way up to who we are 00:03:42.945 --> 00:03:46.801 in Christ and what God has done on our behalf through the shed blood of 00:03:46.801 --> 00:03:47.473 Jesus Christ. 00:03:47.529 --> 00:03:53.961 And so verse 28 is kind of a summary statement that God's making here. 00:03:53.993 --> 00:03:54.441 He says, 00:03:54.441 --> 00:03:55.777 therefore, right? 00:03:55.841 --> 00:04:01.417 And therefore follows the case being made throughout the book of Hebrews. 00:04:01.441 --> 00:04:01.857 He says, 00:04:01.857 --> 00:04:05.761 therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. 00:04:05.833 --> 00:04:07.483 And that idea is that. 00:04:07.641 --> 00:04:09.041 I'm way loud again, 00:04:09.113 --> 00:04:10.137 Chris. Sorry, 00:04:10.281 --> 00:04:11.585 I'm echoing in my head. 00:04:11.585 --> 00:04:12.575 We need a. 00:04:12.593 --> 00:04:13.069 All right, 00:04:13.069 --> 00:04:13.705 sorry. 00:04:14.125 --> 00:04:14.757 All right. 00:04:14.757 --> 00:04:18.589 So since we are receiving a kingdom. 00:04:18.637 --> 00:04:20.037 So the book of Hebrews, 00:04:20.037 --> 00:04:21.933 through all the first 12 chapters, 00:04:22.029 --> 00:04:25.669 points out what God has begun and done and accomplished and gets all the 00:04:25.669 --> 00:04:28.957 way up to the point where we get to this statement saying that what God 00:04:28.957 --> 00:04:32.025 is providing for us is substantial. 00:04:32.325 --> 00:04:38.661 What God is giving us is this place of inclusion, 00:04:38.773 --> 00:04:40.605 this place of adoption, 00:04:40.685 --> 00:04:42.989 that we are being given a kingdom, 00:04:42.989 --> 00:04:43.699 God's kingdom, 00:04:43.747 --> 00:04:44.555 the kingdom of God, 00:04:44.555 --> 00:04:45.659 the kingdom of heaven. 00:04:45.659 --> 00:04:47.875 All the different references we see in the New Testament, 00:04:47.875 --> 00:04:49.699 God is saying right here in this one, 00:04:49.699 --> 00:04:50.755 these few little words, 00:04:50.755 --> 00:04:55.347 since we are receiving this kingdom that can't be shaken, 00:04:55.411 --> 00:04:59.371 the foundations of which are not going to get tossed or turned. 00:04:59.419 --> 00:05:01.399 And in these four little words, 00:05:01.403 --> 00:05:03.175 let us be thankful. 00:05:04.035 --> 00:05:05.363 Now, I was looking at this, 00:05:05.363 --> 00:05:08.683 and this is the Christian Standard Bible version. 00:05:08.739 --> 00:05:09.395 And so I thought, 00:05:09.395 --> 00:05:12.171 well, let's see what this says. 00:05:12.243 --> 00:05:12.595 All right. 00:05:12.595 --> 00:05:17.871 So I went back to a translations that are a little older than the CSV and 00:05:17.871 --> 00:05:18.635 it says, 00:05:19.175 --> 00:05:21.635 let us show gratitude. 00:05:22.215 --> 00:05:26.551 That's the translation from like the ESV or the NAS in the 90s and that 00:05:26.551 --> 00:05:26.983 sort of thing. 00:05:26.983 --> 00:05:27.231 I thought, 00:05:27.231 --> 00:05:27.751 all right, 00:05:27.751 --> 00:05:32.967 gratitude. I've preached Thanksgiving messages with the word gratitude in 00:05:32.991 --> 00:05:33.447 it, right? 00:05:33.447 --> 00:05:33.967 And I thought, 00:05:33.967 --> 00:05:34.623 all right, 00:05:34.623 --> 00:05:37.275 let us show gratitude. 00:05:38.015 --> 00:05:39.439 And then I went all the way back. 00:05:39.295 --> 00:05:39.655 Get ready. 00:05:39.655 --> 00:05:40.535 Some of you are going to love it. 00:05:40.535 --> 00:05:42.845 Ready? I went back to King James, 00:05:43.195 --> 00:05:44.627 right? And it says, 00:05:44.731 --> 00:05:47.055 let us have grace. 00:05:48.075 --> 00:05:49.075 So I started looking. 00:05:49.075 --> 00:05:49.403 I thought, 00:05:49.403 --> 00:05:49.643 all right, 00:05:49.643 --> 00:05:55.067 so how is it that we can make this progression from let us have grace to 00:05:55.091 --> 00:05:58.795 let us show gratitude to let's be thankful now, 00:05:58.835 --> 00:05:59.635 let's be thankful. 00:05:59.635 --> 00:06:01.299 That's the way you and I are going to talk, 00:06:01.299 --> 00:06:05.091 right? That's our common vernacular in 2024. 00:06:05.163 --> 00:06:06.483 Let's just be thankful, 00:06:06.563 --> 00:06:07.267 right? 00:06:07.451 --> 00:06:08.179 Be thankful. 00:06:08.227 --> 00:06:08.931 Well, because, 00:06:08.963 --> 00:06:09.171 I mean, 00:06:09.171 --> 00:06:12.963 I don't know anybody around our dinner table that's going to go, 00:06:12.963 --> 00:06:13.475 all right, 00:06:13.475 --> 00:06:15.459 let's stop and show gratitude, 00:06:15.547 --> 00:06:17.299 right? We're not going to do that, 00:06:17.299 --> 00:06:17.611 you know? 00:06:17.611 --> 00:06:19.059 And I don't know anybody's going to go, 00:06:19.059 --> 00:06:19.443 oh, well, 00:06:19.443 --> 00:06:20.235 let's have some grace. 00:06:20.235 --> 00:06:20.939 But they might, 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:22.203 because what they mean by saying, 00:06:22.203 --> 00:06:25.833 let's have some grace is somebody pray so we can eat, 00:06:25.907 --> 00:06:26.315 right? 00:06:26.395 --> 00:06:27.451 Let's say grace. 00:06:27.523 --> 00:06:28.183 Let's write. 00:06:28.195 --> 00:06:29.211 So I started looking and seeing. 00:06:29.211 --> 00:06:29.451 I thought, 00:06:29.451 --> 00:06:29.811 all right, 00:06:29.811 --> 00:06:30.931 gratitude. Gratitude. 00:06:30.963 --> 00:06:31.603 What is that? 00:06:31.603 --> 00:06:31.851 All right, 00:06:31.851 --> 00:06:36.395 so gratitude is this word that comes from Latin, 00:06:36.475 --> 00:06:39.853 gratis, which means pleasing or thankful. 00:06:39.909 --> 00:06:44.345 So let's be thankful is not a bad translation of this. 00:06:44.725 --> 00:06:46.589 So let's show gratitude, 00:06:46.757 --> 00:06:48.045 let's be thankful, 00:06:48.125 --> 00:06:49.317 let's have grace. 00:06:49.461 --> 00:06:54.225 And then it follows with this next little by it. 00:06:56.605 --> 00:06:57.585 By what? 00:06:58.005 --> 00:07:02.789 By receiving a kingdom or by being grateful, 00:07:02.877 --> 00:07:05.629 thankful and having gratitude by it, 00:07:05.717 --> 00:07:08.989 we may serve God acceptably. 00:07:09.077 --> 00:07:12.461 Now, I want what I offer to God to be acceptable, 00:07:12.461 --> 00:07:16.485 right? I don't want to fall into the whole Cain thing where my offering 00:07:16.485 --> 00:07:18.677 that I bring is not accepted. 00:07:18.861 --> 00:07:20.877 I want to serve God acceptably. 00:07:20.941 --> 00:07:23.911 What does it look like to serve God acceptably? 00:07:24.021 --> 00:07:25.525 That's kind of the thing. 00:07:25.525 --> 00:07:27.197 And so I started looking at gratitude. 00:07:27.197 --> 00:07:29.437 Everybody knows what gratitude rhymes with, 00:07:29.501 --> 00:07:33.915 right? What's gratitude rhyme with attitude? 00:07:34.415 --> 00:07:35.087 All right, 00:07:35.191 --> 00:07:38.887 so if I were going to ask the question, 00:07:38.991 --> 00:07:40.915 what's your attitude? 00:07:42.255 --> 00:07:44.087 How would you answer that? 00:07:44.271 --> 00:07:44.735 Go ahead, 00:07:44.735 --> 00:07:46.055 think of a word. 00:07:46.103 --> 00:07:48.413 Okay, now don't give me church answers, 00:07:48.447 --> 00:07:50.623 because I know we just talked about thankful ingratitude, 00:07:50.623 --> 00:07:53.555 but what's your attitude? 00:07:55.055 --> 00:07:55.487 Right? 00:07:55.551 --> 00:07:57.531 Anybody want to shout one out? 00:07:58.295 --> 00:07:59.831 Positive. Positive attitude. 00:07:59.863 --> 00:08:00.991 I've got a positive attitude. 00:08:00.991 --> 00:08:02.311 Thank you very much. 00:08:01.607 --> 00:08:03.155 Tommy, what else? 00:08:04.055 --> 00:08:04.935 Thankful. Okay. 00:08:04.975 --> 00:08:07.351 Yes. That one falls right into the passage. 00:08:07.119 --> 00:08:07.915 What else? 00:08:09.775 --> 00:08:10.559 Say what? 00:08:10.687 --> 00:08:12.855 Conditional. Conditional. 00:08:13.015 --> 00:08:13.759 Yes. 00:08:13.887 --> 00:08:18.935 Our attitude can be influenced by the circumstances around us, 00:08:18.975 --> 00:08:21.543 right? Anybody willing to just say, 00:08:21.599 --> 00:08:22.191 admit, say, 00:08:22.191 --> 00:08:23.955 I've got a bad attitude. 00:08:25.045 --> 00:08:26.341 Okay, so some people are like, 00:08:26.341 --> 00:08:27.331 yes, that's me. 00:08:27.389 --> 00:08:28.061 What did you say, 00:08:28.061 --> 00:08:31.189 Tim? Impatient attitude. 00:08:31.237 --> 00:08:35.837 So I kind of put the message together around the idea of a gratitude 00:08:35.837 --> 00:08:41.581 attitude. What does it Mean to have an attitude of gratitude. 00:08:41.733 --> 00:08:42.885 How can we live that? 00:08:42.885 --> 00:08:45.637 Because if I'm reading this right in the right order, 00:08:45.637 --> 00:08:46.585 then being, 00:08:47.005 --> 00:08:48.125 showing gratitude, 00:08:48.205 --> 00:08:49.109 having grace, 00:08:49.237 --> 00:08:54.443 being thankful is a means by which we may serve God acceptably with 00:08:54.499 --> 00:08:55.355 reverence and awe. 00:08:55.355 --> 00:09:01.695 So what's it asking us to recognize and notice is that God has given. 00:09:03.475 --> 00:09:08.147 We are receiving a kingdom as his children, 00:09:08.211 --> 00:09:09.011 as his people, 00:09:09.011 --> 00:09:11.323 being adopted into the family of God, 00:09:11.499 --> 00:09:13.891 being a part of the body of Christ, 00:09:13.891 --> 00:09:19.435 being blessed with an eternity and a salvation and a promise of all God's 00:09:19.475 --> 00:09:22.455 hope. What should our attitude be? 00:09:22.875 --> 00:09:26.651 Gratitude. So as you know, 00:09:26.683 --> 00:09:26.923 all right, 00:09:26.923 --> 00:09:27.667 so I grew up, 00:09:27.667 --> 00:09:27.899 I mean, 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:28.995 I was born in 62, 00:09:28.995 --> 00:09:31.211 so I grew up through the 60s and 70s. 00:09:31.211 --> 00:09:34.855 And I remember in the 60s hearing this phrase. 00:09:35.195 --> 00:09:38.403 Well, it was a name for a group of individuals. 00:09:38.403 --> 00:09:40.255 They were the Rat Pack. 00:09:41.195 --> 00:09:42.891 Anybody know that name? 00:09:43.083 --> 00:09:45.723 Anybody want to shout out who it was? 00:09:47.635 --> 00:09:49.735 Sinatra, Dean Martin, 00:09:51.715 --> 00:09:53.379 Sammy Davis Jr. 00:09:53.547 --> 00:09:54.695 Peter Lawford. 00:09:55.835 --> 00:09:56.243 All right, 00:09:56.243 --> 00:09:57.667 so they were the Rat Pack. 00:09:57.667 --> 00:09:58.415 I thought, 00:09:59.075 --> 00:09:59.595 you know, 00:09:59.595 --> 00:10:01.195 I'm not sure I would. 00:10:01.195 --> 00:10:05.815 I don't know that I'd be proud that you called me a Rat Pack. 00:10:05.803 --> 00:10:09.067 Right. So I started looking at it and there was a reason for it. 00:10:09.067 --> 00:10:15.879 Because they got together and they were a fellowship group in the Holmby 00:10:15.927 --> 00:10:19.567 Hills and they were not, 00:10:19.671 --> 00:10:20.487 as always, 00:10:20.631 --> 00:10:22.247 they were known for certain activities, 00:10:22.247 --> 00:10:23.023 we'll put it that way. 00:10:23.023 --> 00:10:25.795 Alright, they did it. 00:10:27.295 --> 00:10:28.863 To which a friend of mine said, 00:10:28.863 --> 00:10:30.271 is the anthem of hell. 00:10:30.079 --> 00:10:30.875 But anyway, 00:10:32.215 --> 00:10:38.305 but the point being is that they became known for their actions and 00:10:38.345 --> 00:10:39.553 activities, right, 00:10:39.689 --> 00:10:40.937 the Rat Pack. 00:10:41.081 --> 00:10:43.249 And then in the 70s and 80s, 00:10:43.249 --> 00:10:47.417 we became aware of a group called the Brat Pack. 00:10:47.481 --> 00:10:48.471 And I thought, 00:10:48.617 --> 00:10:50.085 oh yeah, 00:10:50.745 --> 00:10:55.713 right. Because I remember as a kid in some of my, 00:10:55.769 --> 00:10:56.233 let's say, 00:10:56.233 --> 00:11:04.441 more selfish attitudes that I had been referred to as a brat. 00:11:04.633 --> 00:11:10.009 And I remember being deeply offended by being called a brat. 00:11:10.177 --> 00:11:11.041 And I wanted to say, 00:11:11.041 --> 00:11:16.605 well, what is it that caused me to be called a brat? 00:11:16.985 --> 00:11:18.337 Oh, you're a brat. 00:11:18.481 --> 00:11:20.689 And then we learned a more positive way of doing that. 00:11:20.689 --> 00:11:21.465 You're not a brat, 00:11:21.465 --> 00:11:23.365 you're just acting bratty. 00:11:24.065 --> 00:11:28.001 Still, it's all about the activities and the actions that lead to that 00:11:28.001 --> 00:11:29.841 moniker or that name being called, 00:11:29.841 --> 00:11:30.445 right? 00:11:31.135 --> 00:11:32.315 And so Eli, 00:11:32.775 --> 00:11:33.783 now this is my son. 00:11:33.783 --> 00:11:36.207 So Eli and I were sitting there last night talking. 00:11:36.207 --> 00:11:36.615 I said, 00:11:36.615 --> 00:11:37.275 all right. 00:11:37.423 --> 00:11:37.863 I said, 00:11:37.863 --> 00:11:39.719 I'm talking about gratitude, 00:11:39.767 --> 00:11:43.995 attitude tomorrow as opposed to bratitude. 00:11:44.415 --> 00:11:47.385 So we made up a new word last night. 00:11:46.823 --> 00:11:50.955 Bratitude. What is a brat? 00:11:51.975 --> 00:11:53.951 Brat, according to dictionary. 00:11:54.023 --> 00:11:57.715 Now, child who behaves badly, 00:11:58.245 --> 00:12:00.741 annoying, spoiled, 00:12:00.933 --> 00:12:02.465 ill mannered, 00:12:04.365 --> 00:12:05.665 further definition, 00:12:06.285 --> 00:12:08.745 confidently rebellious, 00:12:10.205 --> 00:12:16.745 unapologetically Bold and playfully defiant. 00:12:18.405 --> 00:12:20.661 And then there was a sentence down there that said, 00:12:20.661 --> 00:12:22.985 expects to get everything they want. 00:12:24.055 --> 00:12:27.025 Can I just remove one word from all that? 00:12:27.175 --> 00:12:28.475 The word child. 00:12:30.615 --> 00:12:36.235 Because we live in a culture where I see this not simply in children, 00:12:36.975 --> 00:12:39.395 but throughout the spectrum of age. 00:12:40.575 --> 00:12:51.031 Right? And I think that this cultural thing just screams in the face of 00:12:51.063 --> 00:12:53.647 what God has said to us in Hebrews, 00:12:53.647 --> 00:12:54.519 chapter 12, 00:12:54.647 --> 00:12:56.755 verses 28 and 29. 00:12:57.255 --> 00:13:02.515 Because God has given you so much. 00:13:04.415 --> 00:13:11.671 Our response is to show gratitude and grace and Thanksgiving, 00:13:11.823 --> 00:13:12.715 you see? 00:13:13.815 --> 00:13:15.343 So, you know, 00:13:15.479 --> 00:13:18.423 I'm looking more into this gratitude thing because I like the word. 00:13:18.423 --> 00:13:21.723 Now I'm going to start to popularize it for y'all. 00:13:21.925 --> 00:13:26.437 How do you avoid gratitude by managing a child's bad. 00:13:26.541 --> 00:13:30.709 Well, I'm going to take child out by managing a person's bad behavior 00:13:30.709 --> 00:13:33.365 through consistent discipline, 00:13:33.485 --> 00:13:35.005 positive reinforcement, 00:13:35.085 --> 00:13:36.541 clear expectations, 00:13:36.693 --> 00:13:38.585 and open communication. 00:13:39.365 --> 00:13:45.665 And this was actually in the explanation rather than medical treatment. 00:13:50.775 --> 00:13:52.275 And then it says, 00:13:52.895 --> 00:13:55.791 address the underlying causes. 00:13:55.983 --> 00:13:59.395 Teach appropriate skills. 00:14:00.775 --> 00:14:05.795 Folks, we have a cultural endeavor we need to engage in. 00:14:07.295 --> 00:14:11.031 What does it mean to show gratitude, 00:14:11.103 --> 00:14:12.915 grace, and Thanksgiving? 00:14:14.615 --> 00:14:17.995 What does that look like for us? 00:14:19.175 --> 00:14:20.115 You see? 00:14:20.935 --> 00:14:23.103 So I continued my study. 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:24.407 I'm learning in this, 00:14:24.407 --> 00:14:28.391 y'all. So the point of today's message is simply this. 00:14:28.423 --> 00:14:31.723 And I came up with this months and months ago. 00:14:30.831 --> 00:14:33.475 Thanks is giving. 00:14:34.095 --> 00:14:36.395 Okay, thanks. 00:14:36.695 --> 00:14:38.087 We celebrate Thanksgiving. 00:14:38.151 --> 00:14:39.579 Yes. Family gathering, 00:14:39.727 --> 00:14:41.891 turkey, football games, 00:14:42.083 --> 00:14:42.935 nap. 00:14:43.595 --> 00:14:48.215 Right. I do all the other stuff so I can enjoy the last one, 00:14:48.291 --> 00:14:48.951 the nap. 00:14:49.003 --> 00:14:51.459 Right. You work your way. 00:14:51.627 --> 00:14:52.867 And Thanksgiving, 00:14:52.931 --> 00:14:54.531 we look forward to Thanksgiving. 00:14:54.299 --> 00:14:55.355 It's a holiday. 00:14:55.515 --> 00:15:00.163 It's a great time for us to enjoy these good things and to receive the 00:15:00.163 --> 00:15:00.603 good things, 00:15:00.603 --> 00:15:03.075 whether it's family and meals and all that kind of stuff. 00:15:03.075 --> 00:15:06.705 And we want to express a gratitude for all those things. 00:15:07.325 --> 00:15:08.949 And so thanks, 00:15:09.037 --> 00:15:10.509 though Thanksgiving. 00:15:10.597 --> 00:15:12.133 But thanks is giving. 00:15:12.189 --> 00:15:14.613 So if I want to show gratitude, 00:15:14.709 --> 00:15:16.689 if I want to be thankful, 00:15:16.789 --> 00:15:21.685 then what the Bible is teaching us is that it's how we serve God is 00:15:21.685 --> 00:15:23.065 through our gratitude. 00:15:24.245 --> 00:15:25.189 You see? 00:15:25.357 --> 00:15:27.337 So then the question would be. 00:15:29.325 --> 00:15:30.975 I don't think there's a. 00:15:31.205 --> 00:15:31.661 Oh, well, 00:15:31.661 --> 00:15:32.461 Pam's here. 00:15:32.573 --> 00:15:34.717 I was looking around for staff members. 00:15:34.717 --> 00:15:35.775 There's not many. 00:15:35.925 --> 00:15:37.939 So, you know, 00:15:37.987 --> 00:15:41.287 this little gathering right here is often called a service. 00:15:41.635 --> 00:15:45.925 Y'all know I'm going to church service or I'm going to worship service. 00:15:46.051 --> 00:15:47.475 And when people call it a service, 00:15:47.475 --> 00:15:48.135 I go, 00:15:48.171 --> 00:15:48.571 oh, really? 00:15:48.571 --> 00:15:49.575 What'd you do? 00:15:50.995 --> 00:15:55.495 Right? How did you serve this morning? 00:15:56.315 --> 00:15:58.051 Right? By getting up, 00:15:58.083 --> 00:15:58.539 getting dressed, 00:15:58.539 --> 00:15:59.859 and having a seat. 00:16:00.355 --> 00:16:01.935 Yay. Good work. 00:16:02.735 --> 00:16:03.143 Right? 00:16:03.199 --> 00:16:04.895 No, here's the point. 00:16:05.055 --> 00:16:09.423 Serving is us giving of ourselves Our time, 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:10.543 our energy, 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:12.103 our resources. 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:19.455 Anything that we can in some way deprive ourselves of to give to someone 00:16:19.535 --> 00:16:22.439 else. Thanks is giving, 00:16:22.607 --> 00:16:23.267 you see. 00:16:23.335 --> 00:16:24.655 And so I began to ask myself, 00:16:24.655 --> 00:16:30.767 what is this posture that we need to adopt and assume of gratitude? 00:16:30.911 --> 00:16:32.037 How can I. 00:16:32.191 --> 00:16:37.681 How can I be ready to show gratitude all the time, 00:16:37.793 --> 00:16:40.205 not just on Thursday in November? 00:16:41.265 --> 00:16:46.609 How can I have a posture of gratitude to get ready to whatever happens? 00:16:46.657 --> 00:16:46.945 All right, 00:16:46.945 --> 00:16:47.377 you know, 00:16:47.377 --> 00:16:49.357 somebody cuts me off in traffic. 00:16:49.401 --> 00:16:50.325 Thank you. 00:16:53.985 --> 00:16:54.969 I'm not there. 00:16:54.969 --> 00:16:56.405 I'm promising you that. 00:16:58.195 --> 00:17:00.835 I struggle with that one quite a bit. 00:17:01.115 --> 00:17:01.803 But you see, 00:17:01.803 --> 00:17:02.655 my point. 00:17:03.195 --> 00:17:06.165 My point is that we are to be grateful. 00:17:06.115 --> 00:17:08.055 Gratitude, thankful, 00:17:08.355 --> 00:17:11.483 gracious all the time. 00:17:11.539 --> 00:17:14.915 It's a posture that we adopt, 00:17:15.075 --> 00:17:22.915 right? Not because the people we're showing gratitude necessarily deserve 00:17:22.955 --> 00:17:26.652 it, but in showing gratitude, 00:17:26.828 --> 00:17:28.264 we serve God, 00:17:28.964 --> 00:17:29.556 you see, 00:17:29.556 --> 00:17:31.144 because we're blessed. 00:17:32.124 --> 00:17:37.916 So I found a study y'all ready for this one came from UNC Chapel Hill. 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:39.604 So, yeah, 00:17:39.684 --> 00:17:42.260 I knew y'all would like it comes out of the psychology department, 00:17:42.260 --> 00:17:43.140 which makes me kind of go, 00:17:43.140 --> 00:17:43.944 eh, eh. 00:17:46.484 --> 00:17:52.355 But it was how to practice gratitude. 00:17:54.055 --> 00:17:55.759 Notice, think, 00:17:55.927 --> 00:17:57.595 feel, and do. 00:17:58.335 --> 00:17:59.395 And I thought, 00:18:00.735 --> 00:18:02.515 okay, what do you mean? 00:18:02.975 --> 00:18:03.967 So this is it. 00:18:03.967 --> 00:18:04.815 Here it is. 00:18:04.695 --> 00:18:04.919 All right. 00:18:04.919 --> 00:18:08.219 So they wrote a whole paper to get to this. 00:18:09.455 --> 00:18:12.719 Notice what you have in your life or has come into your life, 00:18:12.719 --> 00:18:14.195 no matter how small, 00:18:15.265 --> 00:18:17.777 think about why you have received this gift, 00:18:17.777 --> 00:18:19.993 who played a role in making it possible, 00:18:19.993 --> 00:18:21.643 and why they did so. 00:18:22.545 --> 00:18:27.009 Feel the positive emotions that come with receiving from others and 00:18:27.057 --> 00:18:29.165 connecting them to the real gift, 00:18:29.545 --> 00:18:30.529 the kindness, 00:18:30.617 --> 00:18:34.005 generosity, or love that someone else has shown you. 00:18:34.785 --> 00:18:39.765 Then do something to express your appreciation. 00:18:40.475 --> 00:18:41.415 I thought, 00:18:43.715 --> 00:18:46.775 apart from it coming from Chapel Hill, 00:18:50.955 --> 00:18:56.255 we should do this toward God because he's done so much for us. 00:18:57.435 --> 00:18:58.375 You see, 00:18:59.635 --> 00:19:00.563 in the article, 00:19:00.563 --> 00:19:01.747 it actually says, 00:19:01.851 --> 00:19:02.363 you know, 00:19:02.363 --> 00:19:04.095 the little kid who says, 00:19:06.285 --> 00:19:07.925 well, she said thanks, 00:19:08.005 --> 00:19:09.825 but she didn't mean it, 00:19:10.845 --> 00:19:12.421 right? I remember several years ago, 00:19:12.421 --> 00:19:13.081 at Thanksgiving, 00:19:13.109 --> 00:19:14.045 right here in the gathering, 00:19:14.045 --> 00:19:15.421 I preached that thing about, 00:19:15.421 --> 00:19:15.973 you know, 00:19:15.973 --> 00:19:19.225 we sort of trivialized thank you, 00:19:19.805 --> 00:19:22.945 right? We've reduced it to thanks. 00:19:24.885 --> 00:19:25.933 And then at some point, 00:19:25.933 --> 00:19:27.581 we reduced it to, 00:19:27.773 --> 00:19:28.605 you know, 00:19:28.765 --> 00:19:30.237 American Greetings card, 00:19:30.301 --> 00:19:31.065 thank you. 00:19:32.655 --> 00:19:39.595 How can we actually show gratitude to someone who has given to us, 00:19:40.055 --> 00:19:43.875 Right? How can we adopt a posture of gratitude? 00:19:44.335 --> 00:19:46.607 Because people do things for us. 00:19:46.751 --> 00:19:49.155 Some people do bad things to us. 00:19:49.575 --> 00:19:54.047 And yet I think our posture with regard to who we are in Christ still 00:19:54.047 --> 00:19:56.357 needs to be a posture of gratitude. 00:19:57.025 --> 00:19:58.921 Because we have been given much, 00:19:58.921 --> 00:20:01.969 even if it's not that person that's given us much. 00:20:01.969 --> 00:20:03.865 God has given us much. 00:20:03.905 --> 00:20:07.017 And as we It's Sunday today and Thursday, 00:20:07.081 --> 00:20:08.569 a week and a half from now, 00:20:08.569 --> 00:20:09.825 is Thanksgiving. 00:20:09.985 --> 00:20:15.665 How will we adopt a posture of gratitude for all that God has done on our 00:20:15.705 --> 00:20:17.969 behalf? What will you do? 00:20:18.017 --> 00:20:20.481 Will you find a way to give? 00:20:20.593 --> 00:20:22.513 Will you find a way to serve? 00:20:22.513 --> 00:20:24.787 Will you find a way to help? 00:20:24.787 --> 00:20:32.283 Will you find a way to sacrifice and surrender of who you are just to do 00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:33.775 for somebody else? 00:20:34.235 --> 00:20:38.539 Because what the Bible is teaching us is that in doing for somebody else, 00:20:38.539 --> 00:20:40.175 we're doing for God. 00:20:41.555 --> 00:20:42.691 Right? I mean, 00:20:42.763 --> 00:20:43.795 it actually says, 00:20:43.875 --> 00:20:44.243 you know, 00:20:44.243 --> 00:20:46.147 how can you say you love your brother? 00:20:46.147 --> 00:20:46.515 I mean, 00:20:46.515 --> 00:20:50.535 how can you say you love God if you don't have love for your brother? 00:20:50.535 --> 00:20:51.195 You see? 00:20:51.199 --> 00:20:52.927 So I'm looking at this whole thing, 00:20:52.927 --> 00:20:54.631 and this has been a real. 00:20:54.311 --> 00:20:55.301 I've enjoyed this. 00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:55.639 You see, 00:20:55.639 --> 00:20:56.959 all my scribble notes. 00:20:57.815 --> 00:20:59.431 I've kind of enjoyed this little journey. 00:20:59.431 --> 00:21:00.751 And I was like, 00:21:01.375 --> 00:21:03.927 I love that we came up with the word gratitude. 00:21:03.927 --> 00:21:05.577 Anybody ever heard that before? 00:21:05.535 --> 00:21:08.111 Okay. Have you heard Bratitude? 00:21:08.303 --> 00:21:09.535 Really? You said it. 00:21:09.535 --> 00:21:10.967 Okay, well, 00:21:10.991 --> 00:21:12.407 see, that's kind of the idea. 00:21:12.303 --> 00:21:12.831 I was just like, 00:21:12.831 --> 00:21:13.455 you know what? 00:21:13.455 --> 00:21:17.445 We live in a culture and society, 00:21:18.705 --> 00:21:20.345 and this was the thing. 00:21:20.345 --> 00:21:21.569 One of the definitions. 00:21:21.569 --> 00:21:27.385 Well, one of the descriptors of the word of the group Rat Pack was Rat 00:21:27.425 --> 00:21:30.485 Pack was the embodiment of a lifestyle. 00:21:32.145 --> 00:21:37.305 Therefore, I think Brat Pack can also be called the embodiment of a 00:21:37.345 --> 00:21:38.325 lifestyle. 00:21:39.065 --> 00:21:41.705 So maybe we should be the Grat Pack. 00:21:44.275 --> 00:21:46.467 Okay? I mean, 00:21:46.491 --> 00:21:53.163 the idea that gratitude becomes the embodiment of a lifestyle because we 00:21:53.219 --> 00:21:56.335 are blessed by God. 00:21:56.835 --> 00:21:59.195 See, that's what Hebrews brought us down to. 00:21:59.195 --> 00:22:04.611 I love studying the Book of Hebrews because it took us from creation down 00:22:04.643 --> 00:22:06.415 to the point that Jesus, 00:22:07.365 --> 00:22:08.905 the son of God, 00:22:10.445 --> 00:22:14.905 the one who gave his own life in our place, 00:22:15.325 --> 00:22:18.677 so that not only could we have eternity, 00:22:18.741 --> 00:22:21.125 which has been characterized as pie in the sky, 00:22:21.125 --> 00:22:23.045 in the sweet by and by, 00:22:23.045 --> 00:22:26.025 but we can have abundant life right now. 00:22:27.205 --> 00:22:32.821 And it's not a measure of the things we have or the friends we have or 00:22:32.853 --> 00:22:38.225 the status we acquire or the fame that we garner or any of that stuff. 00:22:39.535 --> 00:22:41.375 We are so blessed. 00:22:41.455 --> 00:22:43.343 Even when bad things happen, 00:22:43.399 --> 00:22:45.115 folks, we are blessed. 00:22:46.655 --> 00:22:52.795 And so ours is to be an attitude of gratitude, 00:22:53.535 --> 00:22:54.311 all right? 00:22:54.463 --> 00:22:58.275 That we just are grateful people. 00:22:58.855 --> 00:23:01.119 And so when I looked back down through there and I thought, 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.343 let us have grace. 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:06.155 Well, we know grace as a term, 00:23:07.675 --> 00:23:10.587 and we have received God's grace, 00:23:10.771 --> 00:23:15.579 right? Then gratitude would be showing grace. 00:23:15.667 --> 00:23:20.011 Right? And the question I have to ask goes back to when I ask about 00:23:20.011 --> 00:23:23.641 everything. What does it look like for us to show grace? 00:23:23.715 --> 00:23:26.055 And Gratitude and thanksgiving. 00:23:28.115 --> 00:23:33.375 And what will we do this week, 00:23:33.865 --> 00:23:36.285 next week and every week to follow, 00:23:37.425 --> 00:23:40.925 to adopt a posture of gratitude. 00:23:42.505 --> 00:23:44.289 Because, you know, 00:23:44.377 --> 00:23:45.725 gratitude is. 00:23:47.185 --> 00:23:48.553 Remember, you've heard me say it. 00:23:48.553 --> 00:23:51.523 I want what I want when I want it. 00:23:51.665 --> 00:23:53.125 That's gratitude. 00:23:57.985 --> 00:24:00.489 Gratitude. See, 00:24:00.537 --> 00:24:03.265 that's what we need to be the grat pack. 00:24:03.265 --> 00:24:09.405 Okay? So how can you be part of that? 00:24:09.705 --> 00:24:11.355 We have to know Jesus. 00:24:12.145 --> 00:24:15.393 See, that's where this is all taught. 00:24:15.489 --> 00:24:20.361 We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. 00:24:20.553 --> 00:24:24.569 By being grateful and having a posture of gratitude, 00:24:24.617 --> 00:24:28.161 we may serve God acceptably with reverence and awe, 00:24:28.233 --> 00:24:33.885 recognizing that he has done everything for us. 00:24:34.665 --> 00:24:35.649 And then it says, 00:24:35.649 --> 00:24:39.085 for our God is a consuming fire. 00:24:39.705 --> 00:24:43.125 Can I just ponder a question? 00:24:45.585 --> 00:24:47.235 Do you think there's a. 00:24:48.345 --> 00:24:50.985 Do you think there's a threat in that? 00:24:54.315 --> 00:24:58.855 Is there a judgment to come? 00:25:01.995 --> 00:25:02.843 You see, 00:25:02.979 --> 00:25:04.491 I think there's two things there. 00:25:04.491 --> 00:25:08.275 I know the consuming fire thing feels like we might get burnt, 00:25:08.275 --> 00:25:11.451 but I also think that when the spirit of God is described throughout 00:25:11.451 --> 00:25:13.579 scripture as fire and light, 00:25:13.747 --> 00:25:17.375 that it's his spirit that envelops us. 00:25:18.045 --> 00:25:20.185 And God is a consuming fire. 00:25:20.845 --> 00:25:25.669 See, I want to go out from this place and let people see gratitude 00:25:25.717 --> 00:25:27.861 attitude. All right, 00:25:28.053 --> 00:25:29.133 if you don't know Jesus, 00:25:29.133 --> 00:25:31.113 you need to start right there. 00:25:30.525 --> 00:25:32.517 Okay? You need to know Jesus. 00:25:32.621 --> 00:25:34.061 We'd love to introduce you to him. 00:25:34.061 --> 00:25:37.461 We get to sing one more song before we finish up this particular 00:25:37.461 --> 00:25:38.357 gathering hour. 00:25:38.421 --> 00:25:43.573 But I don't know if you enjoyed my journey into gratitude, 00:25:43.629 --> 00:25:46.825 but I don't want to be that. 00:25:47.525 --> 00:25:48.845 I want to be other than that. 00:25:48.845 --> 00:25:50.621 Okay, Pray with me. 00:25:50.653 --> 00:25:52.303 Father, thank you for today. 00:25:52.885 --> 00:25:53.413 Thank you, 00:25:53.413 --> 00:26:01.905 God, for loving us and for giving this kingdom that cannot be shaken. 00:26:03.365 --> 00:26:08.565 God, thank you for giving salvation and redemption. 00:26:08.645 --> 00:26:10.741 Jesus, for dying on the cross, 00:26:10.813 --> 00:26:12.595 for dying in my place. 00:26:12.675 --> 00:26:14.907 God, let my posture, 00:26:14.971 --> 00:26:20.855 my inclination in all things be grace and gratitude. 00:26:21.155 --> 00:26:24.731 God, if there's even one here this morning that's never trusted Jesus and 00:26:24.731 --> 00:26:26.299 never received salvation. 00:26:26.427 --> 00:26:31.907 God, it's our prayer this morning that they would be confronted in that. 00:26:31.971 --> 00:26:33.379 That they might trust you, 00:26:33.379 --> 00:26:38.505 God, and they might receive salvation and receive Christ. 00:26:39.245 --> 00:26:43.585 God, I thank you that as we lead up to Thanksgiving, 00:26:43.965 --> 00:26:45.615 we want to be thankful. 00:26:46.005 --> 00:26:47.655 We want to show thanks. 00:26:48.365 --> 00:26:53.425 We want to give of ourselves in thanksgiving. 00:26:54.245 --> 00:26:56.253 Help us to see the ways to do it, 00:26:56.253 --> 00:26:57.853 and we pray it in Jesus name. 00:26:57.853 --> 00:26:58.045 Amen.