SERMON NOTES Thanksgiving
Eve, St. Francis Church
Fr.
John Spencer
“Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6 NIV)
Do you ever notice that there’s never anything to be thankful
for?
When the prayer book was revised, the committee made a
mistake! They added the phrase
“we give thanks for” in many of the intercessory prayers. When we get to that point in our
intercessions, there’s just dead silence. No one has any thanks to add during the intercessions.
In our Old Testament reading, Moses told the children of
Israel, “Beware lest your heart say, my might and the power of my hand have
gotten me this.”
“God is bringing you into a good land – a land with streams
and pools of water, with well-watered hills and valleys – a land with wheat
and barley – a land with vines and fruit trees. Food will not be scarce; you won’t go hungry. There is mineral wealth there as
well, iron and copper.”
“When you get into the Promised Land, when your barns are
full and your flocks and herds are plentiful; when your live in fine
houses; when you have enough to eat and are warm and well-dressed; when
your gold and silver increase; when all that you have is multiplied;
beware! Don’t think, ‘I’ve
earned this by my intelligence, enterprise and hard work.’ Remember to give thanks to God for
what you have.” (Deuteronomy
8:6-18, Holmes paraphrase)
We are in the same position as the children of Israel. We have comfortable homes, enough
to eat and clothes to wear.
It’s not that we aren’t grateful for what we have. However, like the Israelites, we
tend to think that we have earned these things by our own hard work. We forget that God has given us
both the ability to work and the rewards of that work.
Moses gave this warning to the children of Israel while they
were still in the desert. They
have not yet entered the Promised Land. They had been wearing the same clothes for 40
years! Their diet was limited
to manna! They could hardly be
considered a rich and prosperous people.
Moses warned them before they achieved prosperity and
comfort. He gave them God’s
promise of abundance. With the
promise, Moses gave them the admonition, “Get ready to be grateful.” Moses was teaching the people to be
thankful when they had nothing for which to be thankful.
The children of Israel forgot Moses’ warning. They entered the Promised Land and
found it to be rich in resources.
They settled down and prospered – and they forgot to thank God.
We in the Anglican tradition are fortunate that Thanksgiving
is in our church calendar as a holy day. It’s not just a secular holiday, it is for us also a
holy day. It’s a reminder that
the giving of thanks should be a way of life with us.
Remember:
·
Not
by our hand
·
Not
by our might
·
But
by the hand of God.
“Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6 NIV)
Sermon
application:
1.
Write
out a list of “thanksgivings”
2.
Take
time at the dinner table periodically (maybe once a week?) to go around the
table and have each person name something for which he or she is thankful.
3.
Come
to church on Sundays prepared to “break the silence” during the
intercessory prayers and respond (out loud) to the phrase “we give thanks.”
(The notes, interpretation
and suggestions are by Ruth Holmes, who is solely responsible for
them. Don’t blame Fr.
Spencer!)
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