THANKSGIVING: An Attitude of Gratitude - Sermon Outline for October 13, 2019 (a blogpost for a sermon to be preached at Kenwood Church of Christ in Livonia, MI, on October 13, 2019)

THANKSGIVING: An Attitude of Gratitude - Thanksgiving and Worship - October 13, 2019

Video - Worship countdown

Prayers

INTRODUCTION

Christianity as response of grateful hearts or latest attempt at humanism

Thanks and worship - intertwined (Burns and Allen, Ernie and Bert, Batman and Robin, biscuits and gravy, peanut butter and jelly, ham and cheese, thanks and worship.  It doesn't roll off the tongue the same, but . . .

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100:1-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"It is he who made us, and not we ourselves."  Psalm 100:3a (alternative)

Appropriate ways to respond to our God

I.  SHOUT FOR JOY TO THE LORD

A.  When is the last time you acted like a fanatic?
B.  Let out a shout
C.  Express yourself

II.  WORSHIP THE LORD WITH GLADNESS

A.  Worship Class at KCC - "Define worship"
B.  Gladness
C.  Christians - "the frozen chosen," dour, sullen, gloomy, grumpy, mean

III.  COME BEFORE HIM WITH JOYFUL SONGS

A.  Not worship style
B.  Joyful

IV.  KNOW THAT THE LORD IS GOD

A.  It is He who made us.
B.  We are His.
C.  We are His people.
D.  We are the sheep of his pasture.

V.  ENTER HIS GATES WITH THANKSGIVING AND HIS COURTS WITH PRAISE

A.  Show up

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
‭‭ Hebrews‬ ‭10:24-25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

B.  Gates with thanksgiving
C.  Courts with praise

VI.  GIVE THANKS TO HIM

A.  Words
B.  What else?

"Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son"
by Don Moen

VII.  PRAISE HIS NAME

A.  For the Lord is good
B.  His love endures forever
C.  His faithfulness continues through all generations

CHALLENGE

Express yourself.  Sometimes it's not enough to simply keep your gratitude to yourself. You can increase your feelings of gratitude by expressing that same gratitude to the people your care about.  Soul Pancake, a group that works to discover the "science of happiness," ran an experiment where they encouraged people to write a letter to a person they were grateful for.  By itself, this exercise increased their levels of happiness from 2 to 4%.  However, when the same people made a phone call to the person they were thankful for to express their gratitude directly, happiness levels jumped from 4% to 19%.

Not only does expressing your gratitude for someone make their day a little brighter, but it can do wonders for increasing your own levels of gratitude and happiness in the long run.

Let's express our gratitude to others with spoken words.  Let's also express our thanks to God in words.  Out loud!