GIVING THANKS (Psalm 100:4 NIV) - October 26, 2025

GIVING THANKS (Psalm 100:4 NIV)  - October 26, 2025

INTRODUCTION

Give thanks

It was Thanksgiving season in the nursing home. The small resident population was gathered about their humble Thanksgiving table, and the director asked each in turn to express one thing for which they were thankful. Thanks were expressed for a home in which to stay, families, etc. One little old lady in her turn said, ’I thank the Lord for two perfectly good teeth, one in my upper jaw and one in my lower jaw that match so that I can chew my food.’

Evie Megginson, Sermon Central, October 31, 2003.

Who would like to give thanks right now? Please step to the mic, state your name, and share your thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving - football and food

Last week, Give Thanks in All Circumstances

There is a connection between thanksgiving and praise.

A lady purchased a parrot whose previous owner had taught him profanity and decided that she would reform him. The parrot learned a number of Christian words and Bible verses to replace the cuss words. However, the owner caught him cussing one day and grabbed him and said, "I'll teach you to never talk that way again!" So she put him in the deep freeze and slammed the door.

A few minutes later, the owner took the parrot out of the freezer and asked, "Have you learned your lesson now?" The little bird shivered and replied, "Yes', Ma'm."

After a couple of months, the lesson was forgotten and the little parrot was caught saying cuss words again. The owner returned him to the freezer and left him in there for a long time. The little parrot almost froze to death. The owner took the bird back to his cage to let him thaw out. When he began to move a little bit, she asked him again, "Did you learn your lesson this time, buster?"

The parrot said, "Yes, Ma'm, I sure did!" Then he just sat there in the cage quietly for a few more minutes shivering and thinking about what just happened to him. Then, the parrot looked at his owner and said, "Ma'm, may I ask you a serious question?" The owner answered, "Yes, you may."

The parrot thought for a moment and then said, "I thought I knew all of the bad words there were in the world . . . but just what exactly did that turkey in the freezer say?"

Dr. Larry Petton, Sermon Central, November 20, 2019.

Praise is the response of thankfulness.

Psalm 100:4 NIV

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.". 

Psalm 100:4 NIV

I.  ENTER HIS GATES WITH THANKSGIVING

A little boy offered up a Thanksgiving Day prayer for the family and prayed: "Dear God, this is Jimmy. Thank you for Thanksgiving and Christmas and all of the holidays. Thank you for the turkey and dressing and Mom and Dad and even for my little sister, even though some times she can be a pain. Thank you for books and TV and game boy. Thank you for loving us. Oh, yeah. And take care of yourself, God. Because without you, we’re sunk. Amen."

Joel Vicente, Sermon Central, December 27, 2003.

A. Go to God

B. Thankful worship

‭‭Psalm ‭50‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

““Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.””

‭‭ Psalm‬ ‭50‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

C. Thanksgiving

II.  ENTER HIS COURTS WITH PRAISE

“In experience, thanksgiving and praise weave themselves in and out of one another and become part of an organic whole.” 

Richard Foster

‭‭Psalm ‭96‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.”

‭‭ Psalm ‭96‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

A.  Praise from the beginning

B.  Movement from gate to courts

C.  Movement from thanksgiving to song

III.  GIVE THANKS TO HIM AND PRAISE HIS NAME

‭‭Psalm ‭34‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”

‭‭ Psalm‬ ‭34‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV ‬‬‬‬‬

“Praise his name” from Psalm 100:4 NIV is “bless his name"‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

A.  God’s blessing upon us

B.  Our blessing to God

C.  Kneeling before Him

1.  Acknowledge God

2.  Honor God

The Masai tribe in West Africa have an unusual way of saying "thank you." Translators tell us that when the Masai express thanks, they bow, put their forehead on the ground and say, "My head is in the dirt." When members of another African tribe want to express thanks, they sit for a long time in front of the hut of the person who did the favor and literally say, "I sit on the ground before you." Those Africans understand well what Thanksgiving is and why it is different for us: at its core, thanksgiving is an act of humility."

Ajai Prakash, “Thankful Worship”, 11/19/2009.

CONCLUSION

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins     and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.