A THANKSGIVING OF JOY

SERMON STARTER

FUNNY STORY: NO PEANUT BUTTER

          There was a young girl who went with her mother to an art store, as the mother was looking for new decorations for the house. The little girl did her own exploring. She came to that famous painting called "Our Daily Bread." It shows an older gentleman seated at a very small table. His hands are folded in prayer, his head is bowed, and on the table before him is a single, small loaf of bread. The little girl looked at it intently, and looked at it some more, and finally her mother came over and said,

"Honey, what's wrong?"

The little girl responded,

"The poor man, he doesn't have any peanut butter!"

          Can you remember Thanksgiving at a table in your youth? Do you remember it with JOY? My earliest recollections of giving thanks at a table

          My great grandparents Cox' table was a simple meal of vegetables seasoned with salt, pepper. bacon drippings, cornbread. Sliced white bread was an unspeakable luxury.

          My grandparents Roland table was filled with chicken and dumplins, white gravy, cornbread smeared with fresh "cow's butter." When I was small, my Roland grandparents had a couple of cows and we had milk, butter and products.

          My grandmother we called "Mimi" fixed a table fit for a king: there were main chicken dishes, mashed potatoes, yams, corn and beans, and especially pies of all flavors!

          My mother fixed holiday meals with festive, hams spiced with real cloves and an occasional turkey. She usually enlisted all of us in the preparation of her holiday meals.

          Lois' Mom, Ellen loved festive holiday meals. She worked from an organized list. When she was finished, she enjoyed taking pictures of all of us at the finished table. Her meals were legendary, but always prepared with loving hands and especially with the help of my Dad-in-Law, Lawrence.

          A Thanksgiving of Joy? This morning we are looking at a reason for thankfulness as written by King David a thousand years before Jesus. Can you remember a time of food and fellowship that was served in the Presence of the Lord with JOY?

Pastor Phil  <><<

 

 

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. -Psalms 100:4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 20, 2016 - Sheepfold Ministries

Pastor Phil Roland

 

A THANKSGIVING OF JOY

PSALM 95:1-11

"In this post election season people are either filled with joy or they are filled with dread. Spiritual joy within doesn't come from our circumstances, but from our hearts. The Joy of the Lord is the fountain-source of true thankfulness." Pastor Phil  <><<

 

Nehemiah 8:10b
¹⁰ . . .Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

 

 “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

 “Give thanks in all circumstances”   1 Thessalonians 5:18

GREEK ROOT WORDS

cara  = "KA-RA" - JOY

John 15:11 (NKJV)
¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

 

caras = "KA-RAS" - GRACE

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.

 

carisma = "CHA-RIS-MA" = GIFT, FAVOR

1 Corinthians 12:1 (NKJV)
¹ Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:

 

carismata = "CHA-RIS-MA-TA" GRACE OR FAVOR; PLURAL OF CHARISMA - Spiritual Gift(s) See 1 Cor. 12

 

I. SING SONGS OF THANKFULNESS - vs. 1-3

¹ Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. ² Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms. ³ For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.
          A. Sing to the Lord - v. 1a

          ¹ Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!

                    1. Gratitude is both horizontal and vertical

                    2. Grateful to / for one another

                              a. Grateful for family and friends

                              b. Grateful for difficult people

                    3. Grateful to / for God's Presence in our lives - Ex. 33:1

                                ¹⁴ And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

A THANKSGIVING OF JOY, cont. p.2

 

                              a. God's Promised Presence was with Moses

                              b. God's Promised Presence was with Joshua - Josh. 1:5

                                                            ⁵ No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your

                                      life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave

                                      you nor forsake you.

                              c. God will not forsake you, His presence is His guarantee

                    3. That's something to sing about!

 

          B. Sing in the Presence of One Another - Ephesians 5:19-20               

                    ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

              singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks

              always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus                           Christ,

                    1. Sing Newer Songs of Praise - Psalm 96:1

                                           ¹ Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

                    2. Sing Older Worship Songs

                              What a fellowship!  What a joy divine!

                                                Leaning on the Everlasting arms!

                                    How Great Thou Art!

                                    Holy, Holy, Holy

                                                Lord God Almighty!

                                    Great is Thy Faithfulness

                                                Oh God my Father!

                                    All Hail the Power of Jesus Name

                                                Let angels prostrate fall!

                                    Blessed Assurance,

                                                Jesus is mine!

                                    A Mighty Fortress is our God

                                                A Bulwark never failing!

                                    At the Cross at the Cross where I first saw the light

                                                And the burden of my heart rolled away

                                    It was there by faith I received my sight

                                                And now I am happy all the day

                                    Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face

                                                And the things of the earth will grow strangely dim

                                                In the light of His glory and grace.

 

II. RESPOND TO THE CALL TO WORSHIP W/JOY- vs. 6,7

⁶ Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. ⁷ For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: ⁸ "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,

          A. David's response to the Call to Worship was JOY - Psalm 122:1

                    ¹ A song of Ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go                    into the house of the LORD."

                        1. Choral Call to Worship

               "The Lord is in His Holy Temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him!"

               2. When I was a child being silent in God's House was AGONY

A THANKSGIVING OF JOY, cont. p.3

 

                    3. As I grew up I tolerated entering the House of the Lord

                    4. As an adolescent it was an agony again

                    5. As an adult I grew to look forward to the assembly of                                           believers with great joy

                    6. As an older adult I look forward to occasional quiet times                                     alone with God with gladness

        B. David exhorts us to remember who we are and who God is

                    1. There is joy in knowing God and who He is

                    2. There is joy in knowing who were are

                    3. Getting a perspective in who we are is joy and peace

                        And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand.

 

 

⁸ Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!   1 Chronicles 16:8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A THANKSGIVING OF JOY, Text

Psalm 95:1-11 (NKJV)
¹ Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
² Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms.
³ For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.
⁴ In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also.
⁵ The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land.
⁶ Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
⁷ For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice:
⁸ "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
⁹ When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work.
¹⁰ For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.'
¹¹ So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

•  
•  
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• Psalm 50:23

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!”

—Psalm 50:23    

 

Psalm 92:1

92:1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

—Psalm 92:1 

   

Psalm 97:12

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

—Psalm 97:12    

 

 

Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

—Psalm 100:4    

 

Psalm 105:1-2

105:1 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!

—Psalm 105:1-2 

   

Philippians 4:6

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

—Philippians 4:6    

 

Oh give thank to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. -Psalms 105:1

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. -Psalms 100:4

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. -Philippians 4:6

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High; to declare Thy loving-kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness by night... For Thou, O Lord, hast made me glad by what Thou hast done, I will sing for joy at the work of Thy hands. How great are Thy works, O Lord! -Psalm 92:1, 4-5

Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father... -Ephesians 5:19-20

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with loving-kindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. -Psalm 103:1-5

 

 

 

 

I AM THANKFUL . . .

FOR THE HUSBAND WHO COMPLAINS WHEN HIS DINNER IS NOT ON TIME, BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME, NOT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE TEENAGER WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES, BECAUSE THAT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME & NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES THAT I PAY, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK, BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE.

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING, AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT, BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND THAT I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL, BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH THAT SINGS OFF KEY, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I AM ALIVE.

AND FINALLY.......FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

 

Sheepfold Ministries – Pastor Phil Roland - 2004