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We are finishing up a sermon series that really focused on being together and we kind of did that dominantly last week about giving together toward the kingdom of God. So this week I want to transition a little bit and look at what's coming ahead as opposed to wrap up what we've been going through and look at the obvious thing that's on our minds and hearts this week, which is Thanksgiving cuz that's coming up and that's what we'll all celebrate this week. And I'm tempted to think of this as the main focus of Thanksgiving. Can I get an amen? It's very easy to say. Oh boy. I'm looking forward to sitting at a table full of food and Emily add to that. We say to ourselves. I'm looking forward to having the family gathered around that table. I'm looking for it if having all of us together, and so if we when we think about Thanksgiving and we think about gratitude we tend to think oh Lord. Thank you for sweet potato casserole. And and and thank you for my fam. Me and my kids we we can slip into you know kids and cars and houses and spouses that can kind of become the essence of gratitude for us. And on one level. It is good. So don't miss your meat is good to be thankful for the blessings in our lives. And so it's good when we gather around the Thanksgiving table and we thank the Lord for sweet potato casserole and houses in spouses of kids in cars. That is good. But I do believe that when we look at scripture and we look at some of the most premier passages about gratitude that were invited to go deeper and what and how we practice gratitude and one of most rare passages is this one in Luke. It says on the way to Jerusalem. Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee as he entered a village ten lepers approached him keeping their distance. They called out saying Jesus Master have mercy on us when he saw them. He said to them. Go and show yourself to the priest and as they went they were made clean then one of them when he saw that he was healed turn back praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated themselves at Jesus feet and thanked him and he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked were not 10 made clean. But the other nine where are they was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this Foreigner. Then he said to him get up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well. Well, I think there are a lot of lessons in this passage, but I want to zoom in specifically about what it teaches us about the practice of gratitude. So that maybe we can let scripture take us to a deeper level than the cultural level of gratitude during Thanksgiving. And again, the cultural level is good. I'm glad that people gather and they are grateful for all they have in their life, but I believe scripture calls us to kind of go to little bit deeper level of what it means to be great. When I think we see these Lessons In this passage gratitude for followers of Christ is Greater Than A Feeling. Sometimes we're tempted to think in terms of gratitude means feeling grateful. Again, that's good. But I believe were called to go deeper. But if we're not careful the week will slip by in the holidays will slip by and we'll only go that deep we'll just have moments when we say.

I'm glad that my family I'm glad to have my house and I'm glad to have friends and food and those sorts of things and we'll stop there. But I believe we're called to a deeper level of gratitude as followers of Christ gratitude for followers of Christ is more than being grateful for a list of things that again is good to start there, but we're called to go deeper. But if we're not careful, we'll just so here's the things I look around possessions and family and and that's where it's at and we'll be grateful for those but I believe we need to go deeper and add to that when we look at what this passage teaches us. Gratitude for followers of Christ I believe is fundamentally about actions not feelings alone. So think about it, I don't know about you, but we're tempted to think of gratitude as simply an emotion. Are we a feeling that we have do you feel grateful? You should pause sometime this week and feel grateful if you don't and if we're not careful, it's just kind of becomes this emotion, but I believe this passage demonstrates for us and illustrates for us and teaches us as followers of God's word and as followers of Jesus teaches us to go a little deeper than just feelings or just a list of things gratitude as you look in this passage for followers of Christ includes publicly praising God. Do you see the obviousness of that model and that lesson In this passage the one person that came back and show gratitude Jesus complimented him. Is this the only one out of the 10 that came back and what it said that he did was as he came back he was shouting and praising God. So he was publicly praising God other people knew it. It wasn't a secret. If you were near him, you would find out that he prays to God for what was healed in his life. As I think that's a fundamental part of what it means to be grateful is to publicly praise God, but we can keep layering that and go deeper and see more of what gratitude is In this passage gratitude for followers of Christ is included specifically recognizing and publicly praising the work of God in our life through Jesus. You see that in the passage. It says they were healed and as they realize they were healed. They're on their way. They were healed as they realize they were healed. One of them turned. It went back publicly praising. God went back to Jesus to thank him. So I think gratitude includes this idea of recognizing what God has done in our life pausing and recognizing specifically what he has done in our life through the work of Jesus Christ. Am I being fair to the passage? Isn't that exactly what the passage models for us? It does not step back and give us this platitude of you should push back to the table and say it's good to be me. I am grateful this year instead it specifically models for us recognizing the work of God in our lives through Jesus Christ and then publicly praising God for that work recognizing that work and acknowledging what God has done in our life to continue to layer gratitude for followers of Christ means publicly submitting Our Lives to God through Jesus Christ because he not only comes back in this passage praising. God loudly were told So it is a public demonstration of gratitude to God and it's not easy for him to do think about the context here when these Samaritan's went where or when these lepers first see Jesus. It says they keep their distance shouting to him. That's because they were literally Out cast they were told because of your disease you are not allowed to be near your family. You're not allowed to be in the village. You're not allowed to be anywhere else because of your leprosy. We are casting you out and you have to live alone out in the wilderness. Some folks will bring some food to the edge of the Wilderness and you can come gather it but no one's going to be near you they were literally Outcast and then on top of that Jesus points out that the one that comes back and Praises God loudly and thanks him is a Samaritan. Sometimes we look at passages of we have a sentence in her head. We assumed they were nine Jews in one Samaritan in this is America came back where they were told that their non-jews were never told what the mix is were told that there 10 lepers. And one of the 10 comes back and thanks him in Jesus points out that and it was a foreigner. This one that came back was a Samaritan. So for him to publicly praise God is drawing attention to himself. Not only if someone who's been an outcast up until that very moment someone that's not supposed to draw attention to themselves. Someone is supposed to keep their distance outside of the community outside of the village. He's supposed to any of the Samaritan on top of that and he's praising this Jewish rabbi who's claimed to be the Messiah. There was a lot of cost for him and a lot of risk for him to publicly acknowledge that Jesus Christ had healed him and to praise God publicly that God was working through Jesus and then to fall at the feet of Jesus and submit to him. It wasn't just that you know, God is good. a lot to be thankful for this year and we're thankful for it was the specificity of saying God has worked in my life, and he has blessed my life through Jesus Christ.

That's the different in then there's power. I think to obeying God in a specific way because it's culturally acceptable absolutely culturally acceptable to push back to the table and say I've got a lot to be thankful for and I am grateful. It is a far different thing to very publicly without any vagueness to it. Say I have been blessed by God do the work of Jesus Christ. He has healed me in some form or fashion and worked in my life and some form or fashion and I give the credit and the honor and the praise to Jesus Christ the gods work through him. That's a very specific thing in it. And that's what model does passage about what it means to be grateful. So think about it this week as we as we kind of set around our our Thanksgiving table are traditional routines might be one that says everybody share something that you're grateful for. But if it's a Christian gathering around your table by challenge you to go a little deeper and say I praise God for in my life through Jesus Christ. Instead of just saying I'm grateful that we've got a home. I'm grateful for this for that for the other what if we paused? Like this Samaritan leper models for us we paused and we recognized what God has done in our life. We pause then we recognized our salvation for many of us may be years ago or we recognized healing that he's worked in our life for maybe a broken relationship years ago and a beginning of that healing there was bitterness and and heartache and pain and now we realize you know, what that's been a number of years and God has consistently worked in my heart in my life and allowed there to be healing in that area. Maybe in your own growth and your knowledge of scripture at one point you started at a place where you didn't know and you didn't understand and now you realize God has worked in your life through the church and Two Brothers and Sisters in Christ to a place where you feel confident about your salvation. Somebody shared with me that this week that they've grown in the past few years in a sense of confidence of of Christ being there salvation and Grace being real and true and something they can depend on and they moved away from the feeling that will Jesus save me but I got to do what it takes to keep myself save that kind of iron my salvation from conversion on instead. They embraced the gospel of grace. How many things do we go? There there been times in your life when you begged God by the bedside of a loved one for their healing and you can look back now and say that's one thing to be grateful for. Or maybe you went through tragedy or hardship, but you look back now and you realize even in the midst of that hardship God was there besides you at every point? wouldn't that be a rich moment of Thanksgiving around the table to say I praise God for And you reflected and recognized one thing that he is done in your life through Jesus Christ. And you praise Him publicly for that. Maybe there's a recovery in your life that you're celebrating each year and you can honor God for that yet again, and secondly, what if we added to that the death of sang and I submit to God. I submit this to God through Jesus Christ. What? If not only we thank God for everything up to this moment. But we looked ahead for the to the coming 12 months. And we openly acknowledged with our friends and family who has gathered around the table with us or our Thanksgiving time may take different forms this week. We may be working all day Thanksgiving. We may we may be eating a sandwich by herself on the phone with a close friend and that may be our sacred Thanksgiving moment. But what if we said, you know what I'm thankful this Thanksgiving for what God has done in my life through Jesus and here's one thing he's done. And then what if we said, you know what over the next year out of gratitude? For that healing for that answer to prayer for what God has done in my life to the work of Jesus Christ hear something. I want to submit to God. Maybe it's maybe it's my career. Maybe it's my economics. Maybe it's my relationships. Maybe it's my pride. Whatever it is that that might be an obstacle between me and God. A deeper way to be grateful. What would that look like if our Gatherings went deeper do you see how it's good that so many will gather and and take account and Count Their Blessings and thank God this week. That is absolutely wonderful. But can you see the vision the deeper vision of what it would mean for Christians this week to be more specific about that for which they're grateful. To pause and recognize what God has done in their life through Jesus Christ and thank God for that. Praise God publicly for that. Some of us probably are in positions of influence or respect to family members or the community and a lot of folks. Probably just assume well. Fred is just a great guy. He's always been a great guy. He's a hard worker. He got a degree. He built himself up. He's a self-made man. God might be calling us in a public way to praise him for his role in us being Who We Are Including our success there might be some vulnerability here this week or this month are between now and the holidays where God calls us to acknowledge publicly to others. I need how you accomplish that you have, You know, the truth is there's so many things that God has done in my life through Jesus Christ that were not for Jesus. I wouldn't be where I'm at today. See how that's a deeper level of gratitude and it's a witness to Christ. And how beautiful would it be if if Thanksgiving became not only a time of recognizing the work of God through Jesus in our lives and praising God for that either became a time of renewal of our submission to him. If we added to that here something I submit to God because of what he's clearly done in my life to Jesus Christ. And again, maybe it's maybe it's our economics or maybe it's a relationship. Maybe it's a burden that we have on our heart. Might be different for everyone in the room. But the invitation is to say because of your work like this Samaritan leper. I not only Praise You publicly but I fall at your feet. I submit to you and I trust you. I'm going to bite the worship team to come forward and that's our invitation this morning to mimic what we see in this passage in this prayer. To spend some time as weak as we sing this song Here's a chance for us to practice. What was modeled here this Samaritan leper worship God loudly and publicly. So we still get the worship in the service. We still got song and communion and offering so here's a chance for us to immediately practice this to reflect during this time. What are some of the things that God has done in my life through Jesus Christ. It may be as straightforward as the fact that you've received forgiveness that there was a season in your life when you felt absolutely pressed down by your own sins and struggles and you know, you would not have made it had you not heard the gospel and they do not been told that you are forgiven and because of the work of Christ God's work through Christ on the cross that we are as white as snow. Because of Christ work, it may be spot on the gospel that you have God to thank for this morning or as I said, it may be relationships that he's healed or tragedies that he's helped you journey through and make it to the other side. But let's practice that sort of Thanksgiving this morning think specifically about God has done in your life to Christ and thank him and secondly during this song. We all know what it is. Like, I don't know everything on your heart. You don't know everything on my heart, but I can guarantee you all of us know something on our own hearts that we can submit to God. That we can bring the ham and say not only am I grateful, but I want to bring to you something. I need to submit to you. in the midst of that gratitude

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