The Power of Gratitude

Jonathan McGuire
Gratitude  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
0 ratings
· 23 views
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
View more →

Gratitude leads us into the presence of our God

Psalm 100 HCSB
A psalm of thanksgiving. 1 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. 3 Acknowledge that Yahweh is God. He made us, and we are His — His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5 For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations.
Gratitude: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness
health.harvard.edu
The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context). In some ways, gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, being grateful also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
Two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done much of the research on gratitude. In one study, they asked all participants to write a few sentences each week, focusing on particular topics.
One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week. A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them, and the third wrote about events that had affected them (with no emphasis on them being positive or negative). After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.
Another leading researcher in this field, Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, tested the impact of various positive psychology interventions on 411 people, each compared with a control assignment of writing about early memories. When their week's assignment was to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for his or her kindness, participants immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores. This impact was greater than that from any other intervention, with benefits lasting for a month.
Research also shows that those in a marriage relationship that take time to thank their spouse a generally more happy than those who don’t.
At work, employees often respond to a manager or leader who is thankful and will often get more work done by being thanked for their efforts.
This is obvious and it backs up what scripture calls us to.

Gratitude Shows How Big God is

Psalm 34:3 ESV
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!
Magnify like a telescope looking at a small dot in the sky. The telescope magnifies and allows us to see how big the object is that is so far away.
Gratitude to the Lord for who He is and for His people causes us to show the greatness of God and how Big he really is.
Ingratitude causes us to reduce the God who is really big down to being very small. (complaining has this ability, worry has this ability, bitterness does this)
Rather than seeing that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, we reduce the world down to thinking everything revolves around us.
Simple solution for this is gratitude. Be thankful for God and what he has done, Be thankful for who God has placed in your life.
Acts 14:8–20 HCSB
8 In Lystra a man without strength in his feet, lame from birth, and who had never walked, sat 9 and heard Paul speaking. After observing him closely and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And he jumped up and started to walk around. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the form of men!” 12 And they started to call Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the main speaker. 13 Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought oxen and garlands to the gates. He, with the crowds, intended to offer sacrifice. 14 The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Men! Why are you doing these things? We are men also, with the same nature as you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In past generations He allowed all the nations to go their own way, 17 although He did not leave Himself without a witness, since He did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and satisfying your hearts with food and happiness.” 18 Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them. 19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they had won over the crowds and stoned Paul, they dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. 20 After the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

Gratitude is God’s Will

1 Thessalonians 5:16 HCSB
16 Rejoice always!
1 Thessalonians 5:17 HCSB
17 Pray constantly.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 HCSB
18 Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Thankful for Jesus saving our soul

Romans 7:24–25 (HCSB)
24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
1 Corinthians 15:55–57 HCSB
55 Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? 56 Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more