With every memory, giving thanks

The New Testament both exhorts its readers to give thanks and exemplifies the giving of thanks. Gratitude is a common attribute of the sanctified believer (in part because it is so unlike the natural man). Of all the things that might be said about giving thanks, I want to draw attention to two characteristics of […]

God’s provision for sexual temptation

It is no revelation to say that we live in a sexually-provocative culture. The clothing and entertainment industries are highly sexualized, romance novels with sensational covers abound, advertisers use sex to sell virtually every category of product, news programs are filled with sexual content that would have been considered inappropriate for airing a generation ago, […]

Sermon: Thankful Hearts Giving Thanks

Thankful Hearts Giving Thanks Colossians 3:15-17 November 22, 2020 Rudyard Kipling is one of the most well-known British writers from the 19th and 20th centuries. He penned many poems and such classic stories as How the Leopard Got His Spots and The Jungle Book. His writing made him famous and wealthy. A newspaper reporter approached […]

Today is a day for thankfulness

Today is a day for thankfulness. Every day is a day for thankfulness. Every circumstance is a time for thankfulness. That’s not my opinion. My (personal and fleshly) opinion is that most days are for grumbling, complaining, disputing, and arguing. I do not naturally gravitate to thankfulness. I naturally move towards ingratitude and discontentment. But […]

Sermon: Thanking God for the Past…

Thanking God for the Past; Trusting God for the Future Philippians 1:3-11 June 14, 2020 Sometimes it is hard to give thanks for the circumstances and people of our past. That’s not just true in the past three months, but it’s also true of life in general — illness, unexpected deaths, financial hardship (poverty), broken […]

Coronavirus and gratitude

Here is a short ministry update from Grace Bible Church, and a few thoughts about gratitude during Covid-19:

After the wedding…I’m thankful

“…in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18; NASB) As believers, we know that we are to give thanks always — in all circumstances, at all times, for all people. There are sometimes when that is easier than at other times. The past few weeks has […]

Giving Thanks for 40 years of God’s Faithfulness

This past week, we gave thanks to the Lord as a congregation for His faithfulness to us over the 40 years of the church’s existence. A large amount of time, energy, and financial resources went into that celebration. Is it legitimate to do something like that celebration? Why should we be overt in our expression […]

Sermon: We Give Thanks to God

We Give Thanks to God Colossians 1:3-8 August 11, 2019 A tremendous amount of effort has gone into acknowledging GBC’s 40th anniversary. Hours and hours in planning, interviewing, designing logos, phone calling, ordering (food and shirts and…), setting up tables and chairs, mowing, marking parking, and more. Is it worth the effort? Is there value […]

The Lord, Our Help — for 40 years (and counting)

Much of life is ordinary and routine. Get up in the morning, get a cup of coffee, get the kids ready for school, go to work, come home, pay bills or mow the lawn, go to bed. Get up. Repeat. But periodically, circumstances change unexpectedly, and unusually joyful events are interjected into our lives. Babies […]

I’m thankful

Several years ago I got up in the middle of one night and fainted in the bathroom, knocking a few tiles off our shower wall where my head hit and putting a gash in my head in the process. (Yes — insert joke/comment here about my head being harder than ceramic tile!) Then about 2-1/2 […]

Give thanks to God

I grew up in a home where we were taught to say “please” and “thank you.” Our children grew up in a home where they were expected to send timely “thank you” notes for gifts they received. And many of you experienced the same kind of training. While saying and writing “thank you” often seems […]

A godly man will express his thankfulness

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Godly Man’s Picture. A godly man will express his thankfulness in every duty. He mingles thanksgiving with prayer: ‘in every thing by prayer with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God’ […]

Sermon: One Grateful Man

“One Grateful Man” Luke 17:11-19 November 22, 2015 It’s one of my (several) favorite Peanuts cartoons: Linus is shown sitting at a table, pencil in hand. In the second panel the paper he was writing on is crumpled with his expected exclamation, “Rats!” In the third panel we see a trash can surrounded by numerous […]

Give thanks — even when fearful of Ebola

First Thessalonians 5:18 is a verse that often comes to mind when I am wrestling with discontentment and disappointment. I want something that I didn’t receive or have something that is taken away. And sometimes I am fearful or anxious of something that might happen. The question in all these circumstances is, “can I give […]