Sermon

Thankfulness is an act of faith. When we find ourselves overwhelmed by pain, loss, and difficulty, it takes faith to look beyond ourselves and the immediate—beyond the things that are bigger than us, beyond our own powerlessness, and beyond our own expectations.

Thanksgiving, like forgiveness, is not cheap. It costs our fixation on what we want as we celebrate what we have. It costs our resentment towards things in our past as we live in the present. It costs humility to realize we did not do it on our own.

This can be hard. Thankfulness is a radical reordering of our priorities. To be thankful is to live in the present rather than the past or future. It is to acknowledge what is good even when there may be a great deal that is wrong. It means being thankful for peanut butter when we want filet mignon.

The good news is that when we’re mindful of the things for which we can be thankful, the difficulties and disappointments in our lives have less power over us.

• When we’re thankful, we can find opportunities amid challenges.
• When we’re thankful, our troubles and difficulties don’t disappear, but they lose much of their power over us.
• When we’re thankful, we’re more likely to look for what we can do rather than what we can’t.
• When we’re thankful, we are aware of what we have rather than only what we’re missing.
• When we’re thankful, we are aware of what we can give rather than only what we want.

I don't know about you, but I used to skip from the admonition to "rejoice in the Lord always" right to the call to "not worry about anything." In doing so, I missed the great blessing and importance of letting our "gentleness be known to everyone."

Gentleness is an often overlooked characteristic of who we should be as Christians. When we are not gentle, we use power or coercion against others. They may bend to our will, but it defeats others rather than building allies. People may do what we want, and it may be the right thing, but it does not become "their" thing. Power creates subjects rather than sisters and brothers.

Gentleness makes change possible, rather than forcing it. Gentleness transforms people rather than defeating them. When it comes right down to it, now matter what bullies may think, gentleness is strength, and only those who are truly strong can be gentle.

May our Gentleness be known to everyone.

Suffering and hardships are real. We face problems that are bigger than us. But while God sometimes changes our circumstances, God always changes us.

God doesn’t drop a couple thousand in our checking account from time to time to make us happy. A new car doesn’t appear in our driveway every year. Our doctor doesn’t always say, “Just keep doing what you are doing.” Our friends don’t always treat us the way we would like.

Instead, God often opens our eyes to the many blessings to which we are blind and transforms our desires towards his own. Remember back in Philippians 2, “Let your mind be like that of Christ Jesus who did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.” Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me” and “Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven.”

If God truly loves us, what do you think he is going to do? Spoil us or shape us to resemble Jesus?

Surrounded by voices and impulses, how do we invest ourselves in lasting value rather than junk?

Parents holding a newborn child find their hearts turned to a new set of values and a different future. Cancer diagnoses often reveal life in a whole new light. Falling in love transforms our hearts.

Saul the Pharisee experienced a profound awakening when Jesus appeared to him. His passionate persecution of Christians was revealed as wrong, and he became one himself.

Paul wanted to know Christ and the power of his resurrection. He now saw Jesus’ resurrection as the most powerful force in all of creation. If Jesus is risen from the dead, then many of the world’s assumptions of value will fail. If Jesus is risen from the dead, then wealth, power, and prestige are far from the most important things in life. Instead, it is knowing the risen Christ, experiencing the power of his resurrection in our lives, and revealing it to others.

Living as a Christian is not just living like everyone else, but better. It is a completely different path in life. As our hearts and eyes are opened, we find ourselves following in Jesus' footsteps, seeking the lost, forgiving the guilty, and offering our lives for the sake of others.

This old saying points out an important truth with broad implications, rather than commenting on boring sermons. In a world filled with cheap and confusing talk, living examples are sometimes rare and always priceless. Rather than words on a page, the Gospel of John describes Jesus' birth as "the Word became flesh and dwelled among us." In Jesus, we can see God's character, love, purposes, and grace. Amazingly, God's plan is for us to be living sermons ourselves.

Unfortunately, Christians have often earned the reputation of saying one thing and doing another—of being judgmental toward others when we have plenty of junk in our own lives. Jesus refers to this as pointing out the speck in someone else's eye but ignoring the board in our own.

The Apostle Paul writes that we are to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling." In other words, we are to grow into the people God saves us to be. Our salvation will have drastic effects on our lives.

This is a big ask—more than we can do on our own. But there is good news. The same God who saves us is at work in us, transforming our hearts and lives.

This is great news, not just for ourselves but also for the world. In a world that can often be very dark and difficult, we can "shine like stars in the world."

Consider today’s passage. It starts with, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.”

It could have left it there, and the point would have been made – we are to serve others. We aren’t to get all puffed up and prideful. We are to be humble and serve the needs of others rather than our own.

But God’s Word does not leave it there. In verse 5, we read: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Have the same attitude as Jesus, who humbled himself and died on the cross so that we can be forgiven of our sins. Jesus who “humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”

It is one thing for a person to serve the needs and desires of someone whom we judge to be worth it or can repay the favor. It is another to fully give ourselves for the sake of someone who does not deserve it. But that is exactly what Jesus did for us: “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is what we are called to do and be: to have the same mind as the one who saved us, and to have the same attitude of servitude as Jesus. This is not just for those we think are worthy, but for the world that God so loved that he gave his one and only son.

Everyone agrees that these are good things. But what will we do when our feelings are hurt, we feel let down, or we don't get our way? How will we respond?

The Apostle also writes that we are to "live our lives in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ." This means that God's grace and mercy toward us are so deeply embedded in our hearts and lives that we can't help but forgive and love one another, as God has loved and forgiven us.