Trading Grumbling for Gratitude | 1 Thessalonians 5:13-22 | 11/30/25

Devotional

Day 1: Rejoice, pray, and give thanks always.

You are invited into a gift exchange where the small practice of rejoicing, continual prayer, and giving thanks begins to rewire your heart away from the habit of grumbling; this is not a cute suggestion but God's will for you in Christ Jesus, a spiritual discipline that partners with the Spirit to declare God's goodness into your life even when circumstances are hard. [14:49]

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (NIV)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.

Reflection: Today, write down three specific things you are thankful for—no matter how small—and for each say a one-sentence prayer of thanks, asking God to help you replace one habitual grumble with gratitude; what did you write and pray for each one?

Day 2: Choose servant-hearted humility over rivalry.

When rivalry and grumbling rise, they quickly lead to division and bickering even among those closest to Jesus, so practice the Jesus-way of greatness by choosing to serve, to step into humility, and to replace conversations that rank people with actions that love and serve them instead. [09:05]

Matthew 20:20-28 (NIV)
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to him with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. 23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” 24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Reflection: Identify one recent moment when you felt competitive, resentful, or talked negatively about someone; today, perform one humble act of service for that person (a message of affirmation, a helpful errand, or a sincere prayer), then journal how the action changed your feelings.

Day 3: Don't reduce people to "them"; welcome everyone.

Grumbling tempts people to demonize and classify others as “them,” but the posture of Jesus was to welcome tax collectors and sinners into relationship—so practice softening your language and extending hospitality or listening to someone you’ve been tempted to write off. [11:09]

Luke 15:1-2 (NIV)
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Reflection: Choose one person you’ve been tempted to label or exclude; reach out to them this week—invite them for coffee, listen to their story, or offer a simple, genuine kindness—and note any shift in how you view them afterward.

Day 4: Grumbling blocks God’s promises and blessing.

The Israelite example shows how persistent grumbling and unbelief can keep a community from entering what God intended, so instead of letting complaints close off hope, take one small step of faith today that affirms God’s goodness and moves you toward the promise you sense he’s calling you into. [13:04]

Deuteronomy 1:34-36 (NIV)
34 When the LORD heard you, he was angry and solemnly swore: 35 “Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the land I promised on oath to their fathers, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh; he will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.”

Reflection: Name one hope or promise from God you have been doubting; take a concrete faith step toward it today (read a related Scripture, speak the hope aloud in prayer, or tell a trusted friend), and write down how that step felt.

Day 5: Lament and gratitude can coexist in worship.

Jesus modeled holding raw grief and fierce anger at death while also offering thanksgiving to the Father, showing that lament and gratitude are not opposed but together form a faithful way to partner with the Spirit in hard places. [31:21]

John 11:41-42 (NIV)
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I know that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

Reflection: If you are grieving or carrying a hard thing, write a one-paragraph lament naming the pain, then follow it with one sentence of gratitude to God; pray both aloud today and notice how holding both shapes your heart.

Sermon Summary

I kicked off Advent by inviting us into a “gift exchange.” Not the party kind with plungers and elk scent, but the deep exchange Jesus offers: trading the not-so-gift of grumbling for the gift of gratitude. 1 Thessalonians 5 calls us to warn the idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone, and to pursue good instead of repaying evil. That’s hard when life stings, headlines wound, and relationships fray. But I named grumbling for what it becomes over time: a force that divides, demonizes, and ultimately brings death to peace, trust, and hope. Scripture shows this in the disciples’ infighting, the Pharisees’ “them-ing,” and Israel’s wilderness refusal. Grumbling imagines a world where God will not make wrong things right.

Then we heard the counter-call: rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything—God’s will for us. Gratitude isn’t decor on the fridge; it’s partnership with the Spirit. When we practice thanksgiving, we refuse to stifle the Spirit and instead agree with Him about where God’s goodness is breaking in. Even neuroscience nods here: gratitude can reshape neural pathways, renewing our minds and tangibly impacting well-being.

This isn’t denial of pain. Lament is different from grumbling. Lament says, “This hurts, and God is faithful.” Grumbling says, “It’s all hopeless.” We’re learning to live an “and” life: that was bad, and God is good. Jesus shows us how at Lazarus’ tomb—He rages at death, weeps with friends, and then thanks the Father who always hears. He holds sorrow and hope at once, and He holds us as we learn to do the same.

So we practice. Ask: What happened today that was good? How is God revealing His goodness to me today? Who or what am I grateful for? Then write three things a day. Put them on sticky notes, a family board, or text a friend at 4 p.m. for a seven-day gratitude exchange. These aren’t small acts; they’re prophetic declarations that darkness doesn’t extinguish God’s light. Let’s hand Jesus our grumbling and receive gratitude that grows a joyful expectation: His goodness is chasing us in every circumstance.

Key Takeaways

1. Trade grumbling for grateful, prophetic living. Grumbling shrinks the world to what’s wrong; gratitude partners with the Spirit to name how God’s goodness is already breaking in. This isn’t pretending—this is agreeing with heaven’s reality in the middle of earthly pain. Gratitude becomes a prophetic act that opens us to the Spirit’s movement rather than stifling Him. [18:26]
2. Grumbling breeds division, dehumanization, death. It starts small—comparisons, little digs, “those people”—but it corrodes relationships and trust. Scripture shows how grumbling turns friends into rivals and neighbors into caricatures. Left unchecked, it kills peace, hope, and our capacity to receive the future God is offering. [12:18]
3. Gratitude renews minds and reorients lives. Thanksgiving is God’s will because it is formative—shaping thought, attention, and affection. Practiced consistently, it lays new neural pathways that help us see reality through God’s faithfulness, not our fears. Over time, gratitude cultivates resilience, joy, and a posture of worship. [17:02]
4. Practice lament and gratitude together. Lament tells the truth about pain; gratitude tells the truth about God. Together they keep us from denial on one side and despair on the other. We learn to say, “This is hard, and God is here,” and we meet Jesus in that honest place. [21:00]
5. Start small: daily thanks shapes community. Three specific gratitudes a day—on a mirror, a family board, or a shared text—can change a home’s atmosphere. Shared practice deepens connection and trains our eyes to notice grace. It’s simple, repeatable, and surprisingly powerful over time. [29:05]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:23] - Advent Gift Exchange Begins
[02:19] - The White Elephant Problem
[03:37] - Trading Grumbling for Gratitude
[05:00] - Marching Orders in 1 Thessalonians
[08:26] - Why Grumbling Is Deadly
[12:18] - Israel’s Grumble and Loss
[14:49] - God’s Will: Rejoice, Pray, Thanks
[15:37] - Gratitude’s Impact on Body and Brain
[18:26] - Don’t Stifle the Spirit
[21:00] - Lament, Not Grumbling
[25:38] - Questions That Grow Gratitude
[28:38] - A Simple Daily Practice
[29:23] - Lazarus: Tears, Anger, Thanksgiving
[33:17] - Closing Prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 — 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.

Observation Questions

What specific actions does Paul list in verses 14–15, and which of those does the preacher highlight as the opposite of grumbling? [05:00]
Verses 16–18 give three short commands (rejoice, pray, give thanks). How did the sermon connect these commands to spiritual and physical well‑being? [15:37]
Verse 19 says, “Do not quench the Spirit.” Based on the sermon, what does quenching the Spirit look like in everyday life—especially around gratitude? [18:26]
The preacher used stories from Matthew (disciples arguing), the Pharisees (them‑ing), and Israel in the wilderness to show the damage of grumbling. What common consequences did he point out from those examples? [09:05]

Interpretation Questions

How should the group interpret Paul’s command to “warn those who are idle” in light of the sermon’s claim that grumbling breeds division—what practical boundary or loving confrontation might this require? [05:54]
The sermon argued that gratitude “partners with the Spirit” and can be prophetic. How does this reading of verses 16–19 shape their understanding of what it means to “not quench the Spirit”? [19:10]
The preacher contrasted lament with grumbling (lament: “this hurts, and God is faithful”; grumbling: “it’s all hopeless”). How should this distinction affect the way they read verses 16–18 in seasons of real pain? [21:00]
Paul tells believers to “test all things; hold on to what is good.” In light of the sermon’s warning about demonizing “them,” how should the group test attitudes and speech about others before labeling them as “those people”? [11:09]

Application Questions

Identify one recurring complaint you find yourself saying (about family, politics, church, work, etc.). How does that complaint fit the sermon’s description of grumbling, and what is one concrete replacement behavior (rejoice, pray, give thanks) you will try instead this week? [04:26]
Choose one relationship where grumbling or negative talk has created distance. What is one specific, gospel‑shaped step you can take in the next 48 hours to pursue that person’s good (call, apologize, encourage, help)? [10:27]
The preacher suggested writing three things you’re grateful for each day and invited a seven‑day exchange (text at 4 p.m.). Will you commit to a seven‑day practice? If yes, who will you invite to exchange texts with you and what time will you set? [28:38]
When was the last time you held a genuine lament before God (naming pain to God) rather than escaping into sarcasm or a complaint? What words could you use this week to pray a lament that also names trust in God? [21:00]
The sermon referenced research showing gratitude can reshape the brain. What small, concrete habit (phone reminder, sticky note on the mirror, journaling, family board) will you use to make gratitude a repeatable practice for at least 21 days? [17:02]
Paul warns “do not repay evil for evil” (v.15). Think of a recent moment when your instinct was to repay wrong. What would “pursuing what is good” have looked like in that situation, and what will you do if the same situation comes again? [06:17]
The preacher pointed to Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb as a model who held anger, grief, and thanksgiving together. In the next week, when you face painful news or relationships, how will you try to hold both honest grief and a declaration of God’s goodness? Give one concrete sentence you can pray in that moment. [30:08]

Sermon Clips

``These people who are brothers in Christ, who are literally walking with Jesus 10 feet in front of them, start bickering like wild animals because of who is the greatest. And Jesus has to go into Papa Jesus mode in that moment. And he goes, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. We don't do that in the kingdom because whoever wants to be the greatest needs to be the servant of all. We don't do power like the Gentiles do power. We do it the Jesus way. [00:09:32] (30 seconds) #ServeLikeJesus

Grumbling is a big deal because at the end of the day, grumbling is of the kingdom of darkness. Grumbling believes in a world where God cannot make wrong things right and where his goodness is not stronger than the badness. Grumbling is actually a life or death matter. But the cool thing is we get the opportunity to trade that terrible white elephant gift in for something great. [00:14:22] (27 seconds) #DitchTheGrumble

Rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving are not a suggestion. They're God's will for you. His will for you. What has God called me to do? Rejoice, pray, and be thankful. Now, there's a lot of ways that'll play out. Maybe there's some specifics to that that are pretty cool. But goodness gracious, God's will for you is to rejoice, to pray, and to give thanks. You know why? Because it's not just a good idea. This is actually something that can revive your soul. [00:15:02] (35 seconds) #RejoicePrayGiveThanks

In fact, as we learn more about the brain, we see that gratitude and thankfulness as a daily practice paves new neural pathways in our brain. This is your Romans 12, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Gratitude is a tool that helps us be transformed by the renewing of our mind. And that particular study that followed these women noticed that they would ask questions like, what happens today that was good? What am I taking for granted that I could be thankful for? [00:16:54] (29 seconds) #GratitudeTransforms

We're practicing prayer. We're practicing rejoicing. We're practicing thanksgiving. We're learning how to live a Jesus-shaped life by practicing. And the cool thing is, is we're going to fail and we're going to mess up and we're not going to do it perfectly. But I don't think Jesus is after your perfection. He's after your heart. And it's going to be messy. But the practice of joy, the practice of prayer, the practice of thanksgiving, I think, can make a really huge difference in our lives. [00:18:04] (31 seconds) #PracticeFaithNotPerfection

That's kind of cool. You are partnering with the Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead. And if he raised Jesus from the dead, might he be strong enough to turn us from grumpy to thankful? I think he could do it. And it's really cool because thanksgiving isn't just this like good idea. It isn't just this thing that's like a cute thing that you put on your fridge. It is doing the work of partnering with the Spirit to declare the goodness of God in your life and the life of others. [00:19:28] (35 seconds) #SpiritPoweredGratitude

Much of the Bible has these things called prayers of lament. And a lament is different than a grumble. A grumble is, it's all hopeless. A lament is, God, I see a lot of darkness right now and I don't get it. I'm still going to follow you. That's two-thirds of the Psalms that are those types of lament Psalms. And so, to declare God's goodness does not mean that you turn a blind eye to your suffering. The sickness is not going to magically just be okay. [00:21:00] (31 seconds) #LamentWithHope

The and recognizes that that is dark but God is greater. The but in there is kind of like a, I'm going to put my head under the rug. I'm not going to feel my feelings. I'm not going to grieve. Because God actually wants to meet you in your grief. So, if you are having a hard time being grateful because life has been hard, that is okay. There is room for that. Part of the invitation is to grow closer to God by practicing learning to see His goodness and lamenting what is wrong or lamenting what is dark. [00:22:10] (29 seconds) #GriefAndGrace

He said, Father, forgive these people for they don't know what they do. He's believing in the goodness of a world where you can be forgiven. And He's dealing with the suffering of being on the cross. Jesus holds it both, and He holds you as you hold both. And I believe the invitation for you and for me is to trade this little white elephant gift of grumbling, which doesn't add to a lot of life, and we trade that for some lament and for some gratitude. Something that actually helps our heart grow. [00:23:40] (32 seconds) #FromGrumbleToGratitude

Something that leads to a joyful expectation that God's goodness is constantly following you in every circumstance. That's what gratitude is. To say it, one of the ways that one of my favorite artists, a guy by the name of Scott Erickson says it, is he said, to make a list of gratitude, a list of thankfulness, is to create a catalog of loves. It's a catalog of the things that you love, the things that God has gifted you with, ways that you have seen God's goodness break into your life. [00:24:42] (34 seconds) #CatalogOfGratitude

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