Gratitude and Faithfulness: A Call to Worship

In this sermon, I was reminded of the importance of gratitude and thankfulness, especially in the midst of challenging times. The sermon began with a reflection on the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, emphasizing the need for us to be thankful for His grace and mercy. The speaker also highlighted the importance of worship and the power of hymns in reminding us of God's faithfulness. The sermon then transitioned into a discussion on the importance of gratitude, even in the midst of difficult circumstances. The speaker encouraged us to be a light in our communities by expressing our gratitude for all that God has done for us.

The sermon concluded with a reflection on Psalm 117, which emphasizes the importance of praising God with every fiber of our being. The speaker encouraged us to look back on our lives and recognize God's faithfulness, even in times when we may have let Him down. The speaker reminded us that God's love and faithfulness are constant, and that we should express our gratitude for these gifts.

Key Takeaways:
- The importance of expressing gratitude, even in challenging times, as a testament to God's faithfulness and love. (#!!39:12!!#)
- The power of worship and hymns in reminding us of God's faithfulness and love. (#!!52:20!!#)
- The call to be a light in our communities by expressing our gratitude for all that God has done for us. (#!!41:33!!#)
- The reminder of God's constant love and faithfulness, even when we may have let Him down. (#!!34:06!!#)
- The importance of praising God with every fiber of our being, as emphasized in Psalm 117. (#!!45:39!!#)

Bible Reading:
1. Luke 8: The story of the man healed from a legion of demons. (Timestamp: #!!39:12!!#)
2. Psalm 117: A short psalm of praise and thanksgiving. (Timestamp: #!!45:39!!#)
3. 2 Timothy 2:13: A verse about God's faithfulness. (Timestamp: #!!49:03!!#)

Observation Questions:
1. In Luke 8, what was the man's response after Jesus healed him from the legion of demons?
2. How does Psalm 117 describe God's love and faithfulness?
3. What does 2 Timothy 2:13 say about God's faithfulness even when we are faithless?

Interpretation Questions:
1. What does the man's response in Luke 8 tell us about the impact of Jesus' healing in his life?
2. How does Psalm 117 encourage us to respond to God's love and faithfulness?
3. How does 2 Timothy 2:13 challenge our understanding of God's faithfulness in relation to our faithlessness?

Application Questions:
1. Like the man healed from a legion of demons in Luke 8, how can you share about what God has done in your life this week?
2. In light of Psalm 117, what are specific ways you can praise God for His love and faithfulness in your life?
3. Considering 2 Timothy 2:13, how can you respond to God's faithfulness when you feel faithless or unfaithful?
4. Can you think of a specific situation where you experienced God's faithfulness even when you were faithless? How did that experience impact your faith?
5. How can you demonstrate gratitude for God's faithfulness in your daily interactions with others?

Day 1: God's Faithfulness is Everlasting

God's faithfulness is not temporary or fleeting, but rather it endures through all generations. When we place our lives in His hands and become children of God through the saving work of Jesus Christ, His faithfulness becomes evident in our lives. His faithfulness is evident in the fact that He calls us into a relationship and then remains faithful day after day in everything that He does ([49:03]).

Psalm 100:5 - "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you experienced God's faithfulness in your life. How did it impact your faith and relationship with Him?

Day 2: God's Faithfulness in Our Unfaithfulness

Even when we are faithless, God remains faithful. His faithfulness is not dependent on our actions or our faithfulness to Him. He remains faithful because He cannot disown Himself. This understanding should lead us to a deep sense of gratitude and worship ([52:20]).

2 Timothy 2:13 - "If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

Reflection: Can you recall a time when you were faithless, yet experienced God's faithfulness? How did that experience shape your understanding of God's character?

Day 3: God's Faithfulness in Our Healing

Jesus' healing of the man possessed by a legion of demons in Luke 8 is a powerful demonstration of God's faithfulness. Even in our most broken and desperate states, God remains faithful, offering healing and restoration ([39:12]).

Luke 8:35 - "Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid."

Reflection: How have you experienced God's healing in your life? How did this experience reveal God's faithfulness to you?

Day 4: God's Faithfulness in Our Daily Provision

God's faithfulness is evident in our daily provision. From the air we breathe to the water we drink, every aspect of our lives is a testament to God's faithfulness. His provision extends beyond our physical needs to our spiritual needs, offering us the companionship of Jesus and the promise of eternal life ([41:33]).

Matthew 6:31-33 - "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Reflection: How have you seen God's faithfulness in your daily provision? How does this understanding influence your perspective on worry and anxiety?

Day 5: God's Faithfulness in His Love for Us

God's faithfulness is most profoundly demonstrated in His love for us. His love is so great that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us. This act of love is the ultimate demonstration of God's faithfulness, showing us that He will never let us down ([45:39]).

Romans 5:8 - "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Reflection: How have you experienced God's love in your life? How does this love reveal His faithfulness to you?

[music playing in the background]

Welcome to Menlo Church Legacy Service.

[music playing in the background]

Why were we still worst sinners? God showed us His love, sending Christ to take upon our sin. Why were we still worst sinners? Jesus showed His love. He made our peace with God. Make your glory sacrifice, and wash the sins away. Make your glory dead, and through your blood. Make your glory give me, as you summon in my place. Make your glory sweet, amazing grace. Like a lamb so gentle, Jesus for our shame. Carry on the sorrow of our sin. Like a lamb so gentle, Jesus for our pain. Why are we still worst sinners? Why were we still worst sinners? Make your glory dead, and through your blood. Make your glory give me, as you summon in my place. Make your glory sweet, amazing grace. Make your glory sweet, amazing grace.

Well, welcome to our Thanksgiving service. We're so grateful that you're joining us. Looking forward to all that God has in store for us. We're in a season where we need to be reminded at times that we need to be thankful. God is continuing to bless us even in these complicated days. We're sharing the service today in a wonderful way. I'm so grateful that you're with us again. I pray that God will watch over us and encourage us. That somehow He will loosen our hearts and our minds to really worship Him.

And just as a reminder, as some of the music that we're going to sing along to today, some of these great old hymns have been pre-recorded. And you'll notice I'm sure which pieces of those there are.

Well, as we begin our time of worship today, I've asked Lisev if she would mind opening us up with a prayer.

I would be so glad to. Would you all join me as we pray together?

Oh, our most gracious and loving Father, our great God, we come to you today, filled with gratitude and thankfulness as we move into this week. For all that you've given us and all that you've done in our lives, and all of your faithfulness as we meet you here today. Thank you, thank you, God, for who you are and how much you love this world. And we praise you together as we come into this service. And we pray it together in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

Well, as we begin our worship together today, we're going to be singing that great old hymn, "For the Beauty of the Earth."

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our heaven, for earth and to our undestined, Lord, above to give me reign, this are in the grateful praise.

For the joy of human love, brothers, sister, parents, child, friends, honored, and friends of all, for our gentle thoughts and might, God, above to give me reign, this are in the grateful praise.

For the joy of human love, for the night's search that other more, may death only have some love, of liberty, of all, of every joy, for the peace and good price of love, for our whole to give me reign, this are in the grateful praise.

And we're reminded in God's word how important these times are. The writer to the Hebrews says this:

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom, think about that, we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and with awe.

And that's what we do this morning. Amen.

So grateful, we're all you have given, the strength for this journey, the promise of heaven. I see that your day, oh, a place in your kingdom, the love of the Father, He's sisters and brothers. I am so grateful, grateful.

I am so grateful, grateful. Thank you for the role, how I love you. Thank you for the light of your sun. Thank you for the joy of your semen. Thank you we sing out as one.

I am so grateful for how you have shown me, a way of contentment, to need or implanting. If your goodness is greater, your wisdom is higher. In whole things of work, you are my provider.

I am so grateful, grateful. I am so grateful, grateful.

Oh, thank you for the role, how I love you. Thank you for the light of your sun. Thank you for the joy of your semen. Thank you we sing out as one.

You are so good to me. You are so good to me. You are so good to me. You are so good to me. You are so good to me. You are so good to me. You are so good to me. We are so good to you.

Well, once again, as we think about the life of this church, and all that happens here, and the community that we're surrounded by, and this season of Thanksgiving, on behalf of our church family, I just want to say thank you to you.

Again, we've thought about, and we're thinking about so many different themes on this day of gratitude. But we as a church are certainly grateful for your faithfulness to us, to continue to hang in with us as a family, to continue to pray for us, and we certainly also continue to thank you for your gifts and your offerings that help keep the ministry alive and going.

There is so much to do, isn't there in this season? And we realize that the good news of Jesus Christ, and that theme of gratitude and thankfulness is something that the world really needs to hear. And I want you to know that you make that possible.

And I want you to know that you're a great man. And I want you to know that you're a great man. And I want you to know that you're a great man. And I want you to know that you're a great man.

And I want you to know that you're a great man. And I want you to know that you're a great man. And I want you to know that you're a great man. And I want you to know that you're a great man.

And I want you to know that you're a great man. And I want you to know that you're a great man. And I want you to know that you're a great man.

And I want you to know that you're a great hand. He's faithful, faithful to me. Looking back, his love and mercy I see. Though in my heart I have lost it even faith to believe. Yet he's faithful, faithful to me.

When my heart looked away, the many times I could not pray, still my God, he was faithful to me. The days I spent so selfishly reaching out for what pleased me. Even then God was faithful to me.

Every time I come back to him, he is waiting with open arms. And I see once again. He's faithful, faithful to me. Looking back, his love and mercy I see. Though in my heart I have lost it even faith to believe. Yet he's faithful, faithful to me.

Oh, my heart, I have lost it even faith to believe. Yet he's faithful, faithful to me. My heart, I have lost it even faith to believe. Yet he's faithful, faithful to me.

He's faithful, faithful to me.

Isn't it an amazing gift to think that we have this faithful God who never lets us go, who always stays close to us and probably today's vernacular hangs in with us. It's one of the most important factors of our faith. So, grateful for that.

Let's come to this God now in prayer.

Father, in this season we come to you with a true sense of gratitude that springs not just from our heart and not just from our minds and our thinking, but also from our very souls.

Lord, in the midst of everything we have so much to be thankful for. We're so thankful that you have called us first of all into a relationship with you. We thank you that in that relationship we realize that the curtain has been torn apart and that we have access to you, that we can even come to you with the concerns that we have and the words that we want to verbalize and the prayers that we have and know that you hear us.

So, whatever is happening in our lives, Father, we're grateful that we have someone that we can talk it through with, and that is you. We also are so grateful that you hear us and you answer us. Perhaps not always in the ways that we anticipate, but you do always answer us.

And Father, for that, I am so incredibly grateful. We're thankful for the relationships that we are a part of, the immediate families that surround us, but also the extended families that we have. We're grateful that we have so many people watching out for us and I think of those that perhaps find themselves alone in apartments or townhouses or various structures and realizing that even in those situations, Father, we're looking out for one another and that is an amazing gift that we have.

So, one of the things, Father, that we need to recognize over and over again is that the thankfulness that is in our hearts, that springs forth in our lips, is a sign of the relationship that we have with you. And so, Father, we want to express that gratitude because in that gratitude, there is a sense of hope and purpose for us.

I know I often think that our life consists of 25% past and 75% future and we can find in that 25% lots of things to be grateful for. But in that gratitude, Lord, you always point us forward to what is to be.

And so, we come to you with a sense of anticipation about all that you have in store for us. And we pray in this season that we would see the miracles that are evident in our life day by day. Those little sparkles that for a variety of reasons, sometimes we don't even see.

But I would pray that through the power of your spirit, you would encourage us and enable us and call us to see those points of light as it were and those miracles that you continue to work out in our lives.

And if Father made this be a season where it isn't just on one day that we express our gratitude, but that gratitude is expressed with every new day, with every morning and with every evening.

So, again, we thank you, Father, for loving us. We thank you for your grace. We thank you for your care. We thank you for the direction that you offer for our lives. We thank you for the forgiveness and the new life that we have in you.

And indeed, Lord, we're grateful that we don't belong to ourselves, but that we belong to you through the blood and the sacrifice and the resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Well, since it's Thanksgiving, we thought that we would take a couple of moments to say thank you to many of the folks who work around the edges here. It's always interesting when we're watching these services online and we just assume it's the people that are there, but my goodness, it takes so many people to put this together.

And we're so grateful that we have this team, that we have a family. So, we wanted all of you to at least get to meet some of the folks that are working behind the scenes here. Not all of them could be here today, but we've got a good number of them, faces that you recognize and people that you won't recognize.

First of all, you're hearing me and without Rob, you wouldn't hear me. So, Rob is over there in the corner, which is where he prefers to be. Rob doesn't ever like to be in the limelight. But Rob, how long have you been working on sound and doing all this? Because this is your full-time gig, right?

Yes, what I do for, I actually make a living at it, which is kind of nice. But I've been involved with Menlo since 1999, when I first met Debbie in the recording studio that I was working at. And ever since then, we've had a great relationship with Menlo.

Yeah, Rob has been here a long time and one of the things that I've always recognized about Rob is he controls everything because if he doesn't like something, you say he just shuts the mic down. And I do remember him doing that once or twice. I don't remember what I said, it must have been something really horrible.

Was that technical difficulties?

Yeah, it was technical difficulties, it's what I hear, but I know better.

Well, and then we've got Dave Schwartz. Dave is a person that you usually don't see. Dave does editing and he does all kinds of wonderful stuff that I don't even understand. But Dave has been around the church. You grew up here, Dave.

I've known you since you were a little boy.

Since the day after I was born, my family started coming here.

The day after you were born to celebrate?

Yeah, they had heard about Walter, but apparently shortly before I was born.

Oh, yeah, but yeah, you really did grow up here. And how long have you been working here, Dave?

Started in 97. I was gone for a couple of those years, left twice, but collectively 21 years.

You left twice and then you were magnetized to come back.

I just keep, yeah.

You do a lot of complex, to me, it seems like a lot of complicated, difficult stuff, but very grateful for the gifts that you bring and that you've brought here for so long.

It's fun.

Because without you, next to Rob, nothing else would work.

You wouldn't see anything.

No, I wouldn't hear anything.

Yeah, so we can't hear it. We can't see it.

Lisa.

Yeah, we are so thankful for our production team. You just can't see them as much. They're behind the scenes like many of these people are, but they are so talented.

And in this coronavirus time we've been in, they are actually busier than ever. And we are so thankful for them. They're Lisa Mario and Sean Pugmeyer, who's not here today, but he is a talented filmmaker.

And we're so glad to have him on our team. But Lisa, we're so thankful for you. And we get to see you often in our other services, leading worship, but in addition to that, you've just been an incredible producer for all that we have going on all during the week.

In fact, I think you're busier than ever now in this time that we're in. So tell us how, how many days a week are you in the sanctuary now and how many services are you actually producing from Menlo Church?

So our production team produces four services every week. We have Sank on Sunday nights. We film our regular services on Tuesdays. Wednesdays is our student live service. And then sometimes Fridays and Saturdays is this service. So we are in here a lot. It's kind of transformed into a studio, at least for the short term.

That's amazing. We are so thankful to you and Sean, so much talent you bring. Thank you.

But there's another member of our team. I just love Joe. And when I see, when I come in here and I see Joe come in the door, I get all excited because Joe has the most magnificent camera.

Yes.

Ever. So Joe, talk a little bit about that.

No, that's your camera, but it's the, it's the, yeah, no, that I have the camera support, which is the TV, Jim Triangle camera crane system. We got the 15-foot arm on it right now, but it goes up to 30 feet. Actually goes up to 40 feet.

And so, you know, the sky's the limit. And, and it's been a real pleasure being here. You know, it's, it's a great way for me to feel creative, you know, during these, you know, times where I really love being creative.

And so anyways.

What you do, Joe, and one of the things that sometimes when I stand in the back and I watch what you do, you monitor all the shots first.

Yeah.

And then you have a good exit of what's going to go on. And then I see the camera move. You have the same way that you sort of rehearse it. But you, I mean, this is like, this is what you do.

Yeah, tell us about it.

Yeah, yeah. I've been doing it for over 10 years. I really cut my teeth doing all the pre and post game warriors playoff runs. Those five years, I was a pre and post game at all the warriors games outside with the jib and the lighting in the NBC sports guys.

And so that's really, I feel like what I bring to this sort of is just that overall kind of like concept and knowledge of how the jib, you know, interacts with the lights and the cameras and the shadows.

And then how it'll cut together in the end.

And I really miss that because there's not well now sports is kind of back. But not really.

So it's been great to use my skills in a new way.

Well, and it yeah, we're just incredibly grateful. And I haven't asked you yet, but I'm going on an accordion polka tour.

Yes.

And I'm hoping you'll go with me because like the camera angles are going to be awesome.

I can't wait.

Yeah, well, thank you. So that's got all right. We're going to do that.

Yeah, we got it.

That is so awesome.

Frank.

So we are so grateful and thankful as well. We have a video directing team. And we have a whole team of video directors behind the scenes running this whole show for us.

And so we have for that. We have Ben who's not here today. Timmy and Jacob. And so we're so thankful for you guys as well.

Now you have to like kind of clue us in for all the people that are enjoying our worship services, but they don't actually know when I say we have a video director. What does the video director do, Jacob?

Yeah. So basically it just means I take all the camera feeds actually in into the switcher cut it live. So a lot of the stuff you see actually cut for the most part is done live for the sake of time.

Also as well as just.

I can't be able to actually give live feedback to our camera operators. So if we can say, hey, this camera shot doesn't work, I can change that immediately.

And then for our students in sanctuary teams, those are actually completely live. So everything we do at the switcher board and Timmy, are you ever downstairs in that control room now? Have you been doing some of the downstairs work as well?

No, I'm using it here.

You're using it here.

On the part where this team where with Sean, so we work on most of the post production things you see with taking things home and editing them and Dave helps us with that as well.

Yeah, it's a lot of work. Once the service actually gets filmed, there's this whole other amount of work that you don't see before we get to Sunday where we get to give it to you.

So there that team is working hard behind the scenes for all of that time. And Timmy, besides that, if you watch our other services, he is a super talented drummer.

And we have so much fun when we get to see Timmy drumming on our worship team. So you've got to watch the other service to check him out. He's so talented. Thank you.

Thank you Timmy for that sharing that with us.

Oh yeah, thank you Tim.

Well, and then we've got this fabulous team that is part of the family who you see up front all the time in its junior in Audrey and Tiffany and Charles and Jessica.

And one of the things that I think is so special about them. Again, it's kind of like when Joe comes in, I get all excited because I know technically some stuff that's going to happen that I just love.

And when I see you guys, I know there's always we raise the bar on the level of joy that takes place. I hope that all of you know how you really have raised the bar in terms of the joy that you bring to our services and to us as an extended family.

There's always something going on. Tiffany is usually on her phone, taking pictures of me or somebody else. And you can she posts them like within three or four minutes.

So sometimes during services, if you if she's not singing, you know that she's posting.

And Audrey hits the highest notes of anybody that I've ever heard in the world. And you know, Audrey, I will never forget the Christmas service when you were with child.

And there was a note that you were supposed to hit. And I thought there's no way she's going to hit it. And you sang it. And I thought, okay, she's going to deliver that baby right here right now.

And grateful you didn't, but I thought you came really close, but again, what a great gift in junior. You know, the spirit that you bring to our services and the joy and yeah, just the background of who you are and your spirit.

I'm just so, so grateful. Now, we're not going to let you guys speak because you'll never stop. I know that. But we just know that we're so thankful for all of you.

Well, Frank, we cannot forget about our friend Christian. We are so grateful for you. Oh my gosh. How thankful are we, especially at this Thanksgiving time for Christian and all that he's given us these last six months.

It's just been amazing watching you on the screen. Play the organ. Hear it. Everything.

I know you've been playing the organ all this time, but like when did you first discover it? We need to give him a mic so we can hear him.

But was it something like that you knew as a kid that you wanted to play the organ? Or did you learn as an adult?

My mother was an organist and she was actually with child with me when she was playing. I think it must have been prenatal influence.

But yeah, I started playing about when I was about 10 or 11.

10 or 11. How many 10-year-olds played the organ?

You know, it's an instrument that you really have to have a love and a passion for. And I think it just because it's so complicated.

Did your mom like did she actually teach you at the beginning of the year?

No, actually she didn't. But my parents got me started with a piano teacher. And then it was several years later that I started working with a local church organist and played my first church service when I was 15.

And I've never stopped since.

Wow, that's so great. I feel very, very blessed this Thanksgiving season for all that God has given through the gift of music and through the gift of family.

And this family here at Menlo Park, I've been so blessed to have been a part of this ministry here since 1988. And I'm just so grateful.

Well, we're so grateful for you. Thank you for everything you give us. And we're so, so thankful for this whole music team that brings us these services every week.

And I have to tell you, I'm thankful for someone else on this team as well. And that is our friend Pastor Frank.

We're so thankful for you here, especially at Thanksgiving. You also have been probably busier than ever in this pandemic. You're serving our church all over up and down the peninsula, even far away as families come together for all kinds of different reasons.

So thank you. Thank you for everything you give Menlo. Thank you for everything you give this congregation, each individual person, this team, this worship service.

All the preaching you've been doing in the last like six months, all the teaching. It's just, and I know people are falling.

I'm getting really tired listening to you now.

We're thankful for you, Frank. Thank you.

Oh, thank you, Lisa. I was just thinking when I was listening to Christian, how from a very young age, you get into what you're doing now.

And how we are the benefactors of all of that. I mean, Christian, having been here what, 33 years, I wanted to say I hired you. I came the year before you did that.

That's not true.

Lisa, I want to thank you too, because you've also been a great partner in our services. You're taking part more and more in the legacy services. And I'm grateful for that.

And your role as kind of the pastor overseeing the 950 campus.

Good luck.

I need that. I need that. I need prayers.

Well, yeah, don't we all. So grateful for your spirit and how you lead. And you're always, you're always kind of calm.

I don't know if you're always that way at home. I'm going to check that further. You might have to ask my family about that.

But here you always, you exert this, this kind of calmness and everything will be okay, which I think is really a great thing.

So thank you for being who you are. And again, just thank you to everybody for making all this possible. And for all the work that you do, truly, truly grateful for all of you.

From the first bright light of morning to the last warm glow of task. Every breath we take is sacred. For it is God's gift to us in thanksgiving.

Let us praise him in thanksgiving. Let us sing songs of praise and adoration to our gracious Lord and King.

In the season of our plenty. We will find his grace of his.

And we will find his grace of his.

And we will find his grace of his.

And we will find his grace of his.

And we will find his grace of his.

Let us praise him in thanksgiving. Let us sing songs of praise and adoration to our gracious Lord and King.

I love that song that we just sang, singing about praising God and being thankful and grateful, wasn't it a beautiful, beautiful song?

And it reminds me coming into this week of that story back in Luke 8. Do you remember the man was covered with a legion of demons for many, many years of his life?

And Jesus healed him. He healed him in such a dramatic way that the demons came out of the man's body and rushed off into a herd of pigs off of the side.

And you know after this happened the man said to Jesus, I want to stay with you. Can I just stay here? And Jesus had an interesting answer to that.

And no, I want you to go out and tell everyone all the things that God has done for you.

So Jesus was basically telling this man to go out and be grateful and tell others about being grateful.

And I think for us in this year of 2020 right now, what if Jesus were saying that to each of us right now?

How could you really answer that? How could you say, yes, Jesus, I'll go out. I'll be grateful right now and tell others how much God has done for me?

That sounds pretty challenging in 2020. I think a lot of us would just like to maybe stay at home and just pull the covers over our head, pull the blanket over and just think about all the things that have gone wrong this year and all the things that are not right in our world and in our lives.

But you know gratitude, this idea of being thankful, it's kind of the new topic in science. They're showing so many things that it helps our bodies and our spirits in our minds when we're grateful, when we're thankful.

I saw the Harvard Medical School newsletter this month for November, it has the big headline that says in its health newsletter, being thankful leads to happiness.

They say being grateful, being thankful, it lowers your blood pressure, it helps you sleep better. They say it can even help you fight the coronavirus because it builds your immune system up.

So how would we answer this for Jesus today? How would we say what we're grateful for?

How can we go out into whatever community we're going to be in this week, whatever situation and be that kind of light that Jesus wants us to be, that light of gratefulness and thankfulness to all that God has done for us?

Well, it might be hard to think of something right now. Let's maybe think of the first thing that we're doing right now, which is breathing our breath.

We're thankful that we are breathing. We're thankful for the air that we're breathing. We're thankful for the water that we're drinking that's coming into our shelter.

We're thankful for our shelter. We're thankful for electricity. All of these things are gifts from God, incredible gifts that we can be grateful for.

And even more than that, we can be grateful for the friendship of Jesus, his companionship with us this week as we go into this week.

Our friend that loves us so deeply that he went all the way to the cross for us. You know, he said to his friends that there's no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends.

And that's what he did for you and for me, giving us full acceptance and love and forgiveness this week.

So I challenge you this week as you're going out into whatever situation you're in to be that light in your community that Jesus had for that man who he healed from a demon.

And be a grateful person, sharing all that God has done for you, telling others about the goodness of God this week.

For all you've done, for all you're going to do, we give you thanks and lift our praise to you.

For all you've done, for all you're going to do, we give you thanks and lift our praise to you.

We give thanks, we give praise, for we know that all things work together for our good.

We give thanks, we give praise, for by faith we know your grace, we'll see us through.

We give thanks, we give praise, for we know that all things work together for our good.

We give thanks, we give praise, for by faith we know your grace, we'll see us through.

For all those things that we don't understand, we come by faith and place them in your hand.

We give thanks, we give praise, for we know that all things work together for our good.

We give thanks, we give praise, for by faith we know your grace, we'll see us through.

Even if we stumble, even if we fall, you will not forsake us, you are king and Lord of all.

We give thanks, we give praise, for we know that all things work together for our good.

We give thanks, we give praise, for by faith we know your grace, we'll see us through.

Well indeed, as that song has just reminded us, we are so grateful for all that God has done for us.

The theme that goes through my mind is I think about God and His interaction with us is His faithfulness, His great faithfulness.

There's this wonderful little psalm that's tucked away in the Psalter and it's actually one of the shortest psalms, or if not the shortest, just be glad that I'm not reading the longest, which is two psalms further.

But in Psalm 117 we read these words, so it's really important that this particular psalm begins with praise to the Lord at the beginning and at the end.

And it was a reminder to the ancient Israelites that they were to praise God, but also to help them remember that they were a nation who had a specific role.

Because the word is praise the Lord all you nations. So there is a reminder here that we are part of the nations that the psalmist is talking about there.

We too have been ingrafted in a way by God's love and grace into the community that can know Him and has the opportunity to worship Him.

And then in that phrase it says, well, extol Him means to praise God with every fiber of our being, not just to sort of glibly worship Him and say, as we are want to do sometimes, sing without expression, but we are to with every fiber of our being, praise God and worship Him and thank Him for what He has done.

And the psalmist then reminds us of exactly what He has done. He says, his great love is there for us.

And if you think about your own life and if I think about my life and the blessings that I have received from God and the love that He has poured into me over all these years, it's an amazing gift.

And perhaps the issue for me is the older I get, the more I think back and the more I begin to realize and evaluate different portions of my life to realize how God has always been active.

And He has never once let me down. And I would say that I certainly have let God down at numerous occasions, but He has never let me let me down not once.

And so perhaps one of the gifts of this time of Thanksgiving is to look back and just think about these different segments of your life and think about the next phrase that we see here, God's faithfulness and how faithful He has indeed been to you.

It would be good for us these days just to recount. You know, one of the ways that I do it is by looking back over pictures because I forget I'm really quite old and I forget a lot of things.

But when I look back on pictures, it reminds me of some of the great moments that I've had in my life and some of the incredible blessings that I've received from God, both in my ministry here, but also over all the years of my life.

Perhaps as a good practice, I often say with folks who are quite ill and bedridden perhaps that one of the encouraging things to do is start looking through pictures.

And those pictures will remind us of the stories and those stories should help us connect spiritually to who God is.

So the faithfulness of the Lord, the Psalmist, reminds us here, endures forever.

So God is not faithful just for a little while, but He's faithful through all generations.

And when we connect with Him, when we place our life in His hands, when we become a child of God through the saving work of Jesus Christ, God's faithfulness is already evident.

It's evident in the fact that He calls us into a relationship and then it's faithful day after day after day in everything that He does.

Well, what happens to us at so many points when we are faithfulness?

Well, Timothy has this great little verse that reminds us that even though we are faithless, God remains faithful.

And second Timothy 2:13, we read, if we are faithless, He remains faithful for you cannot disown Himself.

And the result of God's faithfulness is our gratitude.

I was thinking a little while ago about worship and how important worship is and singing songs and how much we miss that.

But so many of these great songs and hymns are through us a reminder of God's incredible faithfulness to us.

And we're going to sing now a great, great, old hymn, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."

And again, if you think about where that hymn is based, it's actually based on the Old Testament book of Lamentation.

And you can pretty well take the opening of that hymn. Those words are all recorded for us in Lamentation 3.

Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed for His compassion doesn't fail.

And I for one, this season, I'm so thankful for God's faithfulness in our life day after day after day.

And great is thy faithfulness. Oh God, my Father, there is no shadow of turning with Him.

And thou changeest not thy compassion, they fail not. And as thou hast been, thou forever will be.

Oh and great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies I see.

And all I have made is thy hands have pulled by hand. And great is thy faithfulness. Lord unto me, Lord you been faithful, yes you have.

Summer and winter and spring time in harvest, sun moon and stars in their courses above.

Shine with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness mercy and love.

Oh and great is thy faithfulness. Oh and great is thy faithfulness.

Morning by morning, new mercies I see. And all I have made is thy hands have pulled by hand.

And great is thy faithfulness. Oh and great is thy faithfulness.

Lord unto me.

Oh yeah come on right there and you're living wrong.

Lord you are faithful, Lord you are faithful.

Come on stay in worship with us.

Lord you are faithful, Lord you are faithful.

Lord you are faithful, faithful to me.

Lord you are faithful, faithful to me.

Lord you are faithful, faithful to me.

And I will let you be.

Lord you are faithful.

Lord you are faithful.

Lord you are faithful.

Lord you are faithful.

Lord you are faithful.

Lord you are faithful.

Lord you are faithful.

Lord you are faithful.

1. "When we connect with Him, when we place our life in His hands, when we become a child of God through the saving work of Jesus Christ, God's faithfulness is already evident. It's evident in the fact that He calls us into a relationship and then it's faithful day after day after day in everything that He does." - 49:03

2. "I think for us in this year of 2020 right now, what if Jesus were saying that to each of us right now? How could you really answer that? How could you say, yes, Jesus, I'll go out. I'll be grateful right now and tell others how much God has done for me. That sounds pretty challenging in 2020." - 39:12

3. "We're thankful that we have so many people watching out for us and I think of those that perhaps find themselves alone in apartments or townhouses or various structures and realizing that even in those situations, Father, we're looking out for one another and that is an amazing gift that we have." - 19:44

4. "Isn't it an amazing gift to think that we have this faithful God who never lets us go, who always stays close to us and probably today's vernacular hangs in with us. It's one of the most important factors of our faith." - 17:14

5. "We're in a season where we need to be reminded at times that we need to be thankful. God is continuing to bless us even in these complicated days. We're sharing the service today in a wonderful way. I'm so grateful that you're with us again. I pray that God will watch over us and encourage us." - 04:36