Posts Tagged ‘ thanksgiving ’

Be Thankful for Everything!

November 26, 2011
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Our Wednesday night class listed several things for which we are thankful. The class decided to only list the “little things” in daily life that we tend to take for granted. I’ve included most of the list here as a guide. I hope it will help motivate you to thankfulness! If there’s something you’d like to add, would you add a comment to this post?

serenity prayer
fresh coffee in the morning
dogs that snore
morning solitude
hospital corpsmen
satellites
paper plates
c-pap machines
GPS systems
sunsets hitting airplane vapors
church steeples
clocks
toilet paper
electricity
refrigerators
smell of vanilla
ICE- for tea and other drinks
windshield wipers
heated blankets for when I’m cold
sleeping bags
ice cream cones
rye grass in the fall and winter months
new construction of downtown Dickson
all things chocolate
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Give Thanks!

November 25, 2008
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It is a special time of the year! How often does the collective American culture pause to say “thank you” or send cards en masse? Our stores are filled with lights and our homes overflow with the warmth of family. This is a time to celebrate and cherish what we love!

We are blessed people, yet how often we become forgetful and self-centered. The holiday season is supposed to be a time of generosity, when we live the words of Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

I hope you’ll spend some time with your family this season talking about the great gifts given by God. If anyone has the right to claim it is better to give than receive, it would certainly be the one who gave his only son, that whoever believes in him wouldn’t die! (John 3:16)

This winter at Burns we want to focus on being thankful people who live devoted lives because of the love of the Great Giver and Sustainer of life. We’ve dedicated the month of November to studying the “Big God” we serve. We’ll focus on Jesus, the greatest gift, in the month of December. On Wednesday, November 26 at 7pm, we’ll have a special service of thanksgiving to God. We’ll also have special mid-week services on Christmas Eve as well as New Year’s Eve at 7pm. We’re studying the letters Paul wrote from prison on Sunday nights at 6pm. In them we can see the power of God over anything that happens to us. We invite you to join us as we spend time in prayer, study, and song to express our gratitude to God!

This has been a great year for the church at Burns. We’ve been represented in mission work on three continents. We have grown in number. We have a class of almost twenty who are reading the Bible all the way through for the first time ever. We have grown as a family in the grace and peace of God. We want to share what we’ve experienced with you!

Let’s take time together to follow Paul’s instructions from 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “In all things, give thanks!”

Time Alone with God

November 22, 2008
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Time is a difficult thing to manage. We all have so many irons in the fire-that every once in a while, we just run out of fire! In our hectic world, instead of prioritizing our schedules, we really need to schedule our priorities. That’s why we have services twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday: it provides an opportunity to schedule time for the priority of worship, together. It’s not the only worship that should happen in a week, but it’s a time you can count on.

A mentor of mine once suggested this schedule for carving out time for spiritual meditation and prayer. He called it “Time Alone with God.” He suggested praying using these concepts as a guide. Focus your mind on the first area until you can focus there no longer, then move on to the next. He appropriately called this plan START.

  • Submit in prayer to God the Father. Jesus prayed “not my will, but Thine be done,” and so should we. His model prayer was a model of humility. Take time to realize that you are entering the throne room of the true and living eternal God-so pray like it!
  • Thank Him for all that He has done and will do. Be specific. Think about blessings you’ve encountered. Think about how God has acted through your family, friends, and the church. Thank Him for specific people, events, and opportunities.
  • Admit to Him your weaknesses. This is a lesson in humility and an exercise in repentance. Tell God that you are sorry-and what you’re sorry for. Admit that it is difficult to pray sometimes, and that you need help. Own up to your temptations; He understands and cares.
  • Request that He help you and yours. Only after you’ve acknowledged his majesty, marveled at His love, and humbled yourself in the light of His perfection can you really make a request of God. Ask Him about anything and everything; don’t be anxious about anything, but make your requests known! (cf. Philippians 4:6-7)
  • Trust that He will act. Vocalize your trust in him. Tell him that you need help, but that you are resolved to trust him more and more with each passing day. Once you’ve asked for forgiveness for a specific sin; move on! Know that He has forgiven you!

Thanksgiving is a great time to START making time alone with God. Use our traditional day of turkey and family as a chance to begin a spiritual feast. Your soul will thank you!

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