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Paul’s Prayer of Thanks

Paul begins this letter to Timothy by urging him to command those in Ephesus to teach only the doctrine of Christ. It was the only thing that could save mankind. Read verse 11 aloud. Paul states that the gospel had been committed to his trust. Proclaiming that gospel was a grave responsibility and a wonderful privilege. The eternal destiny of many precious souls depended upon him preaching that glorious gospel, the doctrine of Christ. In the next few verses, 12-17, he shows his gratitude to God.

Lesson text: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

Prayer
Thanksgiving

A Thankful Life

Something interesting happened to Jesus on His way to Jerusalem.  (Luke 17:11-19) “Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’  So when He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’  And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’  And He said to him ‘Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well.’ ” NKJV  An amazing miracle took place.  Ten were healed of a dreaded disease but only one, and he a Samaritan, returned to thank Jesus.  As a result, he received an additional blessing.  Jesus notices our lack of gratitude.  So how do I come to have a thankful life?  How can I display a grateful heart?

Bobby Stafford

To Give Thanks 
Psalms 66:1-5

The Thanksgiving holiday is just days away.  It’s a time when family and friends gather together to express gratitude for life’s many blessings.  We should have the attitude of the psalmist in Psalms 66:1-5. 

Bobby Stafford

Giving Thanks

Christians living in the United States have much to be thankful for.  Often we don’t even realize the value of the blessings we do have.

“I am reminded of the wealthy Texan who was in the habit of giving his father unique gifs every father’s day.  One year it was hang-gliding lessons.  The year before it was the entire record collection of Slim Whitman’s Hits, autographed by the singer himself.  But this past year he had outdone himself.  He purchased a rare kind of South American bird, called the translator.  This bird could speak five languages and sing “Yellow Rose of Texas” in any key while standing on one foot.  The talented bird cost $10,000, but he felt it was worth every penny.  This would be the Father’s Day gift his dad would never forget.

A week after Father’s Day he called his father.  ‘Dad, how did you like the bird?’ His father responded, ‘It was delicious.’ ”  Calvin Wittman

We have so much that sometimes we can’t see how much God has blessed us.  No doubt we live in an ungrateful and unthankful society; but as people who have been given the gift of eternal live in heaven, we should never give in to ingratitude.  Psalm 103 is a wonderful passage that reminds us to “give thanks” to the Lord because of who He is.

Read Luke 17:11-19. In the Bible, leprosy is a broad term for a variety of infectious skin diseases. A modern disease that would probably be similar is “Hansen’s Disease” which is spread by multiple skin contacts as well as nasal secretions. Some of the symptoms of leprosy included disfigurement of skin and bones, twisting of limbs, curling of fingers, tumor-like growths [lepromos], and loss of pain sensation.

In the Bible, lepers were the true “untouchables.” They were to live in isolation as outcasts. (Numbers 5:2-3, Leviticus 13:45-46) The leper had to make it clear that people were to avoid him. He lived a terrible life.

This text provides us with several lessons that today we need to take to heart.

First National Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; Whereas, both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me

“to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceable to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness!”

Now therefore, I do recommend next, to be devoted by the people of the states to the service of that great and glorious being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country.

George Washington, 1779

Our Heavenly Father truly is the source of all that is good in our world.  How thankful we should be.

In the life in which we live, our attention is too often riveted upon the things that have gone wrong. We seem to feel most acutely the hurts in our life. Our minds dwell on the things that do not go right. Sometime we can hear two or more people bragging about how the conditions in their lives are worse than anyone else they know. In the midst of the hurts and tragedies are blessings too numerous to mention. But they often go unheeded and unappreciated while we soothe our wounds. Appreciation is the feeling within us that leads to thankfulness. Thankfulness requires appreciation. Appreciation requires thoughtfulness and awareness.

Greetings brothers and sisters. Our slogan this month is simple, “Be thankful.” Our memory verse this first week is Phil. 4:6, one that you probably already have memorized. Our lesson is taken from one of the events in the life of Jesus and is found in Luke 17:11-19. Jesus was passing through an unnamed village when 10 lepers begged of Him that He would have mercy on them. Take the time to read the text and learn the details of this event. Here are some lessons we can consider, first the facts and then some implications.

“Be careful for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made know unto God” (Phil. 4:6) This is the memory verse for the week. Our lesson today is about King David and a man most of us would not remember reading about, Barzillai. Read in your Bibles from 2 Sam. 19:31-40. In this record, David offers to bring the old man, Barzillai, to eat and live with him in Jerusalem. You need to read from 2 Sam. 17:27-29 to understand why David is so thankful. Let’s consider a couple of lessons about appreciation and thankfulness from this text.