Sermon Notes: After Giving Thanks
If I were to ask you to write down things you thank God for, what would they be? Don’t answer quite yet. Write them down. Find the true ones that make you want to fight for all you are worth to keep. Those, those are the ones I want you to write down. Hold onto those until the end of tonight’s sermon, ok?
Let’s begin with our main reading tonight from Luke 22:14-20.
“When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
I want you to notice some things in the above verses; Jesus is giving thanks during their Passover meal. Why did he do that? What was the purpose? Well, we must see Jesus in context first; this is a theme in my sermons if you haven’t noticed; context is key. He is a Jewish man in the Second Temple Period. At this point, there were traditions or customs around meals. In his time, the blessing of the bread and wine was part of the culture. He is also obeying Deuteronomy 8:10, see below.
“You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you.”
The main focus here is that Jesus is sharing a prophetic message of his impending murder with his disciples. He knows what is about to happen, the pain he will endure. And yet, he gave thanks.
“whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk in the same way as he walked.”
1 John 2:6
We, as followers of Jesus Christ, if we are truly IN Him, then we are to imitate Him. We should WALK in His ways. Walk. That’s an ACTION word. How did Jesus walk? How does that have anything to do with giving thanks? Well, in Jesus’ life on earth, He showed us that giving thanks was more than words. It was about ACTION! Jesus WALKED by EXAMPLE. He came to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:28).
“One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’ ”
-Luke 14:15-24
This parable has many layers.
- God invites EVERYONE into His Kingdom.
- The ones who think they are part of the “elect” or “special group” often REJECT the open invitation.
- The true Kingdom is full of the broken, the starved, the poor, the orphaned, the overlooked, those the “in group” rejected.
Again, what does this have to do with giving thanks? Well, as we’ve established, giving thanks is more than words. It’s an ACTION. This parable and the ACTIONS of Jesus demonstrate that to show we are thankful for what we have been blessed with is by sharing with others!
If Jesus has brought you through it, then share it! If He helped you get out of bed today, testify! If you have extra food or resources, then donate it! If you have energy to serve your community, use it!
Be imitators of Christ! Don’t let your thankfulness for your blessings stop at words. Let your blessings be your pulse point. Let them be your WHY! Your PUSH!
I asked you earlier to think about what you are thankful for. Why are they important to you? What do you do BECAUSE of those blessings? Do you work harder? Study more? Pray more? Volunteer? Do you make connections with friends, family, your career, or your passions? Are you protective of your blessings? I ask you all this because it is so vital to know what moves you. What moves us, as a congregation? What drives us? This determines what we do AFTER we give thanks. Our collective pulse, our heartbeats. What blessings propel us towards God’s Kingdom on Earth?
With all this being said, I want to give you some homework. Over Thanksgiving, I want each of you to write down your blessings on a card and put it somewhere you’ll look at it the most: on a mirror, a prayer corner, your desk, etc. I want you to pray. I want you to thank God for all these blessings. Then, AFTER, I want you to ask Him His will. How does He want you to share your blessings with others? Does He want you to reinvest in existing relationships? Make amends? Help more people? Serve? How? This is your homework. Let’s see the work God is going to do in our lives, our church, and the region. Amen?
Amen!
Pastor Alex
If you would like to meet with our Pastor please email him at RevAlexBurchnell@ChristsRedemption.com.