Welcome to the Weekend Sermon. I am posting the sermon one day later than usual because the library where I have computer access was closed on Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. I wasn't too sure I was going to be able to post the sermon today. We are having terrible weather here where I live. On Thanksgiving day, we had the most rainfall in the area's recorded history for that day. Now, we are having freezing rain. The trees are all full of ice, but the temperature is right at 32 degrees, so the roads are OK for now. I have to go to work and drive a long way in this mess, so please pray that I will make it up and down the road safely.
I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. I hope you had a good day with your friends and family.
In prayer this week, let's continue to pray for those who are recovering from injuries in Paris. Let us also pray that there are no more terrorist attacks. Continue to pray for peace in Syria and Iraq. Pray for the spread of the message of Jesus in Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and Vietnam.
For our sermon this week, I just wanted to focus on the theme of giving thanks for what we have. I also want to share some of the things in my life that I feel especially thankful for.
One of the great chapters on thanksgiving found in the Bible is Psalm 136. In this Psalm, the writer records all of the great things that God did for the people of Israel. Each verse is punctuated by the phrase, "His love endures forever." I urge you to read this entire Psalm this Thanksgiving weekend.
Over the past several days, I have been looking back on my life and thinking about some of the things that I have to be especially thankful for. I have a somewhat pessimistic personality, and I have suffered from depression on and off since I was a teenager. I know that it helps me to fight depression to think about the good things in life. With that in mind, please bear with me as I just reflect on what I wish to thank the Lord Jesus for over the course of my life.
When I was a boy, my Mom and Dad were involved in taking collies to dog shows. I have loved dogs from an early age. One of my dreams was to have a dog who was extra special and wonderful. Some people call these lifetime dogs. They only come along once in a lifetime.
In 1985, the Lord Jesus gave me my dog of a lifetime. He gave me Toby my forever friend. Jesus knew that we needed each other, and He brought the two of us together. I spent the best 11 and a half years of my life with that dog.
I am truly grateful to the Lord for bringing him into my life. Toby helped me to overcome depression at a very difficult time in my life. He helped me to understand unconditional love.
Thank you Jesus for my friend Toby.
Another thing that has been of immense importance in my life is jazz music. I enjoy many different kinds of music, but jazz is my true love. I thank the Lord for allowing me to hear my first jazz record when I was 16 years old. I heard Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond and I feel in love with jazz.
Many nights when I felt discouraged and let down by the world, I either have put on a jazz CD or turned on the local public radio station that plays jazz all night, and I feel the weight of the world lift away a little. I really don't know what my life would look like without trumpets, saxophones and a host of other instruments playing every night in my room.
Thank you Jesus for jazz and allowing me to learn to play the trumpet so I can play a little jazz of my own.
In high school, my favorite class was literature. I love books, and I love reading. I love reading all kinds of things. One of my great dreams was to be a published writer. After I graduated from Bible college and then regular college, I started submitting some of my writing for publication. The Lord has blessed my writing far above anything that I ever imagined.
When I first started writing poems each morning, with Toby right by my desk as always, I never dreamed that I would have over 75 poems published in literary journals. I also never thought that the Lord would use my writing as the primary means by which I have fulfilled His call on my life to spread the message of His love.
By the grace of the Lord, I have been able to write several articles and devotional pieces that have been translated into other languages and reached around the world. I am so thankful to the Lord for allowing this dream to come true and for using it for His honor and glory.
In that regard, I am so thankful for the opportunity to share what the Lord means to me on this blog. I pray each day for all of you who read it, and I pray that the Lord will use it to bring others to know how great He truly is.
Thank you Jesus for allowing me to be a writer.
None of the good things in my life would have been possible without a relationship with Jesus Christ. That is the one thing in my life for which I am the most grateful. My parents took me to church and Sunday school when I was just a little boy. They also sacrificed greatly so that I could attend a Christian school.
I heard about Jesus all of my life. He has been the center of my life since I accepted Him as my Savior and Lord as a boy. Without Jesus in my life, I would not be here today. He is my rock and my salvation.
I join with the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:15 when he says, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift." That gift is His Son the Lord Jesus Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us.
I hope that during this thanksgiving time that you will take a few moments to reflect back on your life and consider what truly wonderful things the Lord Jesus has given you. We have so much to be thankful for. We have many special things to be thankful for. We have Jesus to be most thankful for.
Next week, I hope to be back on regular schedule with the postings. I hope to post the verses on Monday weather permitting. The review will appear on Wednesday, and I will post the sermon on Friday. May God bless each and every one of you. Amen.
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