AVBC - Sunday 11/02/25
Sermon Title: “Receiving Thankfulness” (“A
Thankful & Giving Thanksgiving” - Sermon Series: Part 1 of 4) – 1
Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 107:21-22, Colossians 2:6-7
This morning,
brothers, and sisters I am starting a new four-week sermon series for most of this
month of November called “A Thankful & Giving Thanksgiving.” Of course,
after Thanksgiving are the seasons Advent and Christmas. For some people that I
know however, the word Christmas is still not an ok word to say until after
Thanksgiving, but we are heading in that direction. So, if Christmas is still
an unacceptable word at this time of the year, please forgive me!
I was excited this past Thursday that our annual Advent
daily devotional books were delivered, as well as our resources and books for
our upcoming Advent Study class that will be on Thursdays at 1:00 PM later this
month. There are flyers for that in the Session Room/Fellowship Hall, and I
also posted this on our church Facebook page, as well. In addition, I have
sign-ups for candlelighters/readers for our Advent Wreath, which are also in
the Session Room/Fellowship Hall. Feel free to sign up, and to take the reading
for the date that you signed up for, which is attached to the sign-up form.
With that little bit of church business out of the way, for many
people, the month of November is associated with the very American holiday of
Thanksgiving. Some might also have birthdays this month, we of course have
Veteran’s Day this month, elections, turning back our clocks last night, and I
also researched and found many other things, or special days in November. For
example, did you know that today, November 2nd, is The “National
Deviled Egg” Day. I have yet to be invited to a “National Deviled Egg” day party,
but the day is still young friends!
While this month of November then is many things, and while
we will be honoring our US military veterans in our service next Sunday for
Veteran’s Day, most people that I talk to when they think of November, they think
of Thanksgiving. Further, some people after eating a ton of food on
Thanksgiving, then wake up very early the next morning to do this thing called “Black
Friday” shopping. Imagine telling the founders of the Adams Village Baptist Church
in 1846 about “Black Friday” shopping. They would think we are insane!
All of this said, since Thanksgiving is a big part of the
month of November, and since the holiday of Thanksgiving is very much a United
States holiday, my sermon series for the next four weeks is called, once again,
“A Thankful & Giving Thanksgiving.” In fact, many of us learned as children
that the first Thanksgiving was in the year 1621, with the Wampanoag Native
Americans and the Pilgrims in what is now Plymouth,
Massachusetts. You see that first thanksgiving in 1621, after the Pilgrims had
come over on the May Flower ship, needed help to survive from Wampanoag Native
Americans. The pilgrims were taught different farming and other survival
techniques, and thus the first Thanksgiving in part was the Pilgrims “Receiving
Thankfulness” from Wampanoag Native
Americans, which is my sermon for this morning.
Some of us might already be planning for Thanksgiving dinner,
and maybe some of us have even already started getting things for Thanksgiving,
making plans, etc. Part of the Thanksgiving holiday, which is in alignment with
our Christian faith, is the idea of “Receiving Thankfulness.”
The few short scriptures that I chose for this morning are
all scriptures on Thankfulness. The first scripture that we have from 1
Thessalonians 5:16-18 says this:
16 Rejoice
always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for
you (1
Thess. 5:16-18, NRSV).
Rejoicing, praying, giving thanks, receiving thanks, are
all parts of this month of Thanksgiving. These are also things we are called to
do through scripture, so that we might be more like Jesus.
In our reading from Psalm 107:21-22 we hear this about
Thankfulness:
21 Let them thank
the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
22 And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and tell of his deeds with songs of joy (Ps. 107:21-22,
NRSV).
Being
thankful, giving thanks, thanking God, loving others, and “Receiving
Thankfulness.”
The final scripture that I picked for this morning is
Colossians 2:6-7 that says:
Fullness of Life
in Christ
6 As you therefore
have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him, 7 rooted
and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving (Col. 2:6-7, NRSV).
Being thankful, giving
thanks, thanking God, loving others, being like Christ, and “Receiving
Thankfulness.”
The question that I have for us think about this morning and
this week is this then, do we have a problem with “Receiving Thankfulness?”
Some of us love to give and give, and serve and serve, but when someone tries
to love and serve us, well we might not be comfortable with that. Do we
struggle when people want to do something kind and loving for us? Do we
struggle with “Receiving Thankfulness?” I sometimes still do, but not nearly as
much as I used to though. I guess for me, I do not want to burden anyone, and
sometimes to be truthful I have moments where I feel unworthy of “Receiving
Thankfulness.” Someone needs it more than me.
For example, a couple of weeks ago some terrific people from
this church came over to help unload Melissa and I’s U-Haul truck. I had gotten
up really early that morning and tried to get the truck all sorted, so things
would be ready to bring into our apartment, or what I now call “The Adams
Village Baptist Church Parsonage.” I was so overwhelmed with the love and the
hospitality of these folks, I almost felt unworthy about it. In fact, I must
have been saying thank you every single time I handed someone something off the
truck, that finally, one of the people said, “Pastor you don’t have to keep
thanking us.” I realized in that moment that while I have made a lot of
progress on “Receiving Thankfulness,” I still have a way to go.
When I was in the ordination training process to become an
ordained pastor about ten years ago, part of the process was panel interviews
and questions. I still remember this so clearly. One very young and smart as a
whip pastor asked me this question in of the interviews, “Paul you clearly go
above and beyond to love, serve, and help others, but how do you let your
churches and others love and serve you?” I was completely silenced, and for
those that know me being completely silenced can be counted as a confirmed
miracle. I finally said, “That is a really good question, and I will have to
think about that.” My Susan always says, “don’t deny me the blessing of being a
blessing to you.” Let me say that again, “don’t deny me the blessing of being a
blessing to you.”
As we are now in this month of Thankfulness and giving, how
are we doing or will we do with “Receiving Thankfulness?” I am sure that there
are many people in this church and in this community that would bring someone a
meal who is sick, or would send them a card, but how many of us do not want
others to do that for us? We are willing to sacrifice and do a lot for many
people, but no one better do anything for us. Maybe if we are in that category,
we should “not deny someone the blessing of being a blessing to us.”
Let me tell you fun story about not “Receiving Thankfulness.”
This story happened on Thanksgiving, at my parent’s house in the Adirondacks. I
was the pastor of two small churches up there for about 14-months, and so we had
Thanksgiving together. Mom cooked up a storm, we were all beneficiaries of her great
cooking, and my stepfather Mike was very excited about buying his new squirrel
proof bird feeder. My parents love their bird feeders, and especially the Hummingbird
feeders. My stepfather Mike has always had an issue with squirrels though getting
into his bird feeders and eating all the food. He was and still is determined
to keep those squirrels out of his bird feeders!
Boy did he try a lot of methods. One person even told him to
smear Vaseline all over the shepherds hooks that he hung his bird feeders on.
It was funny to watch the squirrels try to climb and slide down and fall, but
eventually the squirrels were somehow able to get back up to those bird
feeders. So, my stepdad around the time of Thanksgiving heard that there was a
new squirrel proof cage that you put over your bird feeder that would prevent
any squirrels from getting into your bird feeder.
So, we started our Thanksgiving dinner, and I looked out of
the dining room window, to see that shepherd’s hook in the ground, with the
bird feeder hanging. On this bird feeder was this metal cage device that was
supposedly squirrel proof. This new cage is guaranteed to keep squirrels out of
the bird feeder, as my stepfather told me.
As we were eating though, I suddenly saw a red squirrel
emerge on pine tree branch, very close to this bird feeder that was done up
like Fort Knox. My stepdad’s back was to the window, so he could not see any of
this. Suddenly, this red squirrel jumped on the cage where the bird feeder was enclosed.
It then fell off. Then over and over again, this red squirrel tried and tried
again. I finally then gestured to my mother Susan when my stepdad was not looking
at that this was happening. She whispered, “Do not tell Mike.” As this point,
the red squirrel was firmly affixed to this squirrel proof cage covering the
bird feeder. The squirrel tried reaching in over and over but could not reach
the opening where the bird feeder inside the cage was.
The red squirrel then climbed to the top of the cage
covering the bird feeder, and smushed its little body together, and somehow
wiggled into that cage. When it did, its little red paws were vigorously cleaned
that bird feeder out, with most falling on the snow beneath. This so shocked me
that my face gave this away. My stepfather Mike then suddenly turned around in
his chair, and he was so mad! He stormed out of the back porch, and on the way,
we heard, “Susan! I am so tired of these squirrels!” He then went out of the
back porch, and Melissa, my mother Susan, and I were all watching this out of
the window from the Thanksgiving dining room table. My stepdad Mike then picked
up a huge snow chunk that slid off their metal roof and then hurled it at the
bird feeder. Boy did that red squirrel flee quickly. Then we saw my stepdad
shouting something, as his arms were flailing. Since we baptized in a Baptist
Church in Texas in the early 1980’s though, I am sure it was scripture and
blessings for the squirrel!
My stepdad then came back in, and we resumed our
Thanksgiving dinner. About ten-minutes later, the squirrel returned, and none
of us would tell him, and I do not think to this day he ever figured out that
the red squirrel came back.
So, what is the point of this story? The point of this story
is that the little red squirrel was very, extremely, thankful and received the
thankfulness of my stepdad’s bird feeder, but my stepdad was not thankful for the
red squirrel stealing from the bird feeder.
As we go through this month that leads to Thanksgiving, and
then the season of Advent, how are we doing with “Receiving Thanksgiving?” Do
we let others love and care for us, the way that we love and care for them? Or
do we struggle to “Receive Thankfulness?”
To bring this message towards a close, I want to tell you
probably the best story I can think of about “Receiving Thankfulness.” Maybe
you have heard this story before, as I believe that it exists in various
cultures and places. Some call this story the “Allegory of the Long Spoons,”
but version I will read to you this morning is called “The Parable of the Long
Spoons.” Here is this story about giving and “Receiving Thankfulness”
A
man having a near death experience, contemplates his life of sin and anxiously
awaits his fate in the next world. An escort meets him at the boundary of
hereafter and with a welcoming smile says, “You’re not ready yet friend; you
still have another chance. But you’ll return soon, so let me show you what goes
on here on the other side.”
Together
they enter a great hall where a long candle-lit banquet table is laden with
bowls of steaming, fragrant soups, succulent roasts, perfectly cooked
vegetables, aromatic loaves of bread, the finest of wines, fruits of every
kind, and a dazzling array of cakes and pies. Diners fill every chair, but
shockingly, amid luxurious bounty, the scene is one of pain and anguish.
Skeletal forms are twisted and moaning in starvation, with barely the strength
to strike at each other with their spoons. Looking closer, the man sees that
all spoons have long handles—longer than the diners’ arms; too long for the
diners to feed themselves. “So this is Hell,” gasps our Friend. “Anger and
misery amid abundance.
“But,
come, let me show you something else.” Says the Escort. The two enter another
great hall. And in that hall there is another long, candle-lit banquet table,
covered with a similar incredible spread of delicious foods, drinks and sweets.
Here the sounds of laughter, chatter and song fill the hall while healthy and
happy diners are enjoying the company and the bounty before them. They, too,
have long spoons, but they are feeding each other. “And this, my friend “is
heaven.” It is heaven, because they learned to feed each other (https://creativerelationshipcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The-Parable-of-the-Long-Spoons.pdf).
Brothers and sisters, heaven is knowing Jesus and being with
Him and those who love Him for eternity. Jesus teaches us to feed and love each
other in a variety of way, and to “Receive Thankfulness.” I am grateful to
pastor a church that is and will continue be a church that serves and loves
each other. For those us then who do like “Receiving Thankfulness,” we might be
feeding another person across the table but are we feeding each other. Are we
“Receiving Thankfulness.” The heaven that Jesus tells us about, is one where we
give and love in both directions.
How then can
we all better challenge ourselves to “Receive Thankfulness,” and how can we go
out and live this in Adams and beyond this week ahead? What is good about not
only giving, but “Receiving Thankfulness?” Let us look together:
· It is Biblical, as Jesus gave and received Thankfulness:
· Emotional and mental benefits
· Reduces stress and improves mood: Kindness can lower stress hormones like cortisol, decrease
feelings of anxiety and depression, and make you feel happier and more content.
· Increases self-esteem:
Being on the receiving end of kindness can reinforce a positive sense of self,
which is especially helpful during times of self-doubt.
· Boosts optimism and resilience: It can increase feelings of optimism about the future and
make you feel better equipped to handle challenges.
· Fosters a sense of belonging: It reminds you that you are part of a social fabric, which can combat loneliness and increase your sense of connectivity with others.
· Relationships and social benefits
· Strengthens bonds:
Kindness builds trust and connection, which can deepen relationships with
family, friends, and even strangers.
· Improves empathy and compassion: Receiving kindness can make you more empathetic and
compassionate towards others, improving your ability to relate to them.
· Creates a positive ripple effect: When you receive kindness, you are more likely to pay it forward, which creates a chain reaction of generosity that benefits more people.
Brothers and sisters, in this month of November, this month of this giving and “Receiving Thankfulness,” may we not only give generously, but may we be willing to accept the love and kindness of others. Jesus call us all to “Receive Thankfulness.” Amen.
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