Announcements
SYMPATHY: to Shirley Campbell, Todd & Allison Campbell, Mark & April Campbell, and their families, and our Church family at the passing of their husband/father/grandfather and our dear friend, Pastor John Campbell, on Sunday, November 19. The funeral was held yesterday at Church of the Open Door.
SYMPATHY: to Ron & Jennifer Reed at the passing of his brother, Edward Reed. Arrangements are pending.
LIVE NATIVITY MEETING: If you signed up to help with the Live Nativity or are interested in helping, there will be a meeting tonight after the service with Pastor Shutt on the organ side of the auditorium.
ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING: The Church’s annual business meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 6, in the auditorium following the service.
DEACONS: Please pick up your packets at the Welcome Desk.
From My Heart
Karen and I trust you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones. The Lord has blessed us with so many wonderful blessings, and I am thankful for each of His blessings. I am so thankful for my wonderful wife, my children, their spouses, my grandchildren, my salvation, my Bible, and my wonderful church family. If we simply take a few minutes to consider the things we have to be thankful for, we will soon find ourselves rejoicing in God’s bountiful gifts.
In Romans 1:21-28, the Apostle Paul is unveiling the downfall of sinful man. What Paul says of mankind is far from flattering. He says in verse 21, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful!” Notice the downward spiral men have been on since Adam’s sin and it begins with man not being thankful to the Lord! A lot of sins committed today are a result of a lack of genuine gratitude in the heart.
One thing I have noticed is that gratitude is not a part of our nature. Anything you have to be taught to do is not a part of your nature, and anything you do without being taught, is a part of your nature. For instance, it is a duck’s nature to swim! When you throw a duck into the water, that duck immediately begins to swim. The duck swims automatically! The duck does not need to have swimming lessons and a six-week course where water safety is taught by a certified instructor.
But if you toss a newborn baby into the water, that baby will drown! It is not a baby’s nature to swim. However, eventually, a child can be taught to swim - even though it is not a part of his/her nature. Anything you must be taught to do is not a part of your nature.
Things that come naturally are a part of your nature. We often say that man is a sinner by nature! That means he doesn’t have to be taught to sin - but sin comes naturally! And being sinners by nature, it is the natural thing for us to be ungrateful. No child was ever born with gratitude in his/her heart. Most children are born with their fists clenched, as if to say, “mine.” They have to be taught to say, “thank you,” and sometimes it takes quite a bit of effort and repetition to finally get the lesson learned.
So, how can we abound in thanksgiving? We can do so by “THINKING.” I read that in the old Anglo-Saxon language, the word “thankfulness” means “thinkfulness.” And the more you think, the more thankful you will be. So, the folks who are not thankful don’t think much! So, that is why I said in the first paragraph of this column, that if we would take a few minutes and simply think of all the blessings we have from the Lord, we would find ourselves rejoicing in God’s bountiful gifts.
Have a wonderful day and take a moment to be thankful to the Lord!
Pastor Norris