Teaching Pastor Sean Palmer shared an insightful and personal teaching on the challenge of living a life shaped by gratitude. We have earned nothing, and we are owed nothing. All good things are given to us solely by the grace of God.
Text
James 1: 17
Philippians 2: 14-16
We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good; if bad, because it works in us patience, humility, contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.
— C. S. Lewis
According to the Pew Research Center, people in higher income brackets are much more likely than those with lower incomes to say that individuals get rich primarily because they work hard. Other surveys bear this out: Wealthy people overwhelmingly attribute their own success to hard work rather than to factors like luck or being in the right place at the right time..... a growing body of evidence suggests that seeing ourselves as self-made—rather than as talented, hardworking, and lucky—leads us to be less generous and public-spirited.
- Robert H. Frank - Why Luck Matters More Than You Might Think
Reflection
Sean mentioned two key questions that he asks himself feeling ungrateful and in frustration or distress:
Is this a problem or an inconvenience? What inconveniences in your daily life do you tend to give more power than is necessary or healthy?
Is my complaint someone else’s dream? How will you cultivate greater gratitude for the things in your life that can be stressful, but for which others might be experiencing deep and painful longing?
This week especially, as we head toward a time of feasting and celebration, will you commit to take time each day to truly express intentional and authentic gratitude for the graces that God has bestowed upon your life?
Worship Set
Before The Throne Of God Above
Psalm 66 (You Are Great)
Dust We Are And Shall Return
Holy Holy Holy
Come Light Our Hearts
Even My Darkness