There are so many reasons to want to preach a three point sermon on thanksgiving. Either because you have been asked to say a short sermon on thanksgiving. Whatever your reasons for needing a three point sermon on Thanksgiving, I have prepared just the perfect sermon outline for you.
In this post, I have discussed three reasons why giving thanks is important and some of the benefits of thanksgiving. Let’s get into it already.
Outline of a Three Point Sermon on Thanksgiving
This is a sermon outline for this short sermon on thanksgiving. It includes:
- Introduction
- Objective
- Why we should give thanks to God
- Counsel
- Prayers on thanksgiving
Introduction
The idea of giving God thanks is one that is often relegated in our Christian walk. We do almost every other thing without being coerced. From prayer to Bible study to fasting to giving and much more.
Christians do not have a problem with these other things but when it comes to giving God thanks, it is largely seen as simply the first part of our prayer exercise. We simply thank God because we are about to start praying and sometimes when we stop praying.
The way it should be is that thanksgiving should be an important part of our lives. This is what Paul was saying in 1 Thessalonians 5:18;
If you are not giving thanks in all circumstances and at all times, then you most likely do not know what the benefits of giving God thanks are. Today, we are going to see three important reasons why thanksgiving should be a priority for us.
Why Do We Need to Give God Thanks
There are so many reasons from scripture about why it is important to be thankful to God. For this sermon, we are only going to consider three of them.
Thanksgiving To God Is A Recognition Of His Goodness And Mercy
Thanksgiving to God is done in recognition of His goodness and mercy. Our God is a good God and full of mercy. His faithfulness towards us is the reason we are alive and have not been consumed by the enemy (Lamentations 3:22).
Our thanksgiving to God is because we understand that without His goodness and mercy in our lives we do not qualify to be alive. This recognition is important because it shows that we are humble enough to admit that God is our sustainer and source (Psalm 3:5).
How does this benefit us?
First, it further solidifies our faith in God as we recount the things He has done for us in the place of thanksgiving. It is like being reminded of the goodness of God and this creates a genuine sense of appreciation and reverence for God.
Gratitude is a positive trait. It is being grateful that helps us face life with the positivity that we need. This is no different when we show our gratitude to God. In showing our gratitude to God we would be fixing our minds on the good things God has done for us which gives us a better positivity than the psychological positivity that comes from being grateful.
Secondly, being thankful to God in recognition of His goodness and mercy is an application for more of that. When God sees that you acknowledge Him as your source, He becomes committed to deploying His resources to you.
Although not entirely related but Paul in 2 Timothy 1:12 said something that validates this claim.
By recognizing that it is God’s goodness and mercy that has kept you and continues to provide for you, you are telling God, I know it is you and I know you are not going to stop now. This sort of confidence is what moves God to keep doing it.
Let’s take a look at this analogy. If you have two friends and they came to you to request for money and you offered it to them. One tells you a “Thank you” there and then and proceeds to get on with their business. While the other almost begins to worship you, telling you about how grateful they are that you gave them the money.
This fellow doesn’t stop there but comes the next day to tell you about how the money helped him the previous day. Between both of them, who are you more likely to show kindness to the next time? Obviously the guy that was full of thanksgiving.
This is how it works with God as well. David admonishes us in Psalms 29:2;
As we proceed you are going to see other benefits of thanksgiving that we can’t afford to miss out on.
Thanksgiving Provokes Multiplication
The second point of this sermon on thanksgiving is that it provokes multiplication. For this point, we look at the life of Jesus. In Matthew 15:30-38, we see how Jesus fed four thousand men excluding women and children. This was just after He fed the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fishes.
I chose this particular account because of how it clearly identifies thanksgiving as an integral part of the miracle of multiplication.
In verse 36,
The keyword there is “And gave thanks.”
It was giving thanks that caused the bread to multiply so that seven loaves of bread and a few little fishes could feed four thousand men without the numbers of women and children which is certainly going to be more.
What fascinates me the most about this miracle and the one where Jesus fed five thousand men is the baskets of bread and fish that were left.
In this account we are considering, the Bible records that there were seven baskets full (Matthew 15:37).
It was impossible to feed the four thousand men with just seven loaves of bread and a few fish alone. How then did it multiply so much until there were seven baskets of remnant?
This shows how immensely beneficial the art of thanksgiving is.
A lot of us complain about our checks being too small, about our grades being too low, about how the food we have is too small when we should be full of thanks and gratitude to God for what He has supplied.
The idea of thanking God even with little is to show that this might be small but I know that you have all the resources in your hands and I trust that you can provide for me or multiply what I have.
There are several scriptures that prove that God is not in a scarce supply of resources to help His children. Show Him gratitude for the supposed little that you have and watch Him multiply it.
Thanksgiving Ensures Perfection
Finally, it is important for us to thank God to seal His work in our lives. This is the idea of perfection. In Luke 17:11-19, we see Jesus’ encounter with ten lepers who cried to Him for healing. He obliged and told them to go and show themselves to the priest which was customary for anyone who had just been cleansed from leprosy.
On their way, one of them saw that he was healed, and he turned back to Jesus to show his gratitude. Jesus wondered that only one person returned after He healed ten. It shows that God expects us to always be thankful for the things He has done for us.
In verse 19,
Wholeness there refers to perfection. For this leper, it could mean many things and the possibility is endless.
When God does something for us or we have begun to see Him doing something in our life, thanksgiving makes it whole. It is saying “God, I can see you working in my life and I do not take it for granted. I am not so insincere or proud not to note that this is your finger at work in my life.”
This simple acknowledgment is enough to bring perfection to the things that God has begun to do. Many of us will not deny that there were seasons in our lives when we thought that things were starting to look good and all of a sudden everything stopped.
I am showing you a likely culprit. It is ingratitude.
Do not be like the nine other lepers who didn’t see the need to return to God with thanksgiving when it was clear God was already at work.
Come to God with thanksgiving at the slightest. As a matter of fact, thanksgiving should be a primary part of our lives.
Counsel
Always make sure that you are grateful to God for even the littlest things. Build a culture for thanksgiving, acknowledging God in every circumstance (1 Thess 5:18).
Also, set out a time for thanking God. it will be just for thanksgiving to God and nothing more. Instead of coming to God with a prayer point for needs, let your prayers be all about thanks and gratitude to God.
Prayers for Thanksgiving
Say the following prayer as part of your thanksgiving to God:
- Father, I am here to show you how grateful I am. I am alive today not by a qualification or skill that I have got but by your mercy and grace. Lord, thank you because you have proven to be all these years that you are God and I am loved by you. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus name.
- Lord, I admit that I have been ungrateful. I know I am lacking in bringing you glory, the glory that you deserve. I have not talked about your wonderful works in my life enough. Deliver me from being ungrateful and help me to be quick to speak about your goodness and mercy.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it – a three point sermon on thanksgiving. There are so many other reasons why we should be thankful to God but this is intended to be used for a short, quick sermon.
If you need a sermon that is custom-made for you, then reach out to me and I will be able to draft a sermon that is tailor-made for your audience and preaching style.