Practicing Gratitude
Gratitude was one of the things we talked about last weekend. Psalm 67 is a harvest psalm, praising God for his provision and reasoning from that to confident hope in his ongoing care in the future. I suggested one practical application would be to find regular and intentional ways of giving thanks.
Not every one is a fan of gratitude, however. Frederich Nietzche hated the idea, lumping gratitude in with humility, which he called “slave morality.” Instead, he advocated a fierce independence - that’s where power and strength would come from.
But as it turns out, gratitude is really good for you. A few years ago, during Thanksgiving week, The New York Times did a story on the recent social science research concluding that being thankful leads to “increased life satisfaction, happiness, optimism, hope, positive emotion… and less anxiety and depression.” Gratitude leads to better sleep, and some studies show, less susceptibility to illness.
Thanksgiving is something we can and should practice all the time. Colossians 3:17 says, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." G.K. Chesterton wrote, “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and the pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.
John Wesley used to make a daily practice of counting his blessings literally. He used to keep a journal as a "blessings inventory." Each day he would bullet point the things he was thankful for: a cup of coffee, a call from a friend, a meaningful song in worship, sunshine, a Reds victory, and so on.
But here’s a key point - don’t just give thanks generally. Give thanks to God specifically, the giver of all good gifts. Gratitude is always personal. It’s not enough to be just “be thankful” in general, or to tweet #blessed. In gratitude, we need to recognize the one who has blessed us.
A Prayer for All Seasons
Dan Larson led us in a great prayer last weekend that several of you asked for. Here it is:
Heavenly Father, you came to us before we came to you, and your love still greets us with each rising sun. We your people will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
We praise you, the creator of all life, for the gift of new life in our church family -- for the births of just the last few months even: for Callie Cunliffe, Philip Murrish, Silas Smith, Emilia Grohnke, Cooper McCormick, Lydia Mullen, Charlie Burgess, Lucy Marstella, and Miller Fruge. We pray for these babies, and all the littlest ones of our church, that you would protect their vulnerable bodies and strengthen them through the loving care of their family, friends, and their church. May we truly see them, and your goodness uniquely imaged in each of them.
We thank you for the children of New City Kids and the many gifts they bring to the life of our church. Help us nurture their spiritual growth well. As seeds of faith are planted and watered, we ask that you would generously grow spiritual fruit – that our efforts would not merely produce head knowledge but your spirit would produce heart transformation. Help our children to believe beyond anything else that you are near to them, you love them and you have a plan for their life.
We thank you for the teens and young adults in our student ministry, and for the youth leaders and the growing friendships here. Through those influential relationships and by the power of your spirit, we ask that you would help these young people to find their identity in Christ alone. Help us give to them confidence in who you created them to be, to replace the insecurities from what they think of themselves or what they perceive others think of them. Expose the hollow stories pitched to them of what makes for a good life, and reveal that yours is the only true abundant life.
We thank you for those in the early stages of adulthood who have found a home here at New City. We ask that this would be a season of deepening relationships and solidifying spiritual maturity that will anchor them through life’s winding journey. When faced with questions about career, relationships, housing, finances, and things yet to come, grant them wisdom to discern what steps to take and patience to endure through seasons of uncertainty. With all that lies in front of them, replace anxiety about future unknowns with the peace of your unchanging promises.
We thank you for those in the long middle of adulthood. Give them abundant grace to remain faithful and obedient through varying seasons, from the joyous & celebratory to the difficult & despairing to the tedious & ordinary. Open the eyes of their heart to your wonder and beauty that abounds. Guard them against the busyness of life that so easily distracts and a creeping worldliness that seeks to convince us that our kingdom is more important than yours.
And we thank you for those at New City for whom the span of life is mostly behind them. Give them a vision for the significant work you still have for them and what it looks like to finish strong within a culture that often encourages them to coast along. We need their collective wisdom and enduring faith to encourage us; help us mutually support one another. For those feeling the weight of losses and limitations that accumulate with the passage of time, help them to not lose heart, renew them day by day until that weight is exchanged for the eternal weight of glory.
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. From everlasting to everlasting you are God. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Getting Ready for Sunday
This Sunday we wrap up our Summer Psalms series before turning back to the Gospel of Luke next weekend. To prepare for Sunday, read Psalm 69, the third most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. We'll be thinking of this psalm in relationship to David's suffering, and also Christ's suffering.
We'll hear about the work of Norwood Together during the service. Songs we'll sing include A Hymn for All the World, Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul, and Psalm 116 (I Love You Lord).
See you on Sunday!