1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18 – Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God?s will for you in Christ Jesus.
If you?ve read Daniel Defoe?s classic book, Robinson Crusoe, then you know that shortly after Crusoe was shipwrecked on his lonely island, he took a sheet of parchment and made two columns that he labeled, ?The Evil and the Good.? The first thing he wrote in the ?EVIL COLUMN? was the fact that he was stranded on a desolate island?but on the other hand he was still alive, not drowned like the rest of his ship?s crew?and that went in the ?GOOD column.? He was alone?separated from human society?EVIL?but he was not starving?GOOD. He had no clothes?EVIL?but he was in a hot climate where he didn?t really need them?GOOD. He was without means of defense?EVIL?but he saw no wild beasts like he had seen on the coast of Africa?GOOD. He had no one with whom he could speak?EVIL?but God had sent the ship so near to the shore that he could get out of it all the things necessary for his basic wants?GOOD.
Once Crusoe was finished with his columns he looked at them and he made a very wise conclusion. He said there was not any condition in the world so miserable but that one could find something for which to be thankful. He learned that, as our text says, we must ?…give thanks in ALL circumstances.? And?Robinson Crusoe was right. No matter what your situation?God?s blessings are still abundant. They are all around you. All we have to do is take the time to follow Crusoe?s example and list all the good and perfect gifts that God showers on us every day?and we will realize how blessed we truly are.
I decided to mention this vignette from Defoe?s book because I got to thinking that as we come to this particular thanksgiving season?you may feel a bit ?ship-wrecked.? I mean, we have all had tough times this year. Our nation?s economic problems continue. The unemployment rate is still rising steadily. Acts of terrorism like the Fort Hood shootings still fill the nightly news. Even here at Redland we?ve had a hard year in many ways. We?ve said good-bye to some dear friends who departed our fellowship…some because of job transfer…and others because God has called them Home. To continue with Robinson Crusoe?s terminology?another thing in the ?EVIL or BAD column? is the fact that our ROC?is still not complete. We thought it would be done LONG ago! I remember talking to our custodian, Tom Riggs, last spring as he was cleaning up after the last Wednesday night meal?and I asked him,?Tom, how does it feel to know you won?t be stacking these heavy red chairs anymore? We?ll be in the ROC before the fall and Wednesday meals will be over there! No more chairs to move then!?
Well, Tom?s still stacking and un-stacking those heavy red chairs you?re sitting in twice a week?and a domino list of set-backs, caused by a contractor who, responded to his bankruptcy with a lack of integrity?well, they make us wonder, ?When is this God-given dream of a gymnasium that we can use to share the love of God with the lost people of our community…when is our dream going to come true??
Here?s another negative?another thing to list in the ?bad? column. We?ve had a hard year financially in that we are over a hundred thousand dollars BEHIND budget?which necessitates significant cuts in our budget plan for next year. We?re not used to that kind of thing here at Redland. It has been decades since money has been a limiting factor but apparently we haven?t been invulnerable to the impact of the negative downturn of our nation?s economy. We?ll talk more about that in weeks to come?but with a long ?BAD column? like this?well, in our minds it?s easy to become ungrateful people and the truly sad fact is?it?s not very far from UNGRATEFUL?to timidity when it comes to attempting things for God. I mean, a church that focuses so much on the negative that it becomes blind to the positive is an ineffective, lifeless church. If congregations like ours?congregations who are facing hard times?if we are not very careful?we will begin to focus on what WE can do rather than on what GOD can do. Plus?mature believers understand that we must be thankful to God even for the bad things of life. Growing Christians learn to trust in God?s perspective they understand that in His providence and power God can and will work in the things that are in our ?bad column? for our good and His glory, so, as Paul says, we ?give thanks in ALL circumstances? ? good AND bad.
This is one reason we have a tradition here at Redland to stop on the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving and thank God for all things. That?s what we?re here to do this morning.
And in spite of what you may think when you look at all the difficult things we?ve had to endure, the blessings have indeed flowed this year. God has continued to shower His gifts on Redland Baptist Church! In fact, here?s just a FEW examples.
Since last September we have had 96 new people join our church. 47 of those joined at the same time they made their public profession of faith in Jesus. And once again God has blessed this church FINANCIALLY. Yes?we are behind budget?but we are 2.4% ahead of where giving was at the same time last year?which I think is indeed a reason for THANKSGIVING when you consider the state of our economy. I mean, for many of our families income levels have gone down?but giving has still gone up! On top of that?you have given over 100% of the amount pledged to THE CROSSING campaign. That kind of percentage is unheard of. Usually churches only receive about 85% of their pledges but you?ve far exceeded that?and you continue to give to the cost of our building at an average of about $1200 per week. I am so thankful that you do!
Plus?you?ve once again given tens of thousands of dollars to cooperative missions and to missionaries like Cathie Burke in Kenya. Your faithful giving has also helped the Fellowship of Christian Athletes reach out to teens at area high schools this year?helping Christian youth be salt and light in a place where it can be very hard to stand up for Jesus much less share your faith.
You?ve given faithfully to BFCS so that both families and children at risk can receive skilled help from counselors and social workers?who do so from a Christian world view. You?ve given such that our deacons have been able to give thousands of dollars to Redlanders in financial need?a very important ministry when you consider the economy. In short, on the GOOD column side I would say I feel so blessed to be a part of a church whose members believe in sacrificially, faithfully giving of their tithes and offerings each week.
God has also blessed us with another busy SUMMER of fruitful ministry. Thanks to Kristin Sullivan and her volunteers we had an amazing Vacation Bible School week. I think it was one of our best VBS weeks ever?and that?s saying a lot because excellence in VBS is one thing we are known for! Sports Camps enrollment was up again this year. I?m so thankful for Becky McGaffin?s continued leadership in this pre-gymnasium sports ministry. AWANA enrollment is up. That vital ministry is healthy and strong thanks to Al Uy and his dedicated leaders. I think their good work is one reason we have seen so many children decide to follow Jesus this year.
Another BLESSING I see is the fact that our Sunday School is growing. In a time when this kind of discipleship is failing in many churches?ours is growing and vibrant. Average attendance is up and we had our highest attendance in years a few weeks ago 427! I think this is because of another BLESSING from above and that?s the two new Sunday School classes that were started: Fundamentals, taught by Roger Price and Mike Craig ? and Faithweavers, taught by John Fergis. I think this should remind us of a basic and tried-but-true principle: more classes?means more people coming to study the Bible on Sundays!
Here?s another example of God?s blessings. This past January a team of 40+ Redlanders, including six medical professionals, made our first ever medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic. The medical team saw over 500 patients. The construction team did extensive repairs to three homes and also worked on the building where the sponsoring church meets. The VBS team worked with hundreds of children. Several people made professions of faith on that trip.
Women?s ministry continues to thrive and under Bobby?s leadership men?s ministry is now growing as well. We have an average of 20 men at Men?s Fraternity early each Tuesday morning.
ESL is strong and growing with new students and teachers thanks to Jim Burke and his crew.
And the thing I am personally VERY grateful for this year is that after years of work, we finally have a full staff. This year we added Bill Archer, as Minister of Music and Worship?and since the day he ?picked up the baton? we?ve been especially blessed when it comes to music. Thank you God for Bill Archer! This year we also added Joed Carbonell as our first director of Recreation ministry and Joed has not let the fact that the ROC is not done slow him down one bit. He?s got all kinds of recreational ministry going?including the Redland Runners?PLUS, he rented gym space so that we can start UPWARDS basketball this year as planned. Thank you God for Joed Carbonell! This year we also brought Kevin Freeman on board as our Minister of Youth?and I don?t want to give Kevin the big head?but I can honestly say everything he?s done has impressed me. Thank you God for Kevin Freeman! With a full staff I was able to take my first sabbatical this year and I?m thankful for that! But suffice it to say that every day at staff meeting when I look around that table at Michelle, and Jennifer, and Hugh, and Bobby, and Bill, and Kevin, and Joed?whenever I look at them…whenever I hear what they are doing in their ministry areas…whenever I see them enjoying each other?s company and working together so well…I thank God! First God gave me the best CHURCH in the world?and now He?s given me the best STAFF in the world! They are SUCH AN ANSWER TO PRAYER?and by the way Erin, I thank God for you and your hard-working….long-suffering search committees. If you served on those search committees and if you remember wondering why we went through all those resumes and all those YEARS of meeting?this is why! God blessed this church through you and your work!
I could go on and on…but suffice it to say that in 2009 God has been VERY good to this church! God has blessed us in the good?and the bad of life.
And we need to stop and acknowledge this in worship. Hebrews 12:28 encourages us to…?be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.? So, as I said, we are here in this place on this Sunday before Thanksgiving to do just that…to thank God. Today…instead of a sermon…which is really a time for us to hear what God has to say to us, as in year?s past, I want us to turn the tables…and make this a time for God to hear what we have to say to Him. We are taking this portion of our service today and making it into a concert of prayer in which we say, ?Thank You, God for all Your blessings to this local body of believers.?
At my request several individuals or couples have prepared prayers for this purpose. So, let us now enter a time of conversational prayer…a time of communicating together with God…eyes and ears open….as we hear these prayers of thanks and offer our own. They will come to you in the order that they are printed in the bulletin. Between each prayer we will sing a song of thanks…and then after these prayers we will pause to give us all a chance to offer our own thanks to God for His great faithfulness. So, now, let us pray… ?Heavenly Father, Hear now these, the prayers of Your people:
8:30AM Service
Doug & Carol Davis
Dear heavenly Father, we owe everything to You, Jesus. We are thankful for who You are! All powerful, All loving, All knowing, All wise and All merciful. We can?t separate any of these characteristics from our own needs and the bountiful gifts that you bestow upon us. We need the challenges You put in front of us that require us to lean on You more. We enjoy and are thankful for all that You provide, even though we may not recognize that You provided it. You gave us each the capabilities and talents to have loving families and live our lives. You even provide a place, a very unique place, this earth, in which to live and you filled it with abundant mineral resources and virtually self-perpetuating plants and animals. All for our use and sometimes misuse. If this were not enough, You provided the very handbook to guide us through these lives. We sometimes forget to use this sword, Your word, even for all of the small decisions we face.
One of great gifts you provided us with is that You created us in Your own image! You want us to be like You. You want us to follow Your leadership and guidance, but you want us to do this as our own choice. You gave us this freedom with this life; freedom to choose You and Your ways or to strike out on our own following what ever influences that may guide us. You instruct us in these simple and generous terms: ?Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.? ?Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.? You put us all in this place to live and gave control of it to your own enemy. An enemy that wants us to ignore You and follow him and is so strong that we are helpless before him. You knew all this and you have laid out a plan to deal with this pursuer of our souls. You gave us the plan and guidance in Your word. Left to ourselves, we are selfish, egotistical, and act in unbecoming and sinful ways. You want us to choose You and be like You but we are so flawed and sinful that you cannot abide us in this state. Yet You love, value and want us. Your plan for our eternal lives is simple and straight forward even though You are complex and beyond our comprehension and understanding. You only want us to recognized we are unworthy sinners and to ask You to forgive all of our short comings and to repent and turn away from them taking on faith who You are and believe what You did for us is true. You have even provided the means to save us from this fate worth than death. You yourself became the selfless solution to our real dilemma and provided us with your greatest gift?Your own life instead of ours for the payment and punishment for our own misdeeds. Even after saving us, You send a Helper to be with us and protect and guide us in this life. How can we not be so very thankful for Your boundless Grace. And for this You want us to ?Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind?; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.?It is You, it is all about you Jesus and we are very thankful and praise You!
Dear Lord our God, I give thanks to You for You are good and your love endures forever. I praise You for Your mercy and grace. I praise You that You forgive our sins and remember them no more. I thank you for Christian mothers. I thank you for our mothers. I thank you for leading Doug and me to follow you and to have a Christian home. I praise you for the gift of our children, Andrea, Aimee and Graham, who have committed to live their lives serving You and have committed to having a home that honors You, and who are teaching their children about You and Your love. Father, thank You for our family of believers at Redland and the help of each Bible teacher, music and choir teacher, each worker and pastor who has supported our family and guided our children to be the people they are today. With a grateful heart I praise and thank You in the name of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jack Morantes
Dear Heavenly Father, we honor you and we praise you. Thank you for dying on the cross for our sins. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to go to Heaven. Thank you for giving us our life so that we can be alive today. Thank you for my parents and for giving people parents. Thank you for my family and for my friends. Thank you for the books that we have to entertain ourselves. Thank you for toys and for t.v. Thank you for Pastor Mark and for my friends at church. Thank you for Mr. Jim who teaches prisoners about Jesus. Thank you for my Sunday School teachers and my choir teachers for their teaching me. Thank you for my school teachers.
In Jesus? name we pray, Amen.
Peter & Laura Siegel
Dear God in heaven,
Thank you, God, for the ways You have shown Your faithfulness to our family this year. You always do what you say you will do, and we know You never change. You have been faithful to our family. Your hand of providence has been so obvious in our lives. You always give us what we need and provide so many of our wants as well. You are good all the time. We acknowledge that any good thing we have comes straight from You and nowhere else. We humble ourselves before You. We want to thank you specifically for our family?s safe and easy move from Florida to Maryland this summer. Moving is never simple, but You paved the way for us come. As the psalmist said in the 126th Psalm, ?The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad.? You?ve created a beautiful place here, where apples and blueberries and peaches and blackberries grow, and we appreciate the opportunity. You?ve given us to experience yet another part of Your world, especially the fantastic fall color that still surrounds us this morning. You are the Ultimate Creator! God, we thank you for so quickly showing us the church You wanted us to be a part of here in Maryland. For many months before our move we prayed that You would show us where to live and where to worship You, and we trusted You to do that. It?s difficult to move around the country as we have done, and we know it was Your hand that showed us where we would be comfortable and fit in. You?ve made Redland Baptist a friendly, grace-driven church, full of opportunities for service that specifically fit each of our spiritual gifts and talents. We pray You would show us new ways to use those gifts and talents in service to You and Your church. We are thankful for Peter?s job with NOAA, which provides for all our physical needs. Please keep him and all those who commute to work safe as they come and go from their homes and workplaces. We appreciate the opportunities you have given us to share what we have with those in need. We know You have commanded us to care for the poor and needy, so please open our eyes to more needs in our community. We pray that You would show us more ways to share. We are thankful that our family is healthy and we pray for healing for those friends of ours who are not healthy today. We thank You for healing our friend Elizabeth of the cancer that attacked her body. As Your word tells us in the book of James, ?The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much,? so we pray for our friends Amy and Ashley who are battling cancer. Comfort them and their families during this time. We ask that You would miraculously heal their bodies. We thank you for our Christian parents, who make wonderful grandparents for our daughter Jamie. We are thankful for our Jamie, a child much longed for, and now, a child much adored. Her tender heart and sense of humor bless us every day, and so we thank you for giving us the desire of our hearts. Help us to teach Jamie to love You with all her heart, all her soul, all her mind and all her strength; and to love her neighbor as herself.
We thank you for the active men?s ministry here as well as Men?s Fraternity, where You?ve given me chances to make new friends, fellowship with other men…and grow deeper in my relationship with You. Solomon said, ?As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.? Help us to Reject Passivity, Lead Courageously, Accept Responsibility, and Expect the Greater Reward ? God?s Reward. Thank you for the men?s ministry and its leaders. We thank You for Ladies Bible study, where I have met new friends, enjoyed fellowship and grown in wisdom. Thank you for the ladies ministry leaders. We thank You for the music ministries at Redland, where each member of our family plays a part, whether it?s in singing, playing the guitar or participating in Kids for Praise. Music is a gift from You and we enjoy worshiping through song. Help us to glorify You in new ways this year. We thank you for the AWANA Clubs here at Redland, where Jamie?s Bible knowledge continues to grow and flourish. You have given her a love of learning and she has applied that to Bible learning at such a young age. AWANA has encouraged Jamie to learn the scriptures, and to ?bind them as a sign on [her] hand, and they shall be as frontlets between [her] eyes.? We watch and wait for the day she will feel ready to walk the aisle and say, ?Jesus, be my Savior.? Thank you for giving us the opportunity to help shepherd a Truth and Training group. We pray we would be good examples to those 3rd through 6th graders. Their persistence and easygoing natures are a blessing to us each week. Thank You for the gift of the Bible; it?s full of exciting stories, a profound history, and it is Your manual for living. Psalm 199:16 states, ?I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.? We love to read Your Word and apply it to our lives. Lord, thank you for all your good and perfect gifts, and for growing our faith through the trials we endure. May we find more reasons to bless your name in the coming year. Amen.
Chelsea Tadasse
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the wonderful Creator you are. You are the Creator of all good things. I thank you for each morning, for it is a blessing from you. When I wake, I am content, because I know that you will be with me, guiding me through out my day. In Isaiah 41:13 you said, ? I am the Lord your God. I am holding your hand, so don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.? And you have helped me whether it be with my multiple pre-cal quizzes or my relationship with my friends. I am thankful for everything that you allow to cross my path. On days that it seems like nothing is going my way, when I become angry or upset, you ask me to be thankful for everything and have faith. You have blessed me abundantly, with loving parents, an awesome brother who always makes me laugh, a secure home and a meal to eat every night. But most of all I am blessed with the gift that you gave us, your son Jesus Christ. Also, I give you thanks for my church family, for they have helped me to have a better understanding of you and your word. Although there are many things that are frightening in this world, I Thank you for gently reminding me not to worry about what lies ahead. In Mathew 6:34 it says, ?Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.? I have to remember In this life it is not about me it?s about you, and your kingdom. Thank you.
In Jesus name
Amen
11:00AM Service
Richard & Annette Keith
Our dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today with thanksgiving and praise for the many blessings and gifts you have brought our way, this year, and in years past. Father, we thank you for the gift of LIFE! Seventeen years ago my life could have been snuffed out in an instant, but thanks to You and your intervention, I am alive today, alive because someone I have never met chose ?to do the right thing.? I am alive and I have been able to experience a life I never would have thought would be mine. Father, thank you for the gift of ?new life??for the increase in the number of infants we have seen this year in the nursery. What a blessing these little ones are. Also, for the ?new life? received by all of the new Christians at Redland this year. We also thank you for ?new life? as in ?grandchildren.? During the past 12 years we have experienced new lives born into our family, and this year was no exception with the birth of Samford Hugh Keith in February. Thank you Father for Sam. He is such a happy baby and we pray that your loving hand will be on him throughout his life. Father, we also thank you for the gift of wisdom and common sense. To know when to step forward and when to step back, especially when helping nurture our grandchildren. They all live close by and sometimes this can be difficult on both sides ? the parents and the grandparents. Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to lead and guide us as we walk this path. Help us to be a Christian witness to each of them. Father, we also thank you for friends. We especially thank you for the friends we have made at Redland throughout the years and for the fellowship that we have had with them. We thank you for the support they have given to us in times of need. They mean much to us. You know the things that warm our hearts; we thank you for the opportunities we have had to be with our Redland friends this year. It has been such a joy to rekindle school friendships established over 50 years ago. Thank you for the wonderful trips South this year where we experienced laughter and a little craziness with old friends. We just know you laughed with us as the YaYa Sisters and husbands spent hours and hours talking and sharing around a dining room table in North Carolina. Thank you Father for our friends. Father, we thank you for ?future new life??as we prepare to move into another chapter of our life…the one called retirement. The frightening financial situation our country has experienced over the past 12 months is enough to make one think there is no hope?but we know better! YOU are our Hope, our Rock, and our Shield?you want the best for us if we just look to you for wisdom and guidance. Thank you that you have been there for us thus far. We believe you will continue to guide us through this new phase of our lives.
Psalms 100:1-5 (NIV)
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is He Who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.
5 For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.Psalms 95:1-7 (NIV)
1Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.2 Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.
3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him.
5 The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7 for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. Father, we praise your holy name, and give thanks.
Amen
Lee and Erika Thompson
Psalm 121:5-8 (New Living Translation)
5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.
7 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.
Dear Heavenly Father, We have so much that we are thankful for. You have provided us with another year of many blessings. We thank You for Your presence, as You promised in Psalm 121 that You Yourself watch over us. You are with our family as we sleep, as we rise in the morning to begin each day, as we travel to our work places to fulfill Your will, as we return home again to eat, fellowship and rest for a new day. Thank You for Your presence, Lord. We thank You for standing beside us as a protective shade. You are with us as we face day to day challenges, as pressures mount at our jobs, as we work to raise our children according to your Word, as we seek strength to overcome daily temptations. Thank You for Your protection, Lord. We thank You for keeping us from harm. We know that no matter how hard he tries, Satan cannot and will not defeat us. You are aware of his attempts to distract our family from Your presence but are able to dismiss him both in the day and at night. You embrace each of us in Your protective hands, that Satan may never claim even one of Your believers. Thank You for keeping us from harm, Lord. We thank You for watching over us in the past, in the present and forever. We know You travel behind us shielding us from evils we are unable to see, You are beside us that we may be calm, focused and committed to Your will, You walk before us laying the path we are to follow. Thank You for watching over us, Lord. Father, Psalm 121 teaches us that You are the creator of the heavens and the earth. Your love is bigger than all of creation. You know our needs long before we know them ourselves. We thank You for loving and being with those who are less fortunate this holiday season. We thank You for comforting those who are without shelter, without family and without food. Please provide us, along with our Redland family, with the wisdom to know how we too can comfort those in need. As we enter this holiday season, please help our congregation to be especially driven by grace for this grace-needing world. Please fill us with Your love, Lord, and let our hearts always be humbled with thanksgiving.
In Jesus? wonderful name we pray. Amen.
Jim & Jane Mitcham
Good Morning. We are Jane and Jim Mitcham. We had been church shopping, but everywhere we went something was missing. We were invited by our neighbors, Vern and Jewel Tice, to come to Redland. Just over 21 years ago, and somewhat reluctantly, we walked in. We were welcomed and accepted immediately. This was where we belonged. We were home. We accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and were baptized that same year. Please join us as we give thanks to God for all we have. Most Gracious Heavenly Father, I am thankful that our children, Beth and Paul came to know You in this church and are now guiding their children on the same path. I am thankful that we have been blessed with friends, many of whom are now scattered all over the country yet remain closer and dearer than many of our biological family members. I am thankful for the Bible teaching. It is such a joy to read Your Word and understand it. I am thankful for the many hours spent one-on-one with our former Pastor Brian Connor sitting in a goose blind, deer hunting, or fishing from a boat…as he shared with me his wisdom and knowledge of You, Lord. I am thankful for the preaching of your Gospel by our great staff. It is awesome how the message is so personal each week. I am thankful for the on-going outreach efforts of Redland Baptist Church and the near completion of the ROC. I am thankful to be a woman of faith. I am thankful that because of Christ, we no longer lose loved ones. We know where they are and that we will meet again. I am thankful we learned to forgive each other as You forgave us. I am thankful that we learned to love each other as You love us.
I am thankful that our marriage has been fireproofed and our lives are filled with purpose. I am thankful that our commonality here is Christ, not background, color, wallet or education. I am thankful for the lessons learned personally and professionally when I was Redland?s church secretary. I am thankful that I have been blessed to be a part of the Redland Diaconate and the Men?s Fraternity. Most of all we are thankful that You loved us so much, You sent Your Only Son to die for us. Amen
Now it is your chance to join in this time of thanks-praying. As the instrumentalists continue to play, let us now bow our heads and all thank God. Praying together at the same time. Pray out loud if you want?in your seat?or on your knees?but pray and thank God for all the blessings on your own ?good? list.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Father God,
We are Your people?the sheep of Your pasture and we have come this morning to worship You with glad and joyful songs?inspired by Who You are and for What You have done. For, You are good and Your love endures forever; Your faithfulness continues through all generations. And all God?s people said….A-MEN
Perhaps as we have acknowledged all that God has done for us, you have remembered the many ways He has blessed your life. And as you did, you felt the inner prompting of the Holy Spirit to give back to God in some way. You may feel led to come forward and publically show your thanks to God by recommitting your life to Him…or by joining this church as we use all that God provides us with to minister to this community. You may want to acknowledge for the first time that God gave His Son to die for you…and today publically give Him your life as you accept Him as Savior and Lord. But however God leads won?t you come and share your decision with us?
BENEDICTION:
Let the PEACE OF CHRIST rule in your hearts
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly
and whatever you do…in word or in deed
Do it all in the NAME OF CHRIST giving thanks to God the Father
through Him.