The First Thanksgiving

Transcription

1 November 21, 2010 Deuteronomy 26:1-15 Creekside COB The First Thanksgiving A good Christian woman wanted to buy a parrot. She would have it to keep her company. When she decided to purchase a parrot, the store owner told her that this parrot had offensive language and she would not be pleased with it. She told the owner that it would be fine and she would take it home and teach it how to speak in a proper way. Well, the first day she had the parrot at home, she spoke to the parrot. The parrot answered her in this language blankedy blank, blankedy blank. She said, Now Mr. Parrot you cannot speak that way in the house. I am a good Christian woman and I will have none of that. She took the parrot and placed him in the freezer for a few minutes and removed him. Now Mr. Parrot I hope you have learned your lesson. Mr. Parrot said he had. But again on the next day, the same thing happened again. She spoke to the parrot and again the parrot began his bad language and into the freezer she placed him again. Well, this happened again until finally she said this is the last time and she left the parrot in the freezer long enough to really scare him. The parrot came out of the freezer shivering his beak chattering. She says, Well Mr. parrot, have you learned your lesson? The parrot shivering said, Oh yes, Mam, I have learned my lesson and can I ask one question? She said sure you can. The parrot asked, What did that turkey do to get in there? Pilgrims We traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving remembering the Pilgrims who were lived in religious persecution and came to this country to practice their faith in freedom. National Holiday Thanksgiving was a National Holiday for a number of years with no set date until 1941.

2 On October 6, 1941, both houses of the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution fixing the traditional last-thursday date for the holiday beginning in However, in December of that year the Senate passed an amendment to the resolution that split the difference by requiring that Thanksgiving be observed annually on the fourth Thursday of November, which was sometimes the last Thursday and sometimes (less frequently) the next to last. [19] On December 26, 1941 President Roosevelt signed this bill, for the first time making the date of Thanksgiving a matter of federal law (wikipedia) So today we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of the month of November. Thanksgiving has always been a holiday about God. Whether the world knows it or not, it is. Today s scripture passage shows us. But God institutes a Thanksgiving celebration over three thousand years ago. And he teaches us about giving thanks. God says this is your future. Bring your first fruits. The People of Israel were just coming to a new place to live. Maybe apprehensive of what the land would yield. They might get the case of the what if s How can I give thanks when I don t know what my future holds? We may get the case of the What Ifs The Israelite people may have had the case of the What Ifs: What if What if our crop doesn t yield enough? What if A drought or a crop blight comes, what would we do then? What if: we give and we know our Nipsco bill is due

3 What if: we give and our car breaks down. We might have to store up what we have. I am sure that is what the people of Israel were saying. The passage of scripture says today, God wants us to trust Him by giving our first fruits today, knowing that God will provide for our future. A few years ago, Susan and Harvey Duke went through a rough period that taught them to trust in God's providence. Harvey couldn't find work, and the family finances were dwindling quickly. One morning, Susan opened the pantry to find bags of potatoes and onions--and absolutely nothing else. And, to complicate matters, as she prayed over the family's financial situation, Susan felt God urging her to give away what they did have. What a dilemma. Then Harvey came home. And he asked Susan to take some food to the new family moving in next door. What was he doing? Didn't he realize how dire their situation was? In spite of her misgivings, Susan loaded a picnic basket with potatoes and onions and delivered it to their new neighbors. A short time later, Susan answered the door to find the neighbor's son on their front steps. He was carrying bags of groceries. His family's refrigerator hadn't been installed yet. They needed to get rid of the food they had brought from their old house. Would she accept a couple of bags of groceries? Of course, she would--with great joy. Susan and Harvey could only interpret the neighbor's kindness like this: God had rewarded their giving by giving back to them abundantly. That is God s faithfulness. God s Word tells us over and over when we give first the blessings follow. When we give thanks by giving before we receive, it is a sign of our faith. It is a sign of our trust in God s provision.

4 Verses 4-10 says after you give thanks with your First Fruits, I want you to speak about what I have done with you in the past. Sometimes it is hard to give thanks for the past especially when we have had hard year. You can hear in the words of the passage today that the people of Israel had plenty of hard times. But God helps them to remember that in the hard times, God cares for them. God cares for us in hard times. It is hard to find the good things that the past gives to us as some of them are so painful. JOKES: In one PEANUTS cartoon Charlie Brown was at the beach carefully building a castle in the sand. Standing back to admire his work, he was soon engulfed by a downpour which leveled the castle. Standing before the smooth place where his artwork had once stood, he said: "There must be a lesson here, but I don't know what it is." Although the pain of our past, some people are able to see those things as opportunities from God to do something good. I love the story of Joseph. Joseph went through lot of things. Because of their jealousy for Joseph, they sold him into slavery and he was taken to Egypt far away from his land. His father Jacob was told he was dead. But listen to how Joseph saw God s hand in the midst. 18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said. 19 But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Joseph saw God s hand of provision. Joseph had authority in Egypt and was able to preserve God s chosen nation.

5 When we look back into the past full of good things and bad, it is easy to pull out the bad. But it is our choice! We can choose to look at our failures and disappointments. We can choose to be bitter and hold a grudge, feeling sorry for ourselves. We can choose to look at our lives with an eye on God s love and see the goodness he gives. From a young age, singer Tony Bennett found security in the love of his family. Tony's father died when he was 10, and his mother worked hard to support her three children. It was not easy. Things were tight. Tony's favorite times were Sunday afternoons when all the extended family gathered together to eat a meal, sing some songs, and share memories. He says, "There was never a touch of loneliness, never a thought of what's going to happen to me? It's funny that, in the middle of deep poverty, it was the warmest time of my life." He chose to see the past through the eyes of God s goodness and give thanks. The third thanks God shows us today is to: Go and celebrate. Be thankful and to invite everyone for God s goodness. 11 Afterward go and celebrate because of all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household. Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration. These are powerful words from God. Celebrate because God has got it covered. Rejoice and praise. We have a God of infinite love and goodness. Share it! Don t celebrate alone, invite people to celebrate with you. Invite your family friends and even strangers to join you in giving thanks and rejoicing. We gather together this week and throughout the year to give thanks to God for everything.

6 We gather together as people of God who know of God s goodness now, in the past and what He has for us in the future. I ask all of you when you are sitting around the table that you might begin to share the stories of God in your life in the past and what you know of God for the future.