The Three Things I am Most Thankful For

Now I would normally be asking you to turn to a particular portion of Scripture. But this morning we will have an unusual message in that I will be giving really a topical message. Of course I will be reading and teaching from various portions of Scripture along the way throughout the message. So, as you are taking notes if any of those Scriptures resonate with you write those down maybe go back and study them on your own. But I don't really want you to turn here, there, and everywhere throughout the message. I'd rather you listen and absorb the message this morning and go back and look at those Scriptures in your own personal time.

But last Sunday morning we studied 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 to 18 in what I call the joyful and thankful Christian. We saw that God expects us to be joyful and to rejoice always to be constant and consistent in prayer. And in every situation no matter what to be thankful and to give thanks to God. And we saw that this was and is God's will for us. Listen to the verses in the Amplified, "Rejoice always and delight in your faith. Be unceasing and persistent in prayer.

In every situation no matter what the circumstances of your finances be thankful and continually give thanks to God for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." Now church, what is my point in bringing that message before our Thanksgiving holiday? And what is the point in carrying that theme really all throughout everything up till this morning? Simply it's not enough for us to be thankful at Thanksgiving or even during the holiday season. As God's people we are to be joyful and thankful at all times and in every circumstance. And this is God's will for us. And my question for you is this, are you a joyful and thankful Christian?

It's a rather simple question. If not then why not? And another question, if you are not a joyful and thankful Christian like we see in 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 to 18, do you see the sinfulness of that sin? And another question, if you are not joyful and thankful as a Christian do you see that your sin affects your earthly family? Yes your earthly family and also your church family. But let me turn it around. Let me turn it around on the positive side. Do you see that if you are a joyful and thankful Christian that you are a blessing to your earthly family and you are a blessing to your church family?

And then last Sunday night at our Thanksgiving fellowship we heard three testimonies which centered on thankfulness and joy. First Dylan Thurman shared how God used our church and specific people in our church to show him, to show his wife that although they were very, very religious they were indeed lost and they were in need of salvation. And Dylan shared how thankful he was and is for how God used our church and used you to bring them to a place of conversion to Christ. And then Evan Ullery shared briefly about the trial that he and Devon are going through with Allie Jane.

We all know that their daughter Allie Jane has been born with some difficulties. Evan shared what God has been teaching them all along the way and how thankful and joyful he and Devon are in the midst of their trial. And he shared how thankful they are that our church has been and is ministering to them along the way. And then last Anthony Bataglia shared how God brought He and Candy to faith in Christ and how thankful they are not just for our church, but He shared how thankful they have been for the different churches that they have been a part of through their years even when those churches were not as healthy as they should be.

And He shared how thankful they are for you and what God is doing in their family here at Grace Life Church. Now a question, could you give a testimony about how you were thankful and joyful as a Christian? Could you? Look church, God expects all of His people to be joyful and thankful Christians. So, giving a testimony like this should be no problem because you are truly joyful and thankful as a Christian. Now this morning I want to finish up our Thanksgiving series that I am really calling the Joyful and Thankful Christian. I want to finish up by sharing three things that I am most thankful for. Three things that I am most thankful for.

Really that is the title of the message. Now earlier I said that this will be an unusual message. Normally I preach an expository message even when we are addressing a topic like I did last week. But this morning my message will be a testimonial. And I will teach and encourage from certain scriptures along the way. And I will give us some unique and much needed challenges in this message. And I really feel like some of you desperately need these challenges. So, number one, I am thankful for my salvation. First and foremost I think that has to be on the top of the list. I am thankful for my salvation.

Now I know that I speak often of how I came to faith in Christ and when I came to faith in Christ. And I know that I emphasize that I have been converted to Christ. Now look folks, it is important that we know that we have been born again. Let me say that again. It is important as God's people that we know that we have been born again. That is because Jesus says more than once in John chapter 3 that you must be born again. And if Jesus said that you must be born again, and He did. And if Jesus said that a man cannot even perceive the kingdom of God unless they are born again, and He did.

Well it is important that we know if we have been born again. But Sunday night in our Thanksgiving fellowship and worship service both Dylan and Anthony shared how they could not get away from the fact that they truly deserve death and hell. And they both shared how that motivates them to great joy and thankfulness to God in life. Now for me although it has been 35 years since God rescued me from my old sinful life, I cannot get free from pondering what my life would be like if I had never come to faith in Christ. Honestly, honestly, that really scares me when I think about that. Many of you know that we were born and raised in Laurel.

And when I go home to Laurel like I did this past week for Thanksgiving, I see houses and streets and areas of town that remind me of my past life before I came to faith in Christ. And those memories sadden me. Those memories make me wonder what my life would be like if I had not been saved. And that moves me to joy and thankfulness to God because he intervened in my life in great mercy and grace to save me so many years ago. So in being thankful for our salvation, we must never forget that we deserve death and hell and eternal damnation. And we must never forget what God saved us from.

And we must never forget that had God not saved us, our lives would be nothing but ruin. But I want to point out a few things pertaining to my salvation that I'm very thankful for. First, I am thankful for a person and people who purposely and personally shared the Gospel with me. On Thanksgiving Day, my future son-in-law Elijah and I were running an errand to the grocery store. And when we left the corner market there in North Laurel Shopping Center, I showed Elijah the very spot where someone shared the Gospel with me in 1987 when I was a senior in high school.

And that was the first time someone purposely, personally shared the Gospel with me. I remember that vividly. But although that witnessing encounter was purposeful and personal, that encounter only made an impression on my mind. It was not until later on that my brother witnessed to me personally and purposely that God really moved on my heart. Now, I didn't understand it then, but I understand it now. That was the Holy Spirit of God working in me and on me in conviction. But he boldly and directly shared with me that I was a sinner who deserved hell. He clearly shared with me that I needed Christ and he purposely pressed me.

Listen to that phrase. He purposely pressed me into the fact and facts that I deserve hell and I needed Christ and I needed desperately to be born again. And later God used other family in my life who were a part of God's plan in bringing me to faith in Christ. He used my sister and my brother-in-law. Now, that reminds me of a portion of Scripture, Romans 10, verses 13-15. Paul says, "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And how then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. And I am thankful that God put people in my life who understood these verses, believed these verses, and they lived these verses. And I am thankful that these people and others came to me. They preached the good news of the Gospel. They preached the bad news of the Gospel. And they pressed those things into my heart, mind, and life. A couple of questions for you. Who shared the Gospel with you? Who shared the Gospel with you before you were converted to Christ?

Who was instrumental in bringing you to faith in Christ? And are you thankful to God for their obedience and their witness? Have you shared with them how thankful you are for their witness? Have you shared that with them? But then second, I am thankful for a church that was behind those people and those personal witnessing encounters. I have said this hundreds and hundreds of times, but behind those in my family who shared the Gospel with me was a very evangelistic church that loved lost sinners. At that time, Highland Baptist Church was led by a pastor who loved the lost.

He loved to share the Gospel, and he led that church to do the very same thing. And look, Grace Life Church, as individual believers in a church, if we love lost sinners, we are demonstrating that we have the very heart of God. Romans 5.8 says, "But God shows or demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." And I vividly remember that when I came to faith in Christ and I walked into the doors of Highland Baptist Church, I was surrounded by people who loved me and most had never even met me, although they knew of me because they had been praying for me.

And oh how thankful I am that they demonstrated to me that God loved and still loves lost sinners. Now at this time I want to speak directly to some of you. There are some of you here that you are not born again. You've never come to saving faith in Christ. Maybe you are a Christian in name only, and maybe you are trying to figure all of this out, and I understand that. Look, God has demonstrated to you His love for you by sending His Son to die in the place for sinners. Listen again to Romans 5.8 and think about it applying to you.

But God shows, demonstrates His love for us and for others in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And look, Grace Life Church, we must love lost sinners. We must love lost sinners. And the day we do not love the lost and the lost sinners that God has put around us is the day that we prove that we do not have God's heart in relation to the lost. So I'm thankful that God by His good grace and mercy sent people into my life to share the Gospel with me when I was hopelessly, desperately lost. And that there was an entire church behind them and they love lost sinners just like me.

But there is one more thing that I'm thankful for. And this is a verse that has really been on my mind all week in relation to this testimonial. Third, I am thankful that my salvation was and is all of grace. Ephesians 2, 8, 9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." And this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. Here Paul tells us that any and all who are saved are saved by grace through faith. And it is not of one's own doing, but a gift of God, a gift from God. I love what William McDonald says about salvation being the gift of God.

He says, and I'm quoting, "It is not of works." That is, it is not something a person can earn through supposedly meritorious deeds. It cannot be earned, for instance, by confirmation, baptism, church membership, church attendance, holy communion, trying to keep the 10 commandments, living by the Sermon on the Mount, giving to charity, being a good neighbor, living a moral respectable life. Now, what is my point here? I am explaining that I am thankful for my salvation, but my salvation was and is not my salvation, but God's salvation.

Ephesians 2, 4, and 5 says, "But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved." My salvation was and is a free gift from God, which was and is all of grace. It had nothing to do with me. Look church, the faith and repentance that I expressed on that night that I savingly professed Christ, that was even a gift from God. Both Acts 1, 18 and 2 Timothy 2, 25 tell us that repentance unto God for salvation is a gift from God.

And here in Ephesians 2, 8, and 9, we see that the faith that we exercise in salvation, that is a free gift as well. Again, what is my point? My salvation was and is nothing, but a free gift from God. I did nothing to earn it nor to gain it. So, I am thankful for my salvation, which was and is a free gift from God. And I'm thankful for those people in the church that God used to bring me to faith in Christ. And look folks, we should be a church full corner to corner of believers that are overflowing with thanksgiving because they know that their salvation was and is a free gift from God. It had nothing to do with them.

Now, a couple of direct questions here. Here's where my challenges come. Dads, do you share your faith? Men, do you share your faith? Do you talk about how you came to faith in Christ? Do you talk about those things with the men you work with, with the folks you come in contact with in your job? Men, dads, do you talk about how you came to faith in Christ with your family? Do you talk about how you came to faith in Christ with your wife and especially with your children? Your children are never too young.

They are never too old for you to be telling them about how you came to faith in Christ, what your life was like before you came to faith in Christ, and how your life has been changed since then. Do you share that with your children? Moms, do you do the same thing? And as a family, within your family you should talk about those things often. Now we know we don't glamorize sin, no. But we should always be talking in our family with those we come in contact with talking about what our life was like before we met Christ, how Christ saved us, and how Christ is continuing to save us. But then number two, I am thankful for my family.

Number two, I am thankful for my family. Now when I say I am thankful for my family, I have to start with my immediate family, and then I have to move to my extended family. But before we get into these verses and what I want to share here, we have to understand and remember that God invented the family, He created the family, therefore the family belongs to God. Genesis 1 and 2, we see that God created the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve.

And in Genesis chapter 2 starting in verse 18 on down to verse 25, we see that God performed the first marriage ceremony where it was God Himself who joined the first man, Adam, to the first woman, Eve, in what is called holy matrimony. And we use the term holy matrimony because God created marriage, therefore it is to be seen as and regarded as holy. Now right here there is a truth we must accept. God created marriage, God created the family, and He gave those things to men and mankind. And man has no right to redefine it, to recreate it, to adjust it, or to alter it.

Marriage and the family in any way can never be redefined, recreated, adjusted, or altered because it belongs to God. And obviously this goes on in the world. We see it every day. But this also goes on in so-called Christian churches and Christian homes. We could probably name a few names. Now at this point I want to point out some specifics that I am thankful for. First I am thankful for my wife. Proverbs 18, 22 says, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." And I want you to know church, over 28 years ago we were married just over 28 years ago. But I found my wife sooner than that.

But when I found Christi and she became my wife I found a good thing and I found favor from the Lord. And besides the fact that I just love her, have you ever heard the story about the famous very deep and theological pastor who was questioned about marriage? I heard the story about this very famous, very deep and profound pastor. And a young man came up to him and said, "How did you know that your wife was the woman for you?" And the young man was expecting some deep and theological response.

And he looked at the young man and he said, "Well, when I met her I just loved her and I wanted to be with her." Besides the fact that I just love my wife and I cannot imagine life without my wife, I am thankful for my wife and for several specific reasons. And these are spiritual in nature. First, I am thankful that she is a born again Christian who walks with the Lord. Now I met my wife at church. I met my wife at church. And when we got married we were serving the Lord as I was in ministry in the church. But it wasn't until after I was in the ministry that she truly came to saving faith in Christ.

But I watched God do that work and bring her to saving faith. And I've seen her walk with the Lord as a born again Christian ever since. Second, I am thankful that my wife puts me and then our girls in her home and her home life first in all of her pursuits up under the Lord. Third, I am thankful that she understands her call to be a pastor's wife. Of course we know that women are not called to the pastor. The office of elder, pastor, those things are clearly reserved for men and that is clearly seen in 1 Timothy chapter 3, chapter 2 and chapter 3. But I believe that a pastor must be called of God to be a pastor of a church.

And I believe that a pastor's wife must see that she has a unique calling as a pastor's wife as well. And she understands that and she lives that. Then fourth, I am thankful that my wife sees, knows and understands her gifts and her spiritual gifts and she uses those gifts to serve in the life of our church. In Grace Life Church, especially those of you who have known us for years, you would say that those things that I have shared about my wife are true. And I want to tell you Grace Life, I see and I understand that an excellent wife is the crown of her husband, Proverbs 12.4.

And I want you to know that my wife brings me joy, my wife brings me gladness, my wife brings fulfillment to me in my life. I am incomplete without her and other than my salvation in my Lord, my wife is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. She truly is my crown, Proverbs 12.4. Now here's some of my challenges. Me and husbands, do you see your wives in that way? Do you tell your wives, your wife these things? Do you tell them that they bring you joy, gladness, fulfillment in life? Well, you should and you should do it often.

And I'm going to say we should and we should do this often because men sometimes we're not good at verbalizing these things. And wives, let me turn this around. Are you an excellent wife and the crown of your husband or do you bring him the opposite? If you study Proverbs you will see the excellent wife and you will see the wife that brings sorrow, despair, and rottenness to the very core of the husband's life. Which one are you? But then second, I'm thankful for my children.

I believe that most of you know that we have two daughters, Annie is 20 and she is attending the University of Southern Mississippi right now and she is going to get married in March. Maggie is 18, almost 19 and she goes to Mississippi College. I think you all all know that. And both of our girls have professed Christ, they have been baptized and they are members of Grace Life Church. Annie serves here and of course Maggie is serving the Lord as she is in college. And I want you to know church that I see my girls as a blessing and a gift from God. I always have and I always will. I see them in light of Psalm 127 verse 3.

Psalm 127 verse 3 says, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward." In this word heritage here this speaks of a possession and inheritance, a gift. Simply children are a blessing and a good gift given by God and I see both of my girls, Annie and Maggie as blessings and good gifts from God. Both Annie and Maggie bring me great joy and I am thankful for them both and they know that. Now some questions here. Mom, Dad, do you see your children as a gift, as a blessing or do you see them as an inconvenience, a problem or a headache?

Do you see your children as a gift, a blessing from God or do you somehow see them as an inconvenience, a problem or a headache? And Mom and Dad, do you tell your children that they are a gift? Do you tell your children that they are a blessing? But then do you turn it around and with your actions communicate that they are an inconvenience, a problem and a headache? What do we say verbally and non-verbally? Dad's, Mom's, both of you, you should be thankful for your children. You should tell them that they are indeed great gifts from God. You should tell them and show them. Y'all do know how you spell love don't you? You spell love T-I-M-E.

You spell love T-I-M-E. This time of the year I enjoy a little deer hunting and I get an object out that I love. If I'm going to go deer hunting with a gun I'm going to pull out my old Browning A-Bolt 30-06. It's got scars, worn places because I love it. I spend T-I-M-E with my Browning 30-06. You might say, Pastor, that's kind of an odd comparison. You see folks the things we love are the things we spend T-I-M-E with. Do you spend time with your children?

Now, dads, listen, especially you, I want to encourage you spend time with your little boy, spend time with your little girls, give them your time, effort and your energy and you will show them, not tell them that they are a blessing and a gift. Now at this point I need to explain something to your parents, especially to those of you who have daughters. One day your daughter is going to bring home some dirt bag of a guy and he's going to say, "Hey, I want to marry your daughter." But that brings me to number three. I think you all know I'm joking. I'm thankful for my future son-in-law.

Many of you know that God brought Elijah into our family and into our church. Elijah was raised on the mission field in Romania. His parents were Presbyterian missionaries and been there for years. But God brought Elijah into our church and into your life and into our lives. And I have spent hours counseling Elijah with spiritual over spiritual matters. Many of you men have in the life of our church and I'm thankful. And Elijah went through our church membership class. He was baptized and in March he will become a member of our family, although we treat him as a member of our family now. But I'm thankful for Elijah.

He will make our family more complete. I think I've moved from calling him a dirt bag to a blessing. So I'm thankful for my family. First for my wonderful wife, not perfect, almost perfect. Second for my two girls who are truly a blessing from God and then for how God is growing our family. But I want to add to that. Fourth, I'm thankful for my extended family. I'm thankful for my parents and my sister and her husband and their children. We're all close. I'm thankful for my mother-in-law. My father-in- law has passed away. I'm thankful for my wife's family. God has truly blessed us with a wonderful extended family.

And we are very, very close and I'm grateful for that. So if I say that I am faithful for my family, I have to start with my wife, then my daughters and move on from there. But before I move on, I want to challenge you, Grace Life Church. Some of you here are first generation Christians. Your parents and maybe even your grandparents are not believers. Your parents and grandparents and even other family may even be very, very sinful and very difficult to be around, especially during the holidays. And many of you are the first in your families to not have a broken home. Many of you have come from broken homes shattered by sin and sinfulness.

And it is very difficult and maybe even impossible for you to be around some of your family. Here is my challenge for you. You start your very own family traditions. You make Thanksgiving and Christmas and birthdays and vacations. Your very own make them Christian. You be the one that starts off doing it right. You intentionally work hard to give to your children and your family what you did not have. Now I want to say something. I'm going to be very bold. Some of you got the short end of the stick. I understand that. But you're going to have to get over it. I haven't walked down that path.

Some of you have gotten the short end of the stick from your family. You're going to have to get over that. You're going to have to get past that because if you don't get over it and get past it, you will never be able to invest in your children and your family and start what you need to start. And that is to start making a Christian home be what it should be at Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, vacations, and start your own traditions and give to your children and your family that which you did not have. Some of you are doing that and I'm watching it and it's a blessing. But then third, I'm thankful for our church.

Now I already mentioned this but last Sunday night at our Thanksgiving fellowship we had three different testimonies and there were some common denominators in all those testimonies. But of these three testimonies one thing in common I want to mention from Dylan, Evan, and Anthony we heard how thankful they are for our church and our church family and they all mentioned church health. Now look brothers and sisters I want us to see that we definitely have a healthy church, not a perfect church.

If we pay attention to what we see in the Scripture what I mean is this, if we look at what the Scriptures say a healthy church should be and do we can definitely see the marks of a healthy church around us. This is an incomplete list but listen up. Here at Grace Life Church the Gospel as seen in the Scriptures is taught accurately and properly. Let me say that again. Here in the life of our church the Gospel as seen in the Scriptures is taught accurately and properly and it is applied to the life. Now let me share something.

There are churches that can articulate and explain and teach the Gospel and teach it well but they don't apply it to the life. Here in the life of our church conversion to Christ in salvation by grace through faith is taught and expected and seen. Here we see Christian discipleship and Christian growth taking place within believers in and through small groups and in and through relationships within our church. Here in the life of our church we faithfully practice the ordinances of the Lord's Supper in baptism properly as seen in the Scripture.

Here in the life of our church we are faithful to expositional preaching and the preaching and the teaching of God's Word is at the center of church life. Here at Grace Life we certainly have healthy small group ministry within our church that is growing wonderfully. Our church is led by biblically called qualified and capable healthy church leadership. Here at Grace Life we strive for a regenerate church membership not a perfect church membership. You understand what a regenerate church membership is?

A church membership should reflect the people who profess Christ who have been baptized like we see in the Scripture and they know their spiritual gifts and they serve in the life of the church, they sacrifice in the life of the church, they give and they look Christian, they talk Christian and they act Christian. Here at Grace Life we believe in, teach and practice loving church discipline. Here at Grace Life we believe in and practice and are part of healthy missions and we are a part of a network of churches around the world who participate in missions.

And look at the church, when a church is organized and structured according to what we see in the Scripture, when a church functions the way a church is to function according to the Scripture, when a church is dependent on God's Word and the Holy Spirit of God that church will grow. It is a guarantee. Well how do I know it is a guarantee? Jesus says in Matthew 16, 18, "And I tell you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church." Sounds to me like Jesus says that it will grow and the church will work. And what does He say? And the gates of hell should not prevail against it. And this should not surprise us.

The reason that this surprises us is that sadly today this is so rare. And look church, Jesus is building His church, this local church Grace Life Church all by His grace. And I'm very joyful and I'm thankful in what God is doing here in us and through us. But you know I want to address something. These messages are recorded and sent out, who knows where. There may be someone listening to this message and they are in a sick church, a dying church, a church that is counter productive for their marriage and their children. Now I don't know when a person should leave, I don't know. Only the Spirit of God knows.

But there comes a place where you've got to leave a sick and a dying church and you've got to find a healthy church. There very well could be someone listening to this message and they need to come to Grace Life Church because they are in a sick and a dying church and they need to be here. And there are some of you, you know people. They are languishing, they are suffering, they are hanging on to a carcass and they need to let that thing go and they need to come and be a part of this church and what God is doing here. Not that we've got it all figured out, not that we have God in a box, no.

A church especially you men, especially our elders, leaders. I want to give us a very serious warning. If we ever forsake our first love in Christ we run the risk of losing our lampstand like we see with the Ephesian church in Revelation 2, 1-7. If we ever move away from what God's Word says the church should be and do, we run the risk of Christ Jesus coming to fight against us with the sword in His mouth like we see in the church at Pergamum in Revelation 2, 12-17. But, Christ's life, even though we are a healthy church we do have needs. There is a need that I have been praying over for over a year.

That is something that we will address here very soon and that is the need for more elder leadership. There is another need that I have been praying for and that is the need for official set aside deacons and deacon ministry. That is something we are going to address in 2025. Now why do I bring that up? To show you that we have needs, but these are positive needs, these are growing needs. I believe we have a need in the future in God's timing of our own building. We need to pray towards that. Things like that are on my mind. But here I want to turn over to a portion of Scripture. This is one of my life verses.

You can turn there if you want, 1 Peter 5, 1-3. If not, I am going to read them. I am going to read these verses and just make a couple of comments here. This is written by Peter, the Apostle Peter to a church. Notice what the Apostle Peter says, "So I exhort the elders among you." See this is a church with a body of elders. "So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ." Notice he is in the position of an elder, but he is also an Apostle. He witnessed the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. Notice here is his challenge.

"Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly." Church, I am thankful that I have the wonderful privilege and responsibility to shepherd the flock of God. This word shepherd here in the original, it means to feed, it means to tend to. And the picture here is of a shepherd keeping and tending and feeding his flock. Verse 2 says, "Shepherd the flock of God, shepherd the flock of God that is among you." And notice this fact church, this flock does not belong to me, but to God. You're not mine, you are God's.

And God has given me the wonderful privilege and calling and responsibility to serve as an under shepherd. That means I am a shepherd under the chief shepherd and my job and my responsibility is to shepherd the flock of God that is among me, which is you. And notice how I am to do this. The text says, "Not under compulsion, but willingly." Impressed life? A question. Do you sense that I exercise my responsibility willingly or just because I have a job to do? Do I do what I do because I do it willingly or do I do what I do because I just have a job to do?

And those of you who have been here at Grace Life Church for quite a while, you know that I exercise my responsibilities as pastor willingly, joyfully, thankfully, not because there's anything good in me, but because this is the work that God has done in me, this is my calling. That is the work that God has done in me. So I am thankful for our church. I am thankful for you. I am thankful for the work that God is doing here and I am thankful for my job and my responsibility as an under shepherd who is to shepherd the flock of God.

Now, in closing, there is more that I could say here, but as I prayed through these things and weeded my list down, these were on the top. But the Thanksgiving holiday is behind us. The Christmas holiday is before us. We have learned that we are to be joyful and thankful Christians, not just in Thanksgiving as individual believers and as a church. And I do believe that hearing testimony from three of our men who represent their families and hearing the three things that I am most thankful for, I believe this has been edifying, encouraging, challenging, convicting, and good for us all.

So let's pray and commit all that we've been studying since last week to our Lord.