This month we are emphasizing the importance of thankfulness and gratitude. We will continue this emphasis through the last weekend of November when we will begin our Christmas series.

Gratitude and thankfulness seem to be in short supply in our culture today. The tragic irony: never in the history of humanity have a people had so much wealth and material possessions, to the point that even the poor would be considered 'well off' in many second and every third world country. We have so much it doesn't fit in our homes, so the storage unit industry is booming.

We simply want more. More of everything.

American consumerism and materialism finds its way in our churches in America as well. The Prosperity Gospel (which is the not Biblical Gospel and is therefore a false gospel) 'sells' so well here because it promises Jesus, your best life now and all you can get now, if only you believe.

This is not what God's Word teaches. In fact, God's Word clearly states our 'best life' will be when we are finally HOME, in the presence of our King, free from this body of sin and death!

It's very difficult to be thankful for what God has so abundantly blessed us with if we are always thinking in terms of 'more.'

The important things, as we saw this weekend, is to recount just how gracious and good God has been, is and will continue to be to us as His children, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus is the Greatest Gift we could possibly receive. If all we had were Jesus, that should be infinitely more than enough because He alone satisfies our deepest needs and deepest longings. One of our challenges and problems is, we don't treasure Him as we should.

Every Good and Perfect gift we have is ultimately from His Gracious and Good Hand. The next breath you take, the clothes on your back, the food you have, the roof over your head, the family and friends you have, the church family you have, are just a sampling of all that God has given us that we tend to take for granted, but shouldn't!

God is so very good to us. He perseveres with us, forgives us when we blow it and come to Him in repentance-that is nothing short of amazing. He is faithful to complete the work that He begins in us. He never lets us go. That is amazing!

I could go on. I think you get the point. I want to encourage all of us to reflect this month on just how GOOD our Father is, and to thank Him daily for all that comes to mind, to reflect on His Goodness toward us daily.

We have so much to be thankful for!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor