Are You Grateful? (Go with Grateful Bible Study Series)

Image Credit:  Gabrielle Cole - Public Domain Image - via Freely Photos

Are You Grateful?

The following are my Bible study notes based on my pastor's sermon titled "Are You Grateful?"  "Are You Grateful is is part of our "Go with Grateful" series.

Ten Lepers Cleansed

While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.  As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.” - Luke 17:11-19

Only one healed leper out of ten returned to give thanks to God for healing.  When we are not grateful, it is sinful and shameful.

View Pastor Jeff Crook's entire sermon here.

Go With Grateful - Are You Grateful? - November 25, 2018 from Christ Place Church on Vimeo.


1.  Gratitude is a choice.  We either choose gratitude or ingratitude.

2.  Gratitude is an expression.

3.  Gratitude is a distinguishing mark of a Christ-Follower.

No gratitude in your life means you are not saved or not walking with the Lord.

Read Romans, chapter 1 here.

When we feel like we are not getting "what we deserve," sin enters our lives.  

Don't let Satan plant a spirit of ingratitude in your life.  

Satan will use:

unrealistic expectations.

forgetfulness. (Do not forget all God has done for you.  Avoid spiritual amnesia.)

entitlement.  Entitlement is believing something - anything - is owed to us.

comparison.  (Don't compare yourselves with others.)

blindness to God's grace.  (Let us not forget the grace of God in our lives.)

Consider the following progression from guilt to gratitude.

Guilt - Grace - Gratitude

Sinner -  Forgiveness - Gratitude

Difficult Times Will Come

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. - 2 Timothy 3:1-4

BUT Read Colossians 2:6-7

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

 Get involved!  You can't rock the boat if you are not rowing it!

There are thousands of things going on in our lives and around us that we don't see.  Be grateful.  We have nothing to do with any of it.

Are you choosing grateful?

Are you aware of God's presence in your life?  God walks with us and talks with us.

Do you have a humble heart, an inner peace of a child of Christ?   God gives His children an inner peace.

Do you have a generous spirit?   God has given so much to us that we want to share.  Gratefulness = Generosity.

Are you others-centered?  Are you always finding ways to serve others, always looking for someone to help?

Are you friendly and cheerful?  If we are ungrateful, we are always nursing a grudge.

Are you faith-filled?  A faith-filled Christ-Follower has seen God work time and time again.  A faith-filled Christ-Follower knows God is faithful.

Are you joy-filled?  A person filled with gratitude is filled with joy.

Remember the lepers.  Ten were healed, but only one came back and expressed gratitude.

My pastor's last statement might sting but it is for your own good.  Consider his statement carefully because it is true.

If you don't go to Jesus, you go to Hell. 

Do you want to learn more about what it means to know Jesus?  Click here.

Bible Fellowship

Communication is vital to any relationship.  Prayer is communication.  Why is communication through prayer important?

 Rejoice always; pray without ceasing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. - Ephesians 6:18

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. - Colossians 4:2

How do we get devoted to prayer?   We must be intentional.  

This item is available here.

Types of Prayer

Freestyle or Formed

Alone or Assembled with Others

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. - Matthew 6:6

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” - Matthew 18:20

Corporate Prayer

We must take care that we don't use prayer as a public show.  

Desperate Prayers or Prayers of Praise

Explosive (short and straight to the point) or Extended

Spontaneous or Scheduled

You'll find all my posts about this Bible study series here.