Grateful Praise - Go with Grateful Bible Study Series

Our pastor's latest sermon series is titled "Go with Grateful."  Gratitude is so important that it affects every hour of our lives.  Gratitude is not based on circumstances and it is not seasonal.  It is continual.  When we are grateful, we are blessed.

The following are my Bible study notes based on my pastor's sermon. 

 

Image Credit:  Azgan Mjeshtri - Public Domain Image - via Freely Photos

Gratitude rescues us from resentment and bitterness.

Joy doesn't make you grateful, but gratitude makes you joyful.

I must ask myself:

Am I choosing grateful?

Am I expressing gratefulness?

The Theology of Gratitude

Grateful Praise

View Pastor Jeff Crook's entire sermon here.

Go With Grateful - Grateful Praise - November 18, 2018 (Message Only) from Christ Place Church on Vimeo.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 

Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations. - Psalm 100

God is more glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. -John Piper

When we are thanking God, we are praising God.  We should be thankful for who God is before thanking Him for what He has done.  

I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth. - Psalm 34:1

Gratitude starts with God.  Gratitude to God keeps us from idolatry.   Idolatry is misplaced gratitude.  Whatever we give our constant thankfulness to eventually becomes our idol source of worship.

Challenge:  For the next 7 days, go with grateful for a characteristic of God. For the next 7 days, post the following on your social media accounts.

I am grateful that God is __________________________.  Use the hashtag #Grateful.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. - Colossians 3:15

In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Real gratitude does not make sports or any other things an idol because real gratitude is gratefulness for God.

Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. - Matthew 14:19

Looking up to Heaven, Jesus gave thanks.

We need to keep our eyes off the source and on the Provider.

We need to keep our eyes off the problem and on the Savior.

Grateful Praise:

keeps us from idolatry so we will not trust on wrong things.

resets our worship to the God of all things.

instantly brings us into the presence of God.

God takes our spirit of brokenness and puts on a garment of praise.

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