Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000057S
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00:00 - It's hard to believe
00:01 that most of the year is already behind us. 00:03 The leaves are turning and it's Thanksgiving season again. 00:07 And today, I'm gonna talk 00:08 about why I think Thanksgiving might be 00:11 the most important holiday of the whole year. 00:14 [relaxed country music] 00:35 Quite a few years ago now, 00:37 my brother and I started this friendly debate about 00:39 who came up with Thanksgiving first. 00:41 Was it the Canadians or the Americans? 00:45 Now, as an immigrant to this country, I had no choice. 00:48 I had to take the position 00:50 that the Americans invented the holiday 00:52 so it belongs to them. 00:53 As a Canadian, 00:55 my brother took the other side of the question. 00:57 And see, you've gotta understand 00:59 that in my tribe arguing is an art form. 01:02 It doesn't really matter if you're right or wrong. 01:04 What matters is that you win the argument. 01:07 And I'll admit, debating is a pastime 01:09 that's kind of served me well 01:11 because it taught me to examine 01:13 other people's points of view very carefully, 01:15 so that I at least understand them, even if I don't agree. 01:19 And I guess I owe some of the perspectives 01:22 I've adopted on this show to a lifetime of debate. 01:26 Anyway, back to the rather meaningless debate 01:28 about who invented Thanksgiving. 01:30 The story we tell in America is rooted 01:33 in the first harvest the pilgrims enjoyed 01:35 in November of 1621, when the Wampanoag Indians 01:40 famously joined the pilgrims for a celebratory feast. 01:43 And we don't know for sure 01:45 that they were eating turkey that day. 01:47 We do know they were eating birds 01:50 as recorded by the famous pilgrim, Edward Winslow, 01:53 who actually made a note of what they did that day. 01:57 He writes, "Our harvest being gotten in, 02:00 our governor sent four men on fowling, 02:02 so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together 02:06 after we had gathered the fruits of our labors. 02:09 They four in one day killed as much fowl as 02:12 with a little help beside served the company almost a week. 02:17 Now, as you probably know, 02:18 food wasn't exactly abundant for those early colonists, 02:22 and they suffered a lot of hardship when they first arrived. 02:25 In fact, if the Wampanoags had not taught them 02:28 how to survive in the new world, 02:31 they probably wouldn't have made it. 02:34 So the story of Thanksgiving 02:35 in America is really well known, even legendary. 02:39 I mean, when I was growing up in Canada, 02:41 even we watched the American Thanksgiving specials 02:44 because most of the TV shows we watched 02:47 were bleeding over the border from the United States. 02:51 And so when I moved here, 02:52 I already understood the cultural importance 02:55 of your biggest holiday. 02:57 So that's the American version of Thanksgiving, 03:00 and I still maintain that. 03:02 It's a much bigger deal here than it ever was in Canada. 03:06 I mean, don't get me wrong 03:07 Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving, 03:09 but they do it more than a month before we do 03:12 because way up there above the 49th parallel, 03:14 the harvest comes a lot earlier than it does down here. 03:18 So they celebrate Thanksgiving in October. 03:21 And while the holiday is important to Canadians, 03:24 it's nowhere near as important 03:26 as it is down here. 03:27 In the United States, Thanksgiving almost seems bigger 03:30 than Christmas but not so much where I was born. 03:34 I mean, they still have Turkey and cranberry sauce 03:36 and pumpkin pie and special sermons in church 03:39 about being thankful and even a little bit of football. 03:43 But in Canada, I could safely schedule other events 03:46 across Thanksgiving and not create a problem. 03:49 In fact, I used to host a major fundraising event 03:53 on Thanksgiving and it didn't kill attendance. 03:56 Jean and I even got married 03:58 on Thanksgiving and everybody still turned out. 04:01 As most of you know, that would not happen in America. 04:06 The first official Thanksgiving in Canada was in 1879, 04:09 nearly 250 years after the pilgrim celebrated theirs. 04:14 But of course, the practice of Thanksgiving, 04:17 or at least the tradition 04:18 of harvest festivals goes back a lot further than that. 04:22 So in some regards, 04:24 I'll admit my brother was at least partly right. 04:28 History records a Thanksgiving festival 04:30 in Canada back in 1579, 04:33 more than 40 years before the famous dinner at Plymouth. 04:37 It happened when Martin Frobisher, the English explorer, 04:40 was looking for the fable Northwest Passage, 04:44 a route that could take you over the top of North America. 04:47 He was up around Baffin Island, 04:50 a place that I love to visit, 04:52 and he intended to start a small community up there. 04:56 He had 15 ships loaded with supplies, 04:59 but then the weather and the ice demolished one 05:01 of those boats, 05:03 which meant that he lost a lot of his building material. 05:05 It was really discouraging, 05:07 and it meant there was going to be a lot of hardship. 05:11 But then a minister by the name 05:12 of Mayster Wolfall preached a sermon about gratitude 05:16 when they suddenly experienced 05:18 just a little bit of good luck. 05:20 According to one historical record, 05:22 he made unto them a godly sermon, exhorting them 05:26 especially to be thankful to God for their strange 05:29 and miraculous deliverance in those so dangerous places. 05:33 And putting them in mind of the uncertainty of man's life, 05:37 willed them to make themselves always ready 05:39 as resolute men to enjoy and accept thankfully 05:43 whatsoever adventure his divine providence should appoint. 05:48 So, that was 1579, and a few years later in 1604 05:54 there was another Thanksgiving feast 05:55 when the Explorer Samuel Champlain 05:57 and his men founded something known 05:58 as the Order of Good Cheer, an organization 06:03 which held feasts of gratitude 06:04 with the local Indian tribes, the same way the pilgrims did, 06:09 but they did it 15 years earlier. 06:13 So publicly, I guess I have to concede the debate. 06:15 It appears that there were Thanksgiving celebrations 06:18 in Canada before we were doing it down here. 06:21 But then again 06:22 neither country really invented the idea 06:25 because well, harvest festivals have been 06:27 around for a really really long time, 06:30 going back to very ancient cultures. 06:33 What we often forget here in the overfed West is 06:37 just how hard life has been for most people 06:39 for most of our history. 06:42 When you and I talk about food shortages, we usually mean 06:45 that we can't get our hands on some of our favorite things, 06:48 unlike some places on this planet 06:50 where people just hope to find something to eat. 06:54 It would seem that one of the things 06:56 that tends to evaporate when times are easy 06:59 is a sense of gratitude. 07:00 Here in the West, the more we have, 07:03 the more we appear to feel entitled to have. 07:08 Today, after the dramatic secularization of Western society, 07:12 there are still millions 07:13 of people who continue to pray before they eat. 07:16 And it's a gesture of gratitude. 07:19 But for many, well-meaning North Americans, I think 07:21 that that prayer has become something of a superstition 07:24 something they do from a sense 07:26 of obligation more than an actual sense of gratitude. 07:30 I mean, I remember 07:31 as a little kid, wondering what might happen 07:33 if I didn't pray before I ate, 07:35 as if saying grace was some kind of magical incantation 07:39 that removed dangerous impurities from the food. 07:42 And I know I'm not alone with that. 07:44 I've witnessed a lot of people 07:45 who suddenly stop eating halfway 07:47 through their first bite of food 07:49 trying to remember, "Did I say grace?" 07:52 And some of them get this mild look 07:53 of panic as if something really bad is gonna happen 07:56 if they get the ritual wrong. 07:59 That mild sense of fear is a legacy 08:02 that we kind of inherited from our medieval past, 08:05 where a lot of Christian preachers gave the impression 08:08 that God was looking for some excuse 08:10 any excuse at all to strike us dead with a thunderbolt. 08:13 If we stepped a little bit out of line, 08:16 as if he was the Roman God, Jupiter. 08:19 Because of that, a lot of the religious rituals 08:22 back then were intended to just stave off the wrath of God, 08:26 and a prayer before dinner wasn't really a matter of faith. 08:29 It was just one more thing you added 08:31 to your list of religious good deeds 08:33 in order to keep yourself out of the fires of hell. 08:37 Of course, I'm not questioning the practice 08:40 of saying grace because gratitude is a good thing, 08:44 and Christians have noted that Jesus set the example. 08:48 In Luke 22 at the Last Supper, 08:50 you'll notice that Jesus took bread, gave thanks 08:53 and broke it and gave it to them saying, 08:55 "This is my body which is given for you. 08:58 Do this in remembrance of me." 09:01 Now, that's just the tip of the iceberg 09:04 when it comes to the Bible's advice 09:05 that you and I cultivate an attitude of thankfulness. 09:09 And in a world where people seem to feel more 09:12 and more entitled and where things like civility 09:16 and gratitude seem to be fading into the background, 09:19 maybe this is something we could afford to revisit, 09:22 especially during Thanksgiving. 09:25 I'll be right back after this. 09:30 - [Narrator] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues. 09:36 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 09:40 If you've ever read Daniel or Revelation 09:42 and come away scratching your head, you're not alone. 09:45 Our free focus on prophecy guides are designed 09:48 to help you unlock the mysteries 09:49 of the Bible and deepen your understanding 09:52 of God's plan for you and our world. 09:54 Study online or request them 09:56 by mail and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 10:01 - I think one of the reasons 10:02 we often don't feel very thankful is ironically 10:05 because we have so much to be thankful for. 10:09 I mean, don't get me wrong, life 10:11 on planet earth is just as frustrating as it used to be 10:14 at least from an emotional perspective. 10:17 But a lot of our material needs are being met 10:19 in a way that would've surprised the socks 10:21 off our ancestors. 10:23 Even the poor among us 10:25 are much better off than the poor of the past. 10:28 And overall, our level 10:29 of material prosperity easily outstrips 10:32 almost every generation that came before us. 10:35 In fact, many of us live far more conveniently 10:39 than medieval nobles did. 10:41 But somehow at the same time, 10:43 we seem to be less thankful than they were. 10:46 And I sometimes wonder if a little bit 10:48 of hardship might not be a good thing. 10:50 And judging by the state of the world right now, 10:52 I have a sneaking suspicion 10:55 there's a bit of hardship coming down the pike. 10:58 I was born a very privileged time in history, 11:00 certainly more privileged than even my own parents. 11:04 I don't have to deal with Nazi occupation 11:06 or state orchestrated famines. 11:09 I didn't even have to deal with things 11:10 like polio or iron lungs 11:12 because a lot of those kinds of problems 11:14 had been mostly eliminated 11:16 by the time I drew my first breath 11:19 I didn't have to go and fight a war. 11:21 I didn't have to go and beg on a street corner, 11:23 hoping for just enough change to get something to eat. 11:26 I mean, it doesn't mean that my life was easy 11:28 because it really wasn't, but it was certainly easier 11:31 for me than the people who came before me. 11:35 And yet my generation, the ones coming after me as well, 11:39 somehow we seem a lot less thankful, 11:42 and we assume that we deserve what we have, maybe more. 11:46 So maybe today. 11:47 In light of the Thanksgiving holiday, 11:48 I'd like to share some reminders 11:50 from the scriptures that Christian believers 11:52 should always be cultivating gratitude. 11:56 And I think I wanna start with a passage 11:58 from the book of Philippians, which was written 12:00 by the apostle Paul, a man whose life was anything but easy. 12:05 He writes in Philippians 4, 12:08 "Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer 12:12 and supplication with thanksgiving. 12:14 Let your request be made known to God and the peace of God 12:18 which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts 12:21 and minds through Christ Jesus." 12:24 Now, there's a lot 12:26 of information packed into that short verse, 12:28 so let's see if we can just unpack it a little bit. 12:31 First of all, I want you to notice 12:33 that he writes this in the context 12:35 of people having serious problems. 12:37 The Philippians were anxious, which is a phenomenon 12:40 that is certainly widespread again today. 12:42 In fact, something like 40 million adults 12:45 in this country find themselves struggling 12:47 with an anxiety disorder during any given year. 12:51 We might be the most prosperous generation 12:54 in the history of the world, but it's starting to look 12:56 like we might also be one of the most anxious. 12:59 And while some people are dealing 13:01 with a genuine mental illness or a devastating condition 13:04 like PTSD, which might require some professional help, 13:08 for the rest of us, Paul is offering a remedy for anxiety. 13:12 He says, "Be anxious for nothing." 13:14 which implies that you have a choice. 13:18 And I don't know about you, 13:19 but for me simply choosing not to be anxious, well 13:22 that hasn't really worked very well. 13:24 I'm one of those people who lies awake 13:26 in the middle of the night almost every single night, 13:28 worried about problems that I can't fix 13:31 at two o'clock in the morning. 13:33 And rationally, I know 13:35 that I'm wasting my time in the wee hours, 13:37 but emotionally it's really hard to turn off 13:40 the feedback loop that keeps the problem alive 13:42 in my middle of the night imagination. 13:45 And I do all the usual things that people recommend. 13:48 I get out of bed and make a list of things I plan to do 13:51 in the morning, which convinces your brain 13:53 that the problem has been taken care of for now. 13:57 I remind myself as I lay there in the dark 13:59 that most of the things we worry about 14:01 never actually happen. 14:03 I take a few deep breaths. 14:04 I listen to the radio to distract myself. 14:08 And all of those exercises certainly help, 14:10 but it's not enough. 14:13 So Paul adds another very important component to the power 14:15 of choice, and that's the practice of gratitude. 14:19 "Be anxious for nothing," 14:21 he says, and you'll notice he doesn't say, 14:23 "Try not to be anxious." 14:24 He just tells you not to do it, which is a command. 14:28 And at first clients, that's a tall order. 14:30 I mean, how in the world 14:31 do you just shut off your obsessive thinking? 14:34 Well, Paul suggests that we do it by bringing those thoughts 14:37 to God with prayer and supplication. 14:40 In other words, take the problem 14:42 and give it to somebody far more capable than you. 14:46 And really that makes a lot of sense, 14:48 because when we were kids 14:49 and our parents promised to solve a problem for us, 14:52 we usually breathe a big sigh of relief 14:54 because somebody bigger than us was 14:56 on the case and we could just let go of the thing. 15:00 But for some reason, after childhood, 15:02 we tend to doubt God's ability to handle things, 15:06 even if we say we believe in him. 15:08 And I know some people laugh at faith 15:10 in God as if it's a crutch for simpletons, 15:13 but that tells me they've never actually tried it. 15:16 There's nothing easy about a relationship with God, 15:21 but if you can learn to do it, 15:22 surrendering makes all the difference in the world. 15:26 Let me diverge from the book 15:27 of Philippians for just a moment, 15:29 and I wanna show you something in the Book of Psalms 15:31 that I was reading just, well, a few weeks ago. 15:34 And if you're following along in your own Bible, 15:37 you might wanna bookmark Philippians 4 15:39 because we're gonna come back there. 15:40 But for now, let's take a look at Psalm 1:31. 15:44 It says, "Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. 15:48 Neither do I concern myself with great matters 15:51 nor with things too profound for me." 15:55 Take a moment and ask yourself, "What do I really know?" 15:59 How much of this universe am I in charge of? 16:01 Some of the wisest philosophers 16:03 in the history of the world came 16:05 to the conclusion that they really didn't know much at all. 16:08 I mean, apart from a few accomplished physicists, 16:11 how many of us really understand how gravity works? 16:14 Most of us just trust it. 16:16 We use gravity to get things done. 16:19 How many of us can grasp how tiny little particles 16:21 seem to communicate across vast distances, 16:25 faster than the speed of light through quantum entanglement? 16:29 If you don't understand that, 16:31 are you gonna stop living your life? 16:33 Do you really understand how ball lightning works? 16:36 Do you know what dark matter is, 16:38 or what the universe is actually made out of? 16:41 There are lots of things 16:43 that you and I struggle to understand, 16:44 but that doesn't mean they don't exist. 16:47 And just because the Bible has inexplicable concepts, 16:51 that doesn't mean this book isn't true. 16:53 In fact, if this book was inspired 16:55 by an omniscient infinite God, 16:58 you'd have to expect that you don't understand it all. 17:01 But that's another show for another day, 17:02 and we've gotta get back to Psalm 1:31. 17:05 David simply tells us 17:06 that he doesn't waste a lot of time worried 17:08 about the things he doesn't understand. 17:11 He just accepts them 17:12 because he's come to know that God is real. 17:15 Which brings us to his second verse where he says, 17:18 "Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul 17:22 like a weaned child with his mother. 17:24 Like a weaned child is my soul within me." 17:28 One of the most frequent metaphors found 17:30 in the Bible is the image of parenthood. 17:32 Over and over, the Bible describes God as our father 17:36 and you as his child. 17:38 And here in the Psalms, 17:39 David tells us what kind of children we are. 17:41 He says, "We're weaned," which means 17:44 that from heaven's perspective, you and I have barely moved 17:47 beyond the stage of complete and utter helplessness. 17:50 We're like toddlers, maybe even younger. 17:53 The only real skill 17:54 from a cosmic perspective that we've developed is 17:57 of the ability to eat a little bit of solid food. 18:00 Now, you and I like to think 18:02 that in the cosmic scheme of things, 18:03 the human race has reached some kind 18:05 of developmental pinnacle. 18:07 We think you and I are the executive chefs 18:10 and master painters of the universe, 18:11 but according to the Bible, we're still busy making mud pies 18:15 and meaningless scribbles with crayons. 18:17 And judging by the mess we've made of this planet, 18:20 there's a really good chance 18:21 that the human race is probably still 18:24 at the stage of soiling its diapers. 18:27 Of course, 18:29 it's not that we're completely helpless because we're not. 18:31 I mean, the human race is incredibly inventive, 18:34 incredibly resourceful, at times, incredibly inspiring. 18:38 But I don't think there are too many people who would say 18:40 that somehow the human race has arrived. 18:43 According to the Bible, 18:44 our place in this universe is that 18:47 of a recently weaned infant. 18:49 And if you think about really small children, 18:51 you'll notice something fascinating. 18:54 Sometimes they're far too confident 18:57 because they don't understand their own limitations. 19:00 Oh, they like to play grown up. 19:03 They like to try 19:04 and convince us that they're ready for life, 19:06 but then at other times, they're far too frightened, 19:09 hiding behind their mother's skirt, 19:10 and we have to convince the little ones 19:12 to exercise a little more courage. 19:16 And that's who we are according to the Bible. 19:18 So when David faced anxiety, he reminded himself 19:21 we're not alone in this universe 19:23 and there are things we absolutely will not understand. 19:27 But at the same time, we're children who have a father, 19:30 and we can leave the biggest problems with him. 19:33 David says that's how he calmed and quieted his soul. 19:38 I'll be right back after this. 19:42 - [Narrator] Here at The Voice of Prophecy, we're committed 19:45 to creating top quality programming for the whole family. 19:48 Like our audio adventure series, "Discovery Mountain." 19:51 "Discovery Mountain" is a Bible based program 19:54 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 19:56 Your family will enjoy the faith building stories 19:59 from this small mountain summer camp 20:01 and town with 24 seasonal episodes every year 20:04 and fresh content every week. 20:06 There's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 20:14 - Just before the break, we were looking at Psalm 1:31 20:17 where David reminds us that we're barely 20:19 weaned children when it comes to our place in the universe, 20:23 but he also suggests we have a father 20:24 who knows we can't always fend for ourselves. 20:27 And he says, we can learn to trust him. 20:29 We can let go of those obsessive thoughts that plague us 20:32 and we can find comfort in knowing 20:34 that somebody else is going to deal 20:36 with the things we can't control. 20:39 Now, of course, it's easier to say that than to do it, 20:43 but I've got to tell you, 20:44 even though I haven't mastered this by a long shot, 20:47 as the years go by, it's definitely getting better. 20:51 David concludes by saying, "Oh, Israel hope in the Lord 20:54 from this time forth and forever." 20:58 Now before the clock runs out on me yet again, 21:00 let's go back to that passage 21:02 in the book of Philippians 4, 21:04 where Paul is giving us some advice 21:07 for dealing with anxiety. 21:09 "Be anxious for nothing," 21:10 He writes, "But in everything 21:12 by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, 21:15 let your request be made known to God and the peace of God, 21:18 which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts 21:21 and minds through Christ Jesus." 21:25 Sometimes you'll hear Christians refer 21:26 to something they call the peace that passes understanding 21:29 and this is what they're talking about. 21:32 It's the peace 21:34 of mind you get when you realize you're a cosmic toddler 21:36 with a heavenly Father, a personal God 21:39 a God who's very interested in what happens to you. 21:42 And the secret, according to Paul 21:44 is not only leaving your problems with God, 21:47 but leaving them behind with an attitude of thanksgiving. 21:52 In other words, be grateful for what you have. 21:55 That's the reason 21:56 that Thanksgiving is really my favorite holiday. 21:58 I mean, yeah, I enjoy the nice meal that Jean makes. 22:01 She's a much better cook than me. 22:03 And yeah, I've been known to crash on the couch 22:05 and watch a little football when my tummy is full. 22:08 But it's the original concept 22:10 behind the holiday that really makes me treasure it. 22:14 I mean, other holidays like Christmas, 22:16 they come with a lot of stress and a lot of activity 22:19 and lot of obligation. 22:21 But there's something pure about Thanksgiving. 22:24 It gives us an opportunity to stop and be grateful, 22:27 which is huge when it comes to finding real peace of mind. 22:32 You know, back when the pilgrims celebrated 22:34 that first Thanksgiving in 1621, 22:37 they had a lot to be thankful for. 22:39 A lot of their friends and family had died 22:41 from the brutal hardship of living in Plymouth, 22:43 especially in the winter. 22:45 But now they suddenly had this abundance of food. 22:48 In the old world, 22:50 they were forced to leave England and relocate 22:51 to the Netherlands because the state church 22:54 had outlawed a lot of their beliefs. 22:56 And now as they gathered around a table with friends, 22:59 they were celebrating one 23:01 of the most precious gifts a person could hope for, 23:04 religious freedom. 23:06 You know, there's a big part of me that suspects 23:08 that our generation probably complains a lot more 23:11 than our ancestors did, 23:12 even though we have less to complain about. 23:15 Some of my relatives endured incredible hardship 23:18 when the Nazis seized their towns 23:20 and put them in labor camps. 23:22 You know something? 23:24 Growing up, I never heard one of them complain about it. 23:28 They had to work harder than we do. 23:30 They had far fewer prospects of an easy life, 23:33 and they lived life with a smile 23:35 and a heart full of gratitude. 23:38 And it occurs to me that the less we actually have, 23:41 the more likely we seem to be to be grateful. 23:44 I'm reminded of that scene from "Pilgrim's Progress", 23:47 where the lead character 23:49 named Christian approaches the cross, 23:51 and the huge burden he was carrying 23:53 on his back suddenly falls to the ground. 23:55 Bunyan writes, "Up this way 23:58 therefore did burdened Christian run, 24:00 but not without great difficulty 24:02 because of the load on his back. 24:04 He ran thus till he came to a place somewhat ascending, 24:07 and upon that place stood across 24:10 and a little below in the bottom a tomb. 24:13 So I saw in my dream that just as Christian came 24:15 up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders 24:18 and fell from off his back and began to tumble. 24:22 And so continued to do till it came 24:24 to the mouth of the tomb, where it fell in. 24:27 And I saw it no more. 24:29 Then was Christian glad 24:30 and lightsome and said with a merry heart 24:32 he had given me rest by his sorrow and life by his death." 24:38 When Bunyan's protagonist approached that cross, 24:41 the heavy bundle he was carrying 24:42 on his back suddenly fell off, 24:44 and Bunyan said at that point he was glad and lightsome. 24:48 And do you know, over the years 24:49 I've kind of noticed something really important. 24:52 Sometimes people who grow up 24:54 in the church kind of take what they have for granted. 24:57 And when someone from outside the church suddenly 24:59 finds the church, well, the lifetimers are amazed 25:04 at his or her excitement, 25:06 and maybe it has something to do 25:07 with the size of their burdens. 25:10 Sometimes people outside the church are a lot more honest 25:13 about their imperfections and their guilt. 25:15 They feel the burden of living 25:17 in a broken world far more keenly. 25:20 And when they finally find relief, 25:21 they feel that relief a lot more keenly than the rest of us. 25:26 I'll be right back after this. 25:32 [upbeat music] 25:33 - [Narrator] Are you searching for answers 25:35 to life's toughest questions? 25:36 Like, where is God when we suffer? 25:38 Can I find real happiness? 25:40 Or is there any hope for our chaotic world? 25:43 The "Discover Bible Guides" will help you 25:45 find the answers you're looking for. 25:47 Visit us at biblestudies.com or give us a call 25:51 at [888] 456-7933 25:55 for your free "Discover Bible Guides." 25:58 Study online on our secure website 26:01 or have the free guides mailed right to your home. 26:03 There is never a cost or obligation. 26:06 "The Discover Bible Guides" are our free gift to you. 26:09 Find answers and guides like 26:10 "Does my Life Really Matter to God?" 26:13 And "a Second Chance at Life." 26:15 You'll find answers to the things that matter most 26:17 to you in each of the 26 "Discover Bible guides." 26:20 Visit biblestudies.com and begin your journey 26:24 today to discover answers to life's deepest questions. 26:28 [light music] 26:32 - The Thanksgiving holiday gives 26:33 us an incredible opportunity. 26:36 Right now, I know that some 26:37 of you are still carrying a load on your back, 26:39 and you've been weighed down by worry, regret, guilt 26:44 and it's been robbing you 26:45 of the peace of mind that Paul promises. 26:47 The good news is that you can drop your burden now. 26:50 You can remind yourself you're a cosmic toddler, 26:53 and you have a father in heaven who's willing to handle it. 26:56 You're not alone. 26:59 This is an opportunity to practice real gratitude 27:01 and quit living with brutal anxiety. 27:04 Maybe take a moment to express out loud 27:07 what you're grateful for. 27:08 Just sit there for a moment and make a list 27:11 and then read that list and choose to be thankful. 27:15 I think you might start to get a sense 27:17 of what those pilgrims felt in 1621. 27:20 And once you've done this once, 27:22 rehearse what you're thankful for. 27:24 I'm guessing you're gonna want to do it 27:26 a whole lot more often. 27:28 I'm Shawn Boonstra. 27:29 Thanks for watching. 27:31 Thanks for joining us this week, and happy Thanksgiving. |
Revised 2022-11-15