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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP211120S
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00:11 >> Well, hello and welcome to Pioneer Memorial Church, one of 00:14 the most special days in our worship calendar. 00:17 It's called Feast of Hymns. We're really excited to welcome 00:20 all those watching online from wherever you are right now. 00:23 Thank you for joining us. Also really glad for all of us 00:26 joined physically here in Pioneer Memorial Church in 00:29 Berrien Springs, Michigan. Let's bow our heads as we pray. 00:34 So, Father, here we are just a few days short of the holiday of 00:38 Thanksgiving, but yet for today, it's a reminder that You are our 00:42 creator God, all things come from You, and we give You 00:46 thanks. Thank You for receiving our 00:49 worship today. We thank You in the name of 00:51 Jesus. Amen. 00:54 ♪♪ 01:04 ♪♪ 01:13 ♪♪ 01:23 ♪♪ 01:32 ♪♪ 01:42 ♪♪ 01:51 ♪♪ 02:01 [ Congregation singing ] 02:36 ♪♪ ♪♪ 02:52 ♪♪ 03:35 ♪♪ 03:44 ♪♪ 03:53 ♪♪ 04:02 [ Congregation singing ] 05:20 ♪♪ 05:44 ♪♪ 05:58 ♪♪ ♪♪ 07:09 ♪♪ ♪♪ 07:25 ♪♪ 09:19 ♪♪ ♪♪ 09:33 ♪♪ 11:28 ♪♪ ♪♪ 13:20 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:13 ♪♪ ♪♪ 14:30 ♪♪ 15:47 ♪♪ 15:57 ♪♪ 16:59 [ Cell doors slam ] >> I thank my God every time I remember you. 17:08 In all my prayers, for all of you, I always pray with joy. 17:17 Because of your partnership in the Gospel, from the first day 17:21 until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good 17:27 work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of 17:32 Christ Jesus. 17:34 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. 17:40 And whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the 17:44 Gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 17:49 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of 17:54 Christ Jesus. ♪♪ 18:10 >> Oh, God, grant us the affection of Christ Jesus, our 18:13 Lord, that we might know then how to live. 18:17 We pray in His name. Amen. 18:21 Would you like to know a mental-health secret right now 18:26 that will give you the ability to survive this interminable 18:31 pandemic that is still going on? I can't believe it -- two 18:37 Thanksgivings now in a row. I'll share in just a moment with 18:42 you some of the research corroborating this mental-health 18:45 secret, but right now, we need to set up the story. 18:47 We need to go to an unforgettable moment with the 18:50 Apostle Paul, that intrepid missionary and now prisoner. 18:54 Now, I know what you're thinking. You're saying, "Hey, what do you 18:57 mean Paul? We got him executed last Sabbath." 19:00 Well, you're right. But that's what preachers can do. 19:03 They can bring him back again, and we're bringing Paul back again because Thanksgiving is 19:08 upon us, alright? I don't know if you've ever sailed the Atlantic Ocean as I 19:11 have. Missionary's kid, been across it twice, east to west. 19:17 I'm telling you, there's no ocean on Earth quite like the Atlantic. 19:21 It can cook up, brew up a humdinger, a whopper of a storm. We were in one of those storms. 19:29 My dad said, "Come on, boy, let's go to the top deck." Up to the top deck, I'm 19:33 clutching onto my dad's hand as tightly as I can. He opens that door, the air 19:37 pressure changes, and here is this wind just raking across this massive iron ocean liner. 19:45 My eyes pop, not because of fear, but because of what I'm seeing. 19:51 Never in my life have I seen waves five, six, seven, eight stories tall. 19:58 And that old ocean liner comes to the crest of that next wave, comes over the top, and then 20:04 crashes down into the trough, and when it hits the bottom, it's just like that roller 20:08 coaster ride when you hit the bottom and it's just... and then everything comes back 20:12 up again. I'm telling you all this because I can't imagine for Paul what it 20:18 was like on that little Roman sailing vessel in the heart of this nor'easter cyclone bomb. 20:29 I don't even imagine the sails are still up. But I want to go to that story. 20:34 You need to read it to believe it, so I'm not gonna tell it. Let's just read it. 20:37 Open your Bible to the Book of Acts, right near the end of the Book of Acts. 20:41 One more vignette from the life of this man we've been tracking all this semester. 20:46 This is the last one. Acts 27, please find it. I'll be in the New International 20:50 version. "When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their 20:55 opportunity," the captain and the pilot, "so they weighed anchor and sailed along the 21:01 shore of Crete." Julius the Centurion has to get his prisoner to Nero, into the 21:06 courtroom of Caesar. So they're gonna have to cross the Mediterranean. 21:10 Bad time to be crossing it. Verse 14. "But before very long, a wind of 21:15 hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 21:19 The ship," verse 15, "was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to 21:24 it and were driven along." They're not even sailing now. They're just being battered into 21:29 submission. Now drop down to verse 20. "When neither sun nor stars 21:33 appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we," and by the way, that's Dr. Luke, 21:39 physician, traveling companion, "we finally gave up all hope of being saved." 21:46 Verse 21. "And after they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up 21:50 before them and he said," and I love this, "'Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail 21:55 from Crete.'" They'd had a big debate before the ship took off. 21:59 "Shall we stay for the winter? Shall we go?" The owner and the pilot and the 22:04 centurion say, "We go," and Paul said, "That's a big mistake." And he cannot resist just 22:09 letting you know, "I told you so. Didn't I tell you this?" 22:14 Yeah. "'Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; 22:18 then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up 22:23 your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.'" 22:28 Verse 23. "'Last night, an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I 22:34 serve stood beside me." Hit the pause button right there. 22:37 You have an angel standing beside you right now. We already did this with the 22:41 choir first service. Don't look again. You have an angel standing 22:45 beside you right now. You and I forget that angel. We forget the celestial 22:50 companion that, since the moment we gulped down our first breath of Earth air coming out of 22:56 mama's tummy, that angel's been assigned to keep a careful eye on you night and day. 23:02 Everywhere you've been, that angel has been. Everything you've done, that 23:06 angel has seen. Every life moment that you've lived, that angel has been with 23:11 you. It's the closest unseen friend you have on this planet. 23:18 Wow. How did he put that? But this -- verse 23. 23:21 "'Last night, an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and he 23:28 said, "Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously 23:33 given you the lives of all who sail with you." So keep up your courage, men, 23:38 for I have faith in God that it will happen just as my angel told me. 23:42 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.'" 23:46 Mm, bad news. Very next line -- "And on the 23:49 fourteenth night" -- they'd been 14 days and night in this 23:53 cyclone bomb. "On the fourteenth night, we 23:56 were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about 23:59 midnight the sailors sensed that they were approaching land." 24:01 Drop down to verse 33. "Just before dawn, Paul then 24:05 urges them all to eat. 'For the last fourteen days,' he 24:09 said, 'you have been in constant suspense and have gone without 24:12 food -- you haven't eaten anything. 24:13 Now I urge you to take some food. 24:15 You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a 24:17 single hair from his head.' And after he said this, he took 24:22 some bread and gave thanks to God." 24:25 [ Chuckling ] My, oh, my. I mean, we go to the cafeteria and we're not sure. 24:28 "Should we really bow our heads and close our eyes? Let's just breathe a prayer." 24:31 We go to a restaurant. "Well, I don't want to be seen by everybody praying, so I'll 24:35 just say a prayer in my heart." How did that go again? And, "After he said this, he 24:42 took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all," pagans that they are. 24:47 "Then he broke it and he began to eat. They were all encouraged, and 24:51 they ate some food themselves. Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 24:55 And when they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain," 24:59 that's breakfast, "into the sea." "We won't need another meal. 25:02 This is it. Down to Davy Jones' locker if we're not saved." 25:08 My. Let's iso that line again, please. 25:12 "After he said this, Paul took some bread and gave thanks to God." 25:19 Could that be the secret to this mental-health tip? Why would Paul do that? 25:25 He didn't care what the others were thinking. You know why he does it? 25:28 Because thanksgiving for him has become a way of life. It wasn't always. 25:33 But it became a way of life. Listen to this. Gratitude was his mantra, and, 25:39 "Thanks be to God" is his credo. Five times in his letters, he'll say that. 25:44 "Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God." He's always thanking God. 25:47 What's up with that? This is my favorite of his five "thanks be to Gods." 25:51 Let's put it on the screen here. 2 Corinthians 9:15. 25:58 We're talking Calvary, we're talking the cross. 26:01 "Thanks be to God for that gift." 26:04 In fact, he's just described it in the previous chapter. 26:07 We might as well read it. This is chapter 8, verse 9, 26:10 2 Corinthians. "For you know the grace of our 26:12 Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich" -- oh, boy, was he 26:17 ever -- "yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through 26:21 his poverty" -- can you believe this? 26:24 "So that you might become rich." 26:37 And what does that have to do with a mental-health tip to survive this pandemic that's 26:42 refusing to say goodbye? I go to Google. I go to Google and I say, "Okay, 26:47 Google, can you prove to me that there is some sort of link between gratitude and mental 26:55 health?" Boom! Hundreds -- I'm talking about 27:00 literally hundreds of sites. Boom, boom, boom. The effect of gratitude on our 27:06 bodies -- I just scribbled the list down here, how it affects our sleep, our blood pressure, 27:10 our physical health, our mental health, our mortality, our longevity, to name a few. 27:14 Harvard, Duke, UC Berkeley, and on and on and on. In fact, there's a whole wing 27:19 now of psychology called positive psychology where they focus on nothing but the effects 27:24 of gratitude. Paul was on to something, and he didn't even know the research. 27:30 I'm gonna share with you three studies. That's what I want to do right 27:32 now, just run them by you. Three. The first study has to do with 27:38 social media, alright? Instagram. So, they did this research. 27:42 They took undergraduate students like we have here this morning between the ages of 18 and 24. 27:47 They divided them into two groups. You'll be the gratitude group 27:50 and you'll be the control group, alright? 27:53 Now, watch this. Put it on the screen. 28:04 "Hey, here's a picture of my grandmother. Look at her! 28:07 She is the most wonderful woman in the world. I am so thankful for my 28:11 grandmother. If she got on Instagram, I'd tell her right now, 'Grandma, I 28:15 love you to pieces,'" alright? So, one Instagram post dealing with gratitude. 28:20 The control group, the other group, here's what they posted. 28:29 Color -- so, I don't know, what would you post? "Here's my cat, and the colors 28:34 are -- isn't this a beautiful cat? It's brown and white and a 28:37 little bit of black." That's all they're allowed to do. 28:41 Picture and then comment about the color. That's the caption. 28:45 Now, what happens when they take a battery of psychological tests at the conclusion of this 28:51 testing? How did they do? I'll share that with you in a 28:53 moment. Let's go to study number two. So, this is social media study 28:56 number one. Number two is a texting study. 29:00 Everybody loves to text. Let's put this one on the 29:02 screen, please. "The objective of this study was 29:05 to examine if participants in a 20-day gratitude text message 29:10 intervention" -- I'm gonna hit the pause button right there. 29:13 Gratitude intervention by text message. 29:17 Now, here's what's going on. 29:19 The participants are not doing anything. They just get texts, okay? 29:24 They're not sending texts, they're not writing messages. They're just receiving. 29:28 And that's why it's called an intervention. 29:30 They've done nothing. Now, watch what happens. 29:32 So, they get this 20 days of gratitude text messaging. 29:37 What did it do? It was to examine if it in any 29:40 way improves resilience, stress, and now notice the next one, and 29:44 mental health scores more than participants in a control group. 29:48 Can gratitude actually, just by you taking it in -- you're not sending anybody a message. 29:52 Can it reverse the symptoms of depression that you're suffering from? 29:57 I need to tell you something about this study. Some of you are not suffering 30:00 from depression at all. That's okay. But you have many friends that 30:05 you know. What this is saying is if you just take some time out and once 30:10 a day shoot that friend of yours, by self-confession, experiencing depression and just 30:15 send a word of gratitude -- just send a message about gratitude. That's all you have to do. 30:19 For 20 days. Then they measured the effects of these participants in the 30:25 study. And by the way, while you're sending the texts, endorphins -- 30:30 you know, those little chemicals inside of you when you do something good for somebody 30:33 else -- pshh! -- they're just going to town, because why? You're helping somebody else. 30:37 It's not just "me, me, me, me me" all the time. Alright, three studies. 30:40 First one is on social media, second one's on texting. So last one is on writing. 30:44 You can write on a laptop or you can write by hand, and let's put this one on the screen. 30:57 Now, what's a trivial letter? "Dear, Grandma, thanks for the socks. 31:01 Love you lots, bye." That's trivial. Come on, you didn't tell your 31:06 grandmother a thing, did you? No, you didn't. You just thanked her for the 31:08 socks 'cause you had to. 31:11 "Were instructed to write non-trivial letters of gratitude 31:14 to an individual to express appreciation for them." 31:17 Now, keep reading. Watch how they're supposed to 31:19 write. 31:29 We got that part. What did they find? 31:32 In fact, you know what? This could be a summary -- this 31:34 could be a summary for all three of these tests. 31:37 Let's put it on the screen. Here's what they found. 31:39 "The present investigation contributes to the literature by 31:42 further clarifying that writing letters of gratitude" -- now, I 31:45 put that line under it -- "writing letters of gratitude 31:48 has a cumulative effect that benefits the author," the writer 31:51 of the letter. Keep going. 32:00 Some of you are suffering from depression right now. Could it be that letters of 32:07 gratitude could actually turn the edge of that dark depression? 32:13 Could it be? Keep reading. 32:25 Here we go. "As a tool for mining that 32:28 resource" -- in other words, you already have it. 32:29 You don't have to buy it somewhere. 32:30 You don't have to order it online. 32:32 You have gratitude already. "As a tool for mining that 32:35 resource, letters of gratitude have produced positive outcomes 32:39 related to important qualities of well-being." 32:42 What are they? "Happiness, life-satisfaction, 32:45 and depressive symptoms." I'm not making this stuff up. 32:49 Mercy. Letters of gratitude can relieve depressive symptoms. 32:55 So, is anybody surprised when you take the 13 letters that Paul wrote to discover that 33:01 8 of them, 8 out of the 13, begin with expressions of gratitude. 33:08 In fact, I'm gonna share with you just five of them because they were all -- they're the 33:11 five that were written in prison, chained to a wall or chained to a Roman guard. 33:15 He's scribbling out. He opens the letters, always with gratitude. 33:18 Watch this, let's go. Let's go to Ephesians 1:16. "I have not stopped giving 33:22 thanks for you" -- this is written from prison -- "remembering you in my prayers." 33:28 Wow. 33:29 You'll notice these are all at the beginning of the first 33:31 chapter. Let's go to Philippians. 33:33 Also in prison. 33:45 Let's go to Colossians, the opening lines. 33:47 "We," because others are in prison with him, "We always 33:50 thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray 33:54 for you." Keep going, there's one more. 33:57 To a rich businessman. 33:59 His name is Philemon. Opening of his letter -- it's a very short letter. 34:07 And now we're gonna look at the last letter that we have that he ever wrote -- ever, ever, ever. 34:11 We spent time with it last week. 34:14 2 Timothy. "To my beloved son Timothy," 34:17 remember, that's how it opens. Then he writes, "I thank God, 34:20 whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as 34:25 night and day, Timothy, I constantly remember you. 34:31 Oh, I thank God for you. I remember you in my prayers." 34:35 How could this prisoner be so grateful? Five letters, all written from 34:38 prison, and he's thanking God. He's thanking God for whoever's the recipient of this letter. 34:44 I tell you why Paul can be -- because he knows the debt that he owes to the Lord Jesus. 34:50 By the way, a debt you and I owe, as well. Paul severely learned that on 34:55 the Damascus Road. He never forgot it. "As long as there's breath in 34:59 me, I will show gratitude to God, and I will show gratitude to people." 35:04 And he never stopped. "Gratitude was his mantra" -- Oh, I like that line -- "and 35:11 'Thanks be to God' was his credo." So, what would happen if we 35:17 paused right now? Come on, let's do a little research right here. 35:20 We're gonna pause right now. Inside your little worship bulletin, there is a piece of 35:26 stationary. Let's try it, come on. We'll try it. 35:28 There's a piece of stationary. If you didn't get a piece of stationary, just put your hand 35:31 up. Our ushers are really fast in getting it to you so you won't 35:34 have to wait long, but put your hand up high enough for us to see it. 35:37 I see hands there. Good. This is for you to use. 35:43 "Dwight, what am I gonna do with this?" Well, you'll simply focus your 35:46 grateful attention on some human being, and you're gonna tell them, "Man, oh, man, I am so 35:51 grateful for your friendship. Oh, Mom, I'm so grateful I got you as a mother. 35:56 Dad, you're the one I got. Wow. Hey, roommate, thank you for 36:00 putting up with all of my craziness. Come on, you know what I'm 36:04 talking about. I am so grateful for you. Hey, colleague on the job, down 36:08 the hall, door to the left, I am so grateful that we work on the same team. 36:11 You are such a blessing to me. Hey, neighbor, come on. I thank God every time I think 36:17 about you." Scribble it down. Take a moment right now. 36:24 If you remember the address and you put it on the other side, guess what? 36:27 We will mail this. We will mail this anywhere in the world. 36:30 I told the guys in first service even to Brazil. We'll send it. 36:33 No postage charged to you. We'll mail it for you. If you'll write the letter and 36:38 put the address on, we'll mail it. You say, "Dwight, I can't even 36:41 find -- I've been holding my hand up. They're not coming my way." 36:44 Hey, come on, you got your phone. You don't have to wait for it to 36:47 go through the U.S. mail. Just come on. Just text somebody. 36:50 And don't just say, "Hey, love you, bye." But say, "You know what I really 36:55 love about you? 36:56 I'm so grateful for the kind of moral stamina you have. 36:59 I've seen what you've been through. 37:02 You are something else. I praise God for you." 37:04 That's what you do. That will not only bless the 37:08 recipient, it will bless you. You're reaching out. 37:12 Gratitude is your mantra. Thanks be to God is your credo. 37:16 Let's do it. Why not? 37:17 And by the way, if you can't think of anybody, write a letter 37:19 to God. I write a letter to God every 37:21 morning. I'm telling you the truth. 37:23 Every morning, I write a letter to God. 37:25 I've kept them. And it's made a difference in my 37:29 life. I predict it'll make a 37:31 difference in your life, as well. 37:32 Write a letter to God. Do it for Jesus' sake. 37:37 Or do it for the sake of your own mental health. 37:49 ♪♪ 37:59 ♪♪ 38:09 ♪♪ 38:19 ♪♪ 38:29 ♪♪ 38:39 ♪♪ 38:49 ♪♪ 38:59 ♪♪ 39:08 ♪♪ 39:18 ♪♪ 39:28 ♪♪ 39:38 ♪♪ 39:48 ♪♪ 39:58 ♪♪ 40:08 ♪♪ 40:18 ♪♪ 40:28 ♪♪ 40:38 ♪♪ 40:48 ♪♪ 40:58 ♪♪ 41:11 ♪♪ >> ♪ I saw the river of the 41:19 water of life ♪ ♪ Flowing bright as a crystal 41:28 ♪ Flowing from the throne of God ♪ ♪ And of the Lamb 41:38 ♪ Through the middle of the street of the city ♪ ♪ Of the city 41:49 ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia 42:01 ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia 42:13 ♪ Let everyone ♪ Who is thirsty come ♪ Let anyone 42:27 ♪ Who wishes ♪ Take the water of life ♪ As a gift 42:41 ♪ The water of life ♪ As a gift ♪ Alleluia 42:51 ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia 43:02 ♪ Alleluia ♪♪ ♪ Let anyone 43:21 ♪ Who is thirsty ♪ Come to me ♪ And let the one 43:32 ♪ Who believes in me ♪ Drink ♪ Out of the believer's heart 43:50 ♪ Shall flow ♪ Rivers of living ♪ Water 44:05 ♪ Living water ♪♪ ♪ I saw the river of the water 44:23 of life ♪ ♪ Bright as a crystal ♪ Flowing from the throne of 44:35 God ♪ ♪ And of the Lamb ♪ Through the middle of the 44:44 street of the city ♪ ♪ Of the city ♪ Alleluia 44:58 ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia 45:10 ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia 45:21 ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia 45:34 ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia 45:43 ♪ Alleluia ♪ Alleluia 45:57 ♪♪ ♪♪ 46:11 ♪♪ ♪♪ 48:34 ♪♪ ♪♪ 50:32 ♪♪ ♪♪ 50:46 ♪♪ 52:13 ♪♪ ♪♪ 52:28 ♪♪ 54:08 ♪♪ 54:18 ♪♪ 56:47 >> Amen. Our benediction comes to us from 56:50 Ephesians 6:23 and 24. "Peace be with you, dear 56:55 brothers and sisters, and may God, the Father, and the 56:58 Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. 57:02 May God's grace be eternally upon all who love our 57:05 Lord Jesus Christ." 57:07 Amen. Thank you so much for joining us today. 57:10 May God bless you. Have a wonderful week, and we'll see you next week. 57:17 >> I want to take an extra moment to thank you for joining 57:19 us in worship today. It's by the continued support 57:21 from viewers like you that we're able to bring this program. 57:24 Today I want to invite you, though, to share with us how 57:27 this ministry has blessed you. I get inspiring notes, e-mails 57:30 from viewers literally all over the world telling me, "Look, 57:32 Dwight, God has been blessing me this way, He's been doing this." 57:35 I would love to hear from you, as well. 57:37 Just visit our website. You know it -- 57:39 Newperceptions.tv -- and click on the contact link at the top 57:43 of the page. Send me a note. 57:45 Let me know what God has been doing right now in your life. 57:48 Once again, thank you for being with us today. 57:51 I hope you'll join us right here next time, and until then, may 57:54 the God of grace journey with you every step of the way. 58:00 ♪♪ 58:09 ♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪ |
Revised 2021-11-30