Growing Into Gratitude

A message for Akron Alliance Fellowship Church, Akron OH, November 23, 2025.

For the “Live in Church” audio of this message, select HERE.

I’m still getting used to how we move from the falling leaves of October and everything Halloween to the chillier weather of November and promos about Christmas and early Black Friday specials.  In fact, there were several videos from influencers on Instagram that involved clearing out pumpkins and Halloween decorations on October 31st and switching them on November 1st to the reds and greens of Christmas sweaters and mugs of eggnog.  

Notice how Thanksgiving, once again, gets squeezed out by your friendly neighborhood retailers pushing the Christmas holiday shopping season into full effect!  But I’m going to always remember Thanksgiving in my household.  As for me and my house, we will always celebrate Thanksgiving!  Now, let me be clear about this statement.  When you and I were growing up, we were often talking about how delicious the Thanksgiving dinner would be with all of the fixings.  Turkey, dressing, green beans, candied yams, cream-style corn and pumpkin pie for dessert.  Guaranteed to blow your diet out of the water because you were eating the delicious food to excess and then flopping out on the couch (or even the living room floor) to watch the football game.  I was Thanksgiving thankful when my stomach finally stopped hurting.  

My statement in appreciation for Thanksgiving goes far beyond feasts and football.

Just look at the word “Thanksgiving.”  It simply means “giving thanks.”  Giving thanks is something that should never go out of style, and yet our culture seems, at times, to be less and less thankful.  Some people even forget to bless their food before they receive it.  I remember one meal with a former pastor when we went to breakfast at a local restaurant.  When he blessed the food, it was if he had a microphone turned on!  I had my eyes closed, but I opened them again when I heard the volume go up exponentially during his prayer.  I learned something from that experience.  He was teaching everyone within earshot that you need to stop and consider that the meal you are receiving is not to be taken for granted.  Thank the Lord for His presence in your life and for his provision.

I long to see more and more people, even during the upcoming holiday season, smile openly and sharing greetings like “Happy Thanksgiving” and “Merry Christmas” to other patrons.  It’s becoming more and more of a lost art, and that’s because many of us take life way too seriously.  I don’t want to be the person on the end of someone’s words, “Hey! Lighten up!”  (It doesn’t go over well if your pastor is a downer with a gloomy disposition.)

Today, we’re talking about gratitude.  Being kind to one another.  Expressing warm welcomes and friendly greetings.  Turning those frowns upside down.  (Yes, this is getting very cheesy, and I’m glad to do it!)  There are a lot of reasons to be thankful, and an important reason is Jesus Christ.

Paul, in one of his letters to the Philippians, reflects upon the goodness and provision of the Lord, and should be a model for all of us during Thanksgiving and all throughout the year.

Philippians 4:12-13, 18-20 NLT

¹² I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. ¹³ For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

¹⁸ At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen.

Do you get the impression that being thankful—whether you have a little or a lot—is an indicator of God’s provision for you?  When it comes to food, you have just what you need.  That doesn’t mean that you tear through your food as if you’ve never eaten a meal before.  You eat just enough to satisfy you, and then you say “thank you.”  I’m thankful to be able to eat something delicious every day.  The lesson here is to not take something that seems to be readily available for granted.  You have it because Jesus provided it.

This message is about being grateful for the things that you have.  It is a message about what it is to be content whether you have a little or a lot, or something in between.  I’m not going to pretend that there may be some of you in the audience who feel pressures about food or finances, but guess what?  You’re not alone.  There is a very important aspect of the words in Scripture that remind you “not to worry”?  When the Lord says, “Don’t worry about anything,” He means “Don’t worry about anything!”  The world, and our flesh, will default to worrying about things that we can’t control, and then there’s an inevitable pity party.  That’s a lot of energy spent on something that won’t change your circumstances.

Matthew 6:24-27 NLT

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

²⁵ “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? ²⁷ Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

Now, before I continue with this train of thought, you may be guessing that being grateful involves a thought-process that is the exact opposite of the behavior of people obsessed with concerns over food, money or clothing.  Do you realize that a humble heart, especially in difficult circumstances, goes a long way?  Consider this—a lack of humility means that you will never seek out help from Jesus, or anyone else for that matter.  I trust that you can see that the enemy of being grateful is pridefulness.

1 John 2:16 ESV

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Proverbs 16:18 ESV

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.

For clarity, haughtiness refers to overbearing pride, disdain, arrogance, looking down on others, and snobbery.¹  That’s not anyone in this room, is it?

All of those negative character traits are as far away from being thankful, grateful, and even most urgently, having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, as you can get.

And let’s be honest.  All of us, perhaps not today, but SOMETIME in your life you have exhibited one or more of these behaviors.  Do you know why?  Because it’s in your nature.  It comes naturally.

Romans 3:23 NLT

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

And here’s the rub…the standard for good behavior is not innate within us.  We can do good things or say good things from time to time, but we are inconsistent at best and can be downright ungrateful at our worst.  And we will never meet God’s standard of holiness if we are left to our fleshly tendencies.

So how do we get to a place where we can be thankful for what we have?  What has to take place in our hearts and minds to give us the desire to appreciate what we have and where we are in life?

Let’s go back to Matthew Chapter 6 to find a solution that moves us back to a place of gratefulness:

Matthew 6:31-33 NLT

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Our solution to our fleshliness can only be resolved by seeking the Kingdom of God.  This Kingdom of God is upon us right now in the person of Jesus Christ.  When you begin to put Jesus first in your life—and I really mean FIRST in your life—everything will fall into place.  And this will take you on a path where you will see how Jesus changes your heart, your mind, and your attitude from thanklessness to thankfulness.

Romans 12:1-2 NLT

¹ And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

The key point of this message about gratefulness comes down to putting Jesus first in your life and allowing His presence to change your perspective of life.  As you learn more about Christ and who He is, He will give you the desire to move into gracefulness and peacefulness, and for those reasons, you will be better suited to live in thankfulness.  Watch what happens when you put Jesus first in your life.  I can talk all day long about what He will do for you, but you’re just going to have to see for yourself.  I know what He has done for me, and I’m confident that he can do the same for you.  You will start saying the words of thanks for how good He is in your life.

Jesus is the key to gratefulness.  Even when things are not going well, He is your refuge and strength.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

As you experience His peace, you learn what it is to be grateful.  If you are unsure of my words, all I can say is that you have to embrace His presence and see this for yourself.  When you know, you know.

What you will also need to know about Jesus is that He has done much more for you and me than to help change our attitude problems.  He has already solved our sin problem by what He did for us over 2,000 years ago.  He came to earth to fulfill the mission to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

John 1:29-34 CSB

²⁹ The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is the one I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ³¹ I didn’t know him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³²And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he rested on him. ³³ I didn’t know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The one you see the Spirit descending and resting on—he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” 

It was God’s plan to send His Son to be our one-time-for-all time sacrifice for all of us as our eternal remedy for sin.  His words reiterate this truth for us:

John 3:16-17 NLT

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Nick Vujicic (voo-yi-chich), an evangelist who was born without arms and legs, made a great statement about God. He said, “There are three things that are impossible for God: He can never lie, he can never change, and he can never stop loving you.”²  This is the true character and nature of God.

Romans 8:38-39 NLT

³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For those of you who know Jesus, you can sit tight for a moment and allow me to speak to those persons who are not as familiar with Him.  Ladies and Gentlemen, my desire for you is that when you get to know Jesus and learn more about Him, you will be compelled to say “thank you” to Him for who He is, what He has done for you, and for where you are in your life.  He is a God of truth, He is unchanging, and He deeply loves you.  You will have a sense of gratitude because He will show you that your life can be considerably (and wonderfully) different because you will also understand that you, as His creation, are very special to Him.  He loves you more than you can even imagine.

Psalm 119:13-16 NIV

¹³ For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be.

Without getting all mushy about this, it is special when you really know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that you are loved by God.  Jesus does indeed love every one of you, and He truly knows all about you.  He is another reason to be grateful for His presence.

Psalm 106:1 ESV

Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

When you know about Jesus, your attitude about life changes.  He shows you a different and better place that leads to gratefulness for His presence.  Thanksgiving has a new meaning and purpose with Jesus in your life.

Are you committed to Jesus?  If not, it’s time to do it today.

2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

Jesus is in our midst.  Let’s celebrate this season, and every season, with gratitude.

Copyright © 2025 Melvin Gaines.

1 Ritsema, C. (2025, September 8). Haughty in the Bible: What it means and why it matters. WatermarkWaves. https://watermarkwaves.com/blogs/explore-the-bible/haughty-in-the-bible-what-it-means-and-why-it-matters

2 Vujicic, N. (2025, November 15). NickV ministries on Instagram: “the three things that are impossible for god are fundamental to your hope: He can never lie, he can never change, and he can never stop loving you. you could run a million miles an hour in the wrong direction, and he will still pursue you, because nothing-not even death-can separate you from his love. whether you feel disconnected from people or far away, the holy spirit is right where you are.” Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRFUikBArkK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA